Great Lakes A School Q&A

@NavyMom2005 - I just got back Sunday from my son's PIR on 5/31.  We stayed at the Best Western Gurnee for $79/nite (call them directly for the Navy PIR Rate) and it was very nice.  They have the Gurnee Mills Mall up the street with your pick of restaurants and places to go in the surrounding area.  As for laptop and xbox, I believe he has to request having that through a "chit".  Cell phone only after the PIR when he has moved to GL School.  Hope this is helpful.  (As for the wedding, not sure, you might want to check with one of the Veteran Moms who are usually on a page for your PIR date).  They are amazing and super helpful.  They saw me thru this whole process.  Take care!

NavyMom2005...my son will be going to GL A school for GSM too.  I am literally waiting for the "I'm a sailor" call right now!  His PIR is 6/14.  I've gathered some info over the weeks, but I can connect with you about our experience & what we find out after we return.  It's so nice to be prepared! I'll send you a friend request. :0) 

Angie, JJ4Navy and Anitad04 Thank You for your comments, I'm oblivious to everything except for what I have read on here. This is truly the most hardest thing I've been through so far...

NavyMom....just a little personal experience. My husband is a GSE. He was told his school was 10 weeks. But that was only one of the 4 schools he had, which we didn't know til he was finally in school. So be prepared for the unexpected. My husband has been there since the beginning of Jan, so 5 months is twice as long as we originally though. 

About the stuff, like Angie said - they don't have much room. However my husband was given a small tv that guys will come hook their xbox/ps3 up to so it's possible to have one (at least in some barracks), but there may be someone else there he could share with instead. I know some guys have their guitars because my husband has a small band rehearsing in his room half the time when we're trying to skype. :) No chit is needed for the laptop and cell - a lot of guys either buy theirs or have them brought to them the weekend of PIR. 

And as far as the leave for a wedding. He may get lucky... but my husband tried to get leave granted to come home for a brother's wedding and they denied it. He was told he wasn't allowed to put in the leave request until 30days before and as soon as he handed it in it was denied within the same 5min of talking to them. He had graduated at the top of his class, had the leave built up, had enough BZs (bravo zulu) to get a duty day off, and was on hold between school so it wouldn't have put him behind and they still denied it because they said they cannot approve leave for a wedding when he only "student status". The only leave I've heard of being approved is emergency family leave such as a death. 

Oh yea, I didn't even count indoc. I was thinking of BECC, GSE strand, ATT, and then 9Charlie (in the order my husband went through) :) 

Isn't a GSE and a GSM different?

They both work on gas turbine systems. One's an electrician, one's a mechanic. Which is why they both go through some of the same classes. GSE's just continue with more schooling after the GSM's are done.  

Your son with have indoc, BECC, and GS strand. ATT and 9C are only for GSE. 

@Cupcake&BabyCakes - Here's the GSE school schedule. My husband is in 9C right now (he's been there since Jan 11th). There can be holds between each of these schools. 

Indoc (can't remember how long. about a week maybe?)

BECC (Basic Engineering Common Core) - 32days (about 6weeks)

GS strand - 12days (about 2 1/2 weeks)

ATT (Apprentice Technical Training) - 21days (about 4weeks)

9C (9Charlie) - 10days (2weeks)

Very Helpful information!! Thank You SO much SailorV'sWife!

I guess I should also explain that my husband's paperwork said he had c-school too. Or so we though since it had multiple parts listed and that's what the recruiter told us. But they don't actually. It's just that it's a 4-part A-school. There is C-school for GSE's, however it's not in Great Lakes and only a select few are hand chosen to go AFTER they finish A-school. So there's no way he would know if he had it yet. 

J's wife, there are always services on base.  

My computer isn't following the link to the worship schedule, but you can always call the chaplain/s and ask.

http://www.netc.navy.mil/nstc/chaplain/worship_schedule.asp

I think it depends on the ship. My husband is in the USS Essex. He has one of the bigger rooms so has an extra roommate than most - there are 4 of them in the room. Each has a bunk with a desk underneath, a small chest/nightstand by their bed, and a small skinny closet for clothes/storage. 

There aren't any "open bay" barracks like in boot camp on the TSC side.  They are more like dorm rooms, with room mates, very limited space. 

TPU/THU?  I wasn't counting those, because isn't it extreme to be placed there?

Its probably Preble. My husband is in that ship. You will have to get your sailors address from him. This is the best group I could find for A school. My husband is HT - still in the same engineering field as your son.

My daughter isn't finished with BC yet, but when you is (July 19) she is going to A school right there in GL.  She is going to be an EN (engineWOMAN - lol - it's engineman) Anyone else going to be in that school?  It would be fun to get to know who.  :o)

To get married at Great Lakes, he puts in a special request chit to his chain of command.  They will direct him to take a class/get counseling from the chaplain (Angie, do you know what's current or does it vary by school?).   He can do that right away.  They do not deny these chits unless you're underage, the marriage appears to be fraudulent, or you're not a US citizen... and even then they don't really say no.  

He'll need to find out his duty section and rotation when he checks in, so you don't choose a duty weekend.  He can't leave base when he has duty.  You'll want him in phase three so he can stay out overnight on the weekend.  Hopefully he has a longer school, you need to be married a few weeks before he gets his orders if you're looking for a paid move to his new duty station.  If you just want to be married and not worry about the move, anytime he doesn't have duty will do.

http://www.navyformoms.com/group/askthesdc/forum/topics/abridged-ph...

If I can put my 2 cents in on a small part of what Anti M said - I dont think the Phase really matters. My husband got to A school on 5/3 and I went to visit him on 5/17 and he got a Friday night and Saturday night liberty with me. He was still in Phase 1. He just had to fill out 2 chits. A deviation chit to have me be his liberty buddy and another chit to have overnight with me. I also went to see him June 1st weekend (he was in Phase 2) and he got Saturday night with me. Again he had to fill out 2 chits. The only difference in phase 3 is that he will not have to fill out 2 chits, he will only have to fill out 1. 

If it is a school night they cannot have overnights i.e. Sunday night he has to be back at his ship. 

Choosing a non-duty weekend is the most important and if you want things to be a little easier (less hoops to jump though) then getting married in Phase 3 might be easier. In reality he can get overnights anytime as long as he jumps through the right hoops.  

Hi Angie!  Awesome!! Yes! I would love to chat with you about being an EN!!!  Wow - 10 1/2 years - that's a really long time.  How did you get hurt?  (Maybe you shouldn't tell me! LOL)

When I went to your page, it said something about a counselor - is that what you do now? Are you actually in GL now?  I feel like if I know you I'll know my baby is doing okay. Sigh.  Boy, us moms - gotta let go huh?  TOO HARD!  LOL

Thanks so much!

We just got my son a verizon phone it has face time so we can talk face to face. If you have verizon already he should go with that also.

Verizon has good coverage, and give a military discount (but I think he has to get that...).  How long will he be at Great Lakes?  He can have a contract suspended when he deploys eventually.  Verizon isn't the cheapest though. 

I'm smiling at the unlimited texting because his time on the phone will be quite limited by the Navy.

Of course.  I've heard a few of the barracks suck no matter what carrier you are using.  If you do find a good one, please share your info here.

FYI, you're going to need to prepare for the dropped/glitchy calls now. We have Verizon - about the best coverage you can get supposedly. And we pay for the fastest speed internet they have available on the base for him to use with his laptop and cell... and we still have terrible connections. You have to remember that there are thousands of students at Great Lakes and the majority get out of school about the same time and get on their computers to start using internet. So connections are slow. Depending on the barracks, it may be better or worse. You will probably have about the same call quality with any phone company.  However - you will get a chance to talk to him almost daily. My husband has duty every 4th day so they're always busier those days, but in general he's out of school by about 3 and can call/txt/skype after that. 

Have you looked at Boost Mobile?

My son should be done with A school on July 28, but does not know what day his graduation will be, we are trying to make plans but have no idea when it is, and if we will have any time with him before he goes to c-school, can someone help!

 A school graduations are tricky, and unless he has orders, there's not a good way to know how much time he has before he goes to C school.  It isn't "set" like PIR.  Some of them don't even get orders right away, and have to stay on hold for days/weeks.  Others have their orders in hand and fly our soon after, in some cases, the next day.  Some have C school right at Great Lakes.

So, which A school?  That may help to narrow down the possibilities.

He is ET 

He won't go to C school at Great Lakes then.  

Greetings Im new to this Group. My son's PIR was 5/31/13 His rate is IC and is on hold .  Any IC moms I did join that group.

The Journey Continues !!

Hi all, I am new to this group. My Sailor graduated PIR on June 14, and his A school is at GL. We got to skype him last night. It was so wonderful to know he will be able to keep in touch with us more often than at BC!

MissusH, as an ET, he may have quite a wait in GL. Much of it depends on his class ranking at A school. I believe some of the sailors in my son's class were stuck there for 6 months waiting for orders. That time is spent cleaning and standing watch. Not a fun time according to my sailor. I can't recall now, but I believe he waited about a month to ship out. Maybe not that long, or it just seemed like it.

FWIW, there's not much to A school graduation, however, based on the pics I saw, the parents there also received a certificate for showing up.

I guess this question is aimed more towards the vets on here - With my husband being an HT what are the chances he would be on Hold after he completes A school?

I guess a better question would be how long do you think he would be on hold? We are trying to figure out how we can buy time because I will be 34/35 weeks pregnant. Obviously we would like to have the baby before he goes to a ship. 

How could we use 5 to 6 weeks?!

We would like to use his Leave for after the baby is born..

There's so many variables, it is hard to say when he'll receive orders and when they'd let him take leave.  Traditionally, sailors on hold aren't allowed to take leave, because when their orders come in, things happen fast.  However, that's not had and fast either.

Married sailors do get 10 days of paternity leave which is not charged against their earned leave.  It is not for the birth of the baby, although it the timing is right, maybe.  That ten days may be combined with regular leave if possible.  There's a trick to it though... it can be granted anytime up to a year after the birth of the baby, at the discretion of his command.  They don't have to give it to him if they need or want him for something.  Most commands try to be good about it, but they can't always say yes.  But I thought you'd want to know about it!

I knew about the 10 days paternity leave but I guess im just trying to figure out any way possible so that my husband can be there in the beginning. I know there are too many variables to work with. My biggest fear is that he will get assigned to a ship and be out to sea when the baby is born and that he wont be home for 6 months. That would just break my heart to know we have made it so far and he not even be able to see our FIRST baby for the first 6 months of his/her life..

I hope it works out.  But his ship might not go out, it may have just come back, or be in dry dock.  So things might be alright anyway!

Anti M - I appreciate your positivity! I guess I am trying to be positive yet realistic!! 

Angie - Some HT's do have 'C' school.  My son is currently an HT3 serving on the USS Boxer in San Diego.  He was told that C school would be after his first deployment, when the Navy decides.  His rate is HT-ATF.  Maybe that's why.  He's in longer because of the C school, too. 

:) I am loving all this feedback! Thank you so much!! 

I did talk to my husband last night and we pretty much agreed that he needs to talk to his chain of command in GL to try to work with them to some how delay stuff so that he can still be apart of GL when the baby is born, rather than having to juggle PCS orders and such. 

I know nothing is ever set in stone with the navy but i'm just trying to get the best advice on how to 'work the system' in our favor. 

Hi everyone!  New here......my son graduated bootcamp June 7th and is living in the USS Preble while going to MM school.  What can I expect now?  I know he'll be there 12 weeks and I love being able to talk to him more !!! How often is he in school?  Is there another school after A for him?  When will we know what happens after this 12 weeks?  What does he do on the weekends?  LOL....lots of questions I know!!  Hope to get to know each of you more!!

Ok just got a phone call my son went to medical cause he slept walked and is having trouble sleeping now he says he is getting medically discharged is that possible i am in total shock

wouldnt they have found this out at boot camp hes there 6 months

January 3rd hes at medical now sleep problems i am upset medical discharge what happens now

Now is the hurry up and wait period.  Medical discharges can take some time to process.  Once he is home, he will absolutely want to go to the VA, and begin the process with them.  He may be eligible for vacation rehab training, which might include college.  He may be eligible for a small monthly stipend.  None of these things are certain, but he won't know until he goes to the VA and is evaluated.

LOL, "vocational", not vacation.