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!
Today, June 17, marks the 117th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Navy Hospital Corps! The annual tradition of honoring the Hospital Corps' legacy of achievements, heroism and sacrifice as the Navy's most decorated rating is taking place this week around the world at formal Hospital Corps Balls and at ceremonies on land and at sea (and every one will have a cake-cutting by the youngest and oldest corpsmen present). When my own son joined the Navy just seven years ago, these same Navyformoms.com corpsman groups were filled not so much with questions about liberty phases and cellphones, but with sleepless parents sharing their deepest anxieties about their deployed loved ones and, too often, their anguish. Thankfully, far fewer are in harm's way today as the rest nevertheless continue to maintain battle-readiness. Take a moment today to celebrate and honor our heroes, our Navy hospital corpsmen!
Hi EVERYONE,
I'm new here and my son has been in A school for 2 months in San Antonio. Says he is going overseas don't know where yet are they fighting a war over seas. OMG, GULP.. worried
Wow! It has been a very long time since I have been out on this page! A lot has happened since my son graduated from Corpsman A School in June 2013! After receiving his orders to Naval Hospital Bremerton and having the privilege to work for many individuals at the hospital, he was placed in the post-op ward and became shift lead (nights). They kept transferring him between days and nights because both shifts wanted him as team lead! BZ to him. Finally back on days and put in for his orders. He is headed to FMTB W soon and then on to a Marine division (infantry) . . . we are looking forward to attending his FMTB graduation in September. I hope you all are doing great! Glad to be back out on this N4M page! Have a fabulous day!
Hi DREW7062, My son graduated in November 2014 and hasn't been deployed but it's only a matter of time. You are not alone. I also GULP at the thought. NMH's to you and yours
My Son just graduated bc and just arrived at A school SA, is there a group by graduation date? Or group to advise new families on how to support Sailors in the beginning stages of this school?
Congratulations Joe& NatesMom - what a great time to be there! What's next for your corpsman?
Hootsmom - This is your group! At this point it's best to rely on your sailor for the graduation date as it may change. I try to get the list from school when I can and post it above. There is a FB link above but they don't post grad dates with any reliability. As far as support - getting care packages is a pain for students, and keep in mind anything they acquire while there has to be carried with them to their first duty station crammed in their (full) seabags or they have to deal with boxing and mailing things home.
Learning about the rating is a great way to be supportive. Read the info at the links at the top of this page, as there is a LOT to learn about the Hospital Corps - the best rating in the Navy!
Thanks for the heads up, I had thought about him having to carry any more stuff as he relocates - impossible. Just sending off shaving kit, lint brush stain sticks, socks that kind of thing and a small flip EMT study guide that was very helpful for me and an anatomy flip guide. Very small things. He can give them to us when he graduates or pass them on to a room mate. We look forward to traveling there for a visit, is there something like the Navy lodge there? I know its a combined base so there must be hotels yes?
Great idea about the small study guides! Re hotels - look at the Discussion Forum above - you'll see one marked "HOTEL RECOMMENDATIONS" with info from other moms who have gone to visit. There is a map to the base, too.
If you stay in building 1384, you can see their barracks from the building. The rooms are so-so, but very reasonable, and breaakfast is included.
Candlewood is really nice, but about a 10 minute walk/run from the barracks they are in.
Also, if you are and IHG member, you get the points for the stay. Not sure you can use them to get lodging on base, but they can be used at any other IHG location.
Hope this information helps. We've been to see our sailor 3 times already, with a trip planned this weekend. Each time we've stayed in Building 1384. The rooms are clean with a mini fridge, microwave and coffee maker. The only probelm we had was on our first stay. We were right next to the elevators. Noise all night! After that stay, we just tell them to make sure we aren't next to the elevators. A lot of the people that stay in this lodging are military members there for training, so it's basically quiet.
Hi, we went to ft sam houston last week for graduation. i n order to get on post my sailor had to submit our DL# and birthdate and put our names on a list. Then you go to the visitors center and they take your DL# and enter the info to match ppl on the list who can get a visitors pass. I'm not sure if your sailor can get it anytime, or just for special occasions. but that is how we were able to get in. If you don't have a visitors pass, they turn you right back around (that happened when we first got there).
What debnavysailormom said is correct. But you can get the pass yourself. You MUST stop at the gate house before approaching the gates and go inside. With your DL you can get a pass if you have business on base. We have always told them our son was stationed there and we usually had reservations as well to stay on base. He has never gone and put information at the gate before our going there. The only time he went with us was to get us a 30 day pass, as your sailor has to sponsor you for those.
I can't believe it's been 3 years on 2 July since my Corpsman (now HM3) graduated from A school. I stayed at the Red Roof Inn because we had the weekend before he graduated to spend time together. It was about 1/4 mile from downtown and the Riverwalk. It was nice, clean, comfortable and gave us the chance to walk and talk going to and from the downtown/Riverwalk activities. It has probably changed since then to getting onto the base. I had to show my driver's license but my son didn't have to have me on a list.
We just received news that my MIL has been diagnosed with end stage leukemia. She has been given no more than two months to live. I had to inform our sailor who is in C school at this time. I am concerned that this could affect her school because she is very close with her grandmother. I reminded her that grandma is very proud of her and that she needs to stay focused. Please keep our family in your prayers and our sailor in your prayers so that she remains strong and focused in her classes.
Good Morning Everyone, It has been a while since I've have been here as my Corpsman graduated A school 2 years ago. After going to FMTB W and doing duty at the Naval Hospital there on Camp Pendleton, he is now on his way back to SA for C school Preventive Med. He is not looking forward to the Texas heat at all.
For those visiting Ft Sam keep in mind that if you stay on base or close by and plan on sightseeing, I highly recommend renting a car (if you didn't drive there) as taxi service is very expensive. We stayed about 10 min from base and about 20 min from the downtown Riverwalk area.
Joe&NatesMom - how great that you can go! As the commanding officer said at my son's graduation from A School - "these corpsmen are the creme de la creme of the Navy." So much to be proud of, and such great things to come. Congratulations!
militarywifeandnowmom - Welcome to the group! Look above in the Discussion Forum and open the one called 'Hotel Recommendations" - a lot of information there.
Hi Marcy, son is in his 11th week of A school at fort Sam Huston and has rec iced orders to go th Japan he's pretty excited. Does he get to come home before going to Japan. Is there anything information I can look at regarding where he could possibly be stationed at in Japan, can he live off base... Or is it mandatory he live on base, does the military help him get his passport. How much extra money does he get, etc.
thank you
Hi there drew7062. My son is currently stationed at Okinawa naval hospital. If you need any help let me know. He loves it there plans on staying after his 2 years are up. Just PM me
Looking for info on marine recon corpsman process so I can support our Sailor. Any info would be helpful is there a group? He is in first few weeks of A school. Doing very well. Thanks to all who help the newbies through the process.
Bitter sweet...had a wonderful visit to San Antonio/Fort Sam...was supposed to bring our son home with us before he heads for Spain, but the military "powers that be" decided that he, and a bunch of others, had to stay there till next week...no tickets...go figure.
Joe&NatesMom - well, welcome to the military... At least you were able to attend :) What did you think of the experience, and what advice can you share for others?
militarywifeandnowmom - he doesn't "need" anything per se, but will want his phone and tablet or laptop. Anyone else have recommendations?
Yoooohooooo! Just got back from San Antonio fort Sam Huston saw my boy yay!!!!!!!! First time since pair granduation he's getting ready to graduate from A school so proud of him YES! Good luck everyone
Drew
Cooool! :) For anyone else planning a visit, check out this article. The New York Times names 52 must-see world cities for 2015, and #36 is none other than San Antonio, Texas!
San Antonio: New attractions and renewed cultural depth.
San Antonio’s riverside promenade, River Walk, one of Texas’s most visited attractions, was expanded in 2013 from three to 15 miles, linking to four of the city’s historic Spanish colonial missions, a $358 million investment that has inspired a path-side development boom. In late 2013, the Briscoe Western Art Museum opened in the former San Antonio Library. Last September, the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, host venue to the San Antonio Symphony and nine other cultural institutions, joined the River Walk, adding an outdoor performance plaza, 30-foot video wall and water-taxi stand. The River Walk now reaches the redeveloped Pearl Brewery, home to restaurants, a cooking school and, in spring, the 146-room Hotel Emma from Kimpton Hotels.
Can anyone tell me when they receive their hard orders? My sailor has received preliminary orders, but not his final ones. We are trying to determine how much leave he will have between graduation and when he has to be at his duty station. His sister is hoping to come home from DC during his leave and plans on getting married before he leaves.
Welcome Bobbi H and augie1116! For graduation and hotel info, look at the info in the Discussion Forum above called "Hotel Recommendations or click here.
As far as hard orders and leave - things can change and trying to coordinate something as important as a wedding can be hard. Anyone have advice for her?
Two things I have learned since my son has been in the Navy (coming up on 4 years):The only constant is change and nothing is etched in stone. My son was told he would be going to Okinawa right up until a couple of weeks before he was scheduled to leave. Then his orders changed. It's all about the needs of Ma Navy! For those of us who are planners and organizers, it's frustrating as all heck. However, I have learned to just go with the flow and not sweat stuff Ihave no control over. Not always the easiest thing to do. He is loving what he's doing so that's what's important!
Thanks Marcy for the hotel information. We already have reservations on base. We are in Texas 4 hours south of Fort Sam and have been up several times, with a plan to go again this weekend.
DramaSoul I know everything is based on the needs of the Navy. My husband was Navy full time and then Air Force reserves. I definitely know things can change. Just hoping to get a window of ideas about how much leave they have to help sister figure out if they can be here from DC to be married, since she really wants her brother to be here for her wedding. She's pretty flexible, thankfully. Doesn't have a date set in stone, but she and her fiancé need to get airline tickets to be back in Texas during leave.
One of our own has just been named Navy Times' Sailor of the Year!
"It takes a special person to dedicate their lives to be a corpsman, so they are naturally some very motivated individuals, but Petty Officer Freeman is a special individual who exceeds even that high standard that a corpsman brings to the fight," Cmdr. Nathan Almond, Ike's senior medical officer, said. http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/2015/07/20/2015-navy-times-...
I've gone to visit my fiance twice and we've booked my hotels thru this website: www.ihgarmyhotels.com
The Candlewood Suites (Bldg 2426) was the perfect location on base, pet friendly and a great hotel overall. The Riverwalk is about a 10-15 minute drive from base.
Thanks to amber02888 for the hotel info; I added it to the Discussion "Hotel Recommendations." Everyone's experience helps the next person!
A big thank-you also to wigglyturtle for providing an update on Liberty Phases! The updated info is at a link above with the permanent info. Hopefully she'll share how she came up with that name soon too! :)
Lots of good info here; I'm looking forward to reading! My son arrived last weekend and begins school tomorrow, class 15-205, if I understand the schedule.
I think of it like this - when a person begins their career at their first job, they don't expect to get vacation just six months or less after their start date. Boot camp and A School are really days at work - they're being paid, so it's not like being at college or whatever. Hopefully she spoken with her sponsor regarding her arrival date. Enjoy your visit, congratulations on her graduation and best wishes to her at her first duty station.
Hello Everyone, My son will be graduating from A school, next tuesday, August 11, 2015..We are so proud of him...We will be flying in to see the graduation...any tips on what to expect at the graduation....
My son (in the much younger picture with this post) will be going through his PIR on Friday. Soon after, he's off to corpsman school in SA. He has grown so much since beginning BC. He really has a sense of purpose now. I look forward to learning all I can from the moms on this site!
Marcy...OMG! I re-read what I had written which is now 3 years ago! I teared up just reading the post. I had the opportunity to fly to my son's new duty station for his Frocking Ceremony. It was a quick trip...flew in on a Thursday and out on Sunday. While the ceremony was only an hour, I was so glad I could make it! I got to meet my son's co-workers and friends as well as his superiors. His Chief gave him the day off since I had flown 3,000 miles for that ceremony. I love getting these glimpses of his life. I know he was really happy that I was able to make it.
Hi everyone. My daughter just went through PIR on August 21 and is now at A School in San Antonio to be a corpsman. You site says that the training is for 94 days, but my daughter says that it is 115 days excluding weekends. Can you help clear things up?
Hey Navy Mom. My son just graduated 8/18 and finished to leave base 8/21. He arrived 5/2. The days she is including may also be the first almost 2 weeks are spent in briefings and don't count as classroom days. Hope that helps clarify.
Navy mom : my son started A school in San Antonio April 24 week and he graduated August 4 and came home for 2 weeks and arrived in Japan yesterday. I'm so proud of him. And good luck to you and yours!
DREW7062 - What a coincidence! Our son has been in Japan for over a year now and we've been emailing while he'd been on a deployment for the last few months. He mentioned that a couple of new corpsman were arriving about the same time they were getting back (yesterday). Your son must be one of the new guys!
Not sure what you're son brought with him, but when the corpsman rotate out, they usually have some big items to sell, like cars, new TV's, etc. Buying a huge, new, TV from a sailor transferring back to the U.S. for about $75 is pretty common...and a pretty great deal!
my2navygirls - I don't visit this site as often as I used to since our son has been in Japan for over a year now, but I saw your post today and wanted to tell you I understand what you must have been feeling. I'm a prior Navy corpsman myself (Gulf War). I have had a lot of learning to do since our son joined the Navy. Things have definitely changed over the years. I remember we used to get paid tickets to go home for a visit before jetting off across the world to a new duty station, and especially now that our son is in Japan, that would really come in handy, believe me! So many things about today's Navy are much better, though, and far outweigh the few perks we used to have.
In particular, the changes to the G.I. Bill make it so much easier for our kids to get the college education they earn by serving our country. They have way more opportunities to earn college credit, and complete job certifications while they are active duty, too. There's no other "job" I know of that has the benefits of the military.
With housing and food taken care of, our son decided to put away a small part of his paychecks into a savings account he builds up to help pay for his airline tickets home (usually around Christmas), and we pay the rest. He hasn't been able to visit every year, due to deployments and such, but when he's on base, we Skype at least once a week. We also email almost daily wherever he's at.
Marcy made a great point about remembering this is the beginning of their career. I keep that in mind whenever I am feeling anxious about scheduling issues. We may not know until the last minute when he's coming home, but we know he's going to get a lot out of this experience and have opportunities to succeed in life whether he decides to stay in or make a career out of it. He gets a sense of independence and achievement and we know he's learning, growing, fed, housed, and living within a set of pretty rigid guidelines which keeps them much safer than if they were out there on their own. For sure! :)
On his last float (deployment), I was telling him about some crazy stuff we did on the ship when we didn't have patients to treat, and he joked back, "Hey, Mom, did you know that we don't actually row the boats by hand anymore?". Ha, ha, ha! See? Things DO change for the better, sometimes! LOL!
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
Today, June 17, marks the 117th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Navy Hospital Corps! The annual tradition of honoring the Hospital Corps' legacy of achievements, heroism and sacrifice as the Navy's most decorated rating is taking place this week around the world at formal Hospital Corps Balls and at ceremonies on land and at sea (and every one will have a cake-cutting by the youngest and oldest corpsmen present). When my own son joined the Navy just seven years ago, these same Navyformoms.com corpsman groups were filled not so much with questions about liberty phases and cellphones, but with sleepless parents sharing their deepest anxieties about their deployed loved ones and, too often, their anguish. Thankfully, far fewer are in harm's way today as the rest nevertheless continue to maintain battle-readiness. Take a moment today to celebrate and honor our heroes, our Navy hospital corpsmen!
Jun 17, 2015
DREW7062
I'm new here and my son has been in A school for 2 months in San Antonio. Says he is going overseas don't know where yet are they fighting a war over seas. OMG, GULP.. worried
Jun 17, 2015
PatsFan923 HM Mom
Wow! It has been a very long time since I have been out on this page! A lot has happened since my son graduated from Corpsman A School in June 2013! After receiving his orders to Naval Hospital Bremerton and having the privilege to work for many individuals at the hospital, he was placed in the post-op ward and became shift lead (nights). They kept transferring him between days and nights because both shifts wanted him as team lead! BZ to him. Finally back on days and put in for his orders. He is headed to FMTB W soon and then on to a Marine division (infantry) . . . we are looking forward to attending his FMTB graduation in September. I hope you all are doing great! Glad to be back out on this N4M page! Have a fabulous day!
Jun 17, 2015
Mommabear
Hi DREW7062, My son graduated in November 2014 and hasn't been deployed but it's only a matter of time. You are not alone. I also GULP at the thought. NMH's to you and yours
Jun 19, 2015
Joe&NatesMom
Jun 22, 2015
Hootsmom
My Son just graduated bc and just arrived at A school SA, is there a group by graduation date? Or group to advise new families on how to support Sailors in the beginning stages of this school?
Jun 23, 2015
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
Congratulations Joe& NatesMom - what a great time to be there! What's next for your corpsman?
Hootsmom - This is your group! At this point it's best to rely on your sailor for the graduation date as it may change. I try to get the list from school when I can and post it above. There is a FB link above but they don't post grad dates with any reliability. As far as support - getting care packages is a pain for students, and keep in mind anything they acquire while there has to be carried with them to their first duty station crammed in their (full) seabags or they have to deal with boxing and mailing things home.
Learning about the rating is a great way to be supportive. Read the info at the links at the top of this page, as there is a LOT to learn about the Hospital Corps - the best rating in the Navy!
Jun 24, 2015
Hootsmom
Thanks for the heads up, I had thought about him having to carry any more stuff as he relocates - impossible. Just sending off shaving kit, lint brush stain sticks, socks that kind of thing and a small flip EMT study guide that was very helpful for me and an anatomy flip guide. Very small things. He can give them to us when he graduates or pass them on to a room mate. We look forward to traveling there for a visit, is there something like the Navy lodge there? I know its a combined base so there must be hotels yes?
Jun 25, 2015
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
Great idea about the small study guides! Re hotels - look at the Discussion Forum above - you'll see one marked "HOTEL RECOMMENDATIONS" with info from other moms who have gone to visit. There is a map to the base, too.
Jun 25, 2015
Bobbi H
Hootsmom: I always book thru this site for Fort Sam. http://www.ihg.com/armyhotels/hotels/us/en/reservation
If you stay in building 1384, you can see their barracks from the building. The rooms are so-so, but very reasonable, and breaakfast is included.
Candlewood is really nice, but about a 10 minute walk/run from the barracks they are in.
Also, if you are and IHG member, you get the points for the stay. Not sure you can use them to get lodging on base, but they can be used at any other IHG location.
Hope this information helps. We've been to see our sailor 3 times already, with a trip planned this weekend. Each time we've stayed in Building 1384. The rooms are clean with a mini fridge, microwave and coffee maker. The only probelm we had was on our first stay. We were right next to the elevators. Noise all night! After that stay, we just tell them to make sure we aren't next to the elevators. A lot of the people that stay in this lodging are military members there for training, so it's basically quiet.
Jun 25, 2015
DREW7062
Jun 25, 2015
debnavysailormom
Hi, we went to ft sam houston last week for graduation. i n order to get on post my sailor had to submit our DL# and birthdate and put our names on a list. Then you go to the visitors center and they take your DL# and enter the info to match ppl on the list who can get a visitors pass. I'm not sure if your sailor can get it anytime, or just for special occasions. but that is how we were able to get in. If you don't have a visitors pass, they turn you right back around (that happened when we first got there).
Jun 25, 2015
Bobbi H
What debnavysailormom said is correct. But you can get the pass yourself. You MUST stop at the gate house before approaching the gates and go inside. With your DL you can get a pass if you have business on base. We have always told them our son was stationed there and we usually had reservations as well to stay on base. He has never gone and put information at the gate before our going there. The only time he went with us was to get us a 30 day pass, as your sailor has to sponsor you for those.
Jun 25, 2015
DramaSoul
I can't believe it's been 3 years on 2 July since my Corpsman (now HM3) graduated from A school. I stayed at the Red Roof Inn because we had the weekend before he graduated to spend time together. It was about 1/4 mile from downtown and the Riverwalk. It was nice, clean, comfortable and gave us the chance to walk and talk going to and from the downtown/Riverwalk activities. It has probably changed since then to getting onto the base. I had to show my driver's license but my son didn't have to have me on a list.
Jun 28, 2015
Dutchess
We just received news that my MIL has been diagnosed with end stage leukemia. She has been given no more than two months to live. I had to inform our sailor who is in C school at this time. I am concerned that this could affect her school because she is very close with her grandmother. I reminded her that grandma is very proud of her and that she needs to stay focused. Please keep our family in your prayers and our sailor in your prayers so that she remains strong and focused in her classes.
Jun 29, 2015
louielou
Good Morning Everyone, It has been a while since I've have been here as my Corpsman graduated A school 2 years ago. After going to FMTB W and doing duty at the Naval Hospital there on Camp Pendleton, he is now on his way back to SA for C school Preventive Med. He is not looking forward to the Texas heat at all.
For those visiting Ft Sam keep in mind that if you stay on base or close by and plan on sightseeing, I highly recommend renting a car (if you didn't drive there) as taxi service is very expensive. We stayed about 10 min from base and about 20 min from the downtown Riverwalk area.
Jul 1, 2015
Joe&NatesMom
Jul 1, 2015
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
Joe&NatesMom - how great that you can go! As the commanding officer said at my son's graduation from A School - "these corpsmen are the creme de la creme of the Navy." So much to be proud of, and such great things to come. Congratulations!
militarywifeandnowmom - Welcome to the group! Look above in the Discussion Forum and open the one called 'Hotel Recommendations" - a lot of information there.
Jul 1, 2015
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
Welcome AzMom! Be sure to join this group too :) Arizona Moms
Jul 8, 2015
DREW7062
thank you
Jul 9, 2015
carafid1
Jul 9, 2015
DREW7062
Jul 9, 2015
DREW7062
Jul 9, 2015
Hootsmom
Looking for info on marine recon corpsman process so I can support our Sailor. Any info would be helpful is there a group? He is in first few weeks of A school. Doing very well. Thanks to all who help the newbies through the process.
Jul 11, 2015
Joe&NatesMom
Jul 11, 2015
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
Joe&NatesMom - well, welcome to the military... At least you were able to attend :) What did you think of the experience, and what advice can you share for others?
militarywifeandnowmom - he doesn't "need" anything per se, but will want his phone and tablet or laptop. Anyone else have recommendations?
Hootsmom - here is some info: http://navyformoms.com/group/sarc-special-amphibious-recon-corpsman...
carafid1 and Drew7062 - love seeing members ask, respond, connect and share!
Jul 13, 2015
DREW7062
Drew
Jul 13, 2015
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
Comment by Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom 1 second ago Delete Comment
Cooool! :) For anyone else planning a visit, check out this article. The New York Times names 52 must-see world cities for 2015, and #36 is none other than San Antonio, Texas!
San Antonio: New attractions and renewed cultural depth.
San Antonio’s riverside promenade, River Walk, one of Texas’s most visited attractions, was expanded in 2013 from three to 15 miles, linking to four of the city’s historic Spanish colonial missions, a $358 million investment that has inspired a path-side development boom. In late 2013, the Briscoe Western Art Museum opened in the former San Antonio Library. Last September, the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, host venue to the San Antonio Symphony and nine other cultural institutions, joined the River Walk, adding an outdoor performance plaza, 30-foot video wall and water-taxi stand. The River Walk now reaches the redeveloped Pearl Brewery, home to restaurants, a cooking school and, in spring, the 146-room Hotel Emma from Kimpton Hotels.
52 Places to go in 2015 | NY Times
Jul 15, 2015
augie1116
My son is graduation from A school on August 11, 2015....Do you know what procedures are in detail...Also we need a hotel recommendation...Please help
Jul 16, 2015
DREW7062
Jul 16, 2015
Bobbi H
Can anyone tell me when they receive their hard orders? My sailor has received preliminary orders, but not his final ones. We are trying to determine how much leave he will have between graduation and when he has to be at his duty station. His sister is hoping to come home from DC during his leave and plans on getting married before he leaves.
Jul 17, 2015
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
Welcome Bobbi H and augie1116! For graduation and hotel info, look at the info in the Discussion Forum above called "Hotel Recommendations or click here.
As far as hard orders and leave - things can change and trying to coordinate something as important as a wedding can be hard. Anyone have advice for her?
Jul 20, 2015
DramaSoul
Two things I have learned since my son has been in the Navy (coming up on 4 years):The only constant is change and nothing is etched in stone. My son was told he would be going to Okinawa right up until a couple of weeks before he was scheduled to leave. Then his orders changed. It's all about the needs of Ma Navy! For those of us who are planners and organizers, it's frustrating as all heck. However, I have learned to just go with the flow and not sweat stuff Ihave no control over. Not always the easiest thing to do. He is loving what he's doing so that's what's important!
Jul 20, 2015
Bobbi H
DramaSoul I know everything is based on the needs of the Navy. My husband was Navy full time and then Air Force reserves. I definitely know things can change. Just hoping to get a window of ideas about how much leave they have to help sister figure out if they can be here from DC to be married, since she really wants her brother to be here for her wedding. She's pretty flexible, thankfully. Doesn't have a date set in stone, but she and her fiancé need to get airline tickets to be back in Texas during leave.
Jul 20, 2015
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
One of our own has just been named Navy Times' Sailor of the Year!
"It takes a special person to dedicate their lives to be a corpsman, so they are naturally some very motivated individuals, but Petty Officer Freeman is a special individual who exceeds even that high standard that a corpsman brings to the fight," Cmdr. Nathan Almond, Ike's senior medical officer, said. http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/2015/07/20/2015-navy-times-...
Jul 20, 2015
amber02888
I've gone to visit my fiance twice and we've booked my hotels thru this website: www.ihgarmyhotels.com
The Candlewood Suites (Bldg 2426) was the perfect location on base, pet friendly and a great hotel overall. The Riverwalk is about a 10-15 minute drive from base.
Jul 23, 2015
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
Thanks to amber02888 for the hotel info; I added it to the Discussion "Hotel Recommendations." Everyone's experience helps the next person!
A big thank-you also to wigglyturtle for providing an update on Liberty Phases! The updated info is at a link above with the permanent info. Hopefully she'll share how she came up with that name soon too! :)
Jul 23, 2015
MidwestMomNancy
Jul 26, 2015
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
Welcome, MidwestMomNancy! Congratulations on your soon-to-be corpsman. Enjoy the reading and ask away with any questions :)
Mother of Twins - Regarding your message, I just sent you an email with some options.
Jul 27, 2015
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
I think of it like this - when a person begins their career at their first job, they don't expect to get vacation just six months or less after their start date. Boot camp and A School are really days at work - they're being paid, so it's not like being at college or whatever. Hopefully she spoken with her sponsor regarding her arrival date. Enjoy your visit, congratulations on her graduation and best wishes to her at her first duty station.
Aug 2, 2015
augie1116
Hello Everyone, My son will be graduating from A school, next tuesday, August 11, 2015..We are so proud of him...We will be flying in to see the graduation...any tips on what to expect at the graduation....
Aug 2, 2015
DrSally
My son (in the much younger picture with this post) will be going through his PIR on Friday. Soon after, he's off to corpsman school in SA. He has grown so much since beginning BC. He really has a sense of purpose now. I look forward to learning all I can from the moms on this site!
Aug 4, 2015
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
Welcome DrSally and augie1116!
DrSally, there's a lot of good info to read through at the links above.
augie1116, here is member Dramasoul's description of her experience in 2012 - HM graduation reflections.
Aug 4, 2015
DramaSoul
Marcy...OMG! I re-read what I had written which is now 3 years ago! I teared up just reading the post. I had the opportunity to fly to my son's new duty station for his Frocking Ceremony. It was a quick trip...flew in on a Thursday and out on Sunday. While the ceremony was only an hour, I was so glad I could make it! I got to meet my son's co-workers and friends as well as his superiors. His Chief gave him the day off since I had flown 3,000 miles for that ceremony. I love getting these glimpses of his life. I know he was really happy that I was able to make it.
I can't believe how fast the time has flown!
Aug 5, 2015
Bobbi H
Anyone on here Class of 150 and going to graduation next week?
Aug 10, 2015
Navy Mom
Hi everyone. My daughter just went through PIR on August 21 and is now at A School in San Antonio to be a corpsman. You site says that the training is for 94 days, but my daughter says that it is 115 days excluding weekends. Can you help clear things up?
Aug 27, 2015
Bobbi H
Aug 27, 2015
DREW7062
Aug 27, 2015
Trish from Texas
DREW7062 - What a coincidence! Our son has been in Japan for over a year now and we've been emailing while he'd been on a deployment for the last few months. He mentioned that a couple of new corpsman were arriving about the same time they were getting back (yesterday). Your son must be one of the new guys!
Not sure what you're son brought with him, but when the corpsman rotate out, they usually have some big items to sell, like cars, new TV's, etc. Buying a huge, new, TV from a sailor transferring back to the U.S. for about $75 is pretty common...and a pretty great deal!
Aug 28, 2015
Trish from Texas
my2navygirls - I don't visit this site as often as I used to since our son has been in Japan for over a year now, but I saw your post today and wanted to tell you I understand what you must have been feeling. I'm a prior Navy corpsman myself (Gulf War). I have had a lot of learning to do since our son joined the Navy. Things have definitely changed over the years. I remember we used to get paid tickets to go home for a visit before jetting off across the world to a new duty station, and especially now that our son is in Japan, that would really come in handy, believe me! So many things about today's Navy are much better, though, and far outweigh the few perks we used to have.
In particular, the changes to the G.I. Bill make it so much easier for our kids to get the college education they earn by serving our country. They have way more opportunities to earn college credit, and complete job certifications while they are active duty, too. There's no other "job" I know of that has the benefits of the military.
With housing and food taken care of, our son decided to put away a small part of his paychecks into a savings account he builds up to help pay for his airline tickets home (usually around Christmas), and we pay the rest. He hasn't been able to visit every year, due to deployments and such, but when he's on base, we Skype at least once a week. We also email almost daily wherever he's at.
Marcy made a great point about remembering this is the beginning of their career. I keep that in mind whenever I am feeling anxious about scheduling issues. We may not know until the last minute when he's coming home, but we know he's going to get a lot out of this experience and have opportunities to succeed in life whether he decides to stay in or make a career out of it. He gets a sense of independence and achievement and we know he's learning, growing, fed, housed, and living within a set of pretty rigid guidelines which keeps them much safer than if they were out there on their own. For sure! :)
On his last float (deployment), I was telling him about some crazy stuff we did on the ship when we didn't have patients to treat, and he joked back, "Hey, Mom, did you know that we don't actually row the boats by hand anymore?". Ha, ha, ha! See? Things DO change for the better, sometimes! LOL!
Aug 28, 2015