Moms of IS (Intelligence Specialist) sailors.

KC74, Welcome. You will find that this group is not as chatty as it used to be. Many of the original members either bonded and moved to facebook, phone calls and emails or they just kind of disappeared. Our page creator has left and I think there are two of us now who are admin but I don't really have any power to do a lot except delete people. I don't do that because there are too many who need that initial support. Or might return from time to time to ask a question or answer a question. I hope we can offer support through the school process. Once they are out, you don't know much about what they are doing anyway so then the chats soon stop. I hope someday we can get an active group back here again. Enjoy your ride through the world of Navy Intel.

Navy hugs 

hishippygirl, It really is an adjustment during bootcamp. Once they are at school and have access to their phone it's not so bad until they get to the end of A school and into C school. They say C school is like A school on steroids! lol This is a time for you to make those mental and emotional adjustments though. Once they are out in the fleet, there may be weeks at a time when you don't hear from them again. That's their life and we might have to deal with that kind of stuff throughout their careers. All in all though it is not bad. We all adjust in our own time. Good luck through it!

Hugs Mom!

My IS  is half way through A school. We just left there today after spending the weekend with her. She can't stay out over night but could be with us until 11:45 each evening. If you want to visit you can stay relatively cheap on Virginia Beach right now. We have stayed at The Schooner and at The Breakers and both were very nice and under $70 a night. She studies a lot and stays busy all the time, but seems to be doing well. She would love to go to Japan after C school.

logansmom, Japan is nice. They do have a country-wide curfew that all the sailors must adhere to but my son has enjoyed his time there. He will be coming back stateside next year, after 5 years overseas. He still will not be close but at least he will be on this side of the International Date Line. :-) Best of luck to her and if she wants Japan, then I hope she gets it. 

England is good too. My son wanted to go there for his next duty station but at the last minute that became his second choice. A couple of the "original" moms here had folks in England but I don't recall knowing any of the current folks there.

lol..... Too cool for school. :-)

Hello all!

I'm checking in again now that I can breathe!  My son returned from his 2nd, almost back to back, deployment from out yonder.  Also, the 2nd time he was floating around on a steel city.

The good news for him is that it looks like, knock on wood, he will be getting his first pick for shore duty...Italy!  I'm so happy for him.

If any new moms have any questions I will be happy to help out with answers whenever I can.  Good luck to all our sailors out there!  They are in a difficult, demanding, rewarding rate.  God bless them!

Laura, that's awesome. Please don't tell my son about Italy. He wanted Italy or Greece so badly but when he had to pick orders a few months ago that was not one offered. He will be leaving Japan within the next few months and knows where he is supposed to go but he has not gotten written orders yet. His other choice was in Europe but it seems he is destined to stay in the Pacific Fleet. At least now he is back to shore duty for a couple of years (as of this writing anyway). Hurry up and wait, and nothing's etched in stone...military mottos we all have to live with. Congrats to your sailor for a great assignment and congrats to you for making it through sea duty and active deployment twice.

Navy Hugs!

Hi all, my daughter is just starting this journey. Arrived at Great Lakes yesterday for boot camp. Will be trained as an IS after. Can you give me the low-down on what to expect when she completes her training? Sea vs shore duty ... possibility of remaining at VA Beach for permanent station, etc? Not expecting that. Just curious. Thanks!

dogdoc1, Welcome aboard! First, congratulations on getting a sailor and raising one of the Navy's best! (That's our opinions anyway). Second, your daughter's PCS will depend a lot on the subspecialty that she chooses and even moreso, the needs of the Navy at the time. Considering Norfolk and San Diego/Coronado are the two largest, she may well end up at Norfolk. Ship duty vs shore duty...that's kinda luck of the draw. The problem with getting shore duty right away is 1) When you choose the next PSC the openings may not be so good and she may get stuck on a not so great ship. Get the ship duty out of the way if there is a good one to choose from the first time around. 2)The advantage to ship duty is they can work on their SW and AW pins (Surface Warfare, and Air Warfare) and their coveted IDW (Information Domination Warfare) pins. Shore duty kinda restricts that to mostly their IDW pin. Of course the down side to ship duty is that you must be at sea for months at a time. But shore duty across the country or 1/2 way around the world can also hamper visits, calls, etc. There are no easy choices. They all have advantages and disadvantages. Sorry I can't help you any more than that. :-(

Mary, that was extremely helpful. I'll be referring back to it, I'm sure. Thanks!

Laura,

Congrats on your son's safe return.  My son also is on a second deployment almost back to back.  He returned from an in country deployment to Afghanistan and now is on a ship out there somewhere - can't tell me where but he can tell me where he was!!  But I have a good idea where he's going based on the status of our world.  But he missed his second holiday season in a row from his wife and little girl.  He also is getting ready for new orders after this deployment and is getting ready to put in for officer as well.

dogdoc,

Welcome to the IS world.  Plan on not knowing much of what your daughter will be doing and not knowing until the last minute where she will be going.  Be careful about trying to plan too much because Momma Navy will change that!!!!  Above mentioned son was supposed to attend his sister's wedding next month - his daughter was going to be a flower girl.  Now since he is away, his wife and daughter can't make the trip on their own to attend.  My daughter lost her flower girl!!!!!  Daughter is Navy also so we all learn to roll with the punches.  Sending you a message on your profile page!!!

Hi Sara, my daughter arrived at RTC Monday night 1/5! I don't know if I'm allowed to say her name on here, so I won't. They may or may not have the same PIR date, but would only be graduating a week apart at most. They might end up in the same class at A school! I cried today when I saw the ingredients we bought to make queso dip for New Year's Day. We didn't get to make it because my husband was in an awful car accident that day. We are thankful he's alive! Our strong, brave girl was able to ship out to boot camp on time, but we didn't have our queso which is one of her favorite things.

dogdoc1 and sara, if your sailor's names are unusual don't post them. Generally a first name is ok, or if your sailor's last name is different from your own, then your last name is ok. I post Chris' name because Anna can tell you there are so many Chris' out there that the IS moms had to start using letters of the mom's name to distinguish one Chris from another. That was when there were only 9 members at this page and everyone either had twins, was a twin, or had a Chris...or in Anna's case 2 of those 3.

Also be aware that not only do outsiders (bad guys) have access to the info here but the IS schools do as well and they monitor our chat when they feel they need to. You will find that eventually you will not need as much support from us here and you will move on. We don't mind being used and abused. :-)

Dogdoc1, I am so sorry your recruits last few days at home were marred by her father's accident. I know she is able to perform better though knowing that he was alright when she left. Maybe you can take the queso ingredients with you to PIR if that can still happen for you. Or buy them once you are there and make it in your hotel room.

Good luck to you both. We are here with questions when you have questions. :-D Sorry, so much we don't know but sometimes if the questions are generic, we can ask our sailors.

Anna does this mean that Jenn is cleared? Call me or see me at facebook. I have been wondering about the flight situation.

Hi everyone . . long time. . i have questions need help please. . logans mon ,  chris' mom. . during BC got tons info on facebook page. .  my IS is graduating jan 30 havent been able to find any links or such. . hes kinda info shy lol. . im debating going to graduation major changes wiht job week b4 change of days/hours pay cut dont know details until week b4 graduation. .  do families attend this?? i know BC was huge deal..still need clearance and everything? im not sure if i can make it do to all the chaos going and financial. . i think my sailor is apprehensive about me coming idk  . .any help????

crybabymama, The school graduations are not such a big deal. If it's easy for you to do, I think they appreciate the recognition for all their work but they get a certificate for their specialty and then they are dismissed. A school in particular is not a big thing. I think they actually do that right in the classroom now (which is totally off limits to us peons). I went to my son's C school graduation and it was nice but I went more to help him move out of the barracks than anything else. Sorry, you won't find a facebook page for the IS bunch. Your sailor would need to put you on a list and when you get to the gate, you have to show ID. My sailor had to meet me to "escort" me to the school building. That's one of those things that may have changed since Chris was there.

dogdoc,

I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's accident and I am glad he is getting better.  Mary has a great idea! Make the dip and take it with you if you get to go to PIR.  Most hotels have a microwave where you can heat it up and enjoy it in your hotel room!!!    Also, like Mary said, you can use first names unless it's unique and anyone from RTC or IS school would know who you are talking about.  But OPSEC rules are specific about never using anyone's last name - even yours.

crybabymoma,

Graduation from A school is pretty much a no big deal, here's your certificate, now get ready for C school!!!  Graduation from C school is one that parents and family can attend since your sailor will then be leaving DN.  And escort is necessary to get on base and to get into the auditorium. I hope things work out for you!!!  This Navy life is definitely a roller coaster ride!!!!

Sara,

I understand how you're feeling.  Will be sending you a message on your profile later today!!!!

Thank you, all. And yeah...I guess I can't use her first name. It's not Emily or Kaitlyn - though those are lovely names! We'll definitely plan to at least GET some queso when we take her out to eat in Chicago! 

@dogdoc1, hahaha...you should have named her Christine! She could have been right here with the Chrises!!! Anna tends to have better information than I, as her sailor left Dam Neck after mine. She has also had a sailor in personnel and an officer besides her IS sailor so she knows a lot of the ins and outs and can get the lowdown on a lot of things.

I thought about all the Chris's...but it works. It's her middle name! Can I say that!? LOL

Dogdoc1...eeyup! She can be a Chris too. She will have to be ChrisD (as in dogdoc) Mine is ChrisM, Anna's is ChrisA and so forth. We had another ChrisD here at the start of the group but the mom is never here anymore. She spends her time at facebook. She is another one with 2 sailors in. I think her daughter is a Yeoman if I remember correctly. I will ask her sometime. Anna do you remember? Anyway, you can have the ChrisD spot now! :-D

For the new moms - you may have noticed that many of us don't have our photos, or our kids photos, showing as our profile picture. 

There are different jobs within the intel community and based on what our sailors do, showing photos may be a no-no.  I didn't want to take any chances.

I live near Naval Base Great Lakes in the frigid Midwest so if anyone has questions about that area, let me know.  I've lived here my entire life.  But as life would have it, the family and I will be moving to the Virginia Beach area, hopefully before my sailor heads to his new assignment. 

My luck, we will be crossing like ships in the night!

Laura,

I lived in Waukegan for a year, about 5 minutes from GL!!!  Depending on traffic lights!!!!!  I've visited VB often and I  think it would be so nice to live there!!!!

Mary,

You're right - her daughter was a Yeoman.  I'm not sure if she was trying to change her rating at one time.  Like you, I have a hard time remembering who's who and who did what!!!!!  But it's all good!!!!!

I'll have to send you an email to catch you up on things on my end and you'll have to catch me up on your end!!!!  Watch your in box!!!!!  :)

@Anna~~ :-)

@Laura~~ At least you are moving to warmer climates and near beaches. It will make coming home more attractive for your sailor right? Unless he is like mine and thinks almost as highly of his high school buddies as he does his family. I see every now and then when he is home on leave that he and his wife will sneak into town to bowl or go to eat with friends and not stop to say hi. It hurts a little but I know if he stops to say hi, I would want him to stay awhile. Just the jealous or maybe the greedy mom thing? lol

I hope your move goes smoothly.

thanx everyone for ur help i feel much better helps to decide what im doing

My son has to do 6 active and 2 reserve.  

He's been out of boot camp almost 2 years.  He was made E-4 after C school.  He went in as an E-3

My son went in as an E-3 as well and the earliest potential he has for E-4 is after A school graduation.  At least, that's how I understand it.  The rank thing is interesting because they don't get to wear rank in boot camp until after Battlestations, which happens at the very end of boot camp.  Up until then, they are all considered "Recruits" with the potential to be Sailors if they pass all the requirements.  So my son went in at E-3 and finally got to actually wear that rank during the last week of boot camp in the days just prior to graduation.  

Where are some of your IS sailors stationed? thanks!

A few sailors have done other IS C schools while waiting for their C school to class up. I've never heard of one staying at GL to train in another rate. Totally uncommon since boatswains mate is ship's company while ISes are generally "attached" to a squadron, ship, base, etc. Always good to know more (believe me it helps them when it comes time for advancement testing).

All IS contracts are 8 years (6 active, two inactive reserves).

The sailors cannot be advanced to E4 until after their C school when they pass their national board exam or whatever it is at the end of C school. Anna's son was the same way. They get their crow once they are at their first station. Each command is a little different in how long the sailor is there before they are "frocked".

My son is stationed with the Pacific Fleet. He has been in back-to-back assignments overseas. I'd rather he be Atlantic/South American Fleet so he could be stationed much closer to home but....He has his family with him so he is happy and he LOVED his first station. Seoul, S Korea.

Good luck to all!

My son also did back-to-back deployments.  Meaning no shore duty in between.  Both assignments on aircraft carriers.  Even though he was on different carriers both of them headed out to the sunny, sandy area.

His current duty station is in Norfolk.  The East coast carriers head out to the Mediterranean Sea/Arabian Sea/Persian Gulf areas.  The West coast carriers head out to Japan/Korea areas.

His orders haven't been officially cut but his new assignment looks like Italy.  He's very excited!  It will be a three year assignment.

Promotions on a ship can be strange.  Even though a sailor has enough time in grade to be promoted, some commands say that the time wasn't served on their ship so the waiting period gets extended.  The ship's command wants the sailor to prove himself/herself aboard ship before they recommend promotion.

All in all, my sailor loves what he does and is extremely happy that he chose IS.  It is a small community and it is easier for sailors to get recognized and make a name for themselves.  Plus the IS rates really push the sailors towards education and advancement.

My son is also stationed in Norfolk, but is currently on deployment onboard a ship.  He had a deployment last year in Afghanistan teaching the Afghan Air Force.  He was prior AO, switched to IS in 2008.

My son has about 3 weeks of A School left at Dam Neck. I believe they have to earn the privilege of wearing civilian clothes, to have a car, to have liberty/leave. One of my son's friends was able to go home on a weekend and get his car but his parents did live fairly close by. I believe C School is also at Dam Neck.