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!
Hi Filnavymom! My son wants to go FMF. With what I've learned here, that may change for him, but we'll see. He's a very smart kid & will go far. He's also told me about going after the Seaman to Admiral program. Maybe he'll do that later after he gets to do FMF?? Best of luck to your daughter!!
As Macy stated, there are many jobs that Corpsman do, most do not go FMF. A Corpsman can be trained in Field Med (which is FMTB) but not be assigned to a Marine unit, that is where they actually become an FMF Corpsman. Because of the budget cuts and our military finally coming home, there are not as many Corpsman being assigned to marine units and therefor they have to find other places for them to go. This could be a good thing as far as training goes. I know my son is excited that he will be able to start college classes soon and be able to have a career after the Navy, as he isn't sure if he will be able to re-enlist when the time comes. He works in the hospital at Camp Pendleton now.
As far as I know, which c school or duty station your sailor gets after a school depend on a few things. First, it depends what billets are available at the time. In this case, a billet is an available job opening. If your corpsman doesn't necessarily do a c school. They could go zero quad which is a basic corpsman. Sometime about midway through their training, they each get to fill out a "dream sheet" of about 5 duty stations/ c schools that they want to be considered for. My son went zero quad because there were no c schools available that he was interested in. You are supposed to have some seniority of say based in grades, but my sons gpa was higher than his gfs and he got his second choice, and she got her first, which was also his first. However, ultimately it is needs of the navy first, and your corpsman may get orders that have nothing to do with his or her dream sheet.
Hi All. I am not sure if it was in this group or another that someone asked what to get your Corpsman for graduation. I just heard from my son THANKING me for getting him his own stethoscope. I bought a Littmann...really good quality and his buddies are all jealous 'cause he can hear those lungs really well. He is currently stationed on a Marine base working in the clinic. For his 25th birthday (which was 8 days ago), he wanted an otoscope. Sooo...that's what I got him and he is loving using it! It isn't too often I get to hear from him so this just warmed my heart.
louielou I wanted to just say something about the comment you wrote regarding FMF and C school. Yesterday I talked to the recruiter for my husband regarding budget cuts in the military and just so everyone knows, the Navy already downsized 3 years ago. He said that they are in need of people and are always hiring because the Navy is not being "fully" affected by these cuts. FMF (corpsman) are always needed with the marines. On their board in the office I saw how many new recruits they have gotten every month and since the beginning of the month, they've recruited 9 already. That's just from the recruiter but if you all receive different information please let us know, I'm sure it will be greatly appreciated.
Lizziebear: that's what I thought too. Really the only ones being affected by the downsizing are the Army. I have a brother in law in the Army who's kinda high up & that's what he said.
Keep in mind too that FMF corpsmen represent just 1/4 of all active duty corpsmen. Speaking of Fleet Marine Force, we still have corpsmen in the sandbox so keep them in your thoughts & prayers always. On January 29, one of ours was wounded in an IED blast and one of his Marines lost his leg and three fingers.
If you would like to add your support or send a card to this fine young Marine (and new father), here is the link - Pray for Casey. He's had 14 surgeries so far...
Lizziebear I said nothing about cuts being made to new Navy recruits. I said that the Navy is not assigning as many Corpsmen to marine units. Out of the hundreds of Corpsmen that go through FMTB training, only a hand full will get placed with an actual Marine unit. If a recruiter is telling you otherwise, he isn't telling you the truth. And unless it is in their contract, they are not guaranteed to go FMF.
Louielou I'm not saying what you wrote is wrong, and no they are not guaranteed to go FMF because that's only for the top people and if there is availability with anything. I was just clarifying if parents or spouses were confused abt the budget cuts (since you put that in your comment) I wanted to clarify the Navy is not affected. That's all I was actually stating. If my husband wants to go FMF awesome, if not, awesome!
I agree as well lets get back to providing information and sharing. No one sailor is more important then the other. Well of course my son is the most important lol (JK)
Agree Mom4. Marcy you are right FMF is not for top people and it's were the needs are for the Navy . My son is going to FMBT after corpsman school as it says in his contract. This is a great site you ladies have great information here . It's good to know what to expect at A school and it helps me to prepare my son for it !
I think those comments were meant to make it clear that FMF is not reserved for top people only, but that any corpsman who passes the program may get those orders based on the needs of the navy. Congratulations on your son doing so well in a school!!! I think anyone who completes the corpsman program deserves our kudos and thanks!!! ...actually any service member period.
Just an FYI for anyone whose corpsman has gone on to Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (Virginia) - there was a non-injury fire in Building Three at the hospital today, started by an air compressor related to the building's renovation. Building Three is mostly administrative, and again, there were no injuries. http://wavy.com/2014/03/19/fire-reported-at-portsmouth-naval-medica...
hi! thank you for allowing me to join. My daughter is scheduled to go to A school for HM Corpsman after bootcamp. i have a question, will she be able to bring personal items, cell etc? if so, when can those items be given to her?
Yes you can. You can meet your daughter at the airport before she flies out and give her what she wants then. She will know what time she will leave base for the airport and you can meet her at the USO. The. If you want, you can go to airline desk she's flying with her and get a pass so you can go through security and wait at the gate with her if you want.
...she will, however, have limited space. Everything has to fit in their backpack and sea bag, which will already be full of their stuff from bc, so keep it to the essentials, and you can ship her the rest when she gets her address. Keep in mind, space in the barracks is limited, and whatever she has there will have to go on to the next duty station.
Well said Emily. I concur with everything you said. I had a great 11 hours at O'Hare with my son before he left for A school! I sent him his laptop later. The most important thing he wanted was his cell phone!
I don't live to far from HM school in SA about a hour or so . I'm going see my son graduate at GL . I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to go to the airport after he graduates from BC to give him his phone. Do you think they would allow me to drop off his phone at HM School in SA on the day he gets there or would I have to wait quicker than mailing it to him
When we are at the BC graduation there were moms that couldn't get to the airport reach out to a mom in your sons division they dropped off their sons phones at the hotel and my hubby brought them to the airport. We are all here to help each other
Hi ladies I was wondering about something: when do sailors choose their C school? Do they even get to choose? I'm asking because if my SR is interested in Behavioral medical tech, does it depend on if the job is available. Just wanting to get informed :)
Lizziebear - C school slots can be chosen when they fill out their "dream sheet", around the time they finish week 5. Sometimes, a class will have lots of C school openings to choose from and sometimes there are none. As with A school, the higher your grade the better your choices. The student with the highest grade gets first pick, and so on (from the list available for that class). I hope that helps! :)
Hi! My son is staring his HM classes today! class 115 to finish jul 9th (I think.) We live in SE Tx 41/2 hrs away from San A. He thinks he may be able to come home for a visit at some point... By bus or rental car. Is this a possible option?
Thanks in advance for your input! :)
From my daughters experience, she was unable to rent a car because she was only 18. Another option for her to go to Austin to visit our relatives was by train, which was very inexpensive but limited on schedule options. She still had to take a cab to the train station.
Unless it has closed in the last year, there is an enterprise rental car location on base. It is over by the UPS store and the gas station where they have the car wash. It is a very small location though.
Again, my own daughters experience, she was also told about Enterprise. She called Enterprise and they told her she could rent a car. She took a cab down to the location, and was then told they would not rent to her because of her age. She explained she was in the Navy and was told over the phone she could rent a car but to no avail. Then she had to call another cab and wait for it to go back to base. She called me from Enterprise almost in tears she was so frustrated with them.
If your sailor is a USAA member, he/she can rent a car and get the young-driver fee waived (18-24 Hertz, 21-24 at Budget/Avis/Enterprise), thereby saving $25 - $30 per day.
Log into USAA, then go to
Our Products -> Shopping and Discounts/Travel Discounts -> Retail and Discounts/Learn More -> Rental Cars and scroll down to compare the four companies' options (Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz) and on that page, click Rent Now and choose one of the four.
They also waive the second-driver fee for spouses and USAA members.
They offer discounts too, but you may get better ones by joining their frequent-renter clubs and their email deals, if the 25-and-under doesn't apply to you.
When our son was in San Antonio, he took the Megabus home for the weekends. The bus leaves around 6pm and got to Houston around 9pm. Round trip ticket was less than $30.
ProudCorpsmanMom: My son was initially lost. It's hard going from a place where you're around lots of guys all the time with a leader telling you what to do. When he arrived, he didn't know what to do. His roommate was nearly done and not terribly communicative. We had a few teary phone calls at first. I was going to post something about not only getting them emotionally ready for BC but also for A School.
After classes started, he's been extremely busy with studying. The first test was apparently 2 chapters and then a few days later they had a test on 6 chapters. He also has watch duty and cleaning duty so there's not much time for anything else at the moment.
I was getting a call every night but now he will txt and say he's too busy to talk right now.
He is certainly getting more responsible and making some good decisions. I get more proud of him all the time! If you want more details, friend me and I'll share more. Didn't want use too much space here.
cupcakegirl14
Hi Filnavymom! My son wants to go FMF. With what I've learned here, that may change for him, but we'll see. He's a very smart kid & will go far. He's also told me about going after the Seaman to Admiral program. Maybe he'll do that later after he gets to do FMF?? Best of luck to your daughter!!
Mar 12, 2014
louielou
As Macy stated, there are many jobs that Corpsman do, most do not go FMF. A Corpsman can be trained in Field Med (which is FMTB) but not be assigned to a Marine unit, that is where they actually become an FMF Corpsman. Because of the budget cuts and our military finally coming home, there are not as many Corpsman being assigned to marine units and therefor they have to find other places for them to go. This could be a good thing as far as training goes. I know my son is excited that he will be able to start college classes soon and be able to have a career after the Navy, as he isn't sure if he will be able to re-enlist when the time comes. He works in the hospital at Camp Pendleton now.
Mar 12, 2014
NHBBALL MOM
Mar 12, 2014
carafid1
Mar 12, 2014
cupcakegirl14
Jeters mom: I think it depends on how they do at A school, that determines where/if they go to C school?
Mar 12, 2014
EmilyD
Mar 12, 2014
DramaSoul
Hi All. I am not sure if it was in this group or another that someone asked what to get your Corpsman for graduation. I just heard from my son THANKING me for getting him his own stethoscope. I bought a Littmann...really good quality and his buddies are all jealous 'cause he can hear those lungs really well. He is currently stationed on a Marine base working in the clinic. For his 25th birthday (which was 8 days ago), he wanted an otoscope. Sooo...that's what I got him and he is loving using it! It isn't too often I get to hear from him so this just warmed my heart.
Mar 12, 2014
Lizzie_Corpsmanwife
louielou I wanted to just say something about the comment you wrote regarding FMF and C school. Yesterday I talked to the recruiter for my husband regarding budget cuts in the military and just so everyone knows, the Navy already downsized 3 years ago. He said that they are in need of people and are always hiring because the Navy is not being "fully" affected by these cuts. FMF (corpsman) are always needed with the marines. On their board in the office I saw how many new recruits they have gotten every month and since the beginning of the month, they've recruited 9 already. That's just from the recruiter but if you all receive different information please let us know, I'm sure it will be greatly appreciated.
Mar 14, 2014
cupcakegirl14
Lizziebear: that's what I thought too. Really the only ones being affected by the downsizing are the Army. I have a brother in law in the Army who's kinda high up & that's what he said.
Mar 14, 2014
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
Keep in mind too that FMF corpsmen represent just 1/4 of all active duty corpsmen. Speaking of Fleet Marine Force, we still have corpsmen in the sandbox so keep them in your thoughts & prayers always. On January 29, one of ours was wounded in an IED blast and one of his Marines lost his leg and three fingers.
Mar 14, 2014
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
If you would like to add your support or send a card to this fine young Marine (and new father), here is the link - Pray for Casey. He's had 14 surgeries so far...
Mar 14, 2014
louielou
Lizziebear I said nothing about cuts being made to new Navy recruits. I said that the Navy is not assigning as many Corpsmen to marine units. Out of the hundreds of Corpsmen that go through FMTB training, only a hand full will get placed with an actual Marine unit. If a recruiter is telling you otherwise, he isn't telling you the truth. And unless it is in their contract, they are not guaranteed to go FMF.
Mar 15, 2014
Lizzie_Corpsmanwife
Mar 15, 2014
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
All due respect but FMF isn't "only for the top people" :) Needs of the Navy….
Mar 15, 2014
Lizzie_Corpsmanwife
Mar 15, 2014
EmilyD
Mar 17, 2014
carafid1
I agree as well lets get back to providing information and sharing. No one sailor is more important then the other. Well of course my son is the most important lol (JK)
Mar 17, 2014
Kat72
I couldn't agree more, I am proud of each and everyone of our Sailor/Corpsman...they are in a very intense course of study with very little breaks!
Mar 17, 2014
cupcakegirl14
Lots of prayers going up for them during their study! I can only imagine how fast they are having to learn stuff!!
Mar 17, 2014
Michelle
Agree Mom4. Marcy you are right FMF is not for top people and it's were the needs are for the Navy . My son is going to FMBT after corpsman school as it says in his contract. This is a great site you ladies have great information here . It's good to know what to expect at A school and it helps me to prepare my son for it !
Mar 18, 2014
EmilyD
Mar 18, 2014
EmilyD
Mar 18, 2014
Maria ( 9/132 - HM- 04-2011)
Mar 18, 2014
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
Thanks Emily - exactly :)
Mar 18, 2014
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
Just an FYI for anyone whose corpsman has gone on to Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (Virginia) - there was a non-injury fire in Building Three at the hospital today, started by an air compressor related to the building's renovation. Building Three is mostly administrative, and again, there were no injuries. http://wavy.com/2014/03/19/fire-reported-at-portsmouth-naval-medica...
Mar 19, 2014
DramaSoul
Well said Emily. Marcy, thanks for the update.
Mar 19, 2014
Rox 0502
hi! thank you for allowing me to join. My daughter is scheduled to go to A school for HM Corpsman after bootcamp. i have a question, will she be able to bring personal items, cell etc? if so, when can those items be given to her?
Mar 23, 2014
EmilyD
Mar 23, 2014
EmilyD
Mar 23, 2014
Rox 0502
Mar 23, 2014
DramaSoul
Well said Emily. I concur with everything you said. I had a great 11 hours at O'Hare with my son before he left for A school! I sent him his laptop later. The most important thing he wanted was his cell phone!
Mar 23, 2014
Michelle
I don't live to far from HM school in SA about a hour or so . I'm going see my son graduate at GL . I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to go to the airport after he graduates from BC to give him his phone. Do you think they would allow me to drop off his phone at HM School in SA on the day he gets there or would I have to wait quicker than mailing it to him
Mar 24, 2014
carafid1
Mar 24, 2014
michelle6
Class 80 at San Antonio are receiving Orders today. They should have them all passed out by tomorrow.
Mar 25, 2014
Lizzie_Corpsmanwife
Hi ladies I was wondering about something: when do sailors choose their C school? Do they even get to choose? I'm asking because if my SR is interested in Behavioral medical tech, does it depend on if the job is available. Just wanting to get informed :)
Thanks!
Mar 25, 2014
Trish from Texas
Mar 25, 2014
PeaCoatMama
Lizziebear you asked the question I was wondering too. Thank you TrishfromTexas for your explanation.
Mar 26, 2014
ProudCorpsmanMom-Ship 14 Div 155
Mar 26, 2014
Karin417-14/DIV104
Thanks in advance for your input! :)
Mar 26, 2014
Britt<3Corpsman Wife
Mar 26, 2014
Lizzie_Corpsmanwife
TrishfromTexas thanks so much for that info :)))
Mar 26, 2014
MorningGlory
Mar 26, 2014
carfruit
Mar 26, 2014
DSS: Ship 03 DIV 137 PIR 4/11/14
Actually, Enterprise is not on base. There IS an Enterprise location very close to the base on Wurzbach.
Mar 26, 2014
Britt<3Corpsman Wife
Mar 26, 2014
MorningGlory
Mar 26, 2014
DSS: Ship 03 DIV 137 PIR 4/11/14
You are correct Britt! My bad...I've never noticed it when I've been on base.
Mar 26, 2014
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
If your sailor is a USAA member, he/she can rent a car and get the young-driver fee waived (18-24 Hertz, 21-24 at Budget/Avis/Enterprise), thereby saving $25 - $30 per day.
Log into USAA, then go to
Our Products -> Shopping and Discounts/Travel Discounts -> Retail and Discounts/Learn More -> Rental Cars and scroll down to compare the four companies' options (Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz) and on that page, click Rent Now and choose one of the four.
They also waive the second-driver fee for spouses and USAA members.
They offer discounts too, but you may get better ones by joining their frequent-renter clubs and their email deals, if the 25-and-under doesn't apply to you.
Mar 26, 2014
Trish from Texas
Mar 26, 2014
Emptynester
ProudCorpsmanMom: My son was initially lost. It's hard going from a place where you're around lots of guys all the time with a leader telling you what to do. When he arrived, he didn't know what to do. His roommate was nearly done and not terribly communicative. We had a few teary phone calls at first. I was going to post something about not only getting them emotionally ready for BC but also for A School.
After classes started, he's been extremely busy with studying. The first test was apparently 2 chapters and then a few days later they had a test on 6 chapters. He also has watch duty and cleaning duty so there's not much time for anything else at the moment.
I was getting a call every night but now he will txt and say he's too busy to talk right now.
He is certainly getting more responsible and making some good decisions. I get more proud of him all the time! If you want more details, friend me and I'll share more. Didn't want use too much space here.
Mar 26, 2014