NUKE moms

Update: My son said they made it to Wal-Mart somehow and were stocking up on provisions. Class is canceled again for tomorrow.

Hopefully they have enough food stored from care packages that they can share with one another!

I heard they are passing out MREs....my son said they went to Waffle House earlier and it was packed because they’re the only place open for miles.

Thanks ladies for all the good travel juju. We're safely here and the freezing rain is falling. 

On a cool note, as we crossed the bridge/tunnel we looked to the right and there was the George H W Bush CVN77 sitting there with the 77 lit up. Very cool!

Just spoke to my son - I had been at church and not able to check on him. He said the galley was out of food and all the roads were closed. I guess they get their truck in on Thursday? He didn't have much left on what I had sent him before and didn't want to take stuff back with him on the airplane or try to figure out where to store it in his BEQ, so figures he may be hungry for a few days.

They were outside though building a snow fort, for he said it started snowing shortly after his email about the freezing rain. The Rickover is open for then to go in and study and the understanding he had is that since they don't have class tomorrow, they will have classes on Saturday. Not sure about his test though.

JayDee - glad you made it safely!

Pattip, I just loved seeing it. My daughter is on the Bush and I got to Tiger Cruise on it with her. It was exciting to show it to my husband, even from a far.

My Nukes laughed when they heard that GC was out of food. Their comment was "lives were saved". 

I'm in Norfolk now. We had freezing rain an hour ago but it's stopped. We have stocked up and are celebrating Christmas tomorrow! Finally! 

My son sent this photo from GC this morning - wish we had some of that white stuff falling here in Tahoe!

Hey experienced A school people! I have a question. My son will be headed to Nuke School in Charleston in late January. We are hoping to drive up to visit him over spring break in mid March. Do you have any idea if he will be free to visit with us at any point? Would he have liberty in the evening or on the weekend? Wondering how to plan our trip.  Thanks in advance for your help!

GC is goose creek near Charleston SC right? I just didn't think it was cold there....

Sapphire, they have to phase up to earn privileges. So once he starts A school it will take a few weeks. Our daughter was able to leave base an explore about 2 weeks in. I believe that it varies from class to class.

Kai cat, yes, Charleston is quite Southern, just ask Rhett Butler! I'm quite sure the city is paralyzed. My company has a plant there and operations are suspended. This is not normal. 

PattiP, great jpgs. LOL There are never too many Yetis out there. :D

No food?!?!?! How does that happen??? Unacceptable! They knew this weather was coming. Prayers our kids get fed hot food soon.

Sapphire, if it helps, the documents to the right give a good estimate of how quickly liberties are earned in A school but it is true that every class is unique. You should be OK for a visit in March, tho, I would guess.

Crazy weather in GC (yes, that's Goose Creek!). That will be my sailor's next assignment. I made some comment to him about still getting warm winter weather after leaving CA. He disagreed and said I was crazy. It still gets cold there. This right now is very unusual but usually compared to Nebraska it's always balmy.

JayDee, glad you made it safe. Merry Christmas to you and yours. Enjoy that special time with your family.

Hi all - Happy Thursday!

Boy this storm is getting crazier and crazier!  Can't believe the amount of snow in places like SC, GA, FL and VI!  Looks like my sons flight will be cancelled again today.  VI is pretty much shut down.  

JayDee - looks like you got there just in time - Merry Christmas!

PattiP - lol - I got a chuckle out of those pictures!  (Of course it's easy for me to laugh as I sit here in sunny SoCal!)

Be safe out there everyone - and tell your sailors to be careful!

B's mom - LOL! love the picture!

Sapphire - Be sure to look at my discussion above, Nuke A school daily schedule - sailor's perspective - The first post is also to the right, but if you scroll through the discussion my son gave me descriptions for the various phases.

I will say that once your sailor "classes up", that is starts his lesson studies, the phase time should be fairly consistent. However, it can be anywhere from a few days upon arrival at GC for over a month, before a recruit actually classes up and then starts earning privileges. That said they do have liberty time and that is listed or mentioned in the discussion above. They may have to wear their uniform, or have someone else drive them.

Still no food at GC, according to Daughter Sailor there.  She had ramen from the vending machine last night, and is now eating some snacks before going in to study.  Wow!

Son said they had hot food in the Galley at noon!

I took my mom to the Dr this morning - she's got the flu that's going around.  They did a chest x-ray and the good news is there's no pneumonia.  Kaiser was packed with people with the flu :(  It's some bad stuff....

B texted while I was there - they changed his flight into Norfolk to Saturday.  Hopefully that will work!

Here's a picture his roommate posted from their backyard.

And here's a picture that JayDee sent me from her nukes yard - the pups are running around in the snow!

Classes cancelled again tomorrow!

 SailorDaughter is glad that they cancelled classes again, but I, of course, worry that they now have to cram all the same material into fewer days of class time.  I think about this, of course, in between shoveling out of Long Island snow! 

I have a feeling they don't cram things into fewer days. I think they add days on. Waiting to hear on this as we were planning to attend A school grad on 1/12

B'sNukeMoM - My MIL in SoCal said that the flu is really bad out there. One hospital has a tent set up outside to triage flu patients. I hope your mom recovers quickly.

Well I finally talked to my sailor a few minutes ago only to find out that he has been living on just the homemade peanut brittle that I sent back with him as that is the only food he had in is room. :-(  When I mentioned I hoped that he didn't get sick his response was that he'd rather be sick than starve.  I do hope some things open tomorrow.  Wish we'd sent some healthier snacks back with him - we would have if we realized that was what he would be living on for a few days.

He seems to be kind of enjoying being holed up in his room - he always did like a little bit of solitude time - but I do worry about him living on just sugar.

Oh and B'sNukeMom - I the best laugh today when I saw the picture of the Californian getting the winter clothes out!

It seems that they DID have some hot food later today, but like yours, ProudOfK, our daughter ate snacks.  She said that the local pizza places etc are open again, though.  Re: graduation date: what her classmates are saying is that if graduation is close to now, it's more likely that it will be put off because of the lost time Hers is Jan 26, and so they can make up some work on Saturdays.  Just hearsay though--maybe some of you know better?  We want to attend but need time to take off work in advance.

My son told me tonight that the galley ran out of food again by the end of the day but there was hot food this a.m. and at lunch. He also said they would have school on Saturday and on MLK day (1/15) to make up for the missed days.

How do they talk to you so much? Calling or texting or email?  Just curious - my son still at boot camp - I want to get an idea for the future!

Kai cat you can hand him his phone at the airport after PIR and they have lots of opportunities to call at A school. They cannot take a phone when they study (which is mandatory). They can get quiet during prototype when the pressure is on but otherwise they can be quite chatty. 

They can also email in A school...it’s like before Basic, except for the restrictions about study and classrooms. Basic is so hard, not hearing. Rest assured, it gets better!

My son told me that they had fries, chicken and soup at lunch but back to cold rations at dinner and that they were closed tomorrow, but would have class on Saturday.  - I reminded him that with regards to the food, they are just being prepared for the unexpected! -

Kai Cat - some of the sailors at A school are more talkative and communicative than others, but they will have access again to their phones and computers, so you can always email or text them at least and hope they reply to you.

PedAlQueen - I am not sure I am clearly understanding your question but I will try to answer it.

If you are asking about what division your recruit is in at boot camp - that information should be sent to you when you receive your recruit's form letter. The form letter will have their mailing address which includes their ship and division number. Knowing your recruit's division number is helpful at PIR because they march in by their division and you are able to sit in front of their division to get the best view of your sailor.

If you are trying to figure out what Nuke school division (job or rating) your sailor will be in the Nuclear program, that is not decided until about week 6, I think of BC. There are three options MM, EM, or ET that your recruit will be directed toward, based on many factors. MM = Machinist Mate, EM = Electricians Mate, ET = Electronics Technician.  My son shared in a letter home what rating he was going into - others may not share until PIR, it may just depend.

I hope this helps to clarify. Be sure to ask again, if it does not.

How do we find out when A school graduation is? Hard to get time off at work so want to try as soon as I can. @Kai Cat. I text my son and he answers when he can. After this wonderful Christmas leave, we decided to Skype once a week on Friday evenings because there is mandatory study hall Sun-Thurs nights.

I think we had a definite date for A school 5 or 6 weeks ahead of time.

A school graduation

 ProudNavyMomma - My understanding from my son is that the A school graduations are posted on their board in their classrooms. You should ask your sailor. It may depend on several other factors, especially the weather for the closer upcoming graduations.  Also, if a sailor is sick or unable to take a test then they are set back into another class, and it isn't necessarily just one week.

So, as with BC PIR, if you are making flight reservations, you will want to plan for contingencies if things don't go according to your plans.

hello all!

my youngest son is joining the navy, but my oldest son, who was a nuke mm, just got out this past year.  i dont remember everything, but i will help when i can.  good luck to all your sailors as they go thru training!!

Son#2 - Thanks for joining!  Tales of your son and job opportunities are probably one of the key areas that you can help us newer Nuke moms with, especially when our sailors are curious as to those same possibilities when they are leaving the Navy.

I just looked up the weather in GC - the sun is suppose to shine for two days and temps above freezing, so maybe some snow removal can take place and the supply truck for the Galley can make it in!!  Still in my pjs but I will be wearing my red today!!

Hi all - Happy RED shirt Friday!  For the new members that's Remember Everyone Deployed and you wear your red shirt or anything RED to represent!

And I want to say fair winds and following seas to the USS Vinson that is leaving for deployment today ~ Godspeed Sailors!

Welcome to our newest members ~ DaMom, PedAlQueen and Son#2.

I see you have already jumped right in to the conversation!  Be sure to read the pages to the right (11) under the member profiles - you'll find lots of good info there along with the discussion forum above (hit "view all").

Heard from B - looks like so far his flight tomorrow is still on but the airlines changed it to Newport News rather than Norfolk.  That's unfortunate because it's about an hour further away.  Oh well, at least he'll get back to VA!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Stay safe out there :-D

I just have to say how grateful I am that this site exists.  If it weren't for you all, I would know nothing.  Although my nuke is at GC, it's like he is deployed for all the communication I get.  I hear absolutely nothing and I do mean not a single peep.  Even when I text and ask him to give me a shout now and then, there is nothing.  Oh, well.  Interesting to know that the galley was out of food and that classes were canceled. My nuke is a person who has always been very unto himself.  I wish he would communicate more, but it just is never going to happen.  So thank you everyone just for posting.  I feel like I know something that is going on in his life. Have a great weekend everybody. I just shoveled a ton of snow and now I rest for the weekend. I hope all of you have a healthy, happy new year.  And I look forward to your posts.

soccermom, you are not alone. My son is very much the same. He has gone as long as a month without contact, despite my texts and phone calls. I haven’t figured out yet how to make him understand my need to hear from him now and again. He tells me that as long as I don’t hear from the Red Cross, he’s fine. He’s always been very independent, and, like you said, unto himself. So I also appreciate this site, so I have a better idea of what’s happening in his life. 

Soccermom and Momom, you might try what I did. I told my Nuke that as long as she text me once a week, even it was just "hi, really busy, all is well" and called once a month I would promise not to worry or badger. When she did text me I'd just reply with "thanks, love you" and not press for details. That way she didn't worry that a check in would turn in to an interrogation. After we started doing that I heard from her more frequently and even got lots of calls. 

Good luck! Nukes are elusive little critters 

I went through the communication issue with my college son. He now texts me every couple days. Even just "hey, I am alive and well". I will need to have the same talk with my sailor son. I don't expect a phone call, but a quick text keeps me from worrying. I know it may be different with military when they are deployed, but a quick text will keep me happy.  :-) 

JayDee659 what a smart thing to do! I am not at that point yet, but I think this is just some really good parenting.  I remember that I never wanted to contact home because of it turning into interrogation - so I an "starring" this comment to turn to it and remember to use it when I need to on my navy son (and youngest son wherever he goes!) Thanks for the great advice!

We did have that talk when he was here in December. He's been back at GC since the 27th. Too soon to know if it was effective! 

I have been especially concerned because he experienced something very traumatic several weeks ago. It was after that he dropped all contact for a month, even with his girlfriend. I guess I have to learn not to worry so much. =(