AECF - FCs and ETs

CRANKING - A Sailor working various jobs other then his rate (painting, cleaning, etc.) Mess Cranking in your son's case. From what I understand, almost every enlisted sailor goes through it.

The miltary is not like a civilian job, you can't say that is not in my job description. You do what you are told to do, and you do not question authority. Period.

In our ET shop, shore duty, we had to provide a petty officer to go work with security for six months as base police.  We were overmanned by one, and the junior tech who had the most common NEC (specialty) was sent over on TAD orders.  Way out of the job description, hmmm?

My son is in secf, his wife is in bootcamp for aecf,  my son is stationed in wa on the uss jimmy carter,  trying to keep informed about my daughter in laws job to be she grads on 7/20/12

She will be on surface ships, and he's subs?  That can be tricky.  They'l need to put in for the big ports which have both.  The Navy's idea of spouse co-location can be less than ideal.  My husband and I were both ETs, we saw each other a total or 28 days when we first married.  I had to choose becoming a dependent over re-enlisting so we could be together.  That's why he served 20 years and I only did nine years.  

Well, my son has been living on his ship since May 20th. He is trying to get his Sea Legs. It is kind of difficult to get his Sea Legs because his ship has only taken 4 day excursions. So when he just about gets over his sea sickness, he is back in port.

He has not had to Crank due to staffing issues. I don't want to jinks him by saying too much, LoL.

Hockeymom, Wow!!  That will be a challenge for your son and his wife. Where there is a will, there's a way.

navybluemom, what ship is your son on? My son says his ship is getting ready for INSERV too.

My ET son just received orders for Norfolk! He PIR's 7/22/11 and completed A school in April.  I'll see him next week!!

I was so excited to hear the news, that I forgot the details!! I will find out. lol

Chris you made me laugh.  I've been there myself. My Sailor left GL's after 11 months.  Congrats for his orders in Va.  We live in Va. and this Navy mom would have loved for R to be on the east coast.  Six months of C school  will pass quickly in SD though and who knows where he will end up after that.

GoldnG8r-thanks, thought this would be easier!

R's, my son is "R" as well. lol He will be on the DDG 103, USS Truxtun.  I guess I should wait until he drives to contact the ship, huh?  

R's, we live just west of Chapel Hill, NC, about 4 hr?  (That's prob close enough for him!)

BR549, yes he loves it!  We do not hear from him as much as I would like. Life is good in SD. C school is going well.   So much to do and see.   Ok, I am gonna hitch a ride with you.  LOL  When does his ship come in?  

Chris, four hours away is the perfect distance.  I know next week cannot get here quick enough for ya.

PIR next week!!  Wow - the time flew by for us but probably not for our sailor.

He will train in ET/FC at Great Lakes.  So proud of him, can't wait to see him.  It's going to be a great day!

FIRE CONTROL TECHNICIANS (FT) operate, test and maintain submarine combat control systems. They participate in weapons handling functions and operate and maintain non-tactical computer systems and peripherals. They are also responsible for a huge array of weapons, which can include torpedoes, Tomahawk® cruise missiles and even nuclear ballistic missiles capable of reaching anywhere in the world.

Libby, enjoy every minute

navybluemom, Bren is on the USS Gonzalez DDG 66.  At the moment his ship is at homebase Norfolk VA.  We can't talk via skype because there is no internet on ship. What he does is go to a coffee shop that has free Wifi and he talks on Skype from there. 

Libby...Congrats to your sailor and to you too for making it through BC! You are gonna LOVE PIR!

Wishing your sailor all the best in his upcoming training.

Happy Father's Day to all!  Hope everyone is able to hear from their sailors today ...we're still hoping for that call today.

Hi Libby

My daughter will be an FC at GL, PIR 6/22..can't wait to see my sailor and wish her well on her next chapter with the Navy.  I am sure you are as proud of your son as I am my daughter..Friday can't get here fast enough.

Hello all,  does anyone know any sailors on the USS Mobile Bay CG 53?  My son finishes school in Dahlgren, VA  and reports to San Diego in July.  He is FC Aegis. 

Hi Libby, enjoy PIR! Chicago is great in the summer time! Oh yeah, when you see those big doors roll up and all the sailors march in = AWESOME!!!

navybluemom....What ship is your son attached to? Sorry if you already said, and I forgot...can't keep track sometimes! Chrisitan is on the USS Germantown....home port Sasebo, Japan. But they have been out and about all over. Just spoke to him a few minutes ago.
So thought I'd check to see if they are on the same ship!

navybluemom....for what little time he was there, he said Sasebo was really nice. He got there mid May, was only there a week before the ship got underway. They are still out at sea.
Oh yes, just love those phone calls! I'm impressed at how clear the calls are too. Just a bit of a lag time between each person speaking.
When they get back in port in Sasebo, they will be doing some maintenance on the ship, so yes, he will be sleeping off the ship, but still working, using the galley, etc.
Hope your son is doing well!

Brand new, literally just a couple of hours ago, my son went through MEPS and signed on as an E4 in the AECF.  I really have no idea yet what any of this means, so please be patient with me as I learn.  The whole thing has come as a shock to me since I wasn't told he was doing this until Friday evening and here it is Monday afternoon and he is on.

Howdy... he will be advanced to E-4 only after completion of his A school, but it is guaranteed.  He will be an E-3 after boot camp.  He may be one IN boot camp for pay purposes only, but that is a detail in the contract; they all are treated as E-1 during basic training.  In the meantime, he has a lot to learn and prepare for during DEP (delayed entry).

KylesMom, My son did the same thing, (more or less, but that's another story.lol) Check out this site, it is wonderful, be prepared for some tears, some heavy heart as he leaves, however, the heaviness lifts with each week, especially when the first letter comes. From there, it just gets better adn better...

KylesMom, start saving for PIR!! what a wonderful ceremony, and take a lot of pics.  I never asked if it was allowed, but a camera for him (after BC) will allow him to hold memories and share them with u.  I wish mine had had one (and used it).

Welcome KylesMom, I only had three weeks to prepare. She had talked about the Air Force then went Navy and was gone!

Is your son in DEPs waiting or did he leave for BC already? Be aware of "The Box", the Navy sends you his stuff back in a box (even his dirty underwear) and it looks like your kid disappered.  It made me cry.

Most moms do cry when they get "the Box".  I found it cheering.  My thinking went something like this.  "This is everything he was wearing. I know he's not naked up there in November so they must have given him Navy Clothes.  That means so far, so good".  Stange perspective?  Almost certainly!  But it worked for me!

"The box" helped me by knowing he was on his way!  It kinda of cut ties and old habits for him (some that need to be cut) so he could move forward.

I cry alot, my therapist says it is a good relase of emotions.  Nothing wrong, as long as Chrissy doesn't know. She hates it when I cry.

Reading the stories in this group makes me tear up! It makes me remember all that I went through with "the box", getting letters, the first phone call, graduation, etc.  It takes me back and let me tell you, things have definitely gotten better since then.  A lot has changed in just a short year and I can't wait for the rest of the adventure!  Encouraging people brighten my day :)

My sailor is a few weeks into A school (FC) at Great Lakes and it's a whole new adventure.  Glad we can text and chat.  Helps stay connected a little better.  Boot camp was quite an experience, but letter writing and receiving letters after about the 3-4 week kept up my sailor's spirits and mine.  The first 'real' phone call home, I just let her talk until she got booted off the phone.  Hang in there KylesMom.

My son has a ship date now...I will tell you all I am glad it is not until January 9th...so I have a TON to learn and welcome any and all advice and or tips on how to make this all go easier...please and thank you

My best advice, KylesMom, is:"Let Go and Let God."

"Easier" is such a relative term.  What are your biggest concerns right now?  

I had a short visit with Chrissy yesterday, she stayed at her sister's house, not here this time. She is going back to VA today. Aidan is excited about going to Mama's house.

Chrissy seems to be happy with miltary life, she has matured so much. We are getting along better, she is so independent. I am proud of her. She got her first NAM for all the extra work she did on deployment. 

Where is everybody? Been too quiet here!

Chrissy got back to VA, ok. She has been working and studying. And she has Aidan, been really different for her, she says she enjoys him but it is also stressfull. He is gong back to his Dad's in the Fall.

Hi Vicky, you are right, not much going on here. Glad Chrissy is doing well and enjoing her time with Aidan.  My Sailor is about half way through C school in SD.  I do not talk to him much.:(  He stays very busy.  He told me he was #1 in the class.  Very proud of him. He thinks it will be about another month before he gets any info on where he will go next.  I wish I knew more about how that works.  I hoped to visit him in SD but that did not work. Too expensive.  The next three to four months will be a challenge for me.  He is supposed to be home sometime in Nov....  I do hope all of you moms are doing well and enjoying your summer.   

How orders work in general:  your sailor puts in a dream sheet, selecting desired orders.  They can ask for a general area (east coast/west coast) right down to specific bases.  Of course, they must choose bases where there are jobs for them to fill.  A sub sailor would not ask for an airbase, and a surface sailor probably wouldn't go to Groton.

Your sailor in C school is earning an NEC, a  numeric designator which is specific to a specific billet (job opening).  Paygrade also matters, as some jobs need junior sailors, while others require more senority.  Jobs of critical importance will be filled first, desires of the sailors or not.  Always by NEC.

Then the detailer (who issues the orders) looks over the orders and open billets from commands and lines them up with the dream sheets.  Like recruiters, there are orders on a computer and more than one detailer going over them.  Orders can appear and vanish.   The detailers work within rates and related rates.

Coming out of school, new sailors are often not offered a choice of orders.  They're told where to go.  The detailers do try to say yes to the dream sheet, but it is not always possible.  Otherwise we'd all have served in Hawaii.  Later, for that second set of orders, they do get to talk to a detailer.   Now and then they do visit C schools, but that may be old info.

Then the detailer (who issues the orders) looks over the orders and open billets from commands and lines them up with the dream sheets. ..... and available warm bodies with the correct qualifications.

Thanks for taking the time to explain all of that Anti M!! So much for us moms to absorb. So this is where the dream sheet comes into the picture. I recall reading about it when he was in BC.  He said something about the top of the class gets first pick??!  Hopefully that is correct info.  Gives him a reason to try and stay there.  

First pick used to be common practice (I had first pick as an ET).  The detailer would set up a pool of orders for the class, trying to fit in the dreams, then the sailors would pick by class standing.  HOWEVER, that is not so usual now.  More likely they simply get handed a set of orders.  

My dad went to Malta, I would love to go there.  We still travel and try to go places we've never been.  This October we will go to Cancun for Day of the Dead.  The navy has made me a wanderer for life.

BR549, I do envy you in your visit to SD. Can't wait to hear about it. We tried very hard to make it work for us.

Day of the Dead Anti M?  Sounds interesting. Anything like the event you attend in the desert? I loved checking out that website!!  Have a great day.

Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico, the day after Halloween, when they decorate the graves of their ancestors and pay homage to loved ones passed on.  Lots of skeletons and so on, it is a cross between a religious celebration and a festival.   Many sugar skulls and little skeleton figures.  

http://www.dayofthedead.com/content/cancun-celebrates-day-dead

That Dream sheet is a bunch of BS. The Real Truth of How Orders Work:

Yuor Kid Goes Where the Navy Needs Them. Period.

The dream sheet matters more for the second command, although orders are always up in the air.  I was sent to Diego Garcia as an E-6, not exactly my choice.  The main reason they have to fill it out in school is because it has to be on file, even if it does get passed over.