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!
You guys want to know what really ticks me off about Fort Sam Houston? It the dang taxi's. I feel these guys just rip off our sailors. They charge them $25 to go to the Alamo/River walk (downtown) and then charge another $25 to come back. They are constantly being used. They have sooooo many dang taxi's. Each one just ringing up our sailors bill.
Why the heck isn't the MWR fund paying a bus to make routine runs downtown? Let's say "every hour - on the hour" till 12:00am? Charge the sailor, screw that, each active duty member $2 each way. Have the rest of the other money come from the MWR fund. They use the exchange that funds their MWR, then they should be helping our sailors.....These young adults need to vent off some steam, the River walk is the place to do it.
I tell you, this just really "grinds my gears"....
Craig...LOLOLOL!!!! I was about to start my workout and thought I'd check my email one last time...then I read your post. Yeah..mine is the one in the blue camo with his sleeves rolled up and a black backpack! (He is lookin' forward to goin' green side and wearing marpat! Personally, I think blue is a better color.) I don't think I need to do my abs today because you always make me laugh so hard. I gotta find out how you get those animated smiley thingys.
BTW...as I have said many times and I will say to anyone who is new or asks...your NavyDep.com site is what got me and a lot of other moms through BC. The best compliment I got from my son when we were at liberty after PIR was...'Jeez, Mom, we knew you moms were are all talkin' via that N4M website. And just for the record...you knew more about BC than we did!" He was teasing me but at the same time I knew he appreciated that I knew what was going on and that I was learning some of the lingo.
So just out of curiosity...why in the world did your daughter choose AF?
Craig...YES!! I asked my son about it and he said it is the reason why 3 or 4 of them go at a time to split the cost. $50 round trip...for our Sailors? What a rip off!! I agree about the bus thing. My son and I have talked about it.
She want be in the medical field. Being a female, the Navy couldn't give her the desires she wants. She wants to work in Afganistan as close to the combat zone as possible. She wants to help those that need her help. The Navy won't put females in that type of position, nor will any service. So the next best thing is to let the Navy Corpsman patch them up, send in the Army to get them out, and let the Air Force MEDEVAC them home.
These are pictures I had posted on my website. She saw them, and was sold about joining the military...
Conversation with my sailor tonight was how to get her car down there...26 hour drive. Doesn't know if she is staying there for C school. The taxi's are brutal. She asked for a gift card for the taxi company. Between paying for the taxis and having to pay for internet, sucks the paycheck up! They wait till 5 or 6 need to go then get the taxi and split it!!!
Wish we could band together and put a shame on those cabs. There must be something we can do. With all this tech at ours hands there must be something!
Craig....my nephew is an officer in the Army. He is a nurse anesthetist and he has been for 18 years. I call him the Doctor Nurse because he actually has PhD. You can imagine the hotspots he's been to. He has told me a couple of stories that choke me up every time. When my son told his cousin that he wanted to be a medic, his cousin said "You didn't hear this from me but the Navy has THE best program". So...that's why I have a Sailor. It was all about being able to help people in those very intense situations.
txbabydocmom...is there anything we can do to force them to get real and stop charging our military so much for a blankety-blank cab ride? I think if my son were staying there for C school, he would fly home and drive his car back. That is just so outrageous! So different from Sarge at GLRTC who gave me a ride in his cab back to the Navy Lodge after a Meet n Greet and WOULDN'T TAKE ANY MONEY FOR IT!
This group is about the only ones that might know a family friend of ours. Actually I'm not sure if you guys will know him. His name is Travis. Travis really got my daughter to start to think about the medical field. He's a really down to earth guy and doesn't let his wealth get to him. Just before my daughter left for boot camp we actually took the lite-rail downtown for dinner. Even though he could have gotten a limo, he wanted to ride the lite rail so we could talk longer and just be a normal guy.
Txbabydocmom maybe we could get "7 on our side" if enough of us send an email to ABC news and tell them to look into it. Just maybe someone will listen. If just 3 or 4 of us send an email it might get their attention
The whole cab thing has been a point of contention for me every time my son talks about them. I had asked if there was a bus system and he either doesn't know of one or it is not available. I'd be glad to join in on the e-mails, just give me the address(es). On top of the absurd rates, my son has spoken of how rude they are to them. I told him he should take down the driver's number and report him--they are they to provide a service (albeit very expensive) and being rude and disrespectful is not a service. I feel our sailors/soldiers are being held captive...ok, I'll get off the soapbox :)
Hey All! In re: to the question about bus service...I know my Husband has taken the bus a few times. I will have to ask him where it stops. (I believe he pointed out a stop right outside the Base gate when I visited.). I think the bus costs around $2 or so. I am unsure if the bus actually goes on base, but I don't think it does. He takes it a lot, depending if he has rented a car or not for the weekend.
It really is horrible how the cab companies take advantage of our sailors. My son said that they needed to learn the best routes to get to where they need to go otherwise the cab drivers will take the long way everywhere to get more money. They prey on the newbies at the base who don't know which is the best route. My son has it down to around $11.00 each way, which is still high but much better than the $30 - $50 round trips he used to pay in the first few weeks. I do know that Best Buy over by North Star Mall said the base has a bus that makes a sweep over there to that area for the sailors. My son has not used it, but might be something for your sailors to check into. You can even talk to Best Buy about it, they were the one's who told me when I was inquiring about our son having some issues with his new lap top he had purchased.
@cindylou you are right that these cab drivers are rude too, my son said they get in trouble all the time when going through the check point on base. Seems someone should do something about it.
Our son is leaving SA on Sunday to come home for two weeks and then he is going back east, so he will definitely have a car for when he gets there. I don't want him to have to go through the whole cab thing again.
Craig...my youngest is dying right now! She LOVES Travis and watches the Doctors every single day. She spends more time sending me texts or emails about what I should and shouldn't do then I think she does studying at college!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!! I showed her the picture and she almost fell over! Thanks for making my day!!
I really had my doubts that you guys would know Travis. That's why I didn't say much what he did. But having a medical history I thought some of you might. Like I said, you can't find a better person.
We actually invited him to my daughters graduation. As I knew, he couldn't come. However, he did send her a very expensive stethoscope. She has asked her instructor at Fort Sam if she could use her own instead of the school ones, and they are letting her. Pretty weird huh?
Ocnavymom - She can call ADDP. All she will need is her Appointment Control Number (ACN) then they will see her. With that number the dental office will get paid.
Cindylou there is a bus system there called Via Or Via Via I'm from San Antonio so That's how I know. I'm gonna have to educate my son now Sailor (yay) who's only been there since Saturday! Anyway, the bus is a very large part of San Antonio. My Mother just passed away last year and she rode the buses in San Antonio everywhere cause she hated to drive ESP in her
Later years. Hope that helps!
I have my younger sons graduation today and then we leave for North Carolina tomorrow morning to register for his classes and go to open house! When I get back on Sunday I will look up where to write to about the disservice the taxis are providing our military people. I think if the news got a hold of this they might look into it. If some one else finds it first let me know. Cause I will write a page long letter that will get their attention!
I know the base will probably say "There are buses outside the base". Which is true. However, if you were a sailor, would you want to walk 3 miles or so to catch the bus, or would you just sacrifice and pay the extra money for a taxi that is just at your door step?
The problem is there are no buses at these sailors doorstep, or somewhat even close. To watch 20 taxis leaving within minutes of each other is unfair. I know the base will say "They have the choice to use them or not". Yea, what choice is that?
My problem is where is the MWR? Why aren't they providing support to these young adults? Let them have access to a bus that can take them downtown to experience their life at San Antonio. Let them go see the Alamo. Let them go do the River Walk. Heck, let them go to the Arena football at the stadium. The bottom line is they need to develop their own experience of what Fort Sam is like. Give them a choice...
Choice to me is being able to pick between two items that are almost identical. Like going to the grocery store. I can choose between Ramen soup, a frozen pizza, or a hungry man dinner. I have the choice to choose which one I want, and which one I can afford. They are together at one spot.
The way it is now, these sailors have no "Logical" choice. They are given one thing and are told to like it.
Again, my problem isn't with the base, as long as they allow the buses access. My problem is with the MWR. Offset the cost of a bus to allow our military so fun, and to blow off the steam. Studying just sucks all the time.
About 10 minutes ago my daughter called and said "Dad, guess what? Today the Navy guys had a new song, it goes:
♪ They say that in the Navy, the guys are mighty fine ♪
♪ but when compared to the Marines we're just a bunch of scrawny guy ♪
Oh man, I find that soooo funny.....
She also said she "coined" someone today. Long story short, I had like 9 extra challenge coins that I developed for a company for the recruits at Navy boot camp. I didn't need them so I told my daughter to find some Navy guy that was on the USS Triton Ship 12 at Navy boot camp and coin them.
So she was talking to Navy guys and ask "Were you on the USS Triton at Great Lakes?" The guy said "No". Then she said "Go find me someone that was". So he brought back a Navy guy who said "I was on the USS Triton". She reach out and shook his hand and "coined" him.
The guy was shocked and said that was really cool and was really happy. She then ask for his phone number because she wanted to set up her friend with a cute Navy guy....~ha....
She wrote this on her facebook just to dog her Navy brother....
"So the stereotype around fort Sam is the navy guys are the best looking... I always say there are exceptions to every stereotype... My brother is in the navy :-)"
Man, I love the brother/sister bantering. Woo-hoo.....
Oh Craig, I am laughin' soooo hard!! As you probably guessed, I posted the videos of the marching to chow on my FB page with the moms in my Sailor son's division. So I wonder where the Sailors goin' FMTB fit in all of this...now they are part of the Marines? Talked with my Sailor briefly tonight...last exam (he got a perfect score!!) and I am lookin' forward to seein' him in another week to spend the weekend in SA before his graduation. I love talkin' medical/dental stuff with him.
Sounds like you guys are gonna have lots of fun at family reunions. ;-)
Hey guys. I have a question about what happens with the travel plans after graduation of A-school. I was wondering if the plane ticket my husband will get to go to our duty station will already have the airport he will be flying to and from on it or if we can pick the airports we want to fly from. Does anyone know how this works?
brandon - All he needs to do is go to the travel office and request which airport he wants. He can do it, but if it cost more, then he will have to pay.
He is require to work with the travel office for any travel changes. It usually SATO travel.
Secondly, make dang sure he just doesn't switch it by himself. If he does, it will cost you a heck of a lot of money. Lets say his orders are to Washington DC. Let say the ticket say the Navy paid $1300. Let say you can find them for $400. You think you might be doing the Navy a favor by buying the cheaper ticket. What you don't realize is the Navy gets a rebate on those ticket. So even though on paper it say $1300, they are truly paying like $200. So by you trying to save them by buying the $400 ticket, you're actually costing them money. It's all the way the different pots of government money works.
Why will it cost him money? The reason is the Navy will not reimburse you the money. It will all be your money. Secondly, he will lose even more money because he will probably have to pay a visit to the Captain for his Capt'n Mast. He would be breaking a lawful order by making his own travel plans, which says you can't in the orders. The bottomline is he needs to work with the travel office....
Craig and Txbabydocmom and everyone else who helps out here. I'm so glad for people like you guys out there who step up and help us out with everything from info to pictures to facts to whatever it is we need. I know other people have said tanks but I would like to say it again. Thank You! Without you I would be lost!
Oh and by the way..... Guess who gets to see her Sailor son one week from today?! I'll give you 3 guesses , although I'm sure you will only needs one. Lol
Dramasoul my Sailor son has been doing really well on his test too. Not perfect but high scores. He was talking about trying to come back home for a quick visit before he moves in to the next chapter in the Navy after graduation. He said if he can get in touch with the recruiter and do hours at the recruiting station they won't use that week as part of his time off. Craig what do you know about this and how does it work
Katze90210....my son is comin' home for 14 days leave before he moves on to his next phase since he doesn't have to report right away. He said if he goes to the recruiting station for 5 of those days, he will only be charged 9 days leave. He is actually looking forward to that to hang out with his recruiter. And I agree...thank you Craig, txbabydocmom and for all of the people who have helped me and continue to help!!
Thanks Craig for the info about the ticket. I had asked my Sailor if we could fly back together since we were flying out on the same day. He said he couldn't guarantee what flight he would be on since the travel office takes care of that and he won't know until right after graduation what flight he will be on.
RAP duty is a great deal, but few sailors ever do it because they don't know about it.
Once "A" and/or "C" school is done. Your sailor needs to ask for "RAP" duty. It's basically a free vacation for them. They (the sailor) pays all the travel cost that exceed the cost of the original orders, but they get the time off of work (5 days). So lets say (my famous words) your sailor is in Fort Sam, and has orders to Jacksonville Florida. Let say he enlisted in Mobile Alabama. Since that is along the way, it would probably be free for him. He will just tell the travel office he's going on RAP duty.
However, lets say he enlisted in Helena Montana. Since this is out of the way, at a tiny airport, then it will cost him the different between the most economical route and the sailors route. But who cares? He would have probably took the leave to do that anyways.
RAP duty is actually pretty cool. He needs to contact his recruiting office and ask if he can do RAP duty. The recruiters don't care, since it doesn't cost them anything, but you still need to get ask and get permission. Once he gets that, then he needs to work with his travel office.
Craig thanks I knew you would know. His main concern is that he can't get in touch with his recruiter since by the time his day is done they have left for the day because of the time difference! I guess ge could leave a messag
Craig...thanks for the info, I forwarded it to my son and he is excited to talk with his recruiter since he was contemplating coming home for 2 weeks...thank you again for this and all of your information and experience you share.
Katze - If this was my son, the next time he calls you, I'd call him out on it. Say "What did you do at lunch today?". Once he say "Just hung out and ate, or, went the the Exchange", then ask "Don't you think it would have been wiser to call your recruiting office and ask if you can do RAP duty?"
He doesn't need to talk to his recruiter, he can talk to any recruiter.
Craig...I am with cindylou61...THANK YOU SO MUCH for your information and your humor! My Sailor is generally amazed at how much I know and it's all because of you and all the great peeps on N4M. I am gettin' just a wee bit excited as the time gets closer to goin' to SA! ;-)
Drama - Where are you staying in SA? The reason I ask is usually I stay at 4 or 5 star hotels, however, this time I tried to do it as cheap as possible. As you know I run my own website and because of our sucky economy some families say they can't afford to see their sailor. I wanted to prove them wrong, which I think I did.
I will post something tonight in the top section (above) about how to make your trip to SA more affordable.
Craig...got a good deal on Red Roof Inn downtown...apparently not too far from Riverwalk. Looking forward to the weekend with my Sailor before his graduation!
Work...you mean you don't just hang out here? LOL!! Have a great day! I gotta get some of those crazy smiley faces.
Well, Fams of 135- they've been pushed back. Graduation date is July 31st. Someone give some caffeine and Valium. May sound counter-productive but changing these travel plans again requires both!
Thank god ! I was getting ready to leave this group after the derogatory comments or " advise" you gave the young lady who asked a simple question about Corpmsman ball attire . Clean up your act Craig !
We may have sailors but some of us have daughters too
Thanks bunches for the RAP info. My daughter has talked about that a couple times since finding out about it. Her recruiter had actually suggested it before she left for GL.
I also gave her the info about the bus and also about knowing the shortest route to Riverwalk. She said the average ride is 30 bucks and they split it. She said they also don't go unless they have a full group. They did go to Six Flags this weekend. Not sure how they got there.!
Craig
You guys want to know what really ticks me off about Fort Sam Houston? It the dang taxi's. I feel these guys just rip off our sailors. They charge them $25 to go to the Alamo/River walk (downtown) and then charge another $25 to come back. They are constantly being used. They have sooooo many dang taxi's. Each one just ringing up our sailors bill.
Why the heck isn't the MWR fund paying a bus to make routine runs downtown? Let's say "every hour - on the hour" till 12:00am? Charge the sailor, screw that, each active duty member $2 each way. Have the rest of the other money come from the MWR fund. They use the exchange that funds their MWR, then they should be helping our sailors.....These young adults need to vent off some steam, the River walk is the place to do it.
I tell you, this just really "grinds my gears"....
Jun 18, 2012
DramaSoul
Craig...LOLOLOL!!!! I was about to start my workout and thought I'd check my email one last time...then I read your post. Yeah..mine is the one in the blue camo with his sleeves rolled up and a black backpack! (He is lookin' forward to goin' green side and wearing marpat! Personally, I think blue is a better color.) I don't think I need to do my abs today because you always make me laugh so hard. I gotta find out how you get those animated smiley thingys.
BTW...as I have said many times and I will say to anyone who is new or asks...your NavyDep.com site is what got me and a lot of other moms through BC. The best compliment I got from my son when we were at liberty after PIR was...'Jeez, Mom, we knew you moms were are all talkin' via that N4M website. And just for the record...you knew more about BC than we did!" He was teasing me but at the same time I knew he appreciated that I knew what was going on and that I was learning some of the lingo.
So just out of curiosity...why in the world did your daughter choose AF?
Jun 18, 2012
DramaSoul
Craig...YES!! I asked my son about it and he said it is the reason why 3 or 4 of them go at a time to split the cost. $50 round trip...for our Sailors? What a rip off!! I agree about the bus thing. My son and I have talked about it.
Jun 18, 2012
Craig
She want be in the medical field. Being a female, the Navy couldn't give her the desires she wants. She wants to work in Afganistan as close to the combat zone as possible. She wants to help those that need her help. The Navy won't put females in that type of position, nor will any service. So the next best thing is to let the Navy Corpsman patch them up, send in the Army to get them out, and let the Air Force MEDEVAC them home.
These are pictures I had posted on my website. She saw them, and was sold about joining the military...
Jun 18, 2012
lizinnj
Conversation with my sailor tonight was how to get her car down there...26 hour drive. Doesn't know if she is staying there for C school. The taxi's are brutal. She asked for a gift card for the taxi company. Between paying for the taxis and having to pay for internet, sucks the paycheck up! They wait till 5 or 6 need to go then get the taxi and split it!!!
Jun 18, 2012
Katze90210 (3/113)
Wish we could band together and put a shame on those cabs. There must be something we can do. With all this tech at ours hands there must be something!
Jun 18, 2012
DramaSoul
Craig....my nephew is an officer in the Army. He is a nurse anesthetist and he has been for 18 years. I call him the Doctor Nurse because he actually has PhD. You can imagine the hotspots he's been to. He has told me a couple of stories that choke me up every time. When my son told his cousin that he wanted to be a medic, his cousin said "You didn't hear this from me but the Navy has THE best program". So...that's why I have a Sailor. It was all about being able to help people in those very intense situations.
Jun 18, 2012
DramaSoul
txbabydocmom...is there anything we can do to force them to get real and stop charging our military so much for a blankety-blank cab ride? I think if my son were staying there for C school, he would fly home and drive his car back. That is just so outrageous! So different from Sarge at GLRTC who gave me a ride in his cab back to the Navy Lodge after a Meet n Greet and WOULDN'T TAKE ANY MONEY FOR IT!
Jun 18, 2012
Craig
This group is about the only ones that might know a family friend of ours. Actually I'm not sure if you guys will know him. His name is Travis. Travis really got my daughter to start to think about the medical field. He's a really down to earth guy and doesn't let his wealth get to him. Just before my daughter left for boot camp we actually took the lite-rail downtown for dinner. Even though he could have gotten a limo, he wanted to ride the lite rail so we could talk longer and just be a normal guy.
Jun 18, 2012
Katze90210 (3/113)
Jun 19, 2012
MomP(Helen)
Craig, That would be Doc Travis. How cool for your family.
Jun 19, 2012
cindylou61
The whole cab thing has been a point of contention for me every time my son talks about them. I had asked if there was a bus system and he either doesn't know of one or it is not available. I'd be glad to join in on the e-mails, just give me the address(es). On top of the absurd rates, my son has spoken of how rude they are to them. I told him he should take down the driver's number and report him--they are they to provide a service (albeit very expensive) and being rude and disrespectful is not a service. I feel our sailors/soldiers are being held captive...ok, I'll get off the soapbox :)
Jun 19, 2012
DramaSoul
cindylou61...I am on the soapbox with you. Just tell me where to write!! This is absolutely outrageous.
Jun 19, 2012
DramaSoul
Ah....thought he looked familiar. I don't watch daytime TV or other 'reality' TV shows but I had seen his face in the news. That is very cool.
Jun 19, 2012
RedHeadedNavyWife
Jun 19, 2012
mome2jord
It really is horrible how the cab companies take advantage of our sailors. My son said that they needed to learn the best routes to get to where they need to go otherwise the cab drivers will take the long way everywhere to get more money. They prey on the newbies at the base who don't know which is the best route. My son has it down to around $11.00 each way, which is still high but much better than the $30 - $50 round trips he used to pay in the first few weeks. I do know that Best Buy over by North Star Mall said the base has a bus that makes a sweep over there to that area for the sailors. My son has not used it, but might be something for your sailors to check into. You can even talk to Best Buy about it, they were the one's who told me when I was inquiring about our son having some issues with his new lap top he had purchased.
@cindylou you are right that these cab drivers are rude too, my son said they get in trouble all the time when going through the check point on base. Seems someone should do something about it.
Our son is leaving SA on Sunday to come home for two weeks and then he is going back east, so he will definitely have a car for when he gets there. I don't want him to have to go through the whole cab thing again.
Jun 19, 2012
lizinnj
Craig...my youngest is dying right now! She LOVES Travis and watches the Doctors every single day. She spends more time sending me texts or emails about what I should and shouldn't do then I think she does studying at college!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!! I showed her the picture and she almost fell over! Thanks for making my day!!
Jun 19, 2012
cindylou61
txbabydocmom...send me/us the e-mail address, I'll jump all over it...
And Craig...no hubby here, but I'm not the cougar type, so... if he has a much older, single brother....
Jun 19, 2012
Craig
I really had my doubts that you guys would know Travis. That's why I didn't say much what he did. But having a medical history I thought some of you might. Like I said, you can't find a better person.
We actually invited him to my daughters graduation. As I knew, he couldn't come. However, he did send her a very expensive stethoscope. She has asked her instructor at Fort Sam if she could use her own instead of the school ones, and they are letting her. Pretty weird huh?
Ocnavymom - She can call ADDP. All she will need is her Appointment Control Number (ACN) then they will see her. With that number the dental office will get paid.
https://secure.addp-ucci.com/ddpddw/
Jun 20, 2012
Hm-in-the-Fam-Mom
Later years. Hope that helps!
Jun 20, 2012
Katze90210 (3/113)
Jun 20, 2012
Craig
I know the base will probably say "There are buses outside the base". Which is true. However, if you were a sailor, would you want to walk 3 miles or so to catch the bus, or would you just sacrifice and pay the extra money for a taxi that is just at your door step?
The problem is there are no buses at these sailors doorstep, or somewhat even close. To watch 20 taxis leaving within minutes of each other is unfair. I know the base will say "They have the choice to use them or not". Yea, what choice is that?
My problem is where is the MWR? Why aren't they providing support to these young adults? Let them have access to a bus that can take them downtown to experience their life at San Antonio. Let them go see the Alamo. Let them go do the River Walk. Heck, let them go to the Arena football at the stadium. The bottom line is they need to develop their own experience of what Fort Sam is like. Give them a choice...
Choice to me is being able to pick between two items that are almost identical. Like going to the grocery store. I can choose between Ramen soup, a frozen pizza, or a hungry man dinner. I have the choice to choose which one I want, and which one I can afford. They are together at one spot.
The way it is now, these sailors have no "Logical" choice. They are given one thing and are told to like it.
Again, my problem isn't with the base, as long as they allow the buses access. My problem is with the MWR. Offset the cost of a bus to allow our military so fun, and to blow off the steam. Studying just sucks all the time.
Jun 20, 2012
Craig
Ok, one of you moms ratted out the Navy guys...
About 10 minutes ago my daughter called and said "Dad, guess what? Today the Navy guys had a new song, it goes:
♪ They say that in the Navy, the guys are mighty fine ♪
♪ but when compared to the Marines we're just a bunch of scrawny guy ♪
Oh man, I find that soooo funny.....
She also said she "coined" someone today. Long story short, I had like 9 extra challenge coins that I developed for a company for the recruits at Navy boot camp. I didn't need them so I told my daughter to find some Navy guy that was on the USS Triton Ship 12 at Navy boot camp and coin them.
So she was talking to Navy guys and ask "Were you on the USS Triton at Great Lakes?" The guy said "No". Then she said "Go find me someone that was". So he brought back a Navy guy who said "I was on the USS Triton". She reach out and shook his hand and "coined" him.
The guy was shocked and said that was really cool and was really happy. She then ask for his phone number because she wanted to set up her friend with a cute Navy guy....~ha....
She wrote this on her facebook just to dog her Navy brother....
"So the stereotype around fort Sam is the navy guys are the best looking... I always say there are exceptions to every stereotype... My brother is in the navy :-)"
Man, I love the brother/sister bantering. Woo-hoo.....
Jun 21, 2012
DramaSoul
Oh Craig, I am laughin' soooo hard!! As you probably guessed, I posted the videos of the marching to chow on my FB page with the moms in my Sailor son's division. So I wonder where the Sailors goin' FMTB fit in all of this...now they are part of the Marines? Talked with my Sailor briefly tonight...last exam (he got a perfect score!!) and I am lookin' forward to seein' him in another week to spend the weekend in SA before his graduation. I love talkin' medical/dental stuff with him.
Sounds like you guys are gonna have lots of fun at family reunions. ;-)
Jun 21, 2012
brandon'sgirl
Hey guys. I have a question about what happens with the travel plans after graduation of A-school. I was wondering if the plane ticket my husband will get to go to our duty station will already have the airport he will be flying to and from on it or if we can pick the airports we want to fly from. Does anyone know how this works?
Jun 21, 2012
Craig
brandon - All he needs to do is go to the travel office and request which airport he wants. He can do it, but if it cost more, then he will have to pay.
He is require to work with the travel office for any travel changes. It usually SATO travel.
Secondly, make dang sure he just doesn't switch it by himself. If he does, it will cost you a heck of a lot of money. Lets say his orders are to Washington DC. Let say the ticket say the Navy paid $1300. Let say you can find them for $400. You think you might be doing the Navy a favor by buying the cheaper ticket. What you don't realize is the Navy gets a rebate on those ticket. So even though on paper it say $1300, they are truly paying like $200. So by you trying to save them by buying the $400 ticket, you're actually costing them money. It's all the way the different pots of government money works.
Why will it cost him money? The reason is the Navy will not reimburse you the money. It will all be your money. Secondly, he will lose even more money because he will probably have to pay a visit to the Captain for his Capt'n Mast. He would be breaking a lawful order by making his own travel plans, which says you can't in the orders. The bottomline is he needs to work with the travel office....
Here is what the orders say:
(click on picture to make it bigger)
Jun 22, 2012
Katze90210 (3/113)
Jun 22, 2012
Katze90210 (3/113)
Jun 22, 2012
Katze90210 (3/113)
Jun 22, 2012
DramaSoul
Katze90210....my son is comin' home for 14 days leave before he moves on to his next phase since he doesn't have to report right away. He said if he goes to the recruiting station for 5 of those days, he will only be charged 9 days leave. He is actually looking forward to that to hang out with his recruiter. And I agree...thank you Craig, txbabydocmom and for all of the people who have helped me and continue to help!!
Jun 22, 2012
DramaSoul
Thanks Craig for the info about the ticket. I had asked my Sailor if we could fly back together since we were flying out on the same day. He said he couldn't guarantee what flight he would be on since the travel office takes care of that and he won't know until right after graduation what flight he will be on.
Jun 22, 2012
brandon'sgirl
Thanks Craig for all this information!
Jun 22, 2012
Craig
Katze - What you are talking about is "RAP" duty.
RAP duty is a great deal, but few sailors ever do it because they don't know about it.
Once "A" and/or "C" school is done. Your sailor needs to ask for "RAP" duty. It's basically a free vacation for them. They (the sailor) pays all the travel cost that exceed the cost of the original orders, but they get the time off of work (5 days). So lets say (my famous words) your sailor is in Fort Sam, and has orders to Jacksonville Florida. Let say he enlisted in Mobile Alabama. Since that is along the way, it would probably be free for him. He will just tell the travel office he's going on RAP duty.
However, lets say he enlisted in Helena Montana. Since this is out of the way, at a tiny airport, then it will cost him the different between the most economical route and the sailors route. But who cares? He would have probably took the leave to do that anyways.
RAP duty is actually pretty cool. He needs to contact his recruiting office and ask if he can do RAP duty. The recruiters don't care, since it doesn't cost them anything, but you still need to get ask and get permission. Once he gets that, then he needs to work with his travel office.
Here is the instruction:
http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/milpersman/1000/100...
Here is the form the recruiters will give them once they are done:
Jun 22, 2012
Katze90210 (3/113)
Jun 22, 2012
cindylou61
Craig...thanks for the info, I forwarded it to my son and he is excited to talk with his recruiter since he was contemplating coming home for 2 weeks...thank you again for this and all of your information and experience you share.
Jun 22, 2012
Craig
Katze - If this was my son, the next time he calls you, I'd call him out on it. Say "What did you do at lunch today?". Once he say "Just hung out and ate, or, went the the Exchange", then ask "Don't you think it would have been wiser to call your recruiting office and ask if you can do RAP duty?"
He doesn't need to talk to his recruiter, he can talk to any recruiter.
Just saying....
Jun 22, 2012
DramaSoul
Craig...I am with cindylou61...THANK YOU SO MUCH for your information and your humor! My Sailor is generally amazed at how much I know and it's all because of you and all the great peeps on N4M. I am gettin' just a wee bit excited as the time gets closer to goin' to SA! ;-)
Jun 22, 2012
Craig
Drama - Where are you staying in SA? The reason I ask is usually I stay at 4 or 5 star hotels, however, this time I tried to do it as cheap as possible. As you know I run my own website and because of our sucky economy some families say they can't afford to see their sailor. I wanted to prove them wrong, which I think I did.
I will post something tonight in the top section (above) about how to make your trip to SA more affordable.
However, it's off to work for me now....
Jun 22, 2012
DramaSoul
Craig...got a good deal on Red Roof Inn downtown...apparently not too far from Riverwalk. Looking forward to the weekend with my Sailor before his graduation!
Work...you mean you don't just hang out here? LOL!! Have a great day! I gotta get some of those crazy smiley faces.
Jun 22, 2012
Katze90210 (3/113)
Jun 22, 2012
Katze90210 (3/113)
Jun 22, 2012
1proudmom
Did anyones Sailor, in this group, graduate Bootcamp 4-20-12. Ship 12, Div. 126?
Jun 22, 2012
Amac23
Well, Fams of 135- they've been pushed back. Graduation date is July 31st. Someone give some caffeine and Valium. May sound counter-productive but changing these travel plans again requires both!
Jun 22, 2012
ashley1026
I was wondering if they get free time on holidays such as Independence Day.
Jun 22, 2012
DramaSoul
Amac23...soo sorry! I completely understand about the Valium and caffeine!
Jun 22, 2012
Hm-in-the-Fam-Mom
Jun 22, 2012
sheryl Navy 2
We may have sailors but some of us have daughters too
Jun 22, 2012
Maria ( 9/132 - HM- 04-2011)
Jun 22, 2012
lizinnj
Thanks bunches for the RAP info. My daughter has talked about that a couple times since finding out about it. Her recruiter had actually suggested it before she left for GL.
I also gave her the info about the bus and also about knowing the shortest route to Riverwalk. She said the average ride is 30 bucks and they split it. She said they also don't go unless they have a full group. They did go to Six Flags this weekend. Not sure how they got there.!
Happy Weekend Everyone!
Jun 22, 2012
Jana
I believe Craig has a daughter too and I don't think he meant anything disrespectful by his comments or posts
Jun 22, 2012