Great Lakes A School Q&A

Hi, I'm new to this group. I was wondering if anyone knows when A school starts for Electricians Mate? My son has been in holding in San Antonio for a month now!

San Antonio?  Was he originally going to be a corpsman?   As for when school begins, it varies, he would have to take ATT first at Great Lakes.  There are holds for all the schools, and those holds vary so much no one knows.  Yes, it can be months.  In the meantime, he is employed, paid, housed and fed, so tell him to hang in there.

I'm still not certain but I THINK our SR will be staying in GL for A School since he is going into FC.  I hope that is hte case because it sounds as if we will get more time with him than if he would have to fly out after PIR

FC A school is in Great Lakes.  He should be there about a year.

when my son PIR  in May 2013 we used our PIr car pass to go on base.With my son  My son first walked or marched to the MainGate and then we drove back him in front passenge side and PIR pass. thats just for graduation weekend. Saturday morning we picked him up at gate and drove back to sign him out It was the BEST !!

AntiM - he was originally in San Antonio for MA school, but didnt make it, so they have now assigned him to EM at Great Lakes.Corpsmen is across the street from MA. Can I ask what is ATT? And thank you for the insight:)

http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=24640 Apprentice Techmical Training several rates have this course before starting A school

Thanks Jana!  EM is a good solid rate.  Sea-going, but hey, it is the Navy after all.  

Thanks everyone! Lot to learn here!!

I wonder if he already had ATT in San Antonio, if he'll have to retake or would it transfer?

I don't think they offer ATT in SA.  It is technical, and neither HM nor MA would need it, so the schools down there would not have the program.

How long must they serve to be considered a veteran, and have VA healthcare, does anyone know? Sorry, I have never had anyone in the service before.

Six months, I think.  I'd have to google it to be sure.

Chits are pretty generic, he'd get one from his SDC who would guide him on how to fill it out for a specific purpose.  The SDC/LPO would probably be the first signature.

I haven't been there in ages, but from google pics I can see the same central chow hall I used to go to.  I know the older ships don't have eating facilities.  

What is your son's job training for?  My son's PIR is 1/24 he is also staying in GL for school.  Just wondering if he is going to have to wait.

Hi All, My Dad died Thursday and my son who is in A school wants to come home for his grandfather's funeral. Do you know if that is leave covered by the Red Cross and do they have classes on Monday since it is a holiday? I don't want him to get behind in his classes but if he could only miss one day, do you think they would let him come home?  Thanks for your help.

The death of a grandparent usually does not count toward emergency leave.  Still, have the Red Cross contact his command, see if they will approve emergency leave.  That does use earned leave days, and he would have to pay for the ticket home. Monday is a federal holiday, so he does have it off.  There is a chance he can't come home for the funeral, but he won't know until he asks.

So sorry for your loss. 

Aaronsmom- I'm so sorry for your loss. What liberty phase is your son in? And how far away do you live from base? Do you know if your son was supposed to have duty this weekend?

If he has duty, they'll put in whoever is on stand by/alternate on the watchbill.  Leave trumps liberty phases, so if emergency leave is approved, he can go anywhere in the continental US.

mspaint my son is MM

You normally wont get base housing unless you'll be there at least 6 months. You could try talking to the housing department and see what they say, though. We lived in Gurnee in an apartment, but it was kind of far away. We spent waaaaaaayyy too much money moving/living there while he was in A school, just living.

I've read the same thing. I looked into it and decided not to because we have a daughter. There's an extended stay candlewood suites around there, decently close, that had reasonable rates. I've personally staid there and it wasn't bad; the rooms were pretty nice. Your rates drop the longer your stay is going to be. They had a laundry room and internet and cable and a kitchen in the room and was right next to a walmart and some restaurants. For the larger rooms I think it was like 1200 a month. The smaller rooms are probably more reasonable. Something to think about is that you won't see much of him during the first couple weeks because of the liberty phases. Oh, they also offer a discount for booking nonrefundable rooms online. I could go on and on. lol let me know if you have any questions.

If you were married before boot camp, you should receive BAH based on where you are from. Just depends on if that amount is enough to cover it. If you're not in base housing, the BAH is split between the two paychecks of the month. Keep in mind that sometimes your two checks are not the same each month. Sometimes the first check is bigger, then the next one is a little smaller, just depends. Also, if you end up moving yourself there you MUST update your address with customer service (located in the building across from the student NEX). They will not update your BAH to Great Lakes, but they must stop your separation pay. If you don't stop it, you WILL owe them, and they WILL take their money back. And your address needs to be correct to get the proper travel days and money when he gets his orders for after A school.

tay2, is he in the AECF program?  If so, you're eligible for base housing if it is available.  They say it is not, but there are often openings.  If you choose to rent instead, the housing office will look over any lease to be sure you aren't being ripped off, and that there are the proper military clauses in it.  You must have a car for him to get Live Ashore approved.  

AECF tend to be at Great Lakes for about a year.  This does not include C school which for ETs and FCs is NOT at Glakes.  

What Angie said is VERY true. The customer service department would not allow me to update our address, even with my POA. My husband went in to do it when he was finally available and they were NOT happy with him. Our BAH was less that GL, so, we were fine there. However, we had to pay back all of the separation pay. (Which I knew and accounted for from the beginning, but it still was not a fun situation.) Before I went back in to give them our lease agreement and they realized I had already made the effort to update it, I'm almost certain they were going to send him to Captains mast, and they still could have if they wanted to. Just be careful. I'm pretty sure it says on the LES's that you only have so long to update your address once you move.

Smilingmom, I do not see your question here but I saw it on my email page.  My Grandson is at GL waiting for A school, he graduated in Nov.  He is in a dorm type room with room mates and he does not have a car.  He said he does not need one.  He stays mostly on base and can get a cab if he wants to go somewhere.  He is very happy there.  

Hi Smilingmom. My daughter finished A School in Oct.  She said not only did she not need a car, but was under the impression they weren't even allowed with the excption of officers and instructors.  There are taxi's right at the entrance to the base 24/7, and the sailors usually share one to go wherever they want to go.  Also, the Metra train station is just a mile or two away from base (it's actually next to RTC) and goes right to downtown Chicago.  Transportation is safe, easy to come by, and affordable.  The dorm type rooms are in typical east coast large brick buildings.  I was impressed with the grounds at A School, it looks much like a college campus.  Congratulations and welcome to the next leg of the journey!

Hi forever proud.  I would have him double check and then double check again, before mailing him his tv and playstation.  I remember my sailor saying they weren't allowed those things in their barracks, but I know there are different rules depending on where they are.  My daughter had Hulu and Netflix on her laptop, which kept her pretty entertained.  He needs to remember also that those things will need to be sent home before he leaves A School, he won't be able to bring them with him. 

AntiM, thanks for your input. I called the Red Cross and we did get him home. the Navy Marine Relief fund said grandparents are definitely covered and they put him on a plane Friday night. He will go back after the funeral, even gave him an extra day and we are trying to get him back on Tuesday instead of Wednesday so he won't miss 2 days of class. Thanks for all the advice you give on this site, it really helps.

AaronsMom, I am so glad he can be home.  

Okay folks, I meant MARRIED students who live offbase must have a car.  Students who live in the barracks cannot have one.    

You're welcome Forever proud. Did you ever get your question answered about where they ate?  They do have a galley, which is open certain hours.  They can go anytime it's open, it's open during the night as well for sailors who are on duty.  They have some fast food restaurants on base as well!  They're pretty much on their own as to when and where they want to eat. 

Hello all any IC family Interior Communications we have a great group on here

http://navyformoms.com/group/icsailors 

Hello all, my son just graduated last weekend from BC he is in A school but was just told his school doesn't start for 2 more weeks....

Congratulations to you and your new sailor jesseq.  It's almost a given that there is a wait to start school after BC, and some are longer than others.  From what I understand, the big reason is waiting to fill a class.  There are other things they can do during that time, things they will need to get out of the way at some point at A School.  My daughter always refers to holds as "on standby to standby."  It's the beginning of many! 

Good morning all.  I am brand new to this group but I have a question. My SR will graduate this coming Friday if all goes as planned.  My question is, she has sent me a list of some things she wants from home (her own underwear, bras, computer, cell phone, few tee shirts, sweats etc.) If I put them in a black duffle bag will she be allowed to carry that onto base? I have been told that she has to fit everything she takes onto base in her Navy backpack and I have also been told she could have her own plain black duffle bag, which is right? I'm so confused and I don't want to get her into trouble. Thank you for your help!

Thank you Angie for the info.  She can use her Navy issued bag and take a little each time back onto base since we will be there 3 days.  I can mail her the rest if any.