HM (Hospital Corps) "A" School in San Antonio

@Craig thanks!

anitabchef...I grew up driving the freeways of LA (and before some of those were there!) and SA was nuts! We almost ended up in Corpus Christi trying to get to Sea World!!!

Craig...any ideas about how to find a good hotel near Camp Pendleton?  I don't use a lot of those websites for cheap hotels.  Guess I need to start. 

dear txbabydoc..THANK YOU for the very helpful info for the Xmas time off! So for the Tday...when is school off and back in?

Drama I think the recruiter is just putting pressure on him to get someone to enlist. He will get the credit even if he doesn't get someone to enlist. He is trying to think of places to go to hand out cards to get people to come in and talk to them. So far he went to two different malls.

Katze...my son's recruiter was a little more laid back, I guess! 

Craig, he is doing RAP now. Started on Monday and will finish Friday. He goes in at 9:00 and gets out around 15:00. I think they are just putting the pressure on so he gets someone. He said it is really slow in the office so he does paperwork and goes out to the malls to hand out cards. He had a girl come in today and answered all her questions. The First Class Officer on duty was so impressed he want to write him a review! Said he had to be with him for 4 monthes so he couldn't. I told him ask for a letter of recommendation. Those are always nice to have.But he likes doing it so its all good.

Robert/HM mom - I just talked to my daughter, I will not have any problem taking pictures of your daughter.  Your daughter is one of 3 Navy sailors (out of over 100 sailors or military?) getting an award at the graduation.  She will be going on stage twice, once for the award, and once to get her graduation certificate.  She will be in the front row.  

I know you must be feeling really proud!  Congratulations!

Drama & NavyGirlz - I travel to a lot of fun places.  The cheapest way I've found is to go bid on Hotwire or Priceline.  You can find out pretty much which hotel you will stay and the price because of what other winning bidders say at this forum:

http://www.betterbidding.com/

Two of the non-bidding website I really like are:

www.bookit.com

and

www.dealbase.com (I really like this one)

Craig - Thank you so much for writing me back concerning graduation.  Being a single parent since my daughter was a year old I have never, never missed any of her events, the PIR in GL was wonderful,  but I have been out of work for 2 years and have a mother home in the last stage of dementia.  I unfortunately had to make a very, very hard decision.  My daughter understands as she and I lived with grandparents all her life. I am so very proud of her!!!!  So I thank you from the bottom of my heart and good luck to your air force daughter, you have to be an extremely proud Dad.  Thank you again and God Bless.

Hey everyone! Just a quick question, if my sailor gets a C school, will he get leave after A school or will he be expected to report right to C school? Or does it depend on the start of C school? 

Also, how soon before graduation are orders given out? 

txbabydocmom - Thanks for the info! :) My husband just finished the EMT portion, but they haven't gotten a list to pick orders yet. But I just spoke to him and he said they should get all the info next week. Thanks again for your help!

Anyone know if RAP is a one time deal and how soon they will get credit for it? Also my son is going to NC to train with the Marines until Dec 21 then has to report to VA by Dec 23. Will he get time off for holidays? Does he put Chit into NC so he can come home first or VA so he can come home after he reports in?

1proudmom...that's the truth.  I got a text from my son and he asked me to respond ASAP.  He had one night to make the decision. 

1proudmom...RAP duty or Recruiting Assistance Leave Program is a program where Sailors can work with their recruiters for 5 days.  They get earned leave back by doing it.  It can only be done between completion of school and prior to reporting to their first duty station while they are home on leave.  My son did his RAP duty when he was home visiting before reporting to FMTB.  He enjoyed doing it.  His recruiter determined what uniform he would need to wear.  It was a hoot to come downstairs one morning to see my son IRONING his NWU's.  He had already polished his boots and had his hair cut the day before.  He even used extra starch to keep the collar in place!! THANK YOU NAVY!!!

Katze...see my post below about RAP duty. 

Britt, I'm betting that visitors' pets are not allowed on base (liability, for one), but call METC and ask :)  

Britt - I don't see a problem with the pet, as long as it remains out of the BEQ.  There is a pet policy for base house (which is extremely close) which is no Pit bulls or Rottweilers. 

It appears all other dogs would be ok since the base hotel is "pet friendly".  Go here are read "pet policy" in the center of the screen.

http://www.ihgarmyhotels.com/pal/en/us/hotel/MFSHA

Ok guys, I leave tomorrow to slowly make my way to San Antonio.  

I know some of you have pm'd me and asked to take pictures of various things and people.  This is now your last chance.  Just let me know what you want a picture of, and I'd be happy to take it.  

Just pm me and describe what you want.

Katze...I would have to ask my son as to how long it takes and he has been in the field a lot so we haven't actually spoken to each other for almost 2 weeks.  Wow, this FMTB stuff is intense. 

Drama that would be great if you could ask. My son said he heard it could be up to 3 years. Gotta love the Navy. My son is going FMTB in NC. Getting there Sunday so any stories you can share would be great!

My son told me that he was informed that the leave isn't credited back until after he reaches his permamnent duty station and even then it is a low priority.  He was told to expect it to take several months.

SInce he is going to C School and not straight to a permanent duty station, it would likely take over a year for my son to get the leave back.  By then, he will have earned plenty of leave.

hello! My son just started his classes for A school at SA this week. Class#225?

Do you have any idea when they are slated to graduate? He heard it was supposed to be Dec 5th, but they started late and it may be after the holiday...kind of hard to plan...oh well!

And...any idea on Thanksgiving break for school when classes end and begin again?

txbaby - My nephew was trying to keep to long distant relationship alive and was flying home a minimum of 1 time per month.  All dianevdb should need to do is have her sailor put in an "Out-of-Bounds" chit to allow him to go home.  It isn't charged as leave and allow them to basically fly anywhere in the US.  

The only thing he needs to remember is not to wait till the last flight of the day to get back.  My nephew did this (which I told him not to).  The flight had a mechanical and he couldn't get back to Pensacola. There were no other flight for the day.  

So I told him, now you will be UA and will be seeing the "old man".  I told him that he would probaby have to pay a $500 fine and have a black mark in his record.

or

He could fly to Panama City Florida and take a taxi to Pensacola which was 100 miles and $150 away.  He choose the taxi.  It was a "lesson learned" for him to not ever take the last flight of the day.

Katze...Check out FMTB East as that is Camp Lejeune where you son is going.  Lots of good info. Still haven't heard from my son.  The last text I got almost a week ago which said he couldn't talk as he was studying....

Rhonda - I have limited access to the computer since I'm going to the graduation this week in San Antonio.  (ie all of my bookmarks are on my home computer). Once I get back (next weekend) I can let you know if they released them.   

txbabydocmom....sounds really great! I got to talk with my son last night for the first time in 2 weeks (that FMTB training is really INTENSE!).  He has (and most of his platoon have) a cold.  I asked him what he was going to do this weekend.  His response was "SLEEP"!  Have a great weekend!

Holy crapola, I'm in San Antonio downtown at the River Walk.  Our hotel might have been really cheap ($53) per night at the Sheraton, but the car parking is a whooping $32 per night (all the in-n-out's you want). 

We decided to to park at the local parking garage that is $9 per day (24 hours) but once you leave, then you must pay that amount again (ie no in-n-out's).   I want a cheap price with all the in-n-out's. 

Heck, I was excited when I read this about San Antonio, but once you start reading it, they're talking about Dallas not San Antonio (even though that's the title).  What's up with that? Why is there no in-n-outs in this dang city? 

http://www.woai.com/entertainment/story/IN-N-OUT-Burger-comes-to-Te...

Craig...we ended up staying at the Red Roof Inn about 1/2 mile from downtown which allowed us to walk a lot (that was a goal for me since I wouldn't be going to the gym).  It was $7/day to park with all of the in-n-outs you wanted in a 24 hour period.

Wish I liked burgers.  I have heard that In-n-Out makes great burgers.  There is one near where my mom lived in Sherman Oaks CA.  Never ate there but everyone RAVED about it!

im having trouble w my computer while trying to post...

are tutors allowed in A school?

Diane......each class has an ALPO who assists during study times set up during the week. It is called MANDO. They have evening sessions. Have your sailor ask about this. 

DramaSoul - Some of your pictures are in the discussion area above.  I will post the others later, I need to get some sleep for tomorrows graduation....Hope this is what you wanted....

My son just reported to A school on Saturday night, he is currently waiting for his class to form. Would anyone have information or a link to where I could find information about what the first few weeks of his HM school will entail? Is there any study-guides he could preview while waiting around? The Chief stated that the school loses a lot of candidates during the EMT phase, but my husband failed to find out when that phase actually occurs. I would appreciate any direction anyone could give me. Thanks!!

Mrs.SeniorChief...the first 5 weeks are EMT training which is the HARDEST part of their training, according to my son who is currently in FMTB at Camp Pendleton. They hit the ground running once they class up. My son had A&P study cards but that wasn't much help for EMT.  Perhaps other moms here can talk about whether or not using a study guide prior to starting was helpful. They will be given an EMT textbook. The hardest part according to my son, was the wealth of information they had to learn. One test they had covered 9 chapters with only 50 questions. Since they pick orders the 6th week, there is a lot of pressure to do well on EMT. 

@ DramaSoul, thanks very much. Do you know if this is the textbook or has it changed?

does this link work? Id LOVE to see it!

My son started his SA classes (EMT) last week..had to wait for class to fill. Would love to know more also!

@dianevdb, I copied it from Amazon. You can look inside the book from the Amazon site, but I have no idea yet if it is the right book they are going to use. I have been researching the internet all day for any study guides or flashcards.

They use both, BTW.  My son still has his Corpsman manual with him at FMTB.  Hope this helps!!

yes, i bought the flash cards and the notes course for the EMT thinking it would help. So far, my son is swimming in the EMT book. he feels that there is SO much to take in and the course is VERY fast. He is studying allot and hopes it pays off. I think he had a test again today..Hes in 225

NormaH...Hi! Graduations seem to be all over the map! There was one yesterday (Wednesday) and my son's was on a Monday.  Does he know where he is going after A school?  I can only tell you my experience.  My son had the opportunity to come home for 14 days leave before reporting to Camp Pendleton.  We flew out the day after graduation which meant he had to check out of his room that night but had to stay on base.  We were on separate flights but left SA at about the same time since I had booked my flight 6 weeks before. We actually arrived in Portland within 20 minutes of each other!! I stayed at a Red Roof Inn about 1/2 mile from downtown.  I wanted to be able to walk to the Riverwalk and Rivercenter Mall.  I flew in on the Saturday before his Monday graduation. We did lots of tourist things.  He had liberty that weekend so he stayed with me at the hotel until about 1800 on Sunday. . If his graduation had been on Tuesday (which is was originally supposed to be!) I think he would've had to stay on base on Monday so I would've been on my own. It was about a 15 minute drive to the base.  Some other moms stayed right near the base. Just personal preference, I guess.

@ NormaH, my son just got there so I can't say about graduation, but I live in Texas and we visit San Antonio often. I would stay on the River walk or near the airport off of 410. The hotels on the Riverwalk will be a little more expensive than others, but the Riverwalk is nice if you have never been there before. My husband and I drove to San Antonio on the spur of the moment this last weekend because it was a long weekend for both of us and we stayed in a Comfort Suites off of Ratizen street ( I think that was the name)...it was ok, the hotel was clean enough, I but I wasn't sure about the area. It was about 2 miles from the base. I don't think I will stay there again.

txbabydocmom...My son said the same thing about over-thinking! Stuff that he knew he knew, he would second-guess himself!  Balance is a good point.  How are you doing?