Corpsman Moms

Thank goodness Tamme.  I'm glad he is home safe.  Congrats to your son Bobbo, mine graduates Corpsman school on the 19th is home for a visit for a week or so then back to SA for Surg Tech school.  He is doing his clinicals this week and loving it. 

Oh Tamme - Yay!!!  I know you have got to be so relieved!

Well, we are well underway with our first deployment and I'm not going to lie - I cried on the way in to work today.  Ugh....

Pam...So sorry, I did not see your question about my corpsman from back in November.  He is stationed in San Diego right now.  Just moved there from 29 Palms in October.  They will deploy in April, but not to a war zone.  At least that's the word for now.  His battalion is "on call" for the month of December, which so far means he has no leave for Christmas and had been doing field ops for the last week and a half.  All I know about field ops is that I don't hear from him :)  It seems like being greenside is much more demanding, which I think my sailor is enjoying.  If all goes as planned, he will be getting out of the Navy about 6 months after his deployment ends next December.

Tamme...so glad your sailor is back on US soil.  Hallelujah!

Thanks familything and MomByHeart.  I'm ok and he arrived safely and as of right now he's not in a war zone either, but as you know, that can change in a heart beat. His time zones have been hard to keep up with but I'm glad he's ok!!  I have to keep adding clocks to my computer just so I know if it's nighttime or daytime where he is! 

vanjr1, I find that news scary but know he is excited and wish him all the best.  Keep us updated so we can keep him in our thoughts and prayers.

Our Corpsman was able to come home for the weekend - we need to fatten him up - but he had to go back to CL for a few more team classes.  Hopefully Wednesday he will finally be able to take leave for the holidays.  Dealing with a little PTSD but said he just needs time.  Thanks again for all your prayers and good wishes.

Tamme, yes it is scary to me as well because I know first hand what it's like to lose a loved one. My father was killed in Vietnam when I was 5 so I grew up with put a dad. I praise him for having a dream to help others and his country even if it means going in harms way. I trust that through prayer it is God's will and he will be protected. That doesn't remove the human feelings though and will most likely lead to many sleepless nights. God Bless!

Vanjr1,

My son is hoping for the exact same assignment, I am not thrilled about his decision.  How long was your son in school before they asked him to go that route?

What is DOR?

I am hoping someday I will have all this information down!

Vanjr1 - prayers and lots of prayers.  My son is currently on a rotation with his Marine's and deployed until next summer.  He was blue side for two years before going green.

Tamme - I'll keep your son in my prayers still - I can't even imagine what he has gone through.  I think I'm going to order a book called "Thank You For Your Service" by David Finkel.  It's been on the Top 100 list for Amazon and I read the first few paragraphs.  I believe I heard on the news last night that we are still on schedule to withdraw from "that place" by the end of 2014.  That cannot come soon enough. 

Thanks for your prayers Pam, All our service men need them continually and all for different needs. I pray for them often. We have not had long times away from our son yet so that will be more difficult.

Hi moms, I'm passing this along for a friend.  If you have a lead, please let me know, thank you -  "My fellow FMF brothers I'm looking for a HM2 Pulmroy, he saved a young Marines life from 3/5 Lima Co in 2010 while deployed to Afghan. The young Marine is a double amputee, and wants to thank this hard charger for saving his life. If anybody knows him or how to contact him please private message me. Thanks brothers and Merry Christmas!"

Ladies, and gentleman! ...if you know any moms or loved ones serving with those Marines headed to the Sudan, please reach out to them. They are welcome to come to our board for the families of those serving in a war zone. http://www.navyformoms.com/group/momswithkidsiniraq

Merry Christmas! hope you all have a full table this year, and prayers for those who are elsewhere this holiday season.

cprmom, absolutely invite your best friend to join us...fear is fear when it comes to a son or daughter in a war zone. 

Yeah, just another pretty Info Babe, right? Wow! She might not be a Corpsman, but I'll let her slide. Will you ?

Here is the REAL 'Miss America':

http://www.youtube.com/embed/dG7fiKTKGwI?feature=player_detailpage%3C

I saw the intro as well and was impressed.  Brains, beauty and a fighter pilot.  Just goes to show if you aim high what you can achieve.

vanjr, Such great news !!!

Proud of my Navy Corpsman today!  He passed the written test for his FMF pin on the first try!  Now on to the Board for his oral.

Congrats to your son, Pam.  Our son received his a few months ago in Afghanistan.  I was so glad they came out to the security house to give him his Boards to enable him to do so.  He missed two advancement tests because they wouldn't let him take it over there since he wasn't at a base.  Vanjr1, hope your son gets his contract and proud of you for backing him.  I would be scared to death if my sons asked for Force Recon.  I read this morning that the "last" forward marine group deployed on Jan 4.  Hope the "last" rings true.  Bobbo, I loved the article on the Real Miss America.

Thanks Tamme!  He tried to shrug it off like it was no big deal, but I thought it was! I hope your son is getting acclimated to being back stateside.  He won't be deploying again anytime soon I hope.  Mine is still in Japan doing his rotation and can't wait to get back to Hawaii.  We are planning on going to see him when he gets back.  My biggest fear though is booking something and then he get deployed or sent elsewhere.

Good morning all!  My son graduated yesterday at Great Lakes...I'm still here.  He has already left for the airport and we will meet him there and stay a while since his flight doesn't leave until 6:20 p.m. CST.  But he is Corpsman and headed to San Antonio for "A" school!!! 

Hi LisaLew, welcome!  My son is also a Corpsman.  He graduated last July.  He is a Reservist so he is home.  Your in for a wonderful new adventure!  

There are more pictures of FMTB class 14020 on the FMTB east facebook page!

Any family members of newly graduated FMTB corpsmen (Dec 2013) here?  My son told me that they received four of the new grads at Area 21 Clinic (it is right by FMTB).

Reason I am asking is because my son enjoys teaching the new corpsmen procedures.

Good morning all!  My son will graduate 3/7/14 at Great Lakes...When he graduates he will be a Corpsman and headed to San Antonio for "A" school! Any advise for when he gets there?

Welcome Jeter's Mom!  It's been almost 4 years since m son went through A School and back then it was in Great Lakes.  If you look at the links above there is one for A School in San Antonio.  Those members are all in different levels of A School with their Sailors and will be able to answer your questions.  I do remember that it was 14 weeks long, although it may take a week or two to actually start the classes.  Congratulations to your son!  He's almost done.

    My corpsman daughter is 25 and truly in love for the first time ever with another corpsman she met while stationed on the other side of the country.  What happens if they decide to marry?  Will the Navy make an effort to reunite them, or would it just be a long distance marriage instead of a long distance romance?  She has about 2 1/2 years where she is and he has 3 years.  I know it is the "needs of the Navy," but beyond that what effort will they make to keep spouses together?

HM Mom Ruth, I don't know how much detailers will do to try to unite a newly married dual military couple who are already in assignments.  I know that my son and his ex-wife were able to get orders to the same area when they married and then, later, when they finished C school.  But, in both cases, they were up for new assignments.  I do know that one will be on "sea duty" while the other is on "shore duty."  This can become difficult, especially if they have children. 

Our granddaughter lived with us for a year while her parents were in an intensive, year long C school.  I went to California and stayed with my granddaughter again while my son was in FMTB and d-I-l was out to sea.  When they were both deployed, our granddaughter came back to live with us for another year. 

Not all sea duty is on a ship.  It could mean an overseas assignment with one of them being considered on sea duty and the other not.  It could be to a Seabees or supply group or to a Marine group that are not constantly deployed.  On a ship, life gets difficult. Not only do they deploy for six months at a time, when they are in home port, they still work long hours that can really screw up family life.

I was very supportive of a dual military couple when my son married.  I thought they could do it, especially after our granddaughter was born.  I won't go into details, but it did not turn out well.  They are now divorced.  My son has physical custody of our granddaughter.  For now, my son and his ex-wife are stationed in the same area but who knows what they the Navy will need in the future?

People have made comments that my ex-d-I-l should have gotten out of the Navy when their daughter was born.  I think that is absolutely unfair.  Why should the woman be the one to give up a career?  I know, the Navy has been good for both of them and I am glad they have both been able to stay in the service.

Dual military marriages can work but the couple should be prepared to put extra effort into their relationship because they will be under extra pressure and stress.  

I am going to send you a friend request.   

I assume you are asking about the A school in San Antonio.  Wi-fi is available, but they have to pay for it.  

Yes they do have WiFi available but it is something that they have to pay for and my son said it was like $50-60, he first thought it was $25 and was okay with that but said that he wasn't willing to pay that much.

Congrats to your son, Pillarcita20.  Where is he being stationed?

Deployment blues.... really, really missing my Corpsman today.  Well every day really! 

Hang in there, Pam.  I have you in my thoughts.  Have you been able to hear from him often?

Oh Pam, I am so sorry...I can't even imagine what you are going through.  You are in my thoughts and prayers! Hang in there.

Thanks ladies.  It's been almost a week since I heard from him, which I know is NOT that long at all, but when you're used to getting texts, calls, emails and then nothing, it stinks.  When we get to see him this summer it will be over a year and half.  Not really liking this military life he threw me into... LOL

But it's nice to know I can come on here and everyone gets it.  Thanks again, I just needed a pep talk.

Pam,  join us in the group for moms with kids deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan..

http://navyformoms.com/group/momswithkidsiniraq

At Pjpckmcov, your son can keep his cell phone, and his laptop.  It will depend if he is in a Marine barrack or in a dorm apartment on how much room he will have to store his personal belongings.  My son only has bare minimum and we live 140 miles from Pendleton.  My son has his laptop and his Kindle.  :)

He will have liberty weekends until he classes up.  One FMTB starts, it is like SA.  They have phases and he will have 24 hour weekend liberty in Phase 3.  He would probably like to have a few civilian clothes for weekends.

Hi - my son completed C school - Behav Tech recently - but is now just killing time in SA before going to NC for FMTB. No orders yet. What a waste of skills - can't they put them to good use in the local community while they wait....? He is spending most of his time cleaning or going to the gym. One good thing - he has done his taxes! So proud of him and his fellow sailors. Hoping to attend another graduation in NC in the near future....

My son just got to SA for A school yesterday. Can he have his bike there?

Hi all!  I know I don't post very often in this group, but I read all the posts:)  My son loves the wealth of information here!  And I love the support.  Anywho, he is currently Quad Zero and is going from Fort Sam A school to San Diego on March 10.  He had several questions.....

1.  His orders say he is to report to the Navy Medical Center, which is apparently a hospital.  Does anyone know the protocol for reporting in once he arrives?

2.  Is the housing there off or on base and what is the BAH allowance?

3.  Is there any way to ship stuff from A school to San Diego ahead of time?

Thank you for any and all info you can provide:)))