Corpsman Moms

kdkingt60-   Our son flew out of Midway to San Antonio on May 7th early in the morning after he had PIR'd on May 6th.   He flew American Airlines.  Some of the other sailors flew out of O'Hare.  Your son will get this information the day of the PIR.     We were able to get to MIdway as the bus arrived about 12:30 A.M. in the morning with all of the graduate sailors on their way to their A schools.   We were able to visit with him for several hours. 

Mary

Thanks Sheryl. I'm on pins and needles waiting for the call tonight. Italy was on her list too.

@Sheryl she is going to C school. She went in with a plan and I'm very proud of her for sticking to that plan.

Even when my sailor flew home for Christmas, Frontier did not charge him for his luggage, nor were they concerned about the weight.  This is the second time my sailor has flown (I don't remember the first airline), but both times my sailor identified himself as military to the airline, and both times the baggage fees and weight were a non-issue.

any moms in this group that has thier corpsmans stationed at the naval medical hospital in san diego? She just got there and says she likes it! Shares room with 2 others and says no air conditioning. Airplanes are loud but shes used to it already!

Christine, my son and d-i-l were stationed in SD for a year.  They did have AC in their high rise apartment building on base but don't have it at Camp Pendleton.  Supposedly windows and fans will do.  I will find out this summer but I don't like my windows open and fans make me stuffy.  Oh, may I have some wine with my whine?

It was just heartbreaking to read about PO3 Kyler Estrada.  This article was especially poignant to me, reading his wife's sentiments.

PO3 Kyler Estrada's article

If that link doesn't work for you try this one. Thanks for letting us know docsmom. My son did that same tour a few years ago....so sad, so young and with a such a young wife. Blessings to the family.

Kathy, tell your son to keep up the PT.  The better shape he is in, the easier it will be.  Pull-ups are not part of Navy PRT but they take the Marine PT test (don't have to pass it) and it has pull-ups.  Think they get extra brownie points if they can pass it.  If pull-ups were required to graduate FMTB, my son would still be there! 

my son just got to A school in SA can anyone tell me what is the best way to send a package to him?

I sent my packages regular US mail and never had a problem. I know some moms from our group had used UPS to track the packages as well.  

Does anyone know if any of the airlines offer discounts for militrary personnel? 

Thanks Sheryl. 

I have heard that to get the military discount you have to call the airline directly.  You can't get it by going through one of the sites like hotwire, cheap tickets, etc. but I don't have any personal experience with it.  

Frontier airlines does and when my son came home for the holidays they bumped him up to first class when they had open seats and if I remember right they do not charge the military for their bags

MC - My daughter has gotten several care packages for me. I send em regular mail flat rate boxes usually the cheapest. I always get a tracking number so I can tell her when it gets there. Most of the time the line is long for mail pick up so she doesn't stand in line for nothing. Besides she spends most of her down time studying. He can go to the mail room and get the address for you.

Thanks Ladies for the advice on airlines.  I'm going to call Delta and a couple others directly and see what we can come up with.

Got a call from our son in that sandy place.  So good to hear from him, but so frustrating because we get disconnected every 3-4 minutes.  He said he was so sick of one of the marines in his unit, he was close to punching the guy out.  This is NOT our son's usual mood.  He said the guy talks horrible demeaning vulgar trash about women all the time, and when he's not talking about that, he's talking about wanting to shoot the bad guys in the face.  He follows my son around, interrupts when he's reading, gets physically too close - and generally obnoxious beyond belief.  I felt bad because all I could say was that people who talk about sex nonstop are usually the people who never (or rarely) have any experience, and all the talk about shooting the enemy may be just nerves.  I told him to treat the guy like he was five years old, "if you talk trash like that, I'm going to walk away.  I'll walk away every single time you do it," and then follow through.  Don't get me wrong, my son is no angel.  I am sure he thinks about women and sex as much as most men do (apparently that averages out to every ten seconds - no kidding), but he just doesn't run his mouth in that way.  He also sounded tired, so I told him what I have said since junior high school, "eat something, take 20 deep breaths, go talk to a friend about anything, and take a nap if you can."  Any other ideas?  He certainly can't go to anyone in his unit with this - it would sound ridiculous.   

Good job, erekamom. You provided sound and timeless advice. You listened. I know your beloved son appreciates both. You're in my prayers.

Eurekamom-    I pray that your son will return home safely soon.  My son is stationed right now in the states, but I am uncertain when he may be deployed.  I know how obnoxious marines can be since I have a brother who was a marine officer, and he knows it all.  :)   He lives on the other coast in North Carolina, and I am really happy about that.  I think marines tend to be very opininated.  

Mary from McKinleyville, CA

Hey, velvet - don't tar all Marines with the same brush! My husband and I both served in the Marines, my best friend is a newly retired Col. You can find cretans anywhere, even amongst a huge contingent of honorable, committed servicemen and women.

Yes, sheryl - you'll see me in most of the PIR groups providing semi-sage advice to all and sundry. I have two sons in the Navy ;-)

eurekamom, go to our group for moms with deployed kids: http://www.navyformoms.com/group/momswithkidsiniraq  and share your post. A lot of experienced moms with kids with multiple deployments under their belts, that might have a word of advice for you and your son.

You gave him good advice, I might have just told him to punch him...my son had someone that bugged him, made him somewhat prejudiced against Marines from that particular state...even still!

zStratMom-   My profound apologies to those in the Marine Corps who are diplomatic.  I am glad that they are out there!!!!  

zStratmom...I'm SURE you are not from that state that made my son so crazy....

My son is getting ready to start his classes in San Antonio next week, I have heard of some kind of anatomy flash cards that some are getting for their Sailors to study with.  Do any of you know what I am talking about and if so where do I get them?  

Thank you StevenHMmom....I will order them tomorrow and have them shipped down to our son.

Thanks for sharing Tenn Navy Mom - heartbreaking.

Just a footnote on my earlier post about airlines offering discounts for military.  I called Delta directly and yes, they do offer a military discount but you have to call them and book.  Also, the discount does not apply in all areas/markets.  And yes, since my son is overseas, the discount is not good for the city he is stationed.  Oh well, it was worth a shot and something to keep in mind if you need to book a ticket for your Sailors!  I only called Delta and plan on trying some of the other major airlines.

My son just left for bootcamp 2 days ago. I know bootcamp is 8-9 wks, then after that "A" school . How long is "A" school for Corpsman? and is it true that he could possibly come home for a while until his classes start? Im also told that he has 4 weeks of leave?? time per year..is that true? and if he does come home do they start taking that time away from his 4 weeks?

Thanks, TNM. I attended the services here in central Texas for Doc Lundy. Very overwhelming, and a large turnout from the miltiary community. His fellow corpsmen came from all over the country, and Navy Command was there and gave an eulogy. RIP both of you strong Docs, and peace to your families someday.

Welcome Sheila!  My son went through A School when it was still being held in Great Lakes and at that time it was 12 weeks of instruction and 2 weeks of clinicals.  But now it's held in San Antonio so I'm not sure if that's still what happens.  As far as leave goes, there are a lot of variables and it would be hard to say what could happen.  I know in my son's case, he went straight to A School after bootcamp and did come home for 10 days once he finished schooling.  I believe they get 30 days of leave each year.

Sheila, my son just got doen with boot camp adn went directly to Texas for A school, his orders said he was starting the day after he arrived but looks like there is a holding pattern for most corpsman for about 4 weeks, school will last 15 weeks. he has leave at that time if he chooses to take it.  He can also contact his recruiter, there is a program were he can go home and work at the recruiters office during the day for one week, and it does not count towards his leave time.

Thank you Pam-Corpsmans Mom

 Do you know how I can find out if it has changed since they moved it to San Antonio? Also, are you saying that if he does come home between Bootcamp & "A" school that it would be taken off of his 30 days per year?

Military gets 30 days of leave a year. Weekends and holidays do count as leave days. There are exceptions to this such as recruiter duty or if they get a 96 hour liberty pass and are allowed to go home. My son is home right now for a long weekend. I had forgotten how loud the house could be when he is home. : )

I have a strange question....are they considered corpsman while in boot camp, or right after PIR, or not until they go to A school?  Just wondering:)

They become corpsmen when they graduate from A (Corpsman)School. If they don't pass, they try again. At something...

ok, well that makes sense...thanks:)

One of my docs set sail on Friday.  Hoping the months go by quickly so she will be home with my granddaughter soon.  My son sails later this Spring.  Grandma will be on duty again very soon! 

Hi Sheila, A school in SA is 12 weeks. Last I knew no clinicals. They usually have a 4 to 5 week wait before Corpsman class starts. It will be straight to SA from Great Lakes.

he is still in BC but graduation  is March 16th so i was told to come here 2 get more info about A school i just wanted 2 know how long is A school and where do they go after that

docsmom - safe travels and calm waters to your Sailors.  We haven't seen our Corpsman since December, 2010.  So ready for a visit and a hug!

Candy,

For A School information, check out the San Antonio Corpsman A school group.  There is a link under the OPSEC box. at the top of the page.  That site will give you lots of specifics about the A school that you probably won't find here.

My son came home from FMTB at Lejeune for President's Day Weekend.  He brought home two fellow Corpsman from Texas.  Hope to find their Moms on here.  Austin and Michael.  It was so nice to have them and I hope we gave them a nice "home" stay.  Question - what hotel is closest to FMTB?  I'd like to find a place that has a two bedroom suite.  Thanks!  That is such a large area and not sure what is near graduation.