Great Lakes A School Q&A

Lily- that's hilarious! lol I was starting to wonder.. I typed the long thing out and then I was like waaaaiiiiiiiittttt a minute lol

oh Boy! thanks Chele & ZWB/Kathy we have no choice than to practice patience.  Scheesh, I'm not telling him...lol

jw'smom - My son is ET so his school is long.  I think he had to wait a few weeks for ATT to start and then got lucky that he went straight to A school when he finished ATT.  Counting down to December when we make the trip back to GL to see him graduate from A school.

I hear it is cold in Chicago this week. Glad we brought our son his coat when we went up there for PIR 10/11/13. He just bought himself a military type windbreaker at the NEX that weekend because it was cool not cold yet. He did not care to wear the P-coat issued with his uniform and needed something lighter. I bet he is wearing his P-Coat now.haha

Yesterday he and some buddies went to Six Flags and we given free tickets there. It is amazing how well that city takes care of our sailors and appreciates them. Not sure how cold it was yesterday there but i can imagine it was pretty chilly on those rides. It rarely snows here in Virginia Beach so I am sure this is going to be one cold winter that my son will never forget. :)

Hey y'all, will anyone be attending OS A school graduation on 10/29?  If so, please let me know.  We are not able to attend and I would love to have a picture of my son.  Thanks!

Okay, great.  Thanks J's Wife, I didn't know that.  I will definitely be watching for them.

Does anyone know if the sailors will all have a long weekend for Thanksgiving?  When will they find out if they do?

P.S. - What is EM, EN, and ET?

Where do they post the pictures of the A school graduations?  My sailor will graduate this Friday.

gunner mom, Here is the link to the TSC FB page.

https://www.facebook.com/TrainingSupportCenterGreatLakes

mariecb,

EM=Electricians Mate

EN=Engineman

ET=Electronics Technician

Thanksgiving is a federal holiday, so they have it off unless they have duty.  Same with the other three days of the weekend; Friday is off but they may still be required to muster.  However, they can't travel more than 300 miles away from the base, so no flying home unless they request leave.  Not such a good idea, because they'll want those leave days for Christmas.

Anti M - thanks for the Thanksgiving info.  Couple more questions - when will they know if they have to muster?  Will they be able to leave base overnight during the Holiday weekend?  My son is on hold for A school as of now, but will probably be in A school by Thanksgiving.

The muster thing will vary, with some barracks and schools requiring it and others not.  He will be told, but he can ask what the routine is.  Of course, once he's in school, it may be different.  It isn't set in stone is why the answers are elusive.

No overnight liberty until they reach phase three, so you need to ask him how close he is to phase three.  He'll have a curfew each evening.

Here are the liberty phases:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/training-support-center-tsc-great-la...

Thanks to all for the information on Thanksgiving.  My son is in the Farragut, and would maybe in Phase 2 at Thanksgiving but no further. He is on hold right now for MM training.  We are trying to decide if we should go to Great Lakes for the holiday weekend.  It is hard to plan.

Thanks again for all the great info - I will talk with my son and then decide!

Angie, I know it is true at other bases I've been at, but don't know about Great Lakes... families could come into the chow hall (paid of course) and eat Thanksgiving dinner with their sailor.  Does TSC have that?  I know, chow hall food, but it is a good experience for those who aren't sailors.

 Hi all. My SR has PIR 11/8 and is staying at GL for A school. The following Monday is Veteran's Day. Will they have that off? I'm trying to finalize our plans.

It is a federal holiday, so yes, if he doesn't have duty.  No way to know that until he checks in, though.

My son graduated on Columbus Day weekend and he had Monday off.  We left Monday morning and I think he appreciated having the day to be with his friends and get to know the base.

Our SR graduates the day before Thanksgiving (11/27) does anyone know when he will have Liberty that weekend?  Will it be through the weekend or will his A-School there in GL start immediately on Friday?

They should have liberty all weekend. They do have to report back to base each night, and watch may interfere with some of your time with them.

Thanks ellen for the information. I'm going to visit my baby for Thanksgivin!!! I was hoping my baby stay w/me at the hotel for the weekend but I just learn is a no no ... Anyway I'm happy !!

I have heard that you can get a special "chit" to have your car on base, is this true?

Hi everyone.  Does anybody know what the leave policy is for A school? My now SR will be in A school over Christmas and I was wondering if there is any possibility that he will be able to come home for the holidays. Someone told me that the schools close over Christmas break--is this true??  Thanks.

Also, if they have not earned enough leave for ten days/two weeks during the stand down, they may borrow days forward against their unearned leave.    That might mean no leave after A school, so have them think through how much leave they have on the books, what they can borrow, and what they want to do after A school/C school.

Thanks for the info.  Looks like I my not have the entird family home after all.

@Amani, the holds vary from school to school, and they vary for a number of reasons.  One to two months is not unusual at all.  Try to stay flexible, things change all the time.

@Amani, my daughter's PIR was 9/13/13 and was on hold until Oct 16, then the shutdown happened and that has now been pushed back until further notice.  Just the other day she said most new sailors coming in are on a 5 month hold, she is on a 3 month hold.  She at least 7 weeks down of the 12 weeks.  Now she hopes to start A school the last week of November.  I tell her they have to master the art of patience before they can move on.  Hurry up an wait!  This is just our experience.  I know it all depends on what school they are waiting for too.  Hope your spouse gets through sooner.  Hang in there gals!

MOS is Army, and doesn't translate exactly into Navy.  He means rating.  MOS is much like the Navy's NEC and they don't get an NEC until, or unless, they go to C school.  

(Navy Enlisted Classification Code)

And yes, it does matter, the ratings with shorter schools tend to have shorter holds.  

@Amani, I talked to her tonight and now she thinks maybe in a week she might start school.  She is GSM. She hopes to start sooner than later.  The sooner they start the sooner they can move on.  She is really ready.  She sounds good in spite of the hold.  She had duty today.

Yes my daughter was told you could borrow up to 11 days, just fyi.

My son was on hold for a few weeks before ATT and he's expecting a couple months when he finishes that before A. I don't mind the holds. He's fed, has a warm place to sleep and money in his pocket. They give them plenty of opportunity to volunteer or participate in activities to fill up free time. And most of all that is that much longer I can call or text him every day before he's out in the middle of the sea with no communication for long periods. 

@stephen's mom. someone posted last month that the Christmas break shutdown this year would be from Dec. 21 - Jan. 6th. The base will be closed but there will be barracks for those not going home. My son is still in ATT school and should have that part completed in a couple weeks. Not sure when A school will begin for him because of the holds, but he is planning on flying home for Christmas. He went in 4/16 so he should have enough days built up for Christmas. He will be in ATT, A school and C school for 2 years so that should give him enough time to build up additional days for liberty when he deploys.

I have to agree with Angie, until the official dates are released, don't buy tickets.  People guesstimate the dates, and sometimes are quite wrong.

Never book a flight which departs before noon when you do choose tickets.

Correcting previous post

My son was given a departure date with what time a shuttle was leaving and the date and time he had to be back. The dates he was given are not the same as the ones Aaronsmom posted. I thought He said that they were sending out in groups ( I thought he said two groups but that could have been his ship, school or just be my faulty memory) Do they usually tell them this early? 

@Amani 2013, My daughter likes it so far.  Time will tell when she starts school.  I think she will go far with this because this is something she has wanted for quite sometime.  We are very proud of what she has chosen for her life.  I am sure you are proud of your husband too.  I am excited for her to see where this takes her!

My son started school today after a one week hold. He says he graduates a day before Christmas break. I was thinking he would come home for Christmas and then go back to school. Either I calculated wrong or he has. :) He is an OS.