Sailors becoming Hospital Corpsmen at A School in San Antonio, TX - best rating in the Navy! The Hospital Corps is the Navy's only enlisted Corps and the most decorated in the Navy. Families, friends and loved ones, join in!
Kathy thanks I did ask him and he gave a tentative date, said not sure because they did not confirm. Would love to see him graduate, but his brother will be starting college in September and we have to get him set up around the time our Sailor is due to graduate A School. We live in NJ and our younger son is going to school in NC. That and not sure we could swing the $800.00 in airfare for both my husband and I to go and hotel and car rental and... oh you get the idea. Going to do the best we can to get there.
DramaSoul..... I am Oregon too ... my son is in CP working in the Naval hospital (ICU) until FMTB starts in July. Just wondering if we could connect??!!
Hello, everyone! I'm new here. I got my "I'm a Sailor" just yesterday and headed to PIR 6/8. My son is headed to SA! I will give him his cell phone at the airport, but what else should I send with him? Also, I wonder when he will actually begin classes.
Norma...I know it sounds silly, there isn't much room for them to take things along with them to SA. We brought an all black backpack, but he didn't want to tote another bag along. The Navy provides them with a pack and trust me, it is massive. We brought our son his cell, his laptop, iPad, and his regular underwear. They can't wear civvies until they class up, so he wasn't interested in extra clothes.
Norma...my daughter arrived at SA exactly a week ago. She was told it would be a month before classes started. They were allowed to leave base last night in civvies. She was beyond excited. I met her at the airport before flying out. I brought her laptop, "real underwear" , Tide to go pen (those whites get spots quickly), qtips. All that fit into her issued backpack. Almost all of their stuff fits in the seabag. If you tell him to pack his boots and sneakers in the seabag, it makes more room. The PX at SA has everything you can imagine. I received pictures all last night trying on civvvie dresses. Enjoy PIR, I'm still on that high!
I don't know if there is an answer to this question but I am still struggling with getting accurate information on the medical courses they are going through in SA. My SN, who is a reservist wants to pursue physical therapy. We know he probably wont get C school for it, being a reservist and all, but he wants to move into a PTA program.
They want to see what 'classes' he is taking in SA and evaluate them for transfer, but heck if I can get any concrete information on how to find this info out!
I just recently joined the group because I just got off the phone with my fiance who told me due to complications at CTI school in Monterey, Ca (where he has been at since August of this past year) he had to be relocated (with no choice to San Antonio to be a HM- something which he has no interest in at all). I was looking for some sort of information on how the school works because his previous school was set up totally different than others. Some questions I have now: How long is this school? If this is A school, where does he go next? Some basic info like that is what I am looking for. Sorry for being short, I am in utter shock and disbelief that this has happened!
In four short days we will be on a flight to SA to see our daughter for a week. She just arrived this past weekend and is very excited to know that her mom and dad are on their way. (This is our only vacation week). I really need to find out some info on SA. For instance is it a "bike riding friendly area" or do we stay in our cars with doors locked? Any hotels on the Riverwalk? What are the "must see" attractions. Any help will be appreciated.
Hi mammasheart, there is a discussion in this group regarding hotels which will give you some feedback as to where to stay. We preferred staying by the Riverwalk as tgrre was plenty to do. They also rented bikes if y want to. 1 place we really enjoyed was going to the natural bridge caverns. It wad really amazing. Have fun.
txbabydocmom- thanks for the info... is there any more info you can give as far as how the schooling goes and what C school choices are or how duty stations work and how long are they stationed at each of those?
florida girl ship3/div235...I can tell you what has happened so far with my son. His PIR was 2 March and he arrived at SA on 3 March. He didn't 'class up' until 3 April but by then he was in phase 3 and allowed off base in civvies. His graduation date is 2 July. About 2 weeks ago he was allowed to pick orders. They go by where you are academically in the first 5 weeks of class (after EMT training which is THE HARDEST part of the Corpsman rate according to all of the Corpsman I have heard from). As to C school...it depends on what school and what of his choices are available. One of my son's friends got Surg Tech but he was 5th in the class and there weren't that many openings available. There were no X-ray Tech openings for example. My son has wanted to go 'green side'...Field Marine Training Battalion....since he first enlisted. He always wanted the rate of HM. They train with Marines and then are deployed with a Marine division as their 'doc' although they are still Sailors. Once he graduates from SA....he will report to Camp Pendleton. He has also been detached (assigned) to a ship. If it deploys (after his training) he will be on it. Until that time, he will be at 29 Palms working at the base hospital there. That is his duty station and he is there for 2 years, unless his ship deploys. That's all I know up to this point! Hope that helps!
florida - I am an expert in the Cryptologic area. It sounds like he didn't get his SBI security clearance access for CTI. (I'm only guessing).
However, if it was because of the security access, then he is extremely lucky to cross rate to HM. The Navy could have, and probably should have, discharged him for not being able to get the access. The Navy is way too overmanned now and they are downsizing for many different reasons. If the Navy decided to discharge him, then his discharge would have been for Unsatisfactory Performance.
If it was for some other reason, most of the time the Navy will just send the sailor to the fleet undesignated (without a rating). This is not something you would want. This is actually what they do to most SEALS that "ring-out".
So, basically what I'm saying is he probably needs to understand that HM is actually a really good rating. My daughter is in it. Sometime we need to reexamine our life and adapt to what is given to us.
If you need any help understanding the CTI stuff, I'm the group admin for the Cryptology section here at N4M. Just come on over an ask.
thank you txbabydocmom, craig, and drama soul! I am trying to be encouraging, but it is difficult with the CTI being what he really wanted. Hopefully in a couple weeks he will get settled in and get used to the new job. Heck I am studying to be a Doctor of Physical Therapy, so I know how fun the medical field can be!
florida - Need to ask, is your BF a native foreign speaker now? If so, he can get into another program that the Navy has that will pay you just for knowing certain languages. I was helping a depper get into this program and now he gets $450 per month extra just for knowing the language, and yet he never uses it.
I know the answer is probably "no, he doesn't know a foreign language", but I needed to ask.
The San Antonio Corpsman ball is next Saturday 16th and I am planning on attending with my sailor! I was wondering if anyone has been to it before? It says formal attire for civilians. Does anyone know if this means like prom ball gownsm long dresses or more cocktail type dresses? I don't want to go overdressed or underdressed! Any help is appreciated! :)
@navy2001mom: just read your post from 06/01, haven't been on here in awhile. We will be flying to SA July 12-16th and we can't wait! Wish we had more time, but with having to take time off for his PIR, then more time off the next weekend to attend my son-in-laws Silver Star ceremony, our vacation time needs to be replenished! We bought or plane tickets, SWA has some great fares to SA right now so I jumped on it. If they got down in price, SWA allows you to get the lower fare and put the difference in an account to use later. Now I'm searching for a hotel/car. I'll check out Travelodge. Where in So Cal are you? We are from there, transplanted to KS. We lived in Camarillo in Ventura Co. Thanks for all the info!
txbabydoc - Just curious, since you live in Fort Sam, does your son live with you and collect single BAH or does he live in the barracks? Man, if he could live with you can collect the BAH he would have a lot of money to spend, not to mention no room inspections.
Craig...thank you for always giving me an opportunity to laugh!! I still have the video of the toilets in Chicago. I even showed it to a friend of mine who is going there. She put it on her list of things to do in Chicago!
Amac23...my Sailor's class is 120B. They are divided up into Alpha and Bravo classes to limit class size. He graduates 2 July as does 120A. The date of graduation was hard to pin down! Up until 2 weeks ago we weren't sure what it was.
Amac23...Have your Sailor keep checking. The thing I have learned so far about the Navy is that everything is kinda fluid. There is this 'hurry up and wait' thing happening. I am one to plan ahead so I feel your frustration.
I think grad date has to do with if they pass test 5. If they don't they get rolled back a week. At least that's what I think and it's why we don't know right away.
Woo-hoo! I going the Fort Sam on Wednesday to bring my daughter car to her.
As strange as it sounds, her car is being totaled out by the insurance company this week. The reason? We have a really bad hail storm that caused $5400 worth of damage to her car. It's a 2009 Nissan Versa and is only worth $10K. Because it's over 50% to fix, they will total it. Hopefully I can buy it back for the scrap value since it will be in Texas.
I have a question regarding what happens to our Sailors belongings when they leave San Antonio. My husband and I are flying into SA for the graduation and then our son will be coming home on leave. However, I am thinking we may need to drive down there since he has all his stuff. He is going to Camp Lejeune after his leave, so I am not sure if the Navy pays for him to ship his belongings from our house or from San Antonio or if he has to pay for it all. We will probably rearrange our travel plans and drive to SA instead of fly if we need to because he has a bit of stuff.....and I warned him about buying too much but he is my son and I guess shopping is in the gene...lol! I'm just not sure how it works.....any info would be greatly appreciated.
txbabydocmom....that is so awesome! So glad to hear and will keep him in my prayers as he finishes these last few weeks...they'll go faster than he thinks, especially since he's excited to be back on-board!
Norma- they march, pt, clean, march, pt, clean, repeat! LOL basically they try to stay out of trouble. My son also tried to spend all his money as fast as he could. I bought him the suggested study books but he didn't choose to use them.
Thank you for the information....I think we will just go ahead and drive down there to San Antonio instead of fly so we can bring our son's stuff home as he is not going to his final duty station. I guess its only a 15 hour drive...haha!
txbabydocmom...that is wonderful news about your son....I bet he is so relieved!
Norma...sort of...they give them money for meals but turn around and charge them for eating in the chow hall whether they do or not. They eat breakfast and lunch together on weekdays but are free to either go to chow or eat on their own the rest of the time. My son says the army food is horrible. He keeps frozen microwaveable stuu in the frig in the room and eats out way too much. But, he has to learn how to budget his money.
So far he can spend his money faster than he makes it. We just are thankful that even when he is out of money he has food and shelter. We are hoping he learns his lesson soon though.
My son said that same thing about Army food. He is used to having a real salad bar with good options (believe it or not at GLRTC that was the case) and this has been very hard on him. I know he doesn't eat as he should. As to the money thing, my Sailor is being really frugal and I am happy that he has learned that lesson. I thought he got some good financial advice during INDOC when he first arrived at A school.
Teach...my son said the same thing as to what they do when waiting to class up. Lots of pt, cleaning, standing watch, marching, laundry, repeat!! I had gotten my son these great anatomy flash cards which eventually came in handy although not much before he classed up!!
ddsweety
I'm so excited to fly down to my husbands graduation tomorrow! He graduates Monday morning!! Finally! Yay!
Jun 1, 2012
Katze90210 (3/113)
How far into A School do they get a graduation date?
Jun 1, 2012
Katze90210 (3/113)
Kathy thanks I did ask him and he gave a tentative date, said not sure because they did not confirm. Would love to see him graduate, but his brother will be starting college in September and we have to get him set up around the time our Sailor is due to graduate A School. We live in NJ and our younger son is going to school in NC. That and not sure we could swing the $800.00 in airfare for both my husband and I to go and hotel and car rental and... oh you get the idea. Going to do the best we can to get there.
Jun 1, 2012
kimberlydale (corpsmanmom)
DramaSoul..... I am Oregon too ... my son is in CP working in the Naval hospital (ICU) until FMTB starts in July. Just wondering if we could connect??!!
Jun 1, 2012
NormaH
Jun 2, 2012
Doreen(07/272)
Norma...I know it sounds silly, there isn't much room for them to take things along with them to SA. We brought an all black backpack, but he didn't want to tote another bag along. The Navy provides them with a pack and trust me, it is massive. We brought our son his cell, his laptop, iPad, and his regular underwear. They can't wear civvies until they class up, so he wasn't interested in extra clothes.
Jun 2, 2012
NormaH
Jun 2, 2012
lizinnj
Norma...my daughter arrived at SA exactly a week ago. She was told it would be a month before classes started. They were allowed to leave base last night in civvies. She was beyond excited. I met her at the airport before flying out. I brought her laptop, "real underwear" , Tide to go pen (those whites get spots quickly), qtips. All that fit into her issued backpack. Almost all of their stuff fits in the seabag. If you tell him to pack his boots and sneakers in the seabag, it makes more room. The PX at SA has everything you can imagine. I received pictures all last night trying on civvvie dresses. Enjoy PIR, I'm still on that high!
Jun 2, 2012
1proudmom
dcmont...My son Pir'd 4-20. He is also in class 155b but not reservist. Not sure if it makes a difference.
Jun 2, 2012
Amac23
Hi everyone,
I don't know if there is an answer to this question but I am still struggling with getting accurate information on the medical courses they are going through in SA. My SN, who is a reservist wants to pursue physical therapy. We know he probably wont get C school for it, being a reservist and all, but he wants to move into a PTA program.
They want to see what 'classes' he is taking in SA and evaluate them for transfer, but heck if I can get any concrete information on how to find this info out!
Jun 3, 2012
florida_girl ship 3/div 235
LOOKING FOR SOME BEGINNERS INFO!!!
Hello,
I just recently joined the group because I just got off the phone with my fiance who told me due to complications at CTI school in Monterey, Ca (where he has been at since August of this past year) he had to be relocated (with no choice to San Antonio to be a HM- something which he has no interest in at all). I was looking for some sort of information on how the school works because his previous school was set up totally different than others. Some questions I have now: How long is this school? If this is A school, where does he go next? Some basic info like that is what I am looking for. Sorry for being short, I am in utter shock and disbelief that this has happened!
Any help is greatly appreciated!
Jun 4, 2012
MommasHeart
In four short days we will be on a flight to SA to see our daughter for a week. She just arrived this past weekend and is very excited to know that her mom and dad are on their way. (This is our only vacation week). I really need to find out some info on SA. For instance is it a "bike riding friendly area" or do we stay in our cars with doors locked? Any hotels on the Riverwalk? What are the "must see" attractions. Any help will be appreciated.
Jun 4, 2012
Maria ( 9/132 - HM- 04-2011)
Jun 4, 2012
hermomi( 11-066)
Graduation Class 110 on June 15th, anyone going? I won't be able to.
Jun 4, 2012
florida_girl ship 3/div 235
txbabydocmom- thanks for the info... is there any more info you can give as far as how the schooling goes and what C school choices are or how duty stations work and how long are they stationed at each of those?
Jun 4, 2012
DramaSoul
florida girl ship3/div235...I can tell you what has happened so far with my son. His PIR was 2 March and he arrived at SA on 3 March. He didn't 'class up' until 3 April but by then he was in phase 3 and allowed off base in civvies. His graduation date is 2 July. About 2 weeks ago he was allowed to pick orders. They go by where you are academically in the first 5 weeks of class (after EMT training which is THE HARDEST part of the Corpsman rate according to all of the Corpsman I have heard from). As to C school...it depends on what school and what of his choices are available. One of my son's friends got Surg Tech but he was 5th in the class and there weren't that many openings available. There were no X-ray Tech openings for example. My son has wanted to go 'green side'...Field Marine Training Battalion....since he first enlisted. He always wanted the rate of HM. They train with Marines and then are deployed with a Marine division as their 'doc' although they are still Sailors. Once he graduates from SA....he will report to Camp Pendleton. He has also been detached (assigned) to a ship. If it deploys (after his training) he will be on it. Until that time, he will be at 29 Palms working at the base hospital there. That is his duty station and he is there for 2 years, unless his ship deploys. That's all I know up to this point! Hope that helps!
Jun 4, 2012
DramaSoul
BTW, I agree with txbabydocmom...it's a great rate!!! My son is loving it. I love talking with him as I am in a health care profession as well.
Jun 4, 2012
Navy2011Mom
MommasHeart... It's getting close now. Enjoy your time with your daughter. It should be a fantastic trip!!!
Jun 5, 2012
Craig
florida - I am an expert in the Cryptologic area. It sounds like he didn't get his SBI security clearance access for CTI. (I'm only guessing).
However, if it was because of the security access, then he is extremely lucky to cross rate to HM. The Navy could have, and probably should have, discharged him for not being able to get the access. The Navy is way too overmanned now and they are downsizing for many different reasons. If the Navy decided to discharge him, then his discharge would have been for Unsatisfactory Performance.
Look at para 2.d here:
http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/milpersman/1000/190...
If it was for some other reason, most of the time the Navy will just send the sailor to the fleet undesignated (without a rating). This is not something you would want. This is actually what they do to most SEALS that "ring-out".
So, basically what I'm saying is he probably needs to understand that HM is actually a really good rating. My daughter is in it. Sometime we need to reexamine our life and adapt to what is given to us.
If you need any help understanding the CTI stuff, I'm the group admin for the Cryptology section here at N4M. Just come on over an ask.
http://www.navyformoms.com/group/ctratemoms
Jun 5, 2012
Katze90210 (3/113)
Dramasoul thanks for the great info. If my son has his way, he will be following in your sons footsteps
Jun 5, 2012
florida_girl ship 3/div 235
thank you txbabydocmom, craig, and drama soul! I am trying to be encouraging, but it is difficult with the CTI being what he really wanted. Hopefully in a couple weeks he will get settled in and get used to the new job. Heck I am studying to be a Doctor of Physical Therapy, so I know how fun the medical field can be!
Jun 7, 2012
Craig
florida - Need to ask, is your BF a native foreign speaker now? If so, he can get into another program that the Navy has that will pay you just for knowing certain languages. I was helping a depper get into this program and now he gets $450 per month extra just for knowing the language, and yet he never uses it.
I know the answer is probably "no, he doesn't know a foreign language", but I needed to ask.
Jun 7, 2012
florida_girl ship 3/div 235
Jun 7, 2012
Craig
I was hoping you'd say something other than Spanish. Spanish isn't on the list of languages the Navy pays for.
Here is the rule for the Heritage Language Recruiting Program (HLRP)
Read para 030201
http://www.cnrc.navy.mil/publications/Directives/1130.8J_VOL%20IV_P...
Jun 7, 2012
ilovemysailor 009/021
The San Antonio Corpsman ball is next Saturday 16th and I am planning on attending with my sailor! I was wondering if anyone has been to it before? It says formal attire for civilians. Does anyone know if this means like prom ball gownsm long dresses or more cocktail type dresses? I don't want to go overdressed or underdressed! Any help is appreciated! :)
Jun 8, 2012
shinystuff
@navy2001mom: just read your post from 06/01, haven't been on here in awhile. We will be flying to SA July 12-16th and we can't wait! Wish we had more time, but with having to take time off for his PIR, then more time off the next weekend to attend my son-in-laws Silver Star ceremony, our vacation time needs to be replenished! We bought or plane tickets, SWA has some great fares to SA right now so I jumped on it. If they got down in price, SWA allows you to get the lower fare and put the difference in an account to use later. Now I'm searching for a hotel/car. I'll check out Travelodge. Where in So Cal are you? We are from there, transplanted to KS. We lived in Camarillo in Ventura Co. Thanks for all the info!
Jun 9, 2012
Craig
txbabydoc - Just curious, since you live in Fort Sam, does your son live with you and collect single BAH or does he live in the barracks? Man, if he could live with you can collect the BAH he would have a lot of money to spend, not to mention no room inspections.
Jun 9, 2012
DramaSoul
txbabydocmom...I have been thinking a lot about your son and wondering how he is doing. I am praying that things go the way they need to go for him!
Jun 9, 2012
DramaSoul
Craig...thank you for always giving me an opportunity to laugh!! I still have the video of the toilets in Chicago. I even showed it to a friend of mine who is going there. She put it on her list of things to do in Chicago!
Jun 9, 2012
Teach
Jun 9, 2012
Amac23
My SN says his class number is 135b. I don't know what this means..but is there any way to find out what his grad. date is based on this?
Jun 10, 2012
DramaSoul
Amac23...my Sailor's class is 120B. They are divided up into Alpha and Bravo classes to limit class size. He graduates 2 July as does 120A. The date of graduation was hard to pin down! Up until 2 weeks ago we weren't sure what it was.
Jun 10, 2012
Amac23
Hi, Drama Soul! How frustrating, haha. So I guess there is just no way of knowing until we here from another 135 group. Boo.
Jun 11, 2012
DramaSoul
Amac23...Have your Sailor keep checking. The thing I have learned so far about the Navy is that everything is kinda fluid. There is this 'hurry up and wait' thing happening. I am one to plan ahead so I feel your frustration.
Jun 11, 2012
Katze90210 (3/113)
Jun 11, 2012
Craig
Woo-hoo! I going the Fort Sam on Wednesday to bring my daughter car to her.
As strange as it sounds, her car is being totaled out by the insurance company this week. The reason? We have a really bad hail storm that caused $5400 worth of damage to her car. It's a 2009 Nissan Versa and is only worth $10K. Because it's over 50% to fix, they will total it. Hopefully I can buy it back for the scrap value since it will be in Texas.
Jun 11, 2012
mome2jord
I have a question regarding what happens to our Sailors belongings when they leave San Antonio. My husband and I are flying into SA for the graduation and then our son will be coming home on leave. However, I am thinking we may need to drive down there since he has all his stuff. He is going to Camp Lejeune after his leave, so I am not sure if the Navy pays for him to ship his belongings from our house or from San Antonio or if he has to pay for it all. We will probably rearrange our travel plans and drive to SA instead of fly if we need to because he has a bit of stuff.....and I warned him about buying too much but he is my son and I guess shopping is in the gene...lol! I'm just not sure how it works.....any info would be greatly appreciated.
Jun 11, 2012
Maria ( 9/132 - HM- 04-2011)
Jun 11, 2012
NormaH
Jun 11, 2012
medic mom
Jun 11, 2012
cindylou61
txbabydocmom....that is so awesome! So glad to hear and will keep him in my prayers as he finishes these last few weeks...they'll go faster than he thinks, especially since he's excited to be back on-board!
Jun 11, 2012
Teach
Jun 11, 2012
Teach
Jun 11, 2012
NormaH
Jun 11, 2012
mome2jord
Thank you for the information....I think we will just go ahead and drive down there to San Antonio instead of fly so we can bring our son's stuff home as he is not going to his final duty station. I guess its only a 15 hour drive...haha!
txbabydocmom...that is wonderful news about your son....I bet he is so relieved!
Jun 11, 2012
NormaH
Jun 11, 2012
Teach
So far he can spend his money faster than he makes it. We just are thankful that even when he is out of money he has food and shelter. We are hoping he learns his lesson soon though.
Jun 11, 2012
DramaSoul
My son said that same thing about Army food. He is used to having a real salad bar with good options (believe it or not at GLRTC that was the case) and this has been very hard on him. I know he doesn't eat as he should. As to the money thing, my Sailor is being really frugal and I am happy that he has learned that lesson. I thought he got some good financial advice during INDOC when he first arrived at A school.
Jun 11, 2012
DramaSoul
Teach...my son said the same thing as to what they do when waiting to class up. Lots of pt, cleaning, standing watch, marching, laundry, repeat!! I had gotten my son these great anatomy flash cards which eventually came in handy although not much before he classed up!!
Jun 11, 2012
NormaH
Jun 11, 2012