AECF - FCs and ETs

Does Anybody know how long C school for his rate is?? I Just joined and leave for bootcamp in augus and just want to get an idea of how long i will be gonw

C school will really depend on if you end up ET or FC and what weapon system you get trained on. First you will need to get through ATT and A school after boot camp and then you will get orders for a C school.

I think it was like the 5th week of boot camp when my daughter found out if she would be FC or ET. She just graduated FC A school on Friday. She left for boot camp on 6/20/2012, so it has been about 9 1/2 months from the beginning of boot camp until the end of A school (with two weeks off for Christmas break). She is now on hold for C school waiting on orders. She won't know what weapon system she will be trained on until she gets orders and then we should be able to  calculate how long C school will be.

oops I meant she left for boot camp 6/20/2011. I am finally getting used to writing 2012 and  now apparently that is all I can write/

Wishing everyone a Joyous, Blessed, and Happy Easter!

AECFitzgerald... whether ET or FC...you can figure on an average of a year at GL...give or take a little either way! That's just for ATT and A school. Then like Lissette already mentioned, they go to C school. You should be working with your recruiter at least every two weeks right now in preparation of BC, and be asking any questions you still have.

Anyone been to Bahrain?  Just a possiblility and curious on whether it was as pretty as a friend told me it used to be

GoldnG8r...all the best to your FC in the next chapter of his Navy life!

Hello all.  My son is at Dahlgren for C school as an FC specific to Aegis.  He graduates in June.  Does anyone know what the graduation is like?  Is it similar to Great Lakes Boot camp graduation where it is a pretty big deal and the parents and family attend?

Thanks in advance for any information!

Thanks so much for the quick reply.  My son is telling me it's alot like GL and families do come and he knows this because "he's seen pictures".  I can't ever tell what information from him is accurate :).  So, I still do my own recon. I'm in SC, it's a 7 hour drive and my family about 90 minutes from Dahlgren, so it may be worth my time to go up.

Another question...where is your son stationed?  Is he Aegis Track IV?  Did he get any leave before he was due at his base?

My son is stationed in San Diego, but right now he is on his first deployment.  He is an FC Aegis. I don't know about Aegis Track IV.   Yes, he got about a month leave after graduation until he had to be in SanDiego.  Dahlgren is so small that when he was there he only had about 9 people in his class, so maybe that's why their graduation wasn't a big deal.

Very helpful information, thanks again togo!

Ryano-SailorMom, If you have the time to go, it will never be a "wish I would have..."moment.  Even if it is "no big deal', at least u were there, he knows it and u get to see family! For my family, 7 hr is no big deal.  I will take every moment I can get with the kids!

I think if you only live 7 hours away and he wants you there I would be there in a second.  If he has a bigger class it could be "a big deal".  For my son, it was not really anything.  They had them in a room and handed out papers.  He said there were not any families there, but like I said there were only 7 or 9 of them.  Maybe each one is different.  He got to come home a few days later and we got to see him for a few weeks so that was great. 

Hi all, I got another souvenir spoon and postcard from Chrissy. I really wanted shot glasses but I put the spoons up on the wall, anyway,   At least she isn't where the spoon came from (the sandbox). She is on her way back home. I am glad this deployment is almost over. I worry about her so much. 

And for what it is worth, when Chrissy says it isn't "a big deal" ususally means it IS A Big Deal. Lol

Vickyrun...I think it is very sweet of Chrissy to send the spoons!  Wishing her a safe journey home!

Was wondering...Christian says he will be based in Japan for 3 years. I've been told this ship is very active and goes out on missions frequently, so does this mean we won't see him for 3 years...unless we go to Japan? ugh.

Do they always get assigned to one ship for such a long time?

my daughter graduated FC A school yesterday!

where do you live?  i'm on the outer banks.

we are now entering hold hell, lol.  she's been told she will be on hold anywhere from june to october :(  she wants dahlgreen or dam neck which willl be GREAT as dahlgreen is about 5 hours and dam neck about 2 hours away!

So proud of my Honor Grad! Way to go Ray! ET

duhhuh58 Congratulations to your lovely daughter. I wish her a short hold time.

My son is in Dam Neck and really likes living there. It is a small base but right off Virginia Beach.

well, we live in NC on the outer banks.  only about 5 hours from dahlgreen and 1 1/2 - 2 from dam neck

A school graduation isn't a big deal, on the Navy side.  there were only 19 people in my daughters class.  if you are within a few hours driving i'd go, if i didn't live in NC i'd have been there.  hopefully she'll have C school in VA so i can go to that graduation.

Donna...as others have said, "A" school graduation isn't a biggy, so most folks only go if they live in the area. PIR is the big deal.

Our sailor has now graduated two "C" schools  in SD and in VA, and he has said they don't make that a biggy either...just hand them their certificate and off you go.

So at least GL takes nice pics of "A" school graduation that you can download. I would imagine the fact that parents live all over the country might be part of why their is no big celebration to attend.....or maybe that's just how they do it!

Best part is when they come home to visit...you can do all the celebrating you want!

duhhuh....Great pic...congrats to your  FC daughter!

and

chris...congrats to your ET sailor too! Great pic...

Wishing them both much success in C school. Hope they don't have to wait too long for orders.

Thanks for sharing the pics with us.

Congrats to your daughter duhhuh and to Ray. Both are nice pics.

The answer to the Japan question is; Yes, if the ship's homeport is in Japan your sailor will be living in Japan. Yuo will only see him if he gets leave to come to the states or you go to Japan. Start saving some money. I would love to go back to Japan. I lived there as a little girl (I'm an Army brat).  

his own room????!!!!  that's a HUGE benefit.  that's one of the big complaints i've heard from my "sailor kids" is the fact that they have NO privacy. 

look to see if there's a site for the ship he'll be on.  there are moms there that will get you thru this.  i know when my daughter was out last year for 7 months we kept each other going.

Karla... thanks for the info! That did help! I'll keep my fingers crossed that we will be able to see him during the next 3 years. I think I'll still try to save some pennies...I don't think the airfare back and forth from Japan is too cheap!

Navybluemom...yes, I was thinking the same thing. Wouldn't be either cost effective or enough time to try to get back home during a leave...unless it was a really nice long one. What ship is your son attached to?

Sailor is home now for 28 days.. you probably won't hear much from me during that time. Gotta get in as many hugs as possible! Hard to do when I have to share him with everyone else! lol.

Thanks again Karla and Navybluemom!

ProudgmBarb, I know what you mean by having to "share" them with others. I learned that lesson the hard way. I have not planned anything for Chrissy's leave in May. Becasue she got mad at me doing that in the past. She is not even staying with me, she is going to stay at a near-by hotel. I think that is a good idea, she emails me alot, and I just say "Ok" to whatever she wants to do.

vickyrun,

i know how you feel.  doesn't seem to matter what i say or do it's wrong.  the one still in GL is fine but the one that's getting out, couldn't stand to live with her again unless we had our own space in a big house.

Navybluemom...Christian will be on the USS Germantown. It's great that the Navy agrees with your son...Christian loves it too (so far!). Makes things a bit easier for us knowing they are happy!

I should mention that Christian is our grandson...but is really like a son to us...he lived with us for some time. I can't complain about anything...he is always a pleasure to be around. He tries hard to spend a little time with everyone when he's home (both sets of grandparents, friends, his mom). His dad was my son, but he is deceased.

Vickyrun...I think boys are easier to please than girls! lol.

We just spent some time looking at pics when he was little, and now he is outside mowing the grass! He's a sweetheart.

A young man who will look at baby pictures with grandma and then mow the lawn?  You'd better hold on to him!!!  He's definitely a keeper!

jacqueline....Yup...the pic of him naked in the bathtub got a pretty good reaction!  I told him I was gonna show all these pics to his kids when he has a family! Isn't that what grandmas are supposed to do?

duhhuh, thanks for understanding. Chrissy joined the Navy because she did not want to live with me after her divorce. She wanted to work and be indepent, The recruiter promised her a not just a job but a career. Even tho it has been rough at times, I am glad she did, the Navy has been good for her.

ProudgmBarb, I don't know about sons, I only have three daughters. My ex thought girls would be easier. Lol I think maybe he was wrong! But I love my girls, I am very proud of them.

vicky,

jessica's reason for not living with me, etc. isn't because she wants to e independent (i get texts, calls and emails all day every day) asking what's the number for this, how do i do or get that, why won't this work, etc.  she doesn't want to live with me for 2 reasons:  1- we are SO much alike but i have learned how to play nice with a majority of the world and 2 - i am about the only one that will raise the bullshit flag on about 90% of the stuff she pulls.  now, she'll tell me she's grown and that she can take care of herself and her son but at the same time she can't find the phone number i searched for to get him the more at four program or how to go about signing up for college, etc. 

and no, boys are not easier than girls, i have 2 girls and 1 boy, they're just late n doing the same crap, lol

Duhhuh, your daughter sounds alot like mine. Chrissy was like that during her divorce and when she first joined up. Needing me but not wanting to admit it. But she is more indepenent now. And she should be, she is 27! 

i thought that after 5 years in the navy and a 3 1/2 year old would make her more independent.  she is when it's convenient, lol

Chrissy is back in America. I couldn't go to the Homecoming, but she called me she was very happy. She got to get her car out and drive around a little bit.

Duhhuh, Chrissy is a single Mom. Her 5 year old lives with his father and the step-mother. Is your daughter married?

no she's a single mom, bd''s in too, in san diego , but has not contributed anything but sperm and some child support.  my sugar butt has everything he needs, including a "daddy" that loves him (he's not in a relationship with my daughter) but she doesn't see it.  she just wants what she wants, when she wants it and done her way, lol

GoldnG8r...welcome to the world of "sh*t happens" ! lol.

Our ET sailor (in AECF) had (is having) a similar experience due having been to San Diego and Norfolk for C school. Somehow his advancement to E4 (PO3) fell thru the cracks too. He is home on leave right now, and leaves for his ship early May, and may not hear anything before then.

But he is pretty cool about it...says he's not worried...thinks he will get back pay for E4 from the time when he should have been advanced (had TIR this past Feb).  He is much more relaxed about this stuff than us Moms are !

Half of...My son had less than 3 months between A school and start of C school and felt very fortunate.

Hi all, well Chrissy is getting settled in Virgina, she is finally liking it there but California will always be where her heart is. She gets leave next week.

Is there always leave after C school? I planned on going to the C school grad but son said dont bother he will be coming home. He knows travel is difficult for me.

Vickyrun...glad to hear Chrissy is settling in.  Hope you get to spend some time with her soon!

We are enjoying Christian's visit...but time is flying by.

Hi All!  I'm new here.  My son PIR'd on 4/20 and is at GL for A school until November. 

My daughter graduated FC A school Apr 6th, 2012. She said they are talking that it could possibly be October before they receive orders for C school.

NJ - that would be the best Christmas gift ever!  He was supposed to be an FC but now he is going to be an ET...does that happen alot?  What's the difference?  and what is ATT school?

It does happen as one or the other rate fills up.  An ET works more on communications gear and radar (and more), while FCs work on weapons guidance systems.  Both are sea going rates.  
ATT is apprentice technical training.  The electronics for ET and FC are essentially the same, so they all go through identical training early on.  Physics is physics!

Ruth...congrats to your son, and welcome to this forum! As you already can see by the previous posts, both ETs and FCs can have night school. And yes, ETs school is just a tad longer overall than FC. They both are great rates. If things are still pretty much the same, you can expect your son to be at GL for about a year.

NJ...you made me chuckle about ETs being techie like at the Apple Store! lol. They might be techie but much more hands on and waaay more knowledgeable about electronics than Apple Store!

If you have any questions, give a holler. There are lots of experienced Moms here. They have helped me learn a lot. Our ET sailor's PIR was 1/14/11, and he just finished C school this April. He was at GL until mid Nov. 2011.

Hi ladies, Been a while since I've been on.  Welcome to all of you new Mom's.  Hang in there. Even thought the time varies for each Sailor, the GL's chapter of their life goes very quickly!!!  My FC left for BC on 3/1/11.  He is in route as we speak to SD for C school. Prayers for safe travel would be appreciated. 

Thanks BR549!! We are considering a visit but it is so expensive no matter how when or where we go.  Can we go six months without seeing him? Probably not.    We are gonna have to wait and see.