Great Lakes A School Q&A

I found something! here is the address book I've mentioned a few times that I made for my husband when he was in basic. Squad up was the name of their old group chat (they were so mature lol). It was a lot of fun to make and see what crazy stuff people put into it. Despite how it looks, it's held up pretty well over the last couple years.

Good reminder, Allison.  In addition to OPSEC, everyone needs to be mindful of PERSEC, or personal security.  Long ago, I had anti-espionage training, and learned how little pieces of a puzzle added up to one big picture. That was before the internet, it is insane how much personal information is just out there, waiting for a bad guy to put it all into place. These groups are open to the public, to the entire world.  We may love each other here, but that also makes us and our loved ones a little susceptible.

The rule of thumb is: If you would not tell a person with bad intentions some private bit of information to their face, why would you post it online?  Do share, but be mindful when you do!

Greetings.  Returned home after PIR.  Of all the days gone I got to spend one whole day with my NEW Sailor.  Today was first day of A School for him.  I think I will continue writing as it has brought me so much JOY!  A special thanks to Anti M and Lemonelephant for supporting us through boot camp questions.  Now on to next leg of the journey.  xo

MommaB you can send packages now too! They'll just have to be opened in front of someone. Congrats to your new sailor! 

Good Morning Ladies hoping this Tuesday finds you all well,

MommaB Congratulations on your New Sailor! I find it a little easier to be able to speak to your Loved one now he is in A school. me and my son say goodnight to each other every night, sometimes a get a text a little late but in the morning I know it will be there. Yes you can order the large priority flat rate boxes from usps for free, and I filled it to the top with goodies him and his fellow roommates loved it.

Have a Great Day Ladies still counting down the days my Son will be home for the Holidays, trying to rush to get things done!

Have a Good evening Ladies!

My son will be reporting to San Diego on the 15th and will be flown out to meet his ship shortly after.  He seems to be under the impression that life is like A School and that he'll be able to take certain things with him (cough cough playstation - eyeroll).  I did ask him what the heck he was gonna attach it to you.  LOL. 

What all can a sailor expect to reasonably take with him to where he is stationed.  His job is a OS so he's ship attached.

LOL, he will have a tiny locker and a coffin rack (bunk with locker space under, like in boot camp).  That's all.  Some workspaces have room for personal electronics, on larger ships, places like the ET shop, but that is NOT where he will be working.  Theft is also rampant in the berthing compartments.  He will have no room (or time) for a full playstation.  He needs a smallish laptop.

Here is a wiki for deployment prep written and fine tuned by seasoned sailors who are currently on active duty.  Read it, and make sure he reads it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/navy/wiki/deployment

 Boots in the house is fine, a common saying meaning they're home and not deployed.  Even Google agrees.  On Navy for dads, they actually post pictures of the boots!  I have NO idea why the AF mom thinks it is for fallen members, it is most assuredly not.  Unless she's seen the boots, gun and helmet memorials, and made that connection.

However, never post exactly how many days until they're home, even if it is for stand down.  In this case it is more of a persec than opsec thing, but get out of the habit of public count downs.  Always be a little vague.

Good Morning Ladies, thank you anti M for that bit of info. not on face book or nothing so I think I am ok. But the time is coming closer to see my bud I am full of anxiety but so happy at the same time. cant imagine how he looks now since PIR.

Ima, thanks for doing that.  In reality the chances of anything happening from your original post is miniscule, but it is best to develop good habits as early as possible.

I have seen an old mom site saying boots in the house meant someone died, but that is an old tale which cannot be verified.  Honestly, the Navy use means they're at home, well and alive.

For me, the saying would be more like dishes in the sink, as opposed to the dishwasher, to remind me that my son was home, lol.

Good Morning all, hope this Thursday finds you all well.

as of tomorrow I have two weeks to go to see my Son! I'm getting really anxious and yet so much to do. not enough hours in a day for me. Anybody feeling the crunch in time? Doing the last touches in the room and it is a go! I have to get some Christmas shopping done which I haven't even begun to do, well except a few things. UGH! Holidays and Work just don't mix right now. LOL! well Ladies have a Great Day!

Good morning Phoenixmom, wanted to let you know that yesterday morning, around 5:30ish, I got the text from my son that has all of the details for him to come home for Christmas. I cried like a baby, LoL, those darn Navy Mom Allergies. I think I am going to burst from excitement.

Good Morning Ladies it's finally FRIDAY! thought this day wouldn't ever come. Hope all is well.

Butterball I'm so excited for you! thought these few weeks wouldn't ever pass, but know it's almost here. Can't wait to hug and Kiss my son my Big Baby Huey! LOL spoiled Kid well not quite a kid his Birthday is coming up will be 19 but still my Baby! planning a birthday surprise for him before he leaves since He wont be here. So much to do still. He text me yesterday and said mom slow down I don't want you rushing to get tamales done and everything else, But how can I not he's coming home and it's a big deal for me. I want things to be perfect! I'm just that MOM.

Well Ladies I hope you all have a Great Day!

Sending a Prayer for those in California fighting the fire that just don't stop almost to san Diego now.

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Philippians 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,  AMEN

Have a Great Day All!    

I am right there with you Phoenixmom, just a little while longer then, my baby boy will be here, he is my Butterball, that is why I choose it for this forum. His birthday was in October, he also turned 19, so much to do, and not so much time left, but I am loving it all. Helps pass the time faster for me. Have a great day, and also an over achiever, he will just have to deal with it, after all I am his Smurf. (his nickname for me since I am way shorter than him, and he hears "tall person" when I can't reach something LoL.

Butterball that is too cute! My co-workers in the office keep telling me you have this smile from ear to ear, I say yes I do I'm the most happiest and Proud MOM ever, But that goes for all of us I'm sure! Things we do as MOM's, Best wishes Butterball to you and your Family! May the Celebration Begin!

Well Ladies hope you all have a Great Evening and a Fantastic weekend. Good Night.

Have a great evening Ladies and a Fantastic weekend.

What do new Sailors do at A school on weekends? Weekend 1 - 

MommaB, a lot of sailors go to Chicago or to the malls, they can go to concerts, grab food, hike, normal stuff, they just have a curfew of some sort and have to have 1-2 liberty buddies both depending on their phase. There's some drinking restrictions too in the beginning (and obviously not at all under 21 haha). But yeah, they can pretty much do all the usual stuff they do at home for fun. My husband and I used to like to go to the nickel arcade a lot with friends, it was easy to get to, cheap, and never very busy. We tried a lot of different food too and went out for everyone's birthdays. 

There is a chance they will have duty their first weekend, and have to stay on base.  It will depend on the duty rotation at their school barracks.  Otherwise, they can pretty much do as they like within the liberty phase rules.

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

Anti M do you think there will be any airport delays next week when the Sailors are flying home? I know it is snowing but unfamiliar with the weather in Chicago.

Hard to tell for sure, but it takes one heck of a storm to shut down those airports.  Atlanta closed with just one inch, but it takes a full on blizzard to shut O'hare.

He's flying out of Midway, was just curious because he mentioned it was snowing.

All the northern airports can handle a moderate amount of snow.  Ice on the wings is more of a concern, and the plane might need to go through de-icing, which is kinda like a giant outdoor carwash.  Delays the flight about ten minutes or so.

Thank You Anti M

Phoenixmon, I live in the midwest, it takes a real weather event to shut down or delay an airport here.  If weather has an effect on the airports, it is more because an incoming flight can't get out of a different airport, like Dallas, or Atlanta.  God be with all sailors as they travel home for the Christmas Holiday.

Thank You Bandmom I appreciate that and the Prayer also.

Anti M thank you for that deployment list!!  I hadn't thought of half of that stuff!!

Thanks, but I got that list from Reddit, in a forum for and by sailors.  I never got to deploy on a ship, so I turned to those who have.

I do not recommend Reddit for the faint of heart or inexperienced, it can be a snakepit.

Good Morning Ladies. hope all is well. well I finally got my Sons room done, looks sharp hope he likes.

Cooking my meat and getting the chili ready for more tamales this weekend, got my Christmas shopping done so I'm done. a little late in the game and didn't spend as much but for me Christmas is being with family and Having good food and spirits.

Wishing all you Wonderful Amazing Ladies a Happy Holidays with your Loved one if he/she can be with you and to your Family. May the Lord Bless you all with nothing but Good things this New Year. Amen!

I hope someone can explain this for me.  Son #1 is in A school in Great Lakes.  Son #2 was supposed to leave for boot camp in March, but got pushed up and is leaving in two days and will miss seeing his brother when he comes home for Christmas.  We live in MN so we decided last weekend to drive to GL so the four of us could spend the weekend together before son #2 leaves.  Son #1 is in phase 3 liberty and got weekend liberty approved.  When we got there he said he had bad news and that he had duty from noon Saturday to noon Sunday.  He was able to be with us Friday night, but had to be back before noon on Saturday.  While we were so thankful for the time we got to spend together, I don't understand why they would approve his liberty and then he would have duty. 

Donnac I am so sorry to hear that, Anti M can you explain this, because knowing they were approved and chit had dates for the leave why would they do that? Is it the Norm for that to happen doesn't quite make sense.

You still have to duty swap with someone from another section. Special liberty does not exempt you from duty, that's not part of it. The special liberty just means he could leave with you instead of a buddy. I'm sorry…maybe he couldn't find anyone to swap with :(

Thank You Allison, now would they know that ahead of time so they could swap if need be?

To expand on this, duty happens on a rotation depending how many sections there are per ship, usually 4, so every 4 days he will have duty…with very rare exceptions. If he moved ships recently, he might not have known his rotation yet, so he might have found out only right before you got there. Or maybe he knows his rotation and just couldn't find anyone willing to take Saturday duty (it's a hard one because you basically lose the whole weekend). Those are probably the two most likely reasons it happened. No matter what happened on his end though, it's not really his chief or nmti's concern, they probably even thought it was weird while they were approving it that he wanted liberty on a weekend with Saturday duty, but it's the sailor's responsibility to work that part out and/or plan ahead, so they'll just sign away. A sailor will never be automatically exempt from duty just because they have special liberty because liberty is just like free time, and you can only have that free time when you don't have work to do. Leave is like vacation, and that's when they'd get out of duty and class and all that without being in trouble. 

ok Thank You, I better check with my Son and make sure he is legit. Thank you for this information it is good for all us Mothers to know.

Usually leave at A school is going to be solid.  Allison is right, special liberty doesn't get you out of duty and obligations, it is up to the sailor to get the straight before putting in a chit.  Newer sailors might not have a grasp on the details just yet. Leave, on the other hand, cancels out duty days, so no finding swaps needed.

Also, liberty and special liberty can be cancelled at the discretion of the chain of command.  One underage drinker gets busted?  They can decide to cancel everyone's liberty for the weekend.  I have experienced this, it sucks, and the guilty party feels more than a little peer pressure.  

Leave can be cancelled, or someone recalled back from leave early, but that shouldn't happen in A school.  That's ore for when a ship MUST deploy, or a particular sailor is the only one available who can handle a particular job.  If they're likely to be recalled, they know it in most cases.

Thank you ladies!!  This was his first time putting in a chit for overnight liberty.  I think he knew he had duty, but thought the approved liberty took care of it and didn't know he had to switch with someone.  Lessons learned!!!  Have a good day!!

Phoenixmom yes, and there's even a way for you to know too. Ask him how many duty sections he has, then take his last duty day and repeat it every number of days according to the number of duty sections (usually 4). I did this in my phone, so I didn't have to keep counting, I just set an event as recurring every 4 days on my calendar. It will change if he moves or the ship loses a bunch of sailors to a graduation and not a lot have come in to replace them, but they try to always have 4 duty sections if they can manage. If they duty swap, it will only change that one day because they're swapping the day, not the section. So if they swap Saturday to get it off, they'll have to cover the day of whoever they switched with, let's say it was Friday, but they'll still have duty again on Wednesday, not Tuesday, because the whole section is rotating every four days, not him individually. 

For leave, he should be fine because it's an excused absence, so he's already taken off the rotation and they don't expect him to be there. The only hold up would be if he had duty the day before, so he couldn't leave until after turnover, which most students are advised not to leave until afternoon anyway, so it should be fine since turnover is usually at like 6 I think for day students and 12 for night students. 

I think Anti M has a blog on liberty, maybe she can drop some links later. 

Well I appreciate your knowledge and info. I will ask tonight. I know he said that they were told any flights before 3pm is pushing it so he had to get a later flight. thank you ladies!

Wow Phoenixmom, you are way ahead of me. I am planning to start baking goodies this weekend with the girls. BTW, I have a Sailor that will be staying with us for the Christmas Holiday. She is at a different school than my son, planning a road trip to go get her. Think I better kick it in high gear. 

LOL! Yea I figured I better just go and do it, my husband wasn't feeling it to much though, he was just there to see how much of his money I was spending LOL! but actually it was both of our money. Re doing my son's room set us back a bit so we had to put it off awhile Christmas shopping that is.

That is so wonderful of you Butterball, do you know this Young Lady or did you just open up your home? I really do appreciate the wonderful People who just give their all to those Sailors whose Families are not near. It was a special relief for me to know that my son was able to share time with a Family he didn't know and have a Home cooked meal for Thanksgiving. He had Great fun. And he even said Grace, he said the family looked amazed when he took it upon himself to do that. So Kudos and much respect! I cant believe it's a week away, My hubby is getting a little ancy now. which is hilarious.

Phoenixmom, I joined a penpal group for people needing encouragement for whatever reason. I was given her snail mail, and I sent her the first note last week. She responded yesterday, I can't wait to meet her. We found each other on Facebook last evening, now I can't wait to meet her.