Corpsman Moms

Since I know we have moms with kids on the Stennis, they might find this story interesting:

http://www.waypointmagazine.com/story422

Includes a picture of a corpsman involved in the rescue.

txbabydocmom my son will get out of FMTB on Dec 22 and has to report to VA Dec 23. He says he cant put a chit in NC for leave, that he has to wait till he gets to VA because it is two different commands. But if he waits until he goes to VA, won't it be too late to put a chit in?

Jacque...my son also came home after A school on his way to Camp Pendleton for FMTB school, as well as Christmas.  He got 10 days for Christmas and two weeks before he had to report to San Diego.  I'm glad now we got to spend so much time with him because he won't come home from Japan until NEXT Christmas.  Whatever your son decides to do will be wonderful for you!  I think leave after A school is dictated a lot by report date; mine had to report a little sooner than some of the other guys did.  They staggered their arrival times; he was fortunate that he went through boot camp, A school, and FMTB with some of the same guys and is now stationed in Okinawa with several of them.  I think it helps to have good friends with him so far away.  

Amac23,,,my son LOVED FMTB school...he loves everything about the marines but joined the Navy to be a corpsman and work with them in that capacity.  Luckily, he got what he wanted.  Hope your husband enjoys it too.  

Just adding a quick note off-topic - N4M has added some quick links at the top of the page to Navy pages on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Flickr, Tumblr and iTunes.  

For Navy news though, a good one to bookmark on your own is http://www.navy.mil.  There's also the Navy Times, a weekly newspaper that is sold at the NEX and is published by Gannett - read online at http://www.navytimes.com.  You can give a gift subscription, $55/yr and they send the print edition to FPO and APO addresses.

 OK back to corpsman stuff and happy Friday!  :)

Hello everyone,  I am a new member.  Can anybody told me how long is HM specialization?  I was told it's 19 weeks, is that right?  My SR PIR is scheduled this Friday, 10/19/12, thanks.

Welcome Paolo's Mom!  My son went through A. School two years ago when it was still at Great Lakes.  Back then it was only 12 weeks of classroom and 2 weeks of clinicals.  It may be different now that it's in San Antonia.  Try the link below and take a look at that page for more answers!

http://www.navyformoms.com/group/hmhospitalcorpsmanaschoolinsanantonio

hello

Does anyone have a HM who has orders to serve w the Seabees Batallion? 

My son went to school at Great Lakes, I can't answer to how they are doing it with the combined branches of the military using Fort Sam. The moms on this group: HM School San Antonio probably can answer that one. 

But welcome! some moms around to answer some of those questions that come up after A school...and a few A school ones !

Diane, my son was greenside with the Marines, I know nothing about the Seabees, other than a few moms with Bees. 

Does anyone else have a sailor stationed on the East Coast where Sandy is expected to hit?  My girl is stationed in Rhode Island and when I have asked her on Facebook what preparations she is making she has not responded.  The clinic is closed Monday.  I am wondering if it is possible that whatever they are doing to secure facilities and staff is not for public consumption and that is why she hasn't responded.  When she joined the navy I never thought I would be worrying about a tropical storm, but this has me (irrationally) sick with worry.  I don't know how you moms with boys on the greenside handle it.  You have my respect.

Ruth, they have procedures in place...and have been through this type of thing many times. They will also work with local emergency officials and possibly do some rescue or work at shelters, etc...either by volunteering or, if the community needs it, by command.

It's always scary when a storm blows in, I grew up on the Gulf Coast...in a Navy town. I can remember after the storms seeing those sailors all over the place helping our neighbors. Since we were dependents, some dropped by to check on Mom and us kids. She fed them!

As Hurricane Ivan approached the Gulf Coast, NAS Pensacola evacuated the students and let non-essential military personnel leave town.  My son was a fairly new corpsman, attached to Naval Hospital Pensacola, and lived in base housing.  He was considered essential personnel and temporarily assigned to the ER.  Military housing was evacuated so he and his wife came to our home across town.  The base had a lot of damage and they were not allowed back on.  Thank goodness military guard at the gate took pity on son and allowed him back on base after storm to rescue their cats.  Our home was damaged but not enough to make it unliveable so kids stayed with us (along with mother-in-law and sister-in-law and their three yippy dogs, son's three cats, and our cat) although we had no electricity except for a few hours a day from a neighbor's generator. 

He enjoyed his time in the ER but coming home after curfew was a pain because National Guard would stop him and grill him about being on the roads.  

Durng the storm, my son was "Corpsman Up" when my mother went into heart failure.  Of course 911 couldn't dispatch anyone and no one would give me any advice on what to do.  My son jumped in bed with his grandma, raised her up tohelp her breathe, told me to get the oxygen rebreather mask and connect it to the oxygen tank (we used an electric oxygen maker so I didn't even really know how to connect the tanks and had no idea what a rebreather mask was).  Saving Grandma's life was a very big deal.   

As Sandy approaches, my son is on East Coast, supposed to fly out of country on Tuesday.  I told him to find out what base plans to do about evacuating and to make a hotel reservation an hour west of his location.  Wonder if he will follow my directions?  Guess he should folow directions of his temporary command, not me.     

Docsmom, what an amazing story about your mom and your corpsman!!  

Mom Ruth, my son has been based out of Norfolk/Portsmouth through a couple of these and the other moms are right, your corpsman will be fine.  This is the Facebook page for Naval Station Newport RI, good to follow if you aren't already.

The Red Cross has a hurricane app you can customize for alerts and tracking, good to share with anyone in the path in the next few days...

"Be ready for severe weather with Hurricane by American Red Cross. Monitor conditions in your area or throughout the storm track, prepare your family and home, find help and let others know you are safe even if the power is out – a must have for anyone who lives in an area where a hurricane may strike or has loved ones who do.

From your mobile phone, call "**REDCROSS" (**73327677) and we will send you a link to download the app to your phone or you can download them directly from the iTunes or Google Play app stores."

 http://www.redcross.org/mobile-apps/hurricane-app 

Thanks, everyone.  I know my fears are irrational, but that doesn't always mean they stop.

 Katze, you are right that the military will take care of them.  Ironically, when she was in San Antonio I never worried about tornadoes.  We are from Oklahoma and know how to do those.

 Texas Doc's Mom, I think it is not being familiar with Hurricanes that is at least part of my issue.  I've lived in many places, but I've always been an inlander.  

Doc's mom--Great story.  Would love to have her get to use her corpsman skills to do more than take blood pressure and pass out flu shots.  

Marcy, thanks for the info.  Knowledge can arm you against fear.

Here's that link for Newport, I must've goofed up when posting it below  :)  https://www.facebook.com/NAVSTANewport?fref=ts

Also for MomRuth - have you Google'd tv stations for her area?  Another good way to keep up on what's going on there.  

Spotted this on facebook this morning:US Navy Blog "have a plan"  about the hurricane hitting the East Coast.  Scroll down to NFAAS (which does not open for me, must be USN personnel only) but it gives a synopsis about it. 

Ruth, you are not being irrational, believe me. I know fear in any form can be paralyzing, and really, in a military mom, it's part of each of our lives. It started from the first second you heard "I'm going to enlist".  Get it out, talk about it, shed the tears and it really helps. 

I grew up on the Texas coast with hurricanes, and now live in Central Texas with tornadoes and those heavy duty thunderstorms. I guess I prefer hurricanes because you can prepare and evacuate, but tornadoes because you don't have the days of anticipation and worry....but really, I'd rather not have either one! 

HM Mom Ruth...hope your daughter made it through fine.  The bases tend to be very prepared for this type of thing.  My son is in Okinawa where they have typhoons a lot (they've had three since he's been there) and he said the buildings are built for it.  

My daughter just moved to Oklahoma, and tornados are the main reason her husband was against it, but they haven't had any since they moved in May.  She's in Tulsa at OSU and loves it.  

Let's hear from all of those in the Northeast as you can get here to let us know how you're doing!

Happy Monday........I'm a new hospital corpsman in training.......come join in our fun.........https://www.facebook.com/groups/365855973496773/373776926038011/?no............we'd love to learn and grow together.

Hello Corpsman Group. I have a son in A school in GL, but now my youngest is in the process of enlisting to be a Hospital Corpsman. I know how things worked for my oldest son's PIR since he was staying in GL, we were able to visit with him that weekend. I am wondering if any of you know what typically happens after PIR with those going to Corpsman training. Do they leave on Sat or Sun? Will we get any time with him if we fly out for PIR?

Welcome, Riverlady.  I have two sons in the Navy as well - one Corpsman and one an EM.  When my Corpsman graduated PIR, they were still in GL for A School.  I know you will be hearing from of the newer Moms. 

Riverlady - My son just PIR'd on 8.3 and went to SA for Corpsman school. We had time with him until 7pm on Friday night. Then we had to meet him at Midway at 1am. His flight left at 5am. We didn't have much time with him but was happy to see him. I know some other Corpsman flew out from Ohare later that day. It's the luck of the draw I guess.

hi riverlady:  my son graduated in GL (bootcamp) and went right to San Antonio A school for corpsman school...he has since graduated there which was on a tues...he had meetings while we were there so we got to visit in between those...then he got from  oct 3 to oct 18 before heading to san diego...since his dad and i are divorced he got to spend time with both of us...it was great!  he is stationed in the balboa hospital...i miss him so so much...i hope this helped...hope i understood what you were saying...

Hi Singlelady, My son is also at Balboa, he has been there since July. Loving the San Diego Weather, concerts and riding the waves (he is a surfer). I miss him a lot, and the holidays are goign to be tough but I am glad that he is happy.

Hi..I have been watching on here for months. My daughter is based in San Diego. She just arrived there 2 weeks ago and LOVES it!! She is based at Balboa Medical Center. She's in holding for a few more weeks before she actually starts working.

Is anyone familiar with Beacon? It seems like one of those to good to be true places. Are there any "catches" she needs to know about?     

Ladies, if you check the links section above the Discussion Forum on this page, you'll see a list of helpful links for the areas you're looking for...also some N4M links to other groups, like the San Antonio HM Hospital Corps Group. If you have a question, probably there is a group for that...go to the general groups area and use the search. 

The HM group has a ton of knowledge, please check it out!

hi shelbysmom...my son i guess you read is in san diego as well...all he talks about is the beason!!  where he assigned to be living he just can't seem to live there, don't recall the name, so he has made a friend at the beacon and stays with him most of the time...he says it's a great place to live, also a young lady that was with him at boot camp and san antonio A sch lives there, she posted some pics on fb and it looks really nice...we are praying he gets his approval and can move in the beacon maybe next week!  my son is in holding as well, he is taking some type of classes in the library, says he want actually start work till the end of november...i am so wanting to hear all about his work in the hospital, every detail!!  michael says they give you an allowance to stay at the beacon but take some of it back for rent, etc...i truly don't understand all of it yet so maybe we can learn together...he is my only child and i miss him so so much....good having you here! :)

hi celina!  my son talks about the weather as well!!  he has been to one concert and he seems really happy...got his first car on his own and i'm praying he takes good care of it...that's the only way he could move to the beacon, if he had a ride...he needed one anyways...and YES the holidays are going to be gut wrenching!!  i can't stand the thought of him being there without his family and or not being at home with me...i'm so selfish...but him being my only child it just takes my breath away...i'm already working on my attitude so that i want cry all day on thanksgiving and christmas  day....i'll have family home but it just want be the same...enough, i need to hush...it would nice if my son could learn to surf, he loves the water!  glad you are here...so maybe we'll talk again! :)

Hi Singlelady..sounds like they are doing the same thing. I'm so glad you heard that about Beacon as well. They are charged but get some of it back..it is a beautiful place! Have you looked it up on goggle? You will see why he wants to live there once you do. :) My daughter moves in on Nov. 27th. She's doing the same thing with the classes. I can't wait for them to start working they are going to love it.

Beacon? am really out of the loop. I know my son just moved out of an older building in to the main base to a two bedroom apartment, he now has a kitchen,  he was tired of eating at Subway. I will have to ask about Beacon, my son is the "need to know basis" type. I am excitied he gets to come home this long weekend, we are planning on celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas and his birthday on those short 3 days. (am sure he is thrilled)

celina...my son may just want to be at the beacon for whatever reason...and maybe this two bedroom apt is free?  like i said in an earlier post they are given some type of allowance for this place like $1400 then the navy takes $1200 for rent, etc...i may have misunderstood all this...he want say much either...he says i ask to many questions...duh??  ...we were just texting this morning and he wants some "home cooked" food!!  so happy your son gets to come home, enjoy every minute, i know you will!

If you are talking about the Pacific Beacon, I believe it is "leased housing" meaning the Navy does not own it or manage it even though it is on base.  My son and daughter lived their separately and together while they were in IDC school.  It is a very nice apartment complex, especially when you are sharing your apartment with someone you know and like. 

They were separated when they moved their individually and both had roommates who were on ships.  The roommates were most often gone so it was a surprise when you came home and your roommate was there.  Apartments are furnished with living room couch, full size bed in each room, a desk and chair, and a dresser.  Each room has a private bath and walk-in closet.  The kitchens have appliances but you have to buy your own dishes, toaster, etc.  There are blinds but no curtains unless you furnish them.

I don't know who qualifies to live there.  It used to be E-4 and up but I don't think they were filling the apartments so it was lowered.  I think even civilians (probably have to work for the base) can rent now. 

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on what kind of life you want/need), it can be party city there.  My d-i-l's neighbors werer very loud but my son's werent.  When I stayed there for a week, I was very comfortable and didn't notice noise until evening hours when the "kids" were yelling from balcony to balcony but nighttime was quiet.  Since IDC school is pretty intense with a lot of studying, the Beacon was not always the best place to be. 

The "rent" is reasonable but if you are below E-4, you have to get BAH authorized.  Whatever is leftover after the rent, the sailor gets to keep. 

My husband and I were married resident hall directors back in our college days.  These apartments are much than dorms but the sailors behave just like the college kids and we all know some kids behave better than others.  . 

http://www.pacificbeacon.com/apartments/

docsmom..Thank you so much. This was so helpful. I was really concerned about the BAH and keeping the leftover. It just didn't make sense. Thank you for confirming that the information she's receiving is correct. This is her first time living away from home and naturally I just worry. :)

Thank you!  

docsmom...thank you for this info...i am concerned now because i don't want my son to party all the time, not saying he is, but i just want him to focus on the job at hand...and stay out of trouble...he did say that the officers, teachers, whatever they are called, were really stressing about no alcohol...i love that of course...and he is only and E2 so i guess they lowered to get more people over there...i was wondering what he might need once he moved there, so thank you for that as well! ...he did say if there was any money left over he got to keep it...i just feel so in the dark about all this navy stuff, i am thankful for the navy for moms sight though, i really appreciate all of you who have "been there", "done that"!!

i just found out that is where my son is living. And yes they do not have any kitchen stuff or bedding.  He was working the night shift  and had to take care of the moving in a hurry since he found out the same day that he had to move, he said he layed all his clothes on the bed and slept on top of it, until he had a chance to buy sheets (boys!!!). Since he is comming home this wekend, I have a care package ready for him. Thank you for the website link, it is a beautiful place, theh Navy treats our children well.

Yep, these sailors need their own "moving in" shower. They need everything from a shower curtain to a kitchen sponge.  All these small expenses add up so it is good a little of their BAH is left over. 

Singlelady - Yes you did..thank you. I'm glad you got to spend time with him. This has been my first Halloween and now Thanksgiving without my oldest and I do consider myself lucky because he is 24. He finishes A school in Dec and will have a break to come home over Christmas. My youngest won't go in until after that so I know we can all be together at least one more Christmas.

Thank you sixftblnd2002..My oldest was allowed to get his cell phone from me over PIR weekend. He had an old desk top at home that he had worked to death so he purchased a laptop online after he got into A school. My youngest just bought one and I think I will be able to take it to him at the airport between boot camp and A school. But it's the Navy so that could change. ;)

thank you all for your replies. I replied to each of you or so I thought, from my email but today I received notifications that none of the messages were delivered. You all have confirmed what I was already thinking. Thank you and I will be back around this site more once my youngest actually leaves for BC.