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

Hi everyone.  My son is in 918 and his PIR is 3-9-18 then off to San Antonio for A school.  I am from Pittsburgh PA and new at all the Navy talk

Hey InnaY and ladies,

InnaY, mine will be going to Va to but to Quantico.

Ladies for the ones that have graduated can you give me some information on the day? How was the ceremony and what did you guys do after that?

Thanks a bunch.

Hi everyone.  When sending a package to San Antonio, is it best to send to the P.O. address or send it UPS/FedEx?

Hey everyone. Planning to visit my sailor this weekend at Fort Sam (coming from the West Coast) and I have questions regarding logistics. Where can I pick him up? Am I allowed on the base? Which address should I plug into navigation? Anyone that that has already had the pleasure of visiting I would certainly appreciate your imput. My son just graduated boot 1/5 so this is my first time there.

You will need to met him at the visitors center the first time. He can take a cab there for $5. Inside he can get you a pass so you can go off & on base if needed. If you don’t want to drive on base have him give you the information for the gate where Uber picks them up. It is close enough for them to walk to. 

Hey , just a quick question. My son is graduating march 15 from Hospital Corpsman school?

Do they have a graduation? do parents attend? and does anyone know of a hotel close to base to stay?

Hi Lisa. Graduation is very low key.  Almost like a high school graduation!  It’s held in a very small Auditorium.  They let you walk around and get close to the stage for pictures.  There’s a hotel on base (Candelwood Suits 2426-2800 Scott Road, Ft. Sam Houston) but we just rented an Airbnb for the time we spent in Texas. 

I am wondering what any mom out there in the military world, did about their child’s car insurance? Our agency is saying they can’t be covered any longer due to not living in the same state. Any thoughts or suggestions 

Thank you NICUnurse&navymom for the info. I hope it all goes smoothly for my visit.

Hi Retta,

Our INS carrier is USAA, and we went around and around. They will not cover him under our policy since he is out state. Even though his license and home base is our home.   So we he had to get his own ins policy through them. 

@ Retta, We are in Florida, when our son was in A-School we took him off our insurance, he did not need a car in A-School and he does not need a car in the C-school he is in right now. When he finds out where he goes next, it will depend on if he needs a vehicle, if he does he will have his own insurance. He keeps his license as Florida residency until it expires and then renews it online for Florida. 

Hello everyone, 

I have a question about sending a package to my Sailor in A school, can they receive packages or do they have to have them sent to  UPS store? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Tinker830 my sailor got a mailbox about  two weeks after arriving at A school at Fort Sam. I have been able to mail him packages there as well as have Amazon ship to him there. Your sailor will get their own mailbox when time allows and you can send things that way.

Thank you plmont0429

Good Morning ladies,

If your sailor passed the last test but hasn't passed the last lab, what happens? 

Any info would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks ladies. 

@partyofseven, I do know for certain the written test is the main one that they have to pass in order to move forward. I've heard many different things about the Lab portion of it. I'm sure your sailor will definitely know before they graduate. 

Hey DereksMom,

Thank u so much. I haven't heard from him so no news is good news. :) 

How have u been? 

@partyofseven You are very welcome :) We have been doing well, Thanks...I hope you and your family are holding up. Our son is almost done with the C-School for AVT, its just the anticipation of where next. We will see. 

Does anyone have sailor in class 065 and do you know their graduation date?

My son is in 065. They graduate in April. The 12th I believe.

Hey DereksMom, I know right? It's always the unknowing that gets us. I have been praying to stay calm and not worry so much as I know that God has him in his hands. I know he's going to be ok and I have to stay calm and not have anxiety attacks about it. Easier said than done sometimes I know. Lol 

@partyofseven, I'm with you, Very well said...  :)

May I ask if you know what time the graduation normally be? 
Mom of class class 060 and 065, I wonder if these 2 classes graduate in the same week with just different date?

Just left my new sailor at the airport! A new chapter has begun. 

Welcome, Jeep1lover!  Yes, it sure has!  It’s exciting and interesting and SO much lies in store.  

Hey, just wondering, my son graduates on Friday and we are unable to attend, Does there happen to be a link that you can access to see your Corpsman graduate?

DD called yesterday, her class chose their orders (don't remember the class number, but grad is May 9).  Looks like she'll be heading to Portsmouth, VA, unless of course the Navy changes it up. 

Are there any N4M groups specific to Portsmouth?

Hi krikris, that's great!  Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (NMCP) was my son's first duty station and it was great. The hospital is the longest continually-operating one in the Navy so tons of history there, plus the setting on the Elizabeth River is absolutely beautiful.  His next assignment was with a Fleet Surgical Team based in Norfolk and assigned to NMCP when not deployed, so he remained in the area for a total of four years.  There is SO much to do in the area. There aren't any groups specific to Portsmouth but a good Navyformoms.com group to join is this one: Norfolk Sailors - Family and Friends; and NMCP has a Facebook page.  Feel free to message me with any and all questions you have and I'll be glad to help.  Congratulations to her!

Hi.  I am new here.  My daughter will be going to her A School to be a Corpsman.  She is super excited, as am I.  I can't wait to read all about the happenings! 

Hi all, my son is headed to Bremerton. Anyone's sailor work in the hospital there?  Have any experience on that base? Thanks for any info.

My son is a Corpsmen in A school right now, class 065, then he's off to FMTB at Camp Pendleton. HOOYAH!!

How is the graduation date determined for hm  corpsman?  My son arrived the beginning of March but "official" first day of class was March 23rd.

Roxanne-PROGRAM DURATION: The actual time that a Sailor physically spends at the HM school in Fort Sam Houston, TX is 96 days. The Sailor is in the seat, learning, Mondays through Fridays for 70 actual instructional days.  

my daughter is in the same class and stated the last day of class and stated the last day of class is 06/27/2018. No set date for graduation. She thinks it will be 6/29/2018 but no information from the school on that.

Generally when does a sailor receive “soft orders”? 

I just found out from my son's girlfriend that his scheduled Friday, May 18 graduation has been moved up to Wednesday, May 16.  Anybody else heard anything about that?  

Hello all. My son is in class 095 and getting clear, concise info out of him has been like pulling teeth. Away from home for the first time he’s a little young and a bit scattered. I wonder if anyone here has the graduation date for this class?

Hospital Corpsmama: graduation might be next week. I'm waiting to hear back myself...

Hospital corpsmama, my son is graduating next week and he is in class 070. 095 should be in the weeks following. 

EAJmom: Doing the happy dance. I will be there next week as well...

Congratulations to our newest A school grads. They all did awesome! I hope most will get some well deserved rest and recovery... :)

~~~~~Good Vibrations~~~~ to the current class starting their TCCC “final” lab in the morning.  Rock on, Sailors!

Graduation in one week!

Class 095 is graduating 5/31 and like all of us here I am so proud of my son. I’ve read from other postings that closer to the date he will ask for my DL# to provide so that I can get unto the base but I have. A few questions

1- what time do the ceremonies typically begin? I was planning on a late Wednesday night arrival.

2- the gate that’s been mentioned- Waleters Road Gate- is that the same gate that’s used for Uber drop offs/pickups?

Hospital Corpsmama: Ceremony is usually in the afternoon, 1pm or 3pm.  Uber drop off can be done at Walter's gate but I don't think it's the "usual" as it is a bit farther from the barracks on Binz-Engleman. You can check out this site for further info. https://www.basedirectory.com/fort-sam-houston-joint-base-san-anton...

Thanks EAJmom, sometimes it’s easier getting info from fellow moms than from my sailor. Binz-Englemen is the name I couldn’t remember (Uber gate) from when I visited before. I’ll check-out the link, thanks again.

My son graduates on June 27th. When can he expect to get his orders?  If he wants FMTB is it likely that he will get it?