Great Lakes A School Q&A

Anyone have an IC Sailor join this group  lots of info and support .

http://navyformoms.com/group/icsailors 

My son is in Phase 1 at Great Lakes a school. My ? is, he is staying there for Thanksgiving will he have to move his stuff for stand down? Also, what about his stuff when he comes home for Christmas? He has already booked his flight info from there and to go back.

tylersmom- My husband told me last night that as of right now, Black Friday is a regular School day. So, as of right now (I am learning that the information you have one minute has high likelihood of changing the next minute) they will have Thanksgiving off but it will be a regular weekend on base, with normal liberty. For phase 1 this means liberty from somewhere between 0600/0700 to 2200. So he wont have to worry about leaving base except for how he may normally. 

hello everyone, my husband is graduating on 12/06 then goes straight to A school at great lakes. a few questions. 1) how many days off (if any) do they get off for christmas? 2) am i allowed to visit and can he stay the night? also what is A school?

A school is where they learn the basics of their rate (job).  Schools vary in length and the may be waiting periods (holds) while they wait for enough students to class up.

You can visit but he cannot spend the night offbase until he gets to phase three of liberty.  That takes several weeks/months and he has to earn it.

Here are the liberty phases for Great Lakes:

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

Christmas stand down is two weeks.  They get the chance to take leave (earned time off) and come home.  When he checks into A school they;ll guide him through the process.  If he has not earned enough leave days, he can borrow them forward.  He does pay for his trip home.

i live in Georgia

My husband has been allowed to spend the night everyweekend as long as no duty but not during PIR weekend he does however need to have an overnight chit approved which it has been since we live so close to base and are married, but now he is phase 111 and doesn't need the chit and this is recent by the way

My son PIR is 11/15 and will be staying in GL for ASchool, Is there anywhere that tells you what they can have and/or will need.  Not sure what to bring with me for him, and he's not totally sure what need can have either.  

TNM - I just want to agree with Angie. My husband has been at GL since 9/27 and my son and I are here. His Live Ashore is just about approved and as of last weekend he is Phase 2. He has NOT been able to spend the night with us yet and will not until either his Chit is approved or he reaches Phase 3 on the 27th. We knew this coming here. The day he got to GL they changed the Phase policies too... (at least for his ship, though he made it sound like it was a base-wide policy). All New Sailors must remain in Phase I for a month and then Phase II for a month. Too much freedom too quickly can definitely be dangerous for them when they've been so limited at boot camp. Also, Overnight chits are not just instantly approved, nor are they always approved. 

Sherri, Ok thank you that helps alot, i was thinking we would probably do some shopping saturday also.  thanks again

When I went up to visit my son in October, (he graduated ATT school Wednesday) a fellow sailor was bringing in bags of things he had purchased that day and the chief told him that he needed to stop buying stuff because everytime they change ships and they have changed 5 times since our visit, they have to be able to move all that stuff themselves without help. Just because they get assigned to a ship doesn't mean they are going to stay in it for their complete school time. Just something to keep in mind for your sailor when the buying bug bites!  lol

THanks angie yes i know that but you were saying no and i was just letting her kno;wthat it is a possiblitly by meaning that they all do do thing different so she should just have her husband ask but i aws telling her what we do so she has an idea but thank you 

Kristn yes you can drive your sailor all the way to their ship as long as the sailor has their liberty card. Make sure the Sailor is in front passenger seat and everyone in the car is seatbelted in. :)

I have noticed that every ship is different at A school as it was at Boot Camp. My sons ship has to be at muster 2 hours before their 7:30 am class while other class mates on another ship get a lot more sleep. My son's ship goes to class and then does not get liberty until 7 or 8pm. His classmates staying elsewhere tell him they get liberty right after class ends at 4pm. Guess it just depends who runs things in their ships. My son says he is getting less sleep than he did at BC although i doubt that. :)

ok question. i am taking my hotel shuttle to PIR. and back to the hotel. i have a rental car, Hubby stays at great lakes for A school. here are my questions. 1) when are we allowed to pick him up after PIR? 2) do i need a gate pass to pick him up and drop him off? 3) is the gate pass just for PIR? or is it for A school also?

TNM - if you have gotten your military ID while your husband was in basic you can use it to get him on base without having to have him in the car. You will just need to show your military ID as you are going through the main gate and then you can meet him at his ship to sign him out.

My son just called and told us that if his he does not start his A school within 90 days of his PIR (which was 10/4), he will be transferred to the Reserves?    Has anyone else heard of anything like this?   

Does anyone have any idea whom he might be able to talk to see if this is true and what his options are?

Not true.  Sounds like the usual rumor mill stuff.  

You can ask the TSC directly at 

https://www.facebook.com/TrainingSupportCenterGreatLakes

I'm seeing official holiday dates posted there by the TSC:

Holiday leave period begins at 4 a.m. Dec. 20 and ends 10 p.m. Jan. 5. There are shuttles available to transport the students and they are given information regarding the purchase of shuttle tickets to do so. You will need to speak to your student to find out if they know what time they will be able to depart the base as not all will be able to leave the base at once. It's recommended to not schedule any flights until the afternoon.

thank you all so much :) ive been a stress mess express trying to figure all this out, with having our 15 month old. since he will be with me to pick up my husband will i need an ID for him as well?

Thanks Angie!  I will pass the message.

my daughter she is still at great lakes for a-school not for sure how long she will be there and than off to Norfolk va. thanks

Navy Wife- We had a friend who received hard copies for before he was finished and they just adjusted times. Not sure if it will be the same for your hubby or not. The orders they're given for their schooling has an estimated completion date on it. I'm guessing the Duty Station orders just reflect that estimated date. Who knows.. I would personally have my husband ask his command or the person who gives him the hard copy orders (I think it's a CPC). They'll take care of you and point you in the right direction.

This happens often, the report date can be adjusted.  Is he taking leave?  That can be factored in too.  

My son is the last couple of weeks in A school.  He can't wait to get stationed, & really want to come home for Christmas.  I hope he does. 

Congrats on his finishing up A school!

Unfortunately, the fleet doesn't do a holiday stand down, although some commands can do a relaxed liberty routine.  The new guy usually doesn't get the choice holiday leave slots, so you may need to celebrate Christmas on his Navy  schedule, not by a date on the calendar.

Hello Everyone.  I am new here as I just learned my son will be starting A school in Great Lakes sometime after PIR on Dec. 6th.  I have two questions...first, when will he know when his classes will start and second, will he be granted Liberty for Christmas (we live in New England and am not sure he will be allowed off base to come home to New England).

He won't know about his class start date right away.  There is almost always a hold, and the holidays will delay the schools.  Which school?  There are several there.

He will get the chance to take leave to come home for Christmas.  He will need to borrow some of his future leave days, as he won't have earned enough for a full ten days/two weeks.  The travel will be out of pocket, not paid for by the Navy.  Official dates are Dec. 20 (no flights before noon), and ends the 5th.  I suggest be back a day early, winter weather and flying, etc.

Liberty is normal time off such as weekends, evenings, and federal holidays.  Leave is earned paid time off, i.e. vacation days.  Liberty has a travel limit (usually around 300 miles), while leave is unrestricted travel within the US.  

Here's my blog on the subject:

http://navyformoms.com/profiles/blogs/leave-vs-liberty

My sailor had PIR 11/08 with an estimated 6 weeks of being on hold before starting school.  He is coming home for Christmas.  Good to know about returning a day early...hadn't thought about that.  I will have to bring it up to him.

The day early is a suggestion and a choice.  But we all know how bad the delays can be, and Great Lakes won't care why a sailor is late.

Thank you for the information AntiM!  This has been very helpful.

My sailor's grandpa is expected to die today.  He is on hold at A school right now.  Would he be allowed leave for the funeral?  Do I need to contact the Red Cross for him or what is the process?  Thanks for any information you can give me.

Contact the Red Cross, as that is the official channel.  He may or may not be allowed to come home.  

Emergency leave is authorized in the circumstances set forth below and normally will be granted when the existence of an emergency has been
determined by Red Cross, the member’s Commanding Officer or
telephone call from a family member, minister, attending
physician to the member’s command or to the member concerned.

(1) When the presence of the service member will
contribute to the welfare of a dying member of the service
member’s or spouse’s immediate family; i.e., father, mother,
person standing in loco parentis, spouse, children, brother,
sister, or only living relative.

My condolences to your family.  Hugs.

No, you can contact them now.  You will need your son's SSN.