Corpsman Moms

The video is just a reminder...

My son didn't want us to come to FMTB grad, he said it wasn't worth the money to go, that mostly folks went if they lived near there. He was a lot more interested in coming home than in us going there! He was already assigned to a  Marine battailion so he went there immediately after grad.

My corpsman son did not want us to come to his A school/corpsman graduation since he was also coming home and it was halfway across the country for us to travel.  It was decided that it was better to pay my son's way home and then way back to his duty station, than to pay for flights to Texas and then back to northern California.  So, TexasDocMom, I understand and completly agree with your deicision.  Mary

I know so I only mentioned first names.  I We live near but my husband wants to go the night before so we don't have to drive both distances in one day.  We couldn't go to Corps grad schoool so since he had FMTB close to us, we want to be there.  I looked at their website but they don't talk about hotels.

Tamme- Marriott has suites at "TownePlace" or there is a Residence Inn too I think. Just search within Jacksonville and you'll be close to Camp Johnson.

Thanks, John!  Exactly what I needed!

Enjoy Tamme!  I went to A School graduation and loved every minute of it.  We didn't get to go to FMTB, but I say if you have the opportunity to do it then you should!  One option is you can look into renting a house or condo.  Try vrbo.com or homeaway.com.  We have used both websites and have been very satified.

Thanks so much.  We are excited.

my daughter got her job as a corpsmen working with mothers and infants! She's so excieted cuz thats the job she wanted working in the hospital!! Good luck to my baby in San Diego...

christine, that is so cool! It was also my son's greatest fear, he wanted greenside corpsman...."no babies" !! Ha! but I'm so delighted to see so many corpsmen staying blueside, hopefully that will mean the Marines will be pulling out of Afghanistan this year.

Ladies, I will be stepping aside as admin of this group soon, any volunteers to co admin for a couple of months  to see if you like it? message me, so I can let the NING admins of this site know to set it up. thanks.

A baby was saved by my daughter last week!!!! VIP She paniced at first but her training came through and saved a choking infant!!!! So proud of our sailor... Also she was complimeted on how smooth she took out IV!!!! You go girl!<3

Hello everyone, I was just wondering if anyone's corpmen didn't specialized after A-school. My husband is in A-school right now and he doesn't want to specialized. If he doesn't where will he go after A-school?

If he stays blue side he will probably go to work at a hospital or clinic to begin with. It is my understanding that in general, less experienced corpsmen are not assigned to ships.  If he goes green side he will go to Camp Pendleton or Camp LaJeune for training with the Marines.

Thank you HM Mom Ruth. 

Do they have a graduation after the completion of HM a-school or not?

Will I be able to go to his duty station with him after his leave is over?

Sorry for all the questions. lol I am so thankful for you guys =)

brandon'sgirl, yes they have graduation, not like boot camp though. You should be able to go to his duty station, depending on where he goes. You'll know for sure when he gets his orders.

My son finished up A School but chose not to go to C School.  He did have to go to FMTB after A School for eight weeks at Camp Pendleton, but after that he went to his duty station in Italy.

Great story Christine! 

brandonsgirl, my son did not apply for a C school either.  Gave him time to really decide if Navy was a career and then the school he wanted required students be at least E5 (I cannot remember if there was a number of years in service required).  It was a year long, very intensive school and he loves what he is now doing.  Don't think he would have had that commitment (just speaking for my son, not anyone else's) when he first joined. 

Hi! My son is just about done with A-School and his orders were posted today. He chose NAS Pensacola but his posted orders have him going to Annapolis first. He has no idea why and knew nothing about it being part of the orders he chose. I'm hoping someone here can enlighten me with the possibilities??? Thanks for your help!

MomAnt, he is probably doing something similar to what my son did when he left A school.  He was sent to Quantico and was corpsman at a clinic that served the OCS summer training.  He loved it and it gave him training he probably would not have gotten otherwise.  He says he is the toenail remover king!

We have another mom on here whose daughter recently came to Pensacol.  I told her I would be glad to look up her daughter and then life happened and I never got around to it.  I feel really guilty.  I won't offer to do the same for your son since I leave in two weeks to care for my granddaughter while her parents are deployed.

My son was very unexcited about his orders to Pensacola since that is where we live.  But, I think his three years went fairly fast, with a 6 months deployment to Guantanamo to care for the detainees (don't know if the hospital here is still being tasked with that or not).  He also fell in love here and married another corpsman. 

Best wishes to him here at our beautiful white sandy beaches. 

Thanks docsmom... I don't think I'll ever get used to the way the Navy works.  As of right now I don't think he knows when he leaves for Annapolis. That was a complete surprise... but he reports to Pensacola in May. He is VERY excited about that. He's heard a lot of good things about it! I'm happy because it's less than 6 hours from home. :) I can't wait to visit! Guantanamo would be a neat experience. I know he's going to love Pensacola!

Do you have a guess what will happen to his "leave"? I know that's a really hard thing to speculate on. Ugh! Will the Navy pick up the cost of all his transportation? Anyway... thanks for the help! Good luck and best wishes to you and your deployed family members. Enjoy the time with your granddaughter!

1windhaven-Maria... this may be a silly question but has your son been in contact with his sponsor? Maybe his sponsor will have some info that they don't have in SA? Where will he be going? I totally "get" your frustration. It seems that there should be SOMEONE who can pin dates down for your sailor. I seem to be constantly frustrated. Good luck to you guys!

Hi Christine - I'm not too far from CP and when I bought a newly built house I opted to not install the air conditioners (My house is wired and plumbed for two units). I have a fabulous breeze most of the time and for the two summers I experienced, I think there were only about 8 days or so that an a/c would have been needed. I have fans in most rooms.

MomAnt, I don't know anything about first time moves since my son didn't really have one as he was stationed back home.  He just loaded up his car and moved what little stuff he had. I know we have some experienced mothers and fathers here who will answer your question. 

For his assignment after Pensacola, he will be allocated a certain number of pounds (according to rank, family, location, etc.).  If he is sent overseas, depending on the location, his car will be shipped at government expense.

Six hours away, what direction? Obviously, not south.

My son is finishing up AVT C School in Pensacola in 2 weeks, and just picked orders Monday.  He is going to Italy to work in a naval hospital in Naples and is so excited and I am excited for him.  They picked orders a few weeks ago, but nothing stood out to him, so he and about half his class decided to pass and wait for the next round.  He is so glad he did.  He got to pick 4th, so had a pretty good selection.  He also said something about hoping to go FMTB also, but I'm not sure how that works when he will be in Italy.  My daughter and I are going to drive to Pensacola for his graduation because no telling when I will get to see him next.  He is not sure when he will leave for Italy as he will be on hold after graduation.  I am so proud of him!!

I am so envious of you parents whosechildren are going to Italy.  Chances that my son and daughter-in-law would ever get stationed there are pretty low but I can dream.  I would be extremely excited if they ever got orders for Rota, Spain.  But, if they ever get an overseas assignment, it would probably be Guam and since I have never been there, that would be fine, too. 

Attended FMTB graduation this week and it was wonderful.  300 graduates!  Definitely call the sponsor - my son's base didn't even know he was coming but fortunately we found someone there to contact and then his sponsor called him. 

docsmom - don't give up hope!  My corpsman son has been in Naples, Italy since Dec. of 2010.  He has really enjoyed his time there and has traveled and seen things he would not have otherwise seen!  Oh, the pictures he has taken!  The city Naples is pretty bad from what I hear, but the other areas make up for it.  He is, however, ready to come back to the States at the end of this year.  He is shooting for East Coast, but will definately love Pensacola.  And we are in Atlanta, so super close!

Jana - your son is going to love it!  My son has worked at the smaller clinic but has done time at the big hospital on Support side.

Tamme - congratulations to your son! 

Does anyone know how long Orthopedic C school is?

Pam, you are right, I won't give up.  I have been to Naples a couple of times and stayed on Capri and love it. 

The problem is that they are both IDCs and two slots (one sea duty and one short duty) don't seem to come up at the same time.  During IDC school, they were penciled in for Okinawa but then the earthquake put everything on hold.  Then, daughter-in-lawm, first in her class (love to brag about her) was pulled for assignment on the USS Sampson and son ended up with shore duty at Camp Pendleton.  We have lived in Japan, but never Okinawa so that was a bummer, too.  But, I will just keep my fingers crossed.  A lot can happen in 2 1/2 years. 

Speaking of sponsors... my sailor was surprised with a "temporary duty station" at Ft Meade for several months before going to his permanent duty station in Pensacola. Anyone have any ideas how he can get a Navy contact at an Army base? He has checked the website and found nothing. Also, one of his instructors told him the Navy won't pay his air fare to and from the temp station because it's temporary. What??? Is this true?

docsmom... we are transplants to NW Alabama and haven't made it to the Gulf yet but hear the white sand beaches are the best. We are very excited about NAS Pensacola! Not so much Ft Meade.

MomAnt, one of my clients' mom lives in Haleyville!  Anyway, is it possible that he's being given an IA Individual Augmentee assignment before his permanent duty station?  Those assignments do have different guidelines on which entity pays for what.  http://www.ia.navy.mil/

My corpsman was an IA on a deployment to Afghanistan last year.

My son went to Nevada after leaving the 2/2 on temporary assignment after being reassigned to 2nd Regat Lajuene, but he went with a few Marines and another corpsman. I didn't even think to ask who paid for it, or how they got there. I  always thought he'd "see the world" in the Navy but in his 7 years he's only seen the Mediterranean with his Marines on an MEU and the Middle East on deployment with them.And Camp Lajuene, NC.  Then to San Antonio, only 90 miles from my front door to teach at Camp Bullis (technically an Army camp, but all branches teach there).

Monday was his last day of burning his leave after discharging from the Navy...he's officially out, tho he can be recalled. He's a college student again, and working part time at a golf range. I think he's finding himself at loose ends, adjusting to the free time. The dog gets a lot of walks. 

Congratulations, TexasDocMom, to your son for going back to college.   Good for him!   I am hoping my corpsman cub will do the same.  He completed almosst 2 years of college before enlisting in the Navy.   He has been in one year now, and he has 4 more years to go.  Seems like an eternity!   He might stay in if he could finish his college degree in nursing and become an officer. We shall see what the future holds.  He will probably be back in four years back in college.

Things change as the years roll by in the Navy, I've noticed.I guess going to war loses it's charm, . My son has also fallen in love, with a lovely young woman. They have bought a home in San Antonio (VA loan), she works for corporate headquarters for a big pet food company. She has her degree already, and my son hates to be behind...he also regrets not working as hard as he could during his first 2 years of college! Ha!

 Falling in love meant I no longer heard "I don't mind being deployed, there's always something to do" to..."I don't want to deploy again." I remember the days of his  wanting to be an officer like my dad, and his enthusiam for everything Navy. Then, towards the end, he told me if he stayed in the military, he would not stay in the Navy. He liked being greenside with the Marines. They offered him his choice of C Schools, basically whatever he wanted...he said no, he was a corpsman, he liked serving with the Marines.

With him living in San Antonio, I'm looking forward to him coming next week on spring break to help me in the yard, along with my grandson. Cooking for boys will be fun!

TexasDocMom-    I have a feeling that with all the downsizing that there won't be as any opportunities as there has been for corpsman to go back to school, get their degrees in the service, and be commissioned as officers.  More than likely, my Cub will be out in due time, and he will be back in college.  That is what I am thinking!

Below is a picture of my corpsman son.  This photo was taken right after he graduated from corpsman school in August 2011.

vettespace... It's not very often I run into anyone who knows anyone from this little town in the middle of nowhere! LOL. I have no idea if an IA assignment is possible I don't even know what Individual Augmentation is. I'm about to go look at the link you posted. How would he know or find out? Will it say that on his orders? Thanks for your help!

Handsome young man, velvetlace!

More links above on IA's...

Thank you, TexasDocMom.   Unfortunately, the gals love him.  I keep hoping he will finish the Navy and his education before he gets married.  We shall see.......

MomAnt, it'll be on his orders...it'll mean that the Navy pays for some stuff and the Army will pay for some stuff.  My son had to deal with that on travel to and from the different duty assignments (between a Navy Command and a Marine Command).  Usually, both sides said it was the other sides responsibility!!!  LOL  Hopefully, someone will give your son a little guidance, but if they want him to get where he's suppose to be they'll get him a ticket...getting back is the tricky part...LOL

TexasDocMom... I didn't see any. Which ones do you suggest? IA is not FMTB is it??? Will it be made clear to my sailor if this is what they've done to him?

Thanks vettespace... "Hopefully, someone will give your son a little guidance..." Ugh! Seriously! I would be so grateful for one thing to go smooth and easy for a change. (Not going to happen right?) I will get him to read me his orders word for word tonight. Thanks again.

The link reads "Navy Individual Augmentee, The links are below the photos and OPSEC sign  and  above the Discussion Area which is above this posting area.

Duh! Thanks TexasDocMom! I only checked the discussions... totally missed all that fabulous info above... sorry.

MomAnt, you've got me laughing!!!  :-)

His orders will tell him when and where he needs to be.  He's still in Corps School correct?  I'm betting they'll get him his ticket out.  He should also know the check in procedures for his temporary command.  I'm also guessing, since this happened to my son, that when he checks out of the Army Command (my son was at a Marine Command) to return to his Navy Command they'll tell him it's his Navy Command's responsibility to get him back there.  My son just purchased the ticket and expensed it!  He might get the run around a little bit, buy he'll be fine and will ultimately get to where they want him...:-)

Yes, my other son had a state quarter final football game against Hamilton a couple years ago so I traveled close to your neck of the woods...:-)

Thanks vettespace for all the helpful info. My son located a career specialist who was able to help him make sense of everything. He had seen IA orders and knew that wasn't what he got. It turns out that this "temporary station" was thrown in simply because San Antonio wants his bed and Pensacola won't have one for him until Sept. The CS said he'll work in a clinic probably learning how to fill out paperwork. Thanks again for trying to help!