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

Oh Marcy how great that your son was able to come home for the holiday. My son spent his with his girlfriend and her family. I will see him at Christmas. He is stationed at Camp Pendleton, and we are from that area so I will be going home to spend with him and my other daughter and grand daughters.

I have a question my son arrived in San Antonio on November 23rd, he submitted his Chit with Itinary, does anyone know how long it takes for approval?  The price of the ticket has went way down and I really want to purchase it but am affraid it will start going back up!  Does anyone know how common it is to deny new recruits leave at Christmas?

@Kat72... my son arrived late last Friday night for A school and was able to purchase his ticket yesterday.

My daughter arrived on the same date, Nov. 23rd. She was approved a couple weeks ago, siad those NOT approved were listed, she didn't hear her name, so, she got tickets to come home to Minnesota.  If you he is approved, have him get the tickets thru his contact, (Onetravel).  My daughter got hers, then I looked to see what I would get them for, she got them for 300 dollars less.  I hear they get their military discount!

tiffytbe ~ How long did it take for him to get his CHIT approved, my son turned it on Tuesday the 24th and still hasn't heard, so I just don't know what to do!!  Is he borrowing against his leave?

It only took a couple of days to get approved and then they had them go ahead and buy tickets yesterday. Yes, he is borrowing against his leave.

tiffybe~ So frustrating my son keeps telling me he hasn't heard which from what I am hearing on this he should have heard by now, I know they are in class and I have no idea what to do!  I can get his ticket for $350.60 which is really pretty good, I am looking online and finding nothing cheaper than that.  Do you know how they know who to contact regarding travel?

My son hasn't started actual classes yet, so maybe that's the difference? he's just going to briefs and standing watch. He did his ticket on own after calling some airlines and being told the "online" web prices were better.

squid~  did she happen to say where it was listed?  Has your daughter started classes yet?  I called Onetravel and they said they don't offer military discounts!  This is all so frustrating and I am thinking my son is not being the best communicator.  Heck he told me he still hasn't gotten his mailing address which seems very weird! 

@Kat72... my son got his mailing address on Tuesday and I've already shipped a box via UPS. Maybe he's not communicating with his commanding officer?

Yes, my daughter told me the same thing about her address, I even tried to bribe her by saying I have something to send her.  She told me it is not on her list of priorities to get an address... She started her classes this week.   I beleive she said someone, petty officer?, called off name that were declined chit, she didn't hear her name so I tol;d her to double check before getting her tickets, so she asked her petty officer.  I don't know how she got her tickets, she said she was getting them online,.  She emailed me her itinerary, it is from tlc@onetravel.com   OneTravel.com   1-800-425-4567  My daoghter has been notorious for being terrible at communicationg also, so, i feel your frustration!  Tell him, don't ask, tell him to talk to his Petty officer asap. 

My son is also stationed in Naples.  He works in the ER, but not sure where.  He has gotten the opportunity to travel all over the world since he's been there.  Right now he is in Switzerland.  I didn't get to see him over the holiday, but my sister and I are leaving Dec. 28 to fly to Naples to visit with him for about a week.  We are so excited!  Now if he can only switch with someone for some of the days he is scheduled to work that he thought he would be off on.  Oh well....we will enjoy the time there with him no matter what happens

Marcy and all....I have been reading but not commenting due to time constraints.

I did have my Corpsman home for Thanksgivukkah (the hybrid of Hannukah and Thanksgiving) for a 10 whole days! We went to see "Capt. Phillips" together. Holy Cow! I was so glad to share that with him.  I had a chance to make all of his favorite foods and send him back with some homemade canned applesauce and homemade jam.  We had some great conversations. When he was working in the base hospital (last year...now he is working at the clinic on the base), he volunteered to work Christmas day since it isn't a holiday he really celebrates.

Marcy what a fabulous treat...all they way from Italia!

It is very very cold here in the Great Northwest!  Hope everyone is warm and dry!

Drama, I'm so glad you two had a great visit as well!  We tried to see the movie when he was home but it never fit the schedule. I still hope to make it while it's around - I'm old-school, prefer the big screen to a DVD at home :)

It's c-c-c-cold here in Arizona, with freeze warnings the past few nights.  

Good news article about the new hospital at Camp Pendleton -  http://www.ocregister.com/articles/corpsmen-541341-baskett-hospital... - and we'll forgive the headline that says 'medics,' not 'corpsmen' :)  I love that they include info about Field Med, the names of Hospital Corpsman Medal of Honor winners, and other honors that have been accorded Hospital Corpsmen. Bobbo, did you twist someone's arm at the OC Register for this?  ;)

Awesome! My son said the new hospital is really nice. He works in the Family Medicine wing.

GO NAVY!!

yep, just did it 2 minutes ago.  Go down to bottom of the page, under Community Support, then pick support our trooops, there you can order without entering ss# etc.  My dauhgter is in san antonio also, we are in Minnesota!!!  Hope that helps!

My son just arrived early Sunday morning to San Antonio for Corpsman.

Thank you carfruit & squid  for the idea of a gift card to the PX store. Is the PX on campus? 

I live in northern AZ.

Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom... I see you are in Phoenix... I live in Prescott. I sent you a request... I would really enjoy any information you can share about the Corpsman "A" school.  My son just arrived Sunday. 

Yes the PX is on campus.  Along with alot of other restaurants like pizza hut.  If you go to the shop my exchange sit and look for the san antonio base, it will show you all the places they can use the card on base, there is alot to chose from for them. Nice thing is the card works at all of them.

Welcome Judy!  Yes I live in Scottsdale, and we have a great Arizona group, so be sure to join:  http://navyformoms.com/group/arizonamoms.  We had a fun lunch get-together in October.  

I recommend for everyone that you start making your way through the information available at the links above.  There is info about the HM rating and the A school program.  

Whether your son subsequently chooses a "C" school specialty to follow A school will be depend on his 'wish list' and class standing, and ultimately "the needs of the Navy," a term you'll continue to hear during his Navy career :)    Sooner or later he will attend the eight-week program Field Medical Training Battalion (FMTB) with the Marines at either Camp Lejeune NC or Camp Pendleton CA (the Navy's choice) for additional training in combat medicine.  

Feel free to ask away here, we have great hospital corpsman moms and wives to answer your questions and concerns.

so my bf wants to become a bachelor level nurse in the navy, is there anything at A school that he can do to help him on his path? he doesnt leave for basic until april 10th but we're just curious about what he has to do hah

haha Bobbo, too many chats to fall for that one! :p

Intotheocean, does your bf have any college credits yet?  

It can be challenging to complete college credits while working full-time as a corpsman, and I believe one's command must approve tuition assistance and courses.  There is this program available but one has to be a sophomore to qualify: http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/navmedmpte/accessions/Pages/NurseCand...

As far as prepping for A school, it can be very helpful to study this EMT-Basic Exam Review (the link is to the book for purchase on Amazon).

 Anyone else have some tips and tricks to share?  :)

Bob, Stars & Stripes published this article in March, in which the Navy provided comment.  From the article:  

"The number of plaintiffs has nearly tripled from nine, when the case was first filed in December, to 26, and attorneys said another 100 people are in the process of joining the suit, despite criticism from their peers that they’re just looking for an easy payoff and claims from the Department of Defense that the amounts of radiation they were exposed to don’t pose serious health risks.

"Navy officials in Japan acknowledged the Reagan passed through a plume of radiation about 100 miles northeast of the plant but said the maximum potential radiation dose was less than about one month of exposure to natural background radiation from sources such as rocks, soil and the sun.

'The U.S. Navy took proactive measures throughout and following the disaster relief efforts to control, reduce and mitigate the levels of Fukushima-related contamination on U.S. Navy ships and aircraft,' Naval Forces Japan spokesman Jon Nylander wrote Thursday to Stars and Stripes. 'Ship’s company used sensitive instruments to identify areas containing radioactivity, took action to control the spread of the radioactivity and washed and cleaned areas of the ship that contained radioactivity. For perspective, the radioactivity is typically easily removed with soap and water.'"

Wednesday trivia:  Here's a beautiful photo of USNS Comfort, and some Navy ship-naming facts :) 

U.S. Navy ships with the designation USS - United States Ship - have been commissioned into active service and are crewed by U.S. Navy personnel.

United States Naval Ships (USNS) are usually auxilliary support vessels owned by the U.S. Navy, are operated by Military Sealift Command, are said to be “in service” rather than “in commission,” and are usually crewed by civilians rather than U.S. Navy personnel.

Thanks Miss Marcy for the update.

For the umpteenth time, does some one have the phone number or web site I can order the PIR DVD, in November, and official picture taken ? Sorry, I have seen it on here many times and never thought i would needit until now...Thanks!

Squid, If you have more questions later, this group and its admin,'lemonelephant,' will know :) ... PIR Reference Information

Happy Holidays to our members and

to all our corpsmen current and future!

(That's HM2 Michael A. Jordan delivering a flu shot

to less-than-thrilled CMC Brian Schlicht aboard USS Wasp last year.)

METC Medical Laboratory Technician Program: Fast-paced Course in Hi... - good article posted today by Navy Medicine Magazine.

 Upon completion of the 53-week program, Navy students earn 60 semester hours to apply toward an associate degree and they are eligible to take the national certification examination given by the Board of Certification of the American Society for Clinical Pathology.

They are taking students out of A School as well as from the Fleet.

Thank goodness CORPSMAN moms aren't like this - right?!  This ad from Old Spice is for all the moms who have a little trouble letting go ;)  http://youtu.be/JEbpbNTkIdk

dio1120 - I know, right?!  Hey have a great time at PIR, take plenty of Kleenex and stay warm as you can :)  My son's A School graduation was at Great Lakes in February, yikes - but now you have this crazy cold.  Looking forward to hearing all about it, it's such an amazing event - and CONGRATULATIONS to your son and to you!

OMG!! Laughing so hard almost wet my pants!!! Thanks Marcy.  ;)

There is absolutely NOTHING like PIR!  Get choked up just lookin' at the pics.  Can't have too much tissue.  My son's was 2 Mar 2012....and it was cold! (Not -40!)

That commercial came to me via "Gloria - corpsman's mom" - another "seasoned" corpsman mom :)  Good example btw of how you can make good friends here - when we learned my son was headed to a humanitarian mission on USS Iwo Jima, what did Gloria do but go straight to the Iwo during Fleet Week in NYC (during a heat wave no less) and get me a pink cap and T shirt with the ship's name on them and mail them to me … which I wore to homecoming four months later!  So thoughtful and so cool  :)