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

DREW7062 - Our son needed an entire day to sleep once he got to Japan, but they adjust pretty fast.  The time difference was tough for us, but we Skype between 8pm-midnight Friday and Saturday (our time) which is late morning Saturday and Sunday for them. 

Our son is in Okinawa, first at one base, but now another.  The clinic he is attached to required them to purchase cell phones so that they could be contacted for emergencies.  He doesn't use the cell phone to call home since that would cost him more.  We use Skype for video calls twice a week when he's on base.  His orders were for 2 years (I think most are) and so he picks orders in a few weeks and will transfer to his next duty station next May.  We're praying the next duty station is MUCH closer to Texas, or at least in the U.S. :)

Last year he was fairly new to the base, so he only got 12 days of leave to come home for Christmas.  They gain a day coming home, but then lose 2 days going back, and they really need a few days of rest to get re-acclimated to the time difference, so that cut into his leave quite a bit.  This year, they had a week off right after a float, so we met halfway in Hawaii to cut down on his travel and expenses.  The ticket home last year was about $1,500 for business class.  This Christmas, they have approved his leave for longer, so he'll be able to come home for Christmas again.  

I hope your son enjoys his time in Japan.  Our son has really enjoyed visiting the surrounding communities and all the restaurants.  They are so busy there that the time seems to just fly by!   

For those whose corpsmen will go on to Field Medical Training Battalion - and nearly all corpsmen do eventually, whether they are going FMF or not - here is an special report about FMTB from this month's Sea Power magazine, published by the Navy League of the United States.  It starts on page 38.  http://www.seapower-digital.com/seapower/september_2015#pg41

Thank you Marcy - Corpsman Mom!! Great article. Those FMF corpsman are dedicated and selfless. I pray for each one. May their families be supportive and strong. NMHs

Hello everyone. I wanted to find out if all carriers were allowed on base to make deliveries. I want to send a care package to my sailor and was wondering which to use (USPS, FedEX or UPS)  Any tips would be very appreciated. Thank you :)

Hi Vee!  Your corpsman-to-be would probably be the one to ask for the most up-to-date info.  Also, consider asking your sailor if he or she really wants a care package right now - sometimes the hassle of getting it is more than it's worth.  When and if you do send something, keep in mind that your sailor will have to transport stuff to the first duty station in a seabag, or send it home :)

Vee...I cannot agree more with what Marcy said about whether or not it's worth it to make the trek to pick up a package. The only time it was worth it, according to my son (who is coming up on 4 years in the Navy), was during Passover when I overnighted him foods since he couldn't find them on the base or surrounding areas. As to the collection of "stuff" that has to leave when they do, my son is another cautionary tale. Instead of spending time together after the graduation, he had to go clean up is room and dispose of things. I made multiple trips back and forth to take things in my luggage (I had brought an extra big one knowing this was going to happen). He was stressed out beyond belief. He has never done that again so I guess it was a lesson learned. 

I have been reading posts but don't always have time to jump in. Hope everyone is having a great Labor Day weekend!

Thank you for your response DramaSoul and Marcy. I would keep your advice in mind. 

Happy Saturday!  Here's a great story from CNN about USNS Mercy:  "Saving lives on the world's biggest hospital ship" (link to video is in the article).  Hopefully your corpsman will be able to take part in one of the Navy's humanitarian missions someday, whether on USNS Comfort or USNS Mercy, or on one of the Navy's eight LHDs (USS Iwo Jima etc).   The mission in this story, Operation Continuing Promise 2015, is wrapping up right now with a final stop in Haiti.

Airman Spencer Stone’s ability to react in such a heroic fashion aboard the train headed to Paris, France on August 21st can be credited in large part to the Medical Education Training Campus (METC) Basic Medical Technician Corpsman Program at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston.  He is one of nearly eleven hundred medics and corpsmen the program graduates each year.  (Video https://youtu.be/WSixg9oNRk8)

Hi everybody, my daughter is currently an OS stationed in Little Creek, Virginia. She just found out that she got approved to cross rate and that she was picked up by HM. She has been in the navy for a little more than a year now and just tested for E-4. She's just waiting on an e-mail and orders for when she is to go to the school. She's very excited to start this next chapter in her navy adventure. I think the chief in the unit she's at now wants her to come back. He mentioned today when they were chatting that he thinks the TACRON unit should have their own HM.

I'm so confused I heard that my husband would be receiving soft orders today and is supposed to graduate nov 13 I tthink.Im just wondering if anyone knows or have heard this class 210? Even if so what am I suppose to do if they are only soft orders new to all this

Hi Asia,

Soft orders are basically the Navy's way of saying "we think you're going to go here, but we might change our minds." You can't do much with soft orders except start to look online about the area. You can't schedule your move through the Navy without hard orders. And it would be unadvisable to put a deposit on an apartment or house without hard orders. Not much to do at this point except have somewhat of an idea of where you're going. Hope that helps!

Diane, welcome and congratulations to your daughter!  Love hearing things like this.

Asia, wigglyturtle's right  :)   This course is perfect for you - COMPASS.  It's an orientation program for new Navy spouses.  Use the links at the right side of the page to find a program near you, or email them at compasswebteam@nsfamilyline.org for more info.

COMPASS:  http://www.nsfamilyline.org/site/compass

Asia my husband received soft orders in August (I think around August 18th) and we're still waiting on his hard orders. He graduates October 13th

The time between soft orders and hard orders is unpredictable. It can range from a few days to a month or more. It can also be after graduation. He'll usually have a "report no later than" date on his hard orders, which will be 2-3 weeks following graduation and departure from Texas. This will give him time to come home and then move to his new duty station. Just be aware that if he uses it all, it will likely eat up ALL of his accrued leave. My husband used 3-4 days of it so that he still has leave left later. He'll also be granted travel time depending on how far the new duty station is from his home of record (take the miles between the two, divide by 350, round up = number of travel days). Try your best to take a deep breath and relax. It does seem overwhelming, but it will all work out in the end. You don't have to do any paperwork for the move until a week or so before you actually do it, so you have *plenty* of time.

Asia, you will not find your name on either soft or hard orders. He can look online (can't remember where, but he should know) and see whether dependents are authorized or not. My husband was able to see that he had 1 dependent he was bringing when he looked. I wouldn't even worry about it unless he gets overseas orders (OCONUS) - which are very uncommon for married sailors or those with dependents (unless they ask for them - but I have no idea how that works in that case).

If he has your address listed as his home of record, the navy will pay to move your stuff and his stuff from there to the new duty station. They will give him a plane ticket from Texas to the new station, but he can trade that in to use it to come home from Texas. Then you'd submit for reimbursement for travel from home to new duty station. They will explain all that to him later. He will get a travel brief a few weeks to a month before graduation where they will tell him how to do all of this and his class will get to ask questions.

Asia, none of that info was provided in his soft orders - just the location.  I found the contact information for the base we're expecting to go to and reached out to their housing. I let them know that we received soft orders and was just trying to collect info/see what's available.  They gave me a housing packet to fill out when we receive his hard orders and let me know there was housing available around the timeframe we're expecting.  I gave my apartment complex a heads up that we may be moving and since my husband is on my lease we'll just show them his orders when received to break our current lease.  Other than that I've been waiting as patiently as possible.  I'll keep you posted on what comes next!

Yep - Sarah is right, anything can happen. In my husbands class a few got a C school that literally started Friday after they were done on Thursday. Which would be a scenario in which the sailor can't come home to help move. So, relax and go with the flow.

Does anyone know how long Pharm Tech C School is and if they relocate spouses? Thanks in advance!

Amber, here's a very detailed article about Pharmacy Tech C School that breaks down the duration:  https://www.pharmacist.com/intense-training-prepares-military-pharm... 

I don't know about spouse relocation, but this link seems to indicate not:  http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USNRFC/bulletins/9bb7c1.  You'll have to rely on your husband for the final word :) 

My daughter just got her orders about 2 hours ago for school. Looks like she will start in 2 weeks. So much to do in so little time. She's in Little Creek Virginia right now. She's very excited.

She said if she has time she will want to go one last time, but she doesn't think she will have time. She has to detach from the unit she's in right now and process out of the barracks and base. Most everybody in her unit deploys on Saturday, so not many people to cover watches and stuff that will go to her before she leaves. Her master chief is trying to get her off the watches so she has time to pack and get everything done.

Thank you so much Marcy! I appreciate all of the info :) 

Good to hear that, MelonieM!. That can be so stressful and moms don't need more of that!!  Amber, hope it works out.  And new member brwn_eyes96 and all new members, welcome!

Can someone explain how the holidays work when your son or daughter are in A or C school? Do the schools shut down for the week between Christmas and New Years? Are they all allowed to come home or do they need to request the leave and few get selected?

Elizabeth, when my son was at Great Lakes for school they shut down and try to get all the sailors out. I think it was almost 10 days. He put in a leave chit to get approved and we picked him up. I guess with our daughter she will have to fly because it's to long of a drive from Illinois to get her.

Hello all....My son just arrived in SA Sunday.  Any and all advice will be gratefully accepted and appreciated!  

Did anyone attend graduation today at Fort SH, if so could you please message me. I couldn't be there and would love some pictures if possible. 

Thank you Diane for the response. I hope he can get leave as we have a younger son who is leaving for Army bootcamp on 12/29, so it would be nice if he could see him off.

Hootsmom, keep an eye out here for photos - BMTCP

Hi, I was hoping somebody could help me. My daughter is flying to Texas right now from Virginia to start A-School. She is cross training into the HM rate that's why she didn't arrive yesterday with the recruits from boot camp. My question is how does she get to the base. This is the first time she is going to a base on her own. When she went to Virginia she has a sponsor that met her at the air port and helped her check into the base and barracks. I just don't want her to get lost anywhere.

She made it there this afternoon. A friend that had PIR with her last year and is there now for school met her at the airport and got her to the base. 

Diane - thank you for letting us know!  I would have thought she'd have a sponsor assigned.  I'm so glad she worked it out and all is ok!

Marcy- I thought they only got assigned a sponsor when they go to a base or ship and not for school.