AECF - FCs and ETs

R'sproud mom. My son talked with his PLR and they said maybe in May they would get verbals. He's really bored right now. All hes been doing is moving boxes of files to another room. I hope he gets orders in the next couple of months. Praying for San Diego. Thanks for the info. All this is new for me so I just read all the post and it helps. :)

Karla have fun!

Hi all....well....I am still learning!!!

Anti M...wish you could give me a crash course..."Navy 101 for Dummies"

Thought our sailor graduated from C school in San Diego on March 6 and was going to Norfolk for some kind of post grad class. The reason I thought that was because he told us he was graduating with honors and we were all excited! Well, I guess that wasn't the finish of C school. I guess they have different segments/parts or whatever!!! So, he is now in Norfolk for a short, but  I guess the rest of C school!   Supposed to "graduate" from that second week in April. Then will be home for 30 days before meeting up with his ship...USS Germantown.

Always an adventure and always more to learn!

C schools are many and varied, unlike the single A school.  ETs tend to go to more of them throughout their career.  

You should still be glad he graduated with honors!  Nice! 

Anti M...thank you...and oh yes...we sure are happy and proud he graduated with honors in San Diego! I was just pointing out my silly ignorance!!! lol.

Navybluemom...Thank you!  How long has your son been over in Sasebo? What ship?  I, too, have heard that most sailors like it there. He is looking forward to it. Says he wants to pick up "a little Japanese" while he's there. I said...you mean the language, right ?!!!!  He laughed!

Oh yes, it will be a big change from Arizona too!  Can't wait to have him home for that month!  He said he is working on getting his travel plans changed so he can leave from Phoenix instead of going back to Norfolk. It was set up Norfolk to Seattle...but it would be nice if he could go Phoenix to Seattle.

Glad you ladies are here! Thanks!

Dorina, our sailor grad A school for FC 10/7/11, got his C school orders 1/4/12, reported to San Diego 3/2/12, if that helps. He volunteered for several working parties during his hold, and also visited an animal rescue place where they played with cats for a couple of hours. His buddy volunteered for the stripping/waxing working party in his ship. Doing stuff helps the time go by more quickly and is more satisfying than playing video games, but each sailor has to make that decision. He loves San Diego, esp. the warm weather, the beach & volleyball, but mostly the freedom of being an "adult" again...he's 26. Hope that helps.

WhiteClay, R is also looking forward to that freedom that goes along with the move to SD.  Wonder if GL's is the only base where they need liberty buddies?  He also has a volunteer job that he loves.  Works in the command gym (think he called it that) eight hours ever day.  He is staying in shape working out with everbody.  Not sure how he got the job but he feels very fortunate to have it.

Well, used to be you didn't need liberty buddies for C school and at your new command.  But I hear differently now for Japan, and it may be based on paygrade.  I do think they have to have liberty cards in SD?  I just plain haven't asked lately.   

Good morning, I got an email from Chrissy, she finally got her birthday package that I sent Feb. 9th, her birthday was last month. Well, better late then never, huh? 

A well traveled package!  

Thanks so much for the info. He's doing different jobs trying to keep busy. Someone asked him the other day if he wanted to do leadership and he said yes. She told him shes leaving and thinks he will do great. I'll keep reading all the info on here and hope it helps me understand everything. Thanks so much everyone.

Vickyrun...so glad she received her b-day package! You've helped us to plan ahead...waaay ahead! lol.

navybluemom....gee thanks! I can feel another grey hair springing up! lol.

He really was talking about learning the language...but seriously... it would be nice if he met someone to share some time with while he is there. He is soooo picky...he knows what he wants in a relationship...and hasn't found it here...so maybe over there! He's a bit too serious, but in a good way. Still, maybe someone there can help him lighten up a bit!

Japanese girls are cute, charming, adorable and very agreeable.   Japanese men are not.  Which is why you rarely see female sailors with a Japanese boyfriend, but lots of male sailors with a Japanese girlfriend.  Leads to a lot of Japanese wives.  

My older brother married a Japanese lady and her parents disowned her for about 14 years.  When it was apparent that the marriage worked, her parents let her back into their life and the children were able to see their grandparents.  My niece is now very close to her grandfather.

My mother's cousin went to Japan during his miltary days and brought home a Japanese bride. She is a wonderful lady.

Navybluemom...yes I would think not being able to read the signs could prove interesting!

Well....now I'm having a bit of fun thinking about all the possibilities that might occur while he's there!

Hi, I am new here.  My son is graduating in two weeks.  He will be going to A-school for FC.  Does anyone know how long A-school usually lasts?  And do they ususally start A-school right away after PIR or is there a delay?

Thank you for the help. 

Wow, 18 months in Great Lakes.  He has only been there two months I guess we have quite a ways to go.  How long was he there before he got to come home for a visit?

before A school they'll go to ATT.  and sometimes there's a wait until ATT and then before A school.  A school lasts about 4 months, depending on holidays, etc. my daughter graduates from A school next week.  then, there's the hold until C school.  don't know how long that is, anywhere from 2 months to 7 months from what i've heard.

trandles...yup, you can figure over a year at GL. After boot camp is Indoc, then ATT, then A School.  We live in AZ, so that was too far for our sailor to come home on liberty during A school. If you live close enough, you might be lucky enough to see him occasionally!  Ours came home for visit after graduating A school, before moving on to C school in San Diego. He is in Norfolk now and should be going out to the fleet May or June...I think! He graduated bootcamp 1/14/11.

Also, length of holds varies and that affects how long they are at GL, A school, etc.

Welcome and all the best to you and your sailor!

Thanks for the info guys.  I sorry I don't know what these things are, but could you explain Indoc and ATT.  What do the Sailors do while they are on hold?  Do they still work at something.  I can't imagine the Navy would have them sitting around doing nothing.

We live in California so we are way to far for weekend liberties too.  I was hoping I might see him for the holidays though. 

indoc is just that indoctrination, don't know what they do but they have to do that first.  ATT is a self paced class taken on computers, i think it's advanced technial training but i'm not sure.  in between they do things, sweep, clean, etc.  they will also have "duty" every 4 days.

Reading the post I just want to add my 2 cents also, One question asked was when can you see them when at A school. I think unless there is a special reason or you live 50 miles where the crow flies or you can get there for a visit you probably want get a chance,. They will get home at Christmas break if they are there during that time.If you don't have a Skype account look into it. It really helps and you will be able to use it alot while they are away even on deployment. Another question was what do they do during holds. They still have inspections. They inspect everything. White glove. Uniforms etc. They will still have duty also. A suggestion that will pay off to pass along is for your sailor to look around...ask for volunteer work. One it will pass the time but most important it will look good when they are up for E5. Hope this helps.

actually, weekend visits aren't a big problem, once they get to a certain "phase".  as long as you have a liberty buddy you can have "overnights".  have your sailor ask his chief if you can be his liberty buddy.  with the way their duty schedule works the have 3 day duty-free weekends every 4 weeks.  they usually get out of school about 2 on fridays and don't have to be back until monday morning.  that's how we did our visit with my daughter.  flew up on thursday and flew home monday morning.  could just as good flown in friday morning and been there by the time she got off school.  had a fantastic weekend!  saw my only snow for the winter (i live in nc on the ocean) and spent a day in chicago playing tourist.  if they are there during the holiday stand-down they can come home for the holidays but it works as leave time.

Ladies, thank you so much for all this information.  I will definately tell him about staying busy and volunteering.  I am so glad one of the ladies on the bootcamp forum suggested finding this forum.  I am happy that we should be able to see him for the holidays. 

trandles amd duhhuh...unless they changed it back again, ATT is now "group" paced...not self paced.  This means they move forward as a class to each chapter when everyone is finished with the current chapter.  ATT stands for Apprentice Technical Training...they are considered apprentices before they graduate A school.

Indoctrination includes what is expected of them... rules, etc, as well as a class on handling finances, available savings plans, etc., Navy history stuff, etc.

And oh yes, Vickimed is so right...unfortunately, but most likely you will not have the chance to see your sailor during A school. It's hard on us, but I think good because they really need to concentrate on their studies...they are really learning during that timeframe!  But thank goodness for Christmas Standdown!And yes, Skype is wonderful!

Maddie....I know what you mean about not knowing if you are ready for the long deployment coming up...I'm in the same boat (no pun intended!) lol.

Maybe we can cry on each other's cyber shoulder when the time comes!

Have you always lived in NJ? I was born and raised there (Woodbridge), but moved to AZ in 1979. Still have family there though.

The 50 mile liberty limit is for PIR weekend, otherwise it is 300 miles.

The pace of the training pipeline and the wait for orders can vary wildly even within a single year.  The rule of thumb is "no leave except for Christmas", but as we know, there are often exceptions.  Many of the young sailors are afraid to put in the special request chit, they don't want to draw attention to themselves.  Also, the outstanding sailors will find they get requests granted more easily than the guys who struggle, or who are always on the edge of getting into trouble.  The Navy loves to reward excellence, and special liberty or granting leave is an easy way to do so at a training command.  

Karla....so glad you had a great visit! Sounds like the Navy agrees with your son and he is doing great!

Maddie... thanks for the friend request. I sent you a message.

Maddie, that was great that you got to see your son a couple times during A school.

It works out good if they are there during Christmas break.. that assures at least one visit home! In our case, he only came home twice. For Thanksgiving, and then again during Christmas break. He reported to C school directly from here after his Thanksgiving visit.

I may be wrong, but I thought they were not allowed to take "leave" until after they have their orders in hand for C school.  Of course they have normal weekend liberty, etc, but I mean actual week long type leave. Maybe I'm mistaken.

BR549... "but then again Everyone is glad to leave GL"  Now that's an understatement!!! LOL.

My theory of not being able to take leave until they have C school orders in hand might be wrong. Maybe I'm just mixing up the mileage distance thing that they allowed to go. We are in AZ....so too far!

Normally, they cannot take leave until their C school orders are in hand.   But as we all know, there can always be an exception.  I've heard about it just often enough to know it can happen.  When the holds after ATT were super-long, some sailors went home for a few days, usually in conjunction with long weekends when everyone in the COC knew there would be no classes starting up.  If there was a special family occasion, the requests were being approved... couple years ago.  

I was so glad to leave Glakes, that I didn't mind I was being sent to an Army base in Georgia.

NEC is navy enlisted classification.  It designates what C school or specialty a sailor holds.  Commands request billets for sailors by NEC.  A primary?  Not sure what that means (context, please?)

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/navynecs/a/et.-urm.htm

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/navynecs/a/fcm.htm

Sorry I was having such a blank out!  OK, it makes sense... but yeah, very odd.  I have rarely heard of such a thing for FCs.  C school must really be backed up, or the training gear is down hard.  At least he has a secondary and isn't a quad zero.  He'll get to do a lot of interesting things.  

I guess a few of my NECs were secondary.  I never thought much about it, which is why I blanked on it.

A quad zero is a sailor who hasn't gone to C school, assuming he's in a rate which normally have C schools.

GoldnG8r, where is your FC going to school?

My FC son is in C school in Dam Neck. FCs used to go to C school for 3/4ths of their education, and then go to the fleet for awhile before returning to C school to finish. Things have changed. This is the first year that FC CWIS  (C)school students don't do that.

my daughter is hoping for dam neck or dahgreen.   she wants the AGIS system

my son went to Dahlgren.  He got the AEGIS system.  Seems happy with it.

she really wants dahlgren but i don't care which one in va she gets.  dahlgren is only 5 hours from home and dam neck is 2

Dahlgren doesn't have much going on.  really little, but like I said I think he was happy enough.  We live in Missouri so it was far away.  After C school he went to SanDiego and now is on the Cape St. George on his first deployment.

GoldnG8r. Good Grief!! All these acronyms.  I will ask my son about NEC. I don't know what it stands for.

I hope your son is happy to be going to his ship. My son will be stationed in Norfolk soon too.

Dam Neck is a very nice Navy base. My son enjoys living there.

I don't think I realized that our sons were on the same ship, or that they were both FC's.  My son is an AEGIS FC3.  What about yours

Our youngest daughter, Megan, just finished FC A school yesterday. We are very proud of her. Our oldest daughter Leanne leaves for Navy boot camp in 13 days. Megan is really hoping the hold times for C school continue to be a little longer so she can be there when Leanne PIRs sometime in June.

Ray called last night after graduation from A school.  He's expecting a least two months hold b4 C school orders.  He'll get to come to his sister's college grad, Yay! Can't wait to see him again.