Corpsman Moms

Lisa! that is exciting...your son is  becoming a professional!!

By the response on my son's facebook page to that photo, I think he served with my son and his corpsman buddies. His death was about a year after my son's graduation out of Corps school. My son and his buddies are pretty darn pleased with this building being named after Doc Anderson. I just think it's so young to lose such good friends, and how many more has he lost that he hasn't told us about...

This was on my groupon offer this morning, a 2 night stay for two for $129. with some tourist stuff thrown in. Have to reserve within the next 3 days, but there is a cutoff date of 2016. So...if you know anyone who is headed that direction...there are some black out dates so read all the fine print! Stay for two in San Antonio link

Lida, good luck to your son.  when does he leave?  My son is still waiting on his orders.  He graduates C school 12/16.  He is hoping to come home and use up his time he has remaining.  He said that he won't be able to come home over the 2 year period.  That seems like such a long time.  I am already missing him.  I think I'll have to start putting some money away to start saving up for flight to Japan.  Enjoy your time with him.

That's excellent, nursemom.  So proud of him.  This happened to my son coming home last Christmas.  He recessitated a man who had a near fatal heart attack right in the airport while he was waiting for his flight.  Have your son report it to his Command.  My son's friends did so and he achieved sailor of the quarter which also enabled him to take his E-4 test earlier.  So proud of our Corpsman. 

Welcome HM3 MOM!!

TDM - Great picture and what a wonderful way to Honor HM3 Anderson. 

NurseMom Lisa - what a great feeling for your son.  The same thing happened to my son on his flight home when he finished FMTB.  A gentleman on his flight had an unsafe drop in blood pressure and passed out and my son was the only one on board with any medical training.  He floated on air the entire 10 days he was home on leave as I'm sure your son did!!

I don't know about San Diego, but when my son was at Lajuene, he had all the packages mailed to a friend's house off base, he said getting anything in the mail was too much work. I thought he was just being lazy, but I guess not. I mainly mailed his contacts to him and he never wanted them mailed to the base.

My sailor is at Fort Sam Houston.  He has also expressed it is difficult to get mail, because 1) the post office is not conveniently located 2) he can only pick up mail on certain days at certain times.  It has been a challenge for him to get to the post office in the past because school/work schedules conflicted with the days and times he could pick up mail.  I agree with you HRgoddess, getting mail should not be so difficult/stressful for our sailors. 

At Ft. Sam Houston they have to all wait in line after class to get their mail.  My daughter was so averse to picking up her mail there that I ended up getting letters back that had been forwarded from bootcamp.

I hope they get the mail situation fixed soon at Fort Sam.  My son went through A School at Great Lakes and I was able to send him boxes once a week without a problem.  How awful for these young men and women not to be able to get mail/packages from home.  He is now in Italy and it takes 7 - 10 days for a priority box to get to him, so I no longer send baked goods to him, but we've managed to improvise with other goodies!

When I was stationed in Okinawa 1981-1984 I can remember getting packages from my Mom. I use to laugh because in every package she would send a can of tuna and black olives. I told her we could get them at the commissary but she still sent them. I still smile when I think back.

Oh no... My daughter is leaving for Fort Sam and will be there for Christmas. I've been trying to figure out how to get her Christmas care package to her. It really doesn't sound good at all

Does anyone here have a sailor going to AVT C school in Pensacola?  I'm looking for some information about their training.  This is one of the options my son is considering...  Thanks!

If you decide to be a parent complaining about the mail, first of all, make sure that they know it's YOU complaining and not your sailor and I wouldn't share my sailor's name. That means on Facebook, if  your sailor's last name and yours is the same...probably not a good way to deal with this.  Always check with your sailor before you do anything that involves his command and your communicating with them in any way.  Always. It's your sailor's call.

The mail has always been like that, since back when my friends enlisted during Nam. I was told it's one way they make them more independent of family and more depending on themselves.

Most sailors have their important mail sent to a friend's house. And my son told me not to send packages when he was stationed in the US...they can buy what they need or want on base or at the malls. But we were very lucky during his whole 7 years of enlistment, he's always been home for Christmas....maybe only home for Christmas but still...the only leave he had that wasn't Christmas was when they delayed an Iraq deployment for a month and he brought his car home from Lajuene. I loved it...no holiday meals or company, just normal days with the kid...  

I was a Naval Postal clerk for 4 years in the 80s and that was always a commands priority. Ensuring that personnel got their mail. I know they have done away with that rate and have other rates handling the mail now. Plus the postal service is downsizing too.....

Face book is not for complaining your right, but finding info. You never know who's listening. Be very careful ladies.

Send the care package and insist that your sailor stand in line to get it.  It won't be the end of the world if she has to wait for 30 minutes one day to get her Christmas delivered--bet you spent more time than that shopping.

We use the UPS store. For $10 per month it's worth it. Plus they text my daughter when she package arrives so she doesn't make wasted trips. 

My son also has good success with the UPS store - if he gets several packages, he has his buddies go with him.  Just one more area where they have to learn to work together!

TDM is correct about complaining.  I did not complain, but filed a "lost package" request with UPS when my son as at A school in GL.  He got called into his Commandor's office to pick up his package, and then I got a call from my sailor and was told never to do that again.  Along with getting an email from his Commandor.  I thought it would be "safe" to "make issue" with UPS and not the military, but quickly found out I was very wrong.

Karenmjm...my son's story about receiving a package in basic at GL makes some of us smile, my son not so much...,my daughter sent a package, my son in law added a few items. My son was called into the Commander's office, first he had to say he wanted the package and then he had to open it in front of them. My SIL had put condoms in it!! from that point forward, when my son was called over the PA , it was "Captain Condom".  I don't know if my son the corpsman ever forgave his BIL the ex Army Ranger. At that point, my son was very specific about packages, and that I only send what he requested and only I could send them. He lightened up when he was in Iraq, but still he liked to get specific things, mainly food and parts to fix dart boards around the areas he went to.

Our children are now military professionals, with Ma Navy in charge. It's something to get used to, but you do. If there is a problem, they'll handle it the Navy way. I grew up a Navy brat, so I'm used to it, it's probably very different for those who have never lived around a military base or in a military town. No whining allowed, period.  

With that all said, if your corpsman is in Afhganistan, there is a Family Readiness Officer that will work with you for emergency situations and advise you about what to do, or assist you if it's time to call the Red Cross. Emergency situations do not include simply not hearing from your corpsman, but if it's been a really long time (which is hard to define in Afghanistan at times) they will listen to you and perhaps move forward by telling the command your corpsman is not communicating with home. Those commanders over there tell those Marines and corpsman to "call home" especially if the media is reporting a major battle or situation there.

Hi everyone,

I'm a new mom on this page. My son requested to change his rate and just received his approval for Corps School. We are all so excited. That is what he wanted when he enlised over a year ago but it wasn't available but he joined anyway. He has now been in 360 days and is loving the Navy. He will not be going to Corps school for a while yet b/c he has to finish his current job as Ceremonial Honor Guard in D.C. But I'm not sure what to expect when he does go to Corps school. Can someone, anyone elighten my a bit?????

Thanks!!

Welcome myboysmom!  My son liked corp school although it was very intense.  A lot of studying for a lot information in a very short time.  He did his at Sam Houston during the summer.  VERY HOT!  He went straight from boot camp so it will be a little different for your sailor, i.e. it was so nice to be able to talk to him whenever we wanted as compared to BC when communication was 0.  Again, welcome!

welcome, myboysmom...please take a moment to look over the links posted above the discussion area, and below the OPSEC poster....lots of information there, including the METC website for San Antonio and two sites for FMTB training, one for the East coast and one for the West coast!

Hope he gets to come in the spring or fall, summer is hell here in Texas!

Early on here on N4M, we had an incident where a mom got a phone call from her deployed corpsman, he told her it was scary there, she called the Marine command in DC and told them Lord only knows what. It filtered down....that corpsman was "beat down" by enlisted Marines who heard only that he ran to his mother, it was a huge mess...Marines with unfavorable discharges, lots of bad repercussions....and the corpsman did recover because thankfully there were others there to pull him out of it. Scuttlebutt runs rampant in the military, especially in war zones,tensions get high, none of them want to be known as a momma's boy/girl.

And none of us know each other well enough to know how each mom will react, who she will call, what will be the repercussions of that call....so I listen to my son on this one...don't call a sailor's command unless your sailor tells you specifically to do so, it's their call. It's their career.

I'll be happy to give them feed back on Feb 1, when my son is safely out of the Navy and no hard nose chief can have any chance to give my son hell for anything I have to say.

Thanks Texasmom and Navymom he knows all about HOT we are from Louisiana and have relatives in Houston. Thanks for the welcome. He is so excited about Corpsman and hopefully it won't be too hard on him. He took some medical classes in highschool and is a licensed Phelbotomist, EKG tech, Med. Asst. and CNA in the civilian world. I know its a little different in the military world but at least he does have some medical knowledge as background. I will read up on all of the links above but I may still have a few questions. Thanks ladies! Everyone I have met on N4M since last May 2010 when he enlisted has been GREAT,very supportive through the DEP program, bootcamp, and now I talk to some great moms and wives/girlfriends on the Ceremonial Guard page. I know ya'll will be just as AWESOME!!! I don't know if I would have made it through it all without the supports of everyone on N4M!! Have a wonderful evening everyone!!!

TDM:  That is so true about it being the sailor's call.  When my son found out a lot of boxes were coming for his unit, his first response was not overwhelming joy.  It was, "uh, okay, I need to let higher know about that" and he was relieved that the chaplain already knew.  I could read his mind ~ please don't make waves for me mom...  The smallest thing (to us) can have huge ramifications for our service members.  When I was an Army brat the kids knew that if there was bad trouble at school, a report would wind up on your dad's commanding officer's desk.  Yikes!  When we were stationed overseas an American "gang" got into some trouble with local boys.  Street fighting type stuff.  Not nice, but not terrible - no weapons of any kind.  Even so, that was the end of about 7 military careers.  Whole families were shipped home pronto.  In boot camp you want your sailor to be a leaf on a tree, and it really doesn't change that much over time.  You want them to be noted because they're great at their job.... and that's about the only reason.

eurekamom! "In boot camp you want your sailor to be a leaf on a tree, and it really doesn't change that much over time.  You want them to be noted because they're great at their job.... and that's about the only reason."   That is so well said, thank you!

I'll share that with Captain Condom....when we're totally alone and none of his buddies are around, ha!

eurekamom-   My son is a corpsman like yours.  We live very close to you in McKinleyville.  I never sent any boxes to my son when he was in boot camp since you do not want to draw any attention to the new sailor recruits in boot camp.  We would sent letters in white envelopes with American flag stamps, but otherwise not something that would draw attention of their supervisors.  The idea is to blend in unless one does terrifically well on tests, physical exams, etc. 

Eurekamom-  my email address is MACLAW1987@aol.com.

Mary

Myboysmom...lots of studying.  The higher he his in class as far as GPA, the more chances he gets to pick or request where he wants to go or what specific job he will want.  It goes in order for job picking.. best GPA to least.  Now if they have 2 openings for a specific location or job and your Sailor is not top in his class, then odds are those jobs will be gone by the time it makes it to him.  Of course as we all know,, there is never a guarntee on anything but I hope that gives you an idea how it works. I think the wish list paper goes around around week 6, but I may be off a few weeks. My son requested going green and he was not at the top of his class and he did get his "wish".  It will just depend on what is opened and what the needs are for the Navy at that time.

The A school is located at Ft. Sam Houston now, when my son went he was the second class there and the did not get clinicals there due to spacing limits so they may be different now.  

Some will go to FMTB as well soon after A school. My son graduated A school in August and went to FMTB in October and is graduating in a few weeks and then back to his duty station.  

I hope this helps you some.. good luck!  :)

Thanks mamawalrus. What is FMTB? I have heard him mention that but I'm unsure what that is.Also, does going green mean? As I said I am new to this.....haha He is currently in the Cermonial Honor Guard and will be there until sometime in 2013 so he will not be going to Corps school anytime soon! How long is their A school? Thanks for being willing to answer all of my questions. Have a great weekend!

I don't think everyone goes through FMTB.  Most girls cannot go Greenside and many guys don't.  The confusion might be with the TCCC --Tactical Combat Casualty Care Course.  My daughter will be required to take that course this spring, even though she is definitely Blueside.  Therefore, everyone has training for combat situations but FMTB is specifically a Greenside specialty.  Please feel free to correct me if someone knows more about this than I do.

myboysmom, take a look over the links above this comment area, above the discussion area....there is information concerning METC, both FMTB training locations and other N4M corpsman groups concerned with those areas.

Depending on the Navy's needs, there are times when the majority of corpsmen go to FMTB, some go and never use the training (stay blueside with the Navy), some go immediately greenside with the Marines, and some go later in their Navy careers.

The METC link will be able to answer your questions as you draw closer to the actual time your son goes to San Antonio to school.

Ruth, Inga's daughter took FMTB right out of corps school, then went to teach at the corps school for several years. She's now greenside, headed for deployment in a few weeks with the Marines. She, as far as we know, will not be on patrol, her Marine unit is more logistical, I think. She's training hard, earning her FMF qualification. I've been following her on facebook, quite the hard working women in her unit! 

It is true that they allow a small number of women to go through FMTB, but when my daughter graduated from METC last month, there were only a very few openings and none were availabe to women.  It is her understanding that she will never go through FMTB but will go through the combat casualty training listed below.

I think that now we are out of Iraq, the need is less than back when Inga's daughter enlisted, or even when my son did 7 years ago....not the need for corpsman bodies! it was interesting tonight to see how many women are in that last returning Army unit out of Iraq when they were on the news tonight.

txfuturebabydocmom, my son went in early Sept all those years ago, and his schoooling and deployments have some way worked out to being available for leave at the Christmas holidays....of course, most years it was the only leave he had, but still, it has been nice. I think it's just timing, so if your son enters in late August, early September, it could work out for at least a couple of years like that for you.

Speaking of leave, my sailor is taking his first leave since he shipped off to BC, Nov 2010. YAAHOO!  The timing of his moves between BC, A school and C school have be such that he hasn't been able to take leave for 55 weeks.  As long as they are in school, the Navy only allows leave for emergency situations.

My Son graduated from his C school today.  He is heading home tomorrow and will be able to relax a few weeks before reporting to his duty station in Japan. We were expecting him home next week but, he is now able to leave tomorrow.  Now we need to get the ticket we bought reimbursed.  Reminded my son that he needs to get orders indicating change so we can get refund from Continental.  Fingers crossed or someone will be enjoying the roundtrip seat I paid for him to come home and return to San Antonio.  Navy rerouted his ticket for Japan and changed his report by date by 2 weeks because they could not get him out as planned.  It is a day by day life.  Never know what to expect. 

On my way to the airport to pick up my sailor!  Because I live in the middle of nowhere Nebraska it's going to be a 9-10 hour adventure!

4 hours each way, but then there is getting in and out of the airport.  It took 10 hours almost to the minute from leaving the garage, to pulling back into the garage.

HI all and 1windhaven..hope everyone is doing well.. My son will graduate FMTB the 23rd.. another school down. He will not be coming home for the Christmas which will be another year without him.  We put up our navy tree and at least we can keep in touch with him this round.  

1wind..is your son done with C school?

Great picture!  I remember after PIR waiting on my son's unit to march to the parking lot at Great Lakes and that reminds me so much of that time!

Safe travels to all during this holiday time.  Enjoy the time you have with your Sailors!  This will be our first Christmas without our son, but he's traveling for the holiday and seeing all he can of Europe until he returns to the States.  I can't blame him in the least.

My first Christmas with an empty nest.  Christmas isn't going to be the same with just me and the old man trading gifts.  Gave presents to my corpsman when she was home for Thanksgiving.   At least we can Skype on the day. 

My Christmas is bittersweet for another reason...this is my last Christmas as a Navy mom, at least an active duty Navy Mom....and he'll be busy, busy after his discharge....starting college full time again, the new home, new love of his life, and that dog that never sits still...about 80 miles away in San Antonio. My daughter lives here, her kids are high school senior and college freshman, very busy as well. I wish you all some peace and phone calls (skype!) for the holiday, and big hugs to you all facing this holiday with a deployed sailor....and any far away from you!

Bittersweet indeed TDM.  I have so appreciated your wisdom and guidance since joining this forum over a year ago.  Thank you!