Great Lakes A School Q&A

PIR weekend liberty limit is 50 miles.  No, they don't get time off to come home, because he'll be in phase one liberty and not have overnight offbase privileges.  However, he will get time off during the stand down, they will guide him and the other new sailors through the process to put in for leave.  He may need to borrow some of his future leave days, as he will have only earned five days of leave in boot camp.

Here are the phases of liberty:

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

And here's my blog about the difference between liberty and leave:

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

My grandson is waiting for his school to start but he is at Great Lakes taking some sort of life skills classes while he waits.  He has a girlfriend, mom and dad in different places to keep up with so we don't hear alot from him but would like to learn all we can about his life now to be supportive.  I am wondering what kind of Christmas present would be appropriate since I know they were very limited on what they could have during basic.  I would love to surprise him with something he could use.  Any suggestions?  

Hi GrannyFranny!  Congratulations to you and your new sailor!  If he has moved over to the A School base, he will not be quite as limited on space as he was while he was in Boot Camp, but keep in mind that when they graduate A School, they will be limited on space wherever they go, and will have lots of luggage that they need to be able to carry to their next destination.  Small things like a gift card to a restaurant or store (there is a huge mall that he is sure to visit during A School), homemade goodies, perhaps nice ear buds or in ITunes gift card.  Other thoughts might be a watch, or something electronic that he might like.  I'm sure anything you choose will be loved and welcomed.  Sometimes just knowing you love and support them is all they need too!  Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Hi GrannyFranny - My son just left Great Lakes after being up there for a year with school and holds.  We are Floridians so after he could start wearing civilian clothes, I sent him a pair of Under Armor thinsolate long johns - which he wore all winter. He had a microwave in his room so I sent him one large bowl, a spoon and oatmeal which he made and ate every day.  Walking to the Galley to eat was really cold some mornings.  Remember that everything you mail up to them (use the Post Office) is opened and gone through so don't send anything "embarassing".  I sent him a box that had some homemade goodies (to enjoy right away) and also snacks that would last a while - beef jerky, a bag of candy, nuts, Life Savers, etc.  Also sent him fishing magazines and any other magazines I thought he would be interested in.  iTunes gift cards were greatly appreciated.  His brother bought him a watch with military time.  There is a McDonalds right on base so a gift card to that would be great.  The base has a movie theater that runs new releases, a bowling alley, the NEX where they can buy just about anything - and a NEX gift card is another good idea.  My son was there a whole year so a bunch of them bought season passes to Six Flags and went quite a bit.  The Galley where they eat most of their meals is set up like a food court in a mall - there is a great variety - but the thing my son missed most was fresh fruit.  I sent oranges but peaches was not a good idea!!  So when we went up to visit, we would buy those things and he would take them back to his barracks.  (He had a refrig also but not all rooms have them).  It's a great experience for them and my son (who is now in San Diego and happy not to be in Great Lakes this winter!!) he said the other day the Navy was the best decision he made and he loves it!!  Go Navy!!

I have a question about standown travel for the more experienced here.

My son is coming home on southwest out of Midway and does anyone know if the seabag is subject to size and weight restrictions since this is leave and not orders? 

According to their website "Military Passengers traveling on active duty or permanent change of station orders will be exempt from the two-piece Baggage limit and will not be subject to excess, oversize, or overweight Baggage charges, provided that none of the pieces of Baggage exceeds 100 pounds in weight and 80 inches in size (outside length plus height plus width). " .

Usually they never say a thing about a seabag, as leave technically is a set of orders.

I just love hearing all this from all of you.  Even the questions tell me more about his life.  My sailor is on his flight home for leave!!  I am so excited I can hardly stand it!!  And to top it all off his older brother is picking him up at the airport and they both will be coming to my son's this weekend!! Oh joy!!! 

I had chatted back and forth with a parent on here about their sailor in BECC. Finally got a chance to ask my husband what app he used to help him study; there is a premade free study thing for BECC on Quizlet. He started doing way better on tests once he started using it. Hope this helps. Happy holidays!

It has been great having my sailor son home. That being said, he is ready to get back and move forward with school. I think he is not used to so much unstructured time. Is anyone else experiencing this? He is  loving the Florida weather though. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and best wished for a happy new year

I agree with you SCUBED.  We have really enjoyed our time with our son.  He has also spent a lot of time with his friends.  I am getting sad thinking he will go back this weekend.  He is like your son though, he is ready to move forward with training and get out to the east coast.

  He has had enough of the cold weather and we are from Illinois.  He used to walk 4 blocks to school every day in the winter.  He wouldn't take rides from anyone or drive because he wanted the exercise.  He would walk in a blizzard and not think twice about it.  But... he said it is really cold up there off the lake and he isn't enjoying it at all. lol  I am excited for him to continue on with this chapter in his life.  But, it will be hard not seeing him as often as we would like. 

Our grandson goes back on Saturday too.  He has been a joy to be around.  I think I have seen him smile more this trip than ever before!  He is loving the Navy.  We are so proud of him.  I did not get to see him as much as I would have liked but I knew he would be very busy.  I am so glad he is liking the Navy so much and I feel I understand it a bit better now too.  I do hope he finds some warm long handles to wear when he gets back though!  He is from Arizona and some time in Florida!! lol  

They must get proof from the airline. They can be counted as UA. Leave papers have contact numbers, if the sailor is delayed, they should call ASAP. They can get into a lot of troub!me if they don't make the effort.

I'm sure he won't be the only one, just document everything, and try the best he can.

Hi Everyone, just joined :). My sons PIR is 1/10. Originally he was told by his recruiter that he would be flying out right after PIR to his A school in Ingelside, Texas. But after joining the group for his rating (Mineman) I found out that school had been closed for 4 years..(They really keep the recruiters up to date hugh, LOL). He will now stay at GL for approx. 8-9 weeks for ATT and then will go to San Diego for his MN schooling.

Does anyone know since this is not his permanent school, what their housing will be like. I'm driving in for PIR and would bring some things with me if I knew if he was going to have things like small fridge, microwave, desk, etc. or is it just like BC with a bed and area to keep his belongings.

Alice- He most likely will only have a desk, bed and small closet. The rooms with fridges are for students staying 6+ months, I believe. Keep in mind that anything he acquires while in GL he will have to literally carry about a mile to the gate when he leaves GL to get on the shuttle to the airport. And he will most likely be able to come home between his final school (in San Diego) and his permanent duty station (wherever they end up sending him). So, you may want to keep it somewhat light while he's in GL. So many students leave behind valuable things such as TV's when they're moving out because they simply can't or don't want to drag them along. If his MN school in San Diego is longer, then I would wait for some of the larger "comforts of home" until then. Also, some barracks don't allow food whatsoever, some allow packaged food, and some don't really care. Just depends. My husband liked a can of powdered Gatorade because it didn't take us as much room as a bunch of them and he could just poor it in his water bottle. Others have suggested NEX gift cards. (This is the store in GL he will have access to- they have just about everything.) I would stick to those things and maybe some toiletries for the shower/grooming. Congrats on the PIR coming up. Be careful traveling!

Forever proud- It's always different. I say that because even when some people end up with the same area or orders, others don't. Your sailor will find out soon enough and hopefully let you know ASAP. If he said GL for MM school, he may just be in GL til he gets his orders (orders for permanent duty station- where he'll be actually working). I don't know much about MN, though. But, if that's the case, then you won't find out until pretty much right before he goes. He'll possibly get verbal orders, then hard copy orders, then come home on leave (usually) and then go to his duty station.

ForeverProud- We knew where my husband's A school would be going in (at GL), but it sounds like you know that part. When my husband was in A school I got half excited and half jealous every time someone got there orders. I just wanted them to tell us where we were going! lol but it's different for everyone, usually. Anti M or someone might chime in later, though.

Thank You J's Wife and irish5roses for all the great information. Your right, I think the best gifts would be a NEX card and maybe a refillable VISA gift card, this way he can get the things he really needs and wants.

ForeverProud- I didn't know anything either until I joined the groups MN Moms  and Mineman Moms. The veteran moms there have been  so informative and helpful. What I know so far is due to the jobs they will be doing there is a lot of training and a lot of confidentiality once deployed.. As far as school goes- they will stay at GL for ATT for approx 8 weeks, then they will then go to SD for the actual MN schooling. After A school, they will also be going to C school and then have additional training, so it will be sometime before they are actually sent anywhere, which is usually either Bahrain or Japan. Just in speaking to a few of the moms there it was about 10-11 months from PIR to deployment for both their sons which apparently is about average. (Factored in there is that they may not start either ATT or A School right away and might be on hold for a few weeks until the class forms.)

You should def join those groups, without them I'd still be thinking he was leaving on the 11th for Texas. LOL

Hello! My son will be staying at GL for Engine Man. Anyone else 's son going for that?  He is the only one in his division with that title.

My son's PIR is 1/17/14, and he will have A school in GL for another 8 weeks.  Does anyone know if he will be able to come home before he leaves for San Diego? His contract is for SWCC. 

Welcome Tyler's mom. My son is there for about 6 weeks for art school.  He likes it there.  The challenge has been getting use  to the cold.  We are from Florida.  After he finishes at GL he will go to San Diego too for A school.  

Yes, you can send care packages, but some of the ships do not allow food, or only prepackaged food.  Your sailor will be told what is allowed when they check in.

My sailor son just grad on 1/3 and is staying in GL for A school...starts on 1/17. His job is ACEF(FC) He will be in GL for C school as well.

There is no C school for FC or ET at Great Lakes.  There is ATT first, then A school.  

Where do I find out information about the training for a Machinest Mate.  My son mentioned starting with BECC school and I would like to read more about this.  He is on hold for A school right now.  It has been 3 months - is this typical?

I don't know if it is typical but our grandson is on hold for his school as a hull technician, he graduated in Nov.  He is still in Chicago on hold but is enjoying his time there.  Well we will see how he feels after this freeze thaws out!! lol  He may be wishing for a warmer climate! He is from Arizona.  lol

Long holds are not uncommon, very frustrating for these young folks ready to venture out.  However, they are paid, fed and housed, so tell them to hang in there.  

Here is the BECC description from the TSC FB site:

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

Thanks Anti M!

Hello everyone am glad i found this Group :). My sons PIR was 12/6 and is still at Great lakes He told me he was doing indoctrination before his ATT starts then A school

can someone tell me what ATT is as all i know is that its before A school

My son was on hold before he left for Xmas He graduated on Dec 6th bearly was allowed to come home my son is at the BEQ's now for the next month or so

If your unassigned is this your time to choose a job? he knows what ship he's going to be on
I was worried about the care packages as I just got his address

any advice would be gratefull

Do you mean he doesn't have a duty station for after A school?  He doesn't get to pick that, although if he does well, he may be given a choice.  Most don't get to choose, although they do get to request three areas or types of ships they would prefer.  That happens toward the end of school.  

ATT is Apprentice Technical Training.  LIke a prep school for electronics, a number of rates take it together.  It is self-paced with an instructor, and they have to meet minimum goals.  

As for cae packages at Great Lakes, do ask about the food policy.  Different ships allow different items.

Hi...I'm just trying to figure out what my son will be doing exactly after bootcamp.  He will be a MN Mineman and from what I've learned on the MN group and others, he will be staying at GL for ATT so I'm not sure if this is the proper group to ask, but will he be with other minemen or a group of other specific jobs?  All the recruiter told us was he will have 11 weeks training at A school in TX(which is actually in SanDiego and probably more than 11 weeks?) and if he does well meritoriously in A school, he will have a better chance in getting his pick of duty stations...and also that some duty stations will require him to have additional combat training...is this what they call C school?  I'm glad to hear that there training is longer than we thought, but it would be nice to know a little more of what to expect :( Can anyone shed some light on any of this? Thank you!

Just got my "I'm a SAILOR" call! So proud of him. Can't wait until PIR Friday! Question, I'm bringing his computer and was going to get him a subscription to net flix so he could watch movies during his down time but he said that he has to pay for the internet .while at  ATT school. Does anyone know how much it costs and does he just pay for it on his VISA card?

Thank you grinboots

Shelly, you have the school info down correctly, although the actual time at the school is always longer than the given seat time.  I don't know how long the holds are in SD, but there will be some.  Are you asking what he will be doing after school?  The chances are high he will go to a minesweeper ship.  Homeports include Japan and Bahrain, so don't be surprised if he goes overseas for a few years.  

Thank you Anti M.  I guess I just feel frustrated because he was told 1 school and now it's 3 schools and he knows nothing about them. It may be my prior Army mentality since after basic training I went to AIT and it was plain and simple. I'm a planner, so it just upsets me that things aren't like they said they would be.  I'm sure he will be ok with it. I just wanted some clarity so that when they tell him, I will be able to elaborate for him and help him not be as frustrated as its making me ;)  Thank you for helping me settle my nerves a little more :)  I suppose I should be thankful that he will be in the states longer than he thought before he goes overseas.  I will try to focus on that!  

LOL, of course the Navy is complicated.  

After reading the liberty document, I am wonder if any of you that have attended PIR recently have been able to have your sailor with you on Sunday until 10 PM?  I may be reading it wrong, but it looks like on base liberty only on Sunday.  If this is the case, does that mean we can't see him on that day or that we have to see him on base?  I am just wondering if Saturday is the only day we will really have with him or not.

 If you are reading the TSC liberty phases, be aware the PIR weekend graduates will have a different routine.  There is offbase liberty on Sunday, and their curfew will be earlier than the one for regular phase one students.  Your sailor will be briefed, so go by whatever he tells you at that time.

The regular phases will kick in on Monday for the new graduates.

Thanks for  explaining that.  I was hoping that we would be able to spend that day with him.  We rented a car so that we could drive him back to base and he wouldn't have to walk as far.  We are staying at the Navy Lodge, so fairly close I believe.