NUKE moms

MoMom is it something you can share or just too personal or none of my business or he told you something happened, but not what - or it was his personal life, but not his navy life?

I just like to think nothing bad will happen to my son during school - it will only happen after school. - But your son is probably serving (and I don't know the right words for this) actively on a ship/sub now and not just in school?

I appreciate anything you want to share. My son is in Boot Camp still with a PIR of hopefully 020918.

Thanks for all the talking and sharing everyone!! (wish I knew how to make hearts :)  )

Kai cat if it helps, nothing bad happened to my daughter or son in law in the Nuke pipeline. They are both done and in the fleet. The Nuke pipeline is no different from life, sometimes stuff happens and most of the time it's just little blips along the way. We're just more sensitive maybe because we're a close network. 

Ladies, I am glad to know that our random chatter the last few days regarding the snow days, etc at GC have been helpful to some of you. I found it interesting that my normally communicative son, actually didn't say a lot throughout the last couple of days. That is, he didn't offer the information to me like he normally does, and instead I asked him questions because I found out from other moms here what was going on.

Being child #4 I think my son also figured out that it was better to let mom know what is going on instead of letting her wonder. - It helps having a younger brother still at home, because when he calls to skype and watch an online show, I at least get to stick my face in and wave at my sailor and saw him all bundled up today, as though he was outside instead in the Nautilus lounge.

I certainly didn't mean to frighten anyone. Like JayCee said, just like life, things sometimes happen. My son's suitemate attempted suicide. The young man made a full recovery and is doing well. I just worried about how my son was dealing with it. He seems to be well ok, too. 

JayDee659, thank you for the idea.  I will give that one a try.  I didn't think I interrogate, but hungry for info, I probably do without realizing that.  I will have to watch for that and just respond Thanks, love you. 

Thank you for the great advice!!!

MoMom, that is a life changing thing to experience. Hopefully it impacts him in a positive way and he will use it to fuel his personal life and possibly others. It may not be noticeable but there will be after affects. My oldest son was 4 wheeling with his girlfriend's family and friends on a camping trip and him and one of the moms went off to take a track away from camp and she lost control. Long story short is she flipped into rocks, my son lifted the 4 wheeler off her, drove two miles back to camp and went back and sat with her until ambulance and police arrived. Four kids lost their mom. It was very traumatic. He was 15. It changed him. He is much closer to me and treats people in a more caring way. Anything like that will change you deep down. My son's life took a different path after that. Whether he realizes or not, it's life changing. Keep checking in. I'm so sorry he had to experience that. Maybe they both will cherish life just a little more now, after the shock of the experience wears away with time. 

PattiP - Love it!!!  You made me laugh so hard. Thanks!!! 

It's so great knowing that it's not me.  And there are other moms out there with the same situation. 

:-)

It was sure great to have my twins together for holidays. The IT has been out of the navy for a year now and is living in Seldovia, AK. He is now a home owner there and is enjoying his life. He brought me some King Salmon, Silver Salmon, Halibut, moose and Black Cod. He fishes 50 ft from his front door. 

The other one still has a year + on his nuke service. He enjoys Hawaii. He got a job offer for two years in Dubai with a shocking salary. He is tempted. Other options he is weighing are going to college here by me or switching to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs (also by me).  He had to get a new drivers license while here. It expired while he was deployed and he had not gotten a new one. They were super accommodating to him. He did not have to wait at all and got it renewed no problems. 

My son is finally out of THU....and got stuck at Ohare due to the weather.  He flies into Charleston today.  Is the food situation still the same.  Did the food trucks make it to the base?  Asking so that he can bring healthy food to base if not....

Mammagoose, I haven't spoken to my son today, he may be studying, and my youngest said he didn't say anything yesterday when they were skyping. - I would recommend some healthy snack foods. My son said those around him would prefer they not have p'nuts.

MoMom - Thanks so much for sharing what happened. I appreciate all the information from everyone whether good or bad. I know that for me, I want to keep my kids protected from everything (just like all you moms here!) and it is hard to know that they are grown up and I can't protect them anymore - my job (of keeping him safe) is over.

PattiP - I love your little picture!! OMG so funny! I would love to see my son faint from Joy :)

CO-TwinSalorsMom - Was the cat a Christmas gift? Or just a box loving cat?

I finally got the call from my son at boot camp yesterday - he said he is thinking of choosing the "Electrical" option, but that he would meet this week to choose for sure it sounds like.  Does anyone think any of the 3 choices are better/worse?  I'm just curious!  Thanks everyone for letting me sound off on here!

Michele Brooks - all I know is that my son left for Boot Camp December 14 and is hopefully having his graduation PIR on 020918.  The best advice I have for you, is to write to him often after he leaves, (lol- no perfume or stickers on his mail - that is what they told us at the Freedom Center) and stay glued to this site! This site has the best information, I think especially when he goes and your PIR group is created - that page and this page are the awesome pages :)

Kai cat since everyone is just a little different, there's no right or wrong rate. My daughter is an MM, she likes to work with her hands and based on her personality, a wire rate would have been horrible in her mind. I believe that the Navy is pretty good at matching the kids up. 

Kai cat, it's difficult sometimes to accept that we cannot continue to shield our children from all the bad things in life. We can, however, continue to pray for them, and have faith in the training they receive. And also in the job we did as parents. My son found his suitemate unresponsive, and did exactly what he was trained to do. 

My son is also an MM. I don't know much about the different nuke ratings. I believe school is a little shorter for MM's, which definitely suits my son. 

Michele, there is a ton of information on this site, but don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have. Like Kai cat said, write a lot of letters. They get homesick, even if they don't think they will, and really need the contact from home. 

Michele, I reiterate what MoMom, and kai cat said.  Definitely stay tuned to this site.  I didn't know anything about the Navy or the Nuke program.  There are so many knowledgeable people on this site.  People who have been there and done that sometimes many times over with multiple kids or spouse and kid(s).  They know.  My Nuke who is definitely not a talker or a sharer scoffed at me when I told him that I would get the info from this site when he was first about to go in.  He accepted what his recruiter said..  He's like, sure what's a bunch of moms know.  And every single time I got the info and mentioned it, I was right because of the info here and he now accepts that I have great info when I do get the chance to talk to him.  If you want to know what's going on, definitely stay tuned and ask.  People here are so wonderful with replying and providing support. If found the boot camp for moms group great because it was moms just going through boot camp and a lot of my questions were answered just by reading.  Everyone new to navy is asking the same questions and we're all in the same boat together. 

My nuke told me there was mandatory writing time, so he did write.  Write often.  They love getting letters.  You won't hear much but when you get word that calls are going out from boot camp on a day, glue your phone to your hand so you don't miss a call.  Be supportive in writing.  They really need to hear that even when they think they are so tough.  The time flies by and soon their PIR graduation is upon them.  It is such an impressive event.  You need to wait to hear from your nuke to be sure of the grad date because it is possible to change for some. 

Just keep reading and join groups that are pertinent to what you are going through, like boot camp moms. By the time May comes around you will know quite a bit. 

GC update - my son called last night to let me know that they did not have class on Sat either, but yes, he had been studying on Sunday due to tack hours. I figured he was, since he was suppose to be coming back to GC to a test the 2nd day or so back.

As for food, he said that if you can keep up with the weird schedule that the Galley has had hot food. And they did have rations. (Not sure if that meant MRE's or not) - he happened to call me in the middle of something else, so I didn't ask a lot of questions.

Regarding makeup and pushbacks on A school graduation - his is set for March 30th, and he said their class leader is still trying to ascertain whether or not they will stay on schedule or be pushed back a week.

( tack hours are required study time that is done each day before class days, so Sun -Th study, M-F class)

Welcome all new moms, dads, girlfriends, loved ones - be sure to check the information to the right under pages, and in the discussion above I have added more information under Nuke A school daily schedule..., that explains phasing up, study hours, so be sure to read through all of it, most of this is directly from my son.

 Michele Brooks - Be sure to also join BC for Moms group and wives/girlfriends group. - A school will be a little easier than boot camp (BC or bc) will be as far as some communication - but depending on their required study hours and watches, and class, they will not have a lot of extra free time. You may have to set up a "date night - phone call/skype time", so that you are not "bugging" him. Before they actually start their A school classes, sometimes they have a little more freedom with their phones, but once school starts, they will not have phone use during the day. I learned to text when I knew he would be out of PT, and ask if he was able to call and sometimes gave a brief description otherwise, I knew he would either call late at night before bed, or we would talk Fri eve or Sat.

Hi all - Happy Monday!

Mammagoose - great news that your son is out of THU and moving on to Charleston!  I hope his flight makes it in.

B is STILL stuck in Michigan.  He showed up at the airport this morning and his flight was delayed which meant he would miss his connection in DC to Norfolk so they cancelled his flight again and now he's to fly out tomorrow.  This has been a real mess.  He was supposed to leave Wednesday (1/3), that got cancelled and changed to Thursday which was cancelled and changed to Saturday which was cancelled and changed to today which was cancelled until tomorrow lol.  There's just a complete backlog of fliers and the domino effect is huge.  I guess he's lucky that he gave himself extra time on getting back but now it's rolling into his classes starting back up.  He's handling it better than I would!  I guess that's one good lesson he learned from the Navy - Semper Gumby (always flexible!).

We are finally expecting some rain here in SoCal but now the concern is flooding in the fire areas.  People are sandbagging in preparation.

Hope everyone is safe out there!

Welcome to our newest members ~ TXMom and Michelle B!(Michelle, please change your user name as no last names are allowed per OPSEC).

Please read the pages to the right (11) under the member profiles.  You'll find lots of good info here regarding the various schools/phases of the nuke program. Also be sure to look through the discussion forum above (hit "view all") for more info.  And of course, feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Hello Everyone..

I began reading the comments yesterday .  My heart broke when my son went down to Charleston last week. I am so grateful for his little short texts.  .... PattiP ..I had a good laugh with your texting comment.  So funny~!!!

Thanks to everyone for the comments and things shared. It helps this momma in this transitioning time. 

 proudwinavymom - Last week was sort of an odd set of circumstances for a new sailor to arrive at GC. Interestingly, when my son first got there he was INDOC for a few weeks and part of that was during the evacuation for the hurricanes. I talked to my son more in those few days than I had for a long time. He had his phone near him and would call me or I could call him. Then classes started and he settled into a routine (see his schedule info above)  and I have learned when are good times to contact him or I know when he might call me. He also set up skype time with his brother - so I stick my head in the way, so I can wave hello to him. Just seeing his face on the computer screen (real live), warms this mom's heart.

What rating is your son? Maybe you can hook up with some other moms with the same rate and friend them. It helps to have others who are at GC to share stories with via email.

And since I have to scoot - a big shout out to all of my Navy Mom friends - Hope you are having a wonderful day! We have sunshine after our raining weekend, but I think it is still cold out.

Nuke Parents, we want to buy our son a watch for his PIR gift. I have read they can wear black or silver. Are there any other restrictions for a sailor going to nuke A school?

ProudParent - I do not think there are additional restrictions, My son bought himself a nice watch as his PIR gift to himself on PIR weekend. It met the guidelines at BC and he wears it now at GC. I do know that Apple Watches (and other brands like that) are  problematic as they cannot have electronics in the Rickover.

Welcome to the group ProudParent!

The Casio G-shock is a good watch for them to have.  We bought one on sale at Kohl's years ago and it was perfect for our son.

proudwinavymom - hopefully your son will settle into some kind of routine now that he's in GC and will include you in the communication.  We were lucky that all through A school & Power school our son would call us on Sunday evening for a quick update.  Sometimes it was just a quick call & sometimes he would talk for an hour!  When he went through prototype it was harder because their schedules change constantly.  We did more texting then but he still kept in touch (he's always been pretty good about talking to us though).  Even now that he's out he still tries to call every Sunday (and I'll get an occasional call during the week if he's between classes/work just to chat (I'm guessing his GF probably isn't available to talk at those times lol!).

B'sNukeMoM  My son is not a phone talker.  I am grateful for his texting me.   He even face timed me one time for a few minutes:}  He did text me today and said he spent the day chipping ice.  No school until Wednesday!!

Thanks for the warm welcome!!!

Question - My son's birthday is in February, so he will hopefully if all goes well, go right from BC on 020918 to school and we won't have him at home for any time.

I think it will be so soon that he will still be in the strictest "indoctrinate"  (I think that's what they call it?) time.

Can I send him anything special or do anything special for his birthday? Can I deliver pizza to his dorms or anything like that? 

Or just any idea's if any of you have a suggestion. 

Thanks

Kai Cat - INDOC is mostly a time to give the sailors more information on Navy life, fill out paperwork, and then also they are given various duties (since they are being paid) to do at NNPTC, until they actually class up. This time can last anywhere from a week to a month. - You may start mailing packages to them as soon as you know they will be at Goose Creek. I am not sure about delivering pizza to their dorm room, but one mom (I can't remember who it was now) posted a picture - she had gotten ahold of another mom near GC and she baked a cake and had it delivered to her Nuke.

So, there are various things you can do. I baked cookies and mailed those to my son.

Does anyone know if they have to open their pkgs in front of someone? I am asking because I saw something commented along those lines today on BC for Moms group.

Kai cat - Kristy, with the Facebook group for Nuke Moms, lives in Charleston near GC; and I arranged with her to bring a giant cookie as a "birthday cake" to my son on base. She has brought a cake before. I ordered the cookie, gave her my son's number, and she contacted him and met him at the NEX. 

Email me 

Anyone who is interested in having a birthday cake (or any type of celebration like graduation, passing a big test etc) should consider joining the Facebook group Birthday Wishes. This is a network of volunteers all over the United States who will deliver to your Sailor. The ladies who do the majority of the deliveries to Goose Creek are fellow Navy Moms and they are so wonderful! If your Sailor happens to be assigned to another area besides Goose Creek there are lists by state of those around the country who are available to make the deliveries. It made me so happy to have another Navy Mom there to give my son a hug and take him a cake in my place as he celebrated his first birthday away from home. 

 Nukelukesmom - thanks for sharing. I thought it was your son I was remembering, but couldn't scroll back far enough to find it. I am not on FB, so I wondered how you connected with someone. I will have to pass this on to my daughter or younger son who are on FB, maybe they can assist me.

Thanks Gmom!

Hi all - Happy Tuesday!

Yes, Kristy on the FB group will do deliveries for birthdays or any packages you would like delivered.  She has even helped with delivery of vehicles that have been transported.  Once your sailor has completed PIR you can request to join the FB group.  There's a number of us that belong to the group - you can send a PM and we can get you joined if you are interested.

I got a text from B at 3:46 this morning (CA time) and he had boarded his flight - finally he's getting back to VA.  But then at 6:30 I got another text that they had to re-route the flight to Richmond, VA because there was too much fog to land in DC and they had to re-fuel.  He wasn't too worried because his connecting flight had been delayed about an hour so he thought he would be ok still. Then at 7:15 I got another text, his connecting flight (DC to Norfolk) was cancelled so he said once they pull into a gate in Richmond to refuel he was getting off the plane and his roommate was going to pick him up!  Thankfully his roommate doesn't have duty today and can make the drive - it's about 1 1/2 hours to Richmond vs 15 minutes to Norfolk.  He said the airline is going to deliver his luggage to his house.  What an adventure this has been!

Oh my word, B'sNuke, adventure indeed! Nightmare more like it. It has taken him almost a week to get home! Yikes! Kudos for his zen attitude. A lesser fellow would have had a stroke by now. I've traveled over the holidays many times and I never had that kind of trouble. I'm so sorry that happened to him but it looks like a light at the end of the tunnel.

B'sNukeMom, I'm so glad that he's almost there!  Good heavens, a little snow and life comes to a grinding halt.  It was very foggy here this morning also, made for a creepy pre-dawn drive to work.  We have warm weather here (upper 50's) until Friday then it plunges down into the 20's again.  

His roommate got him picked up - yay! He texted and they were shopping at the Publix lol.  This is 2 Christmas's in a row that he's had trouble getting back to VA.  Hopefully it's not setting a precedent! 

B'sNuke Mom - So glad you have good news that B has boots on the ground where he belongs!!

Hallelujah! Good to know he's where he belongs. I'm sure he's not the only student who almost didn't make it back, or still have not arrived. I'm glad that ordeal is over. Now to hit the books!

Re: Nuke liberty time after PIR - to correspond with a comment I made on BC for Moms - My experience at PIR this summer where my expectations that my son would have liberty immediately following PIR were very much shattered as I waited inside & outside the NEX and then the chapel for about 6 hours, occasionally catching a glimpse of my sailor, trying to figure out what was going on. I make comments on BC for Mom because every rating has different circumstances and issues with shipping out the sailors to A school. I was told by an officer at RTC while waiting on my son (and there were Sub families also waiting) that because he was Nuke, sometimes they scrutinize their medical in their paper work more - because the doctors at MEPS don't always catch everything. There also seemed to be a new doctor at RTC as well. Why this seemed to be a last minute thing they were doing, I don't know, but that is the way it was, and it was better for me to just appreciate the fact that I was there and could wait for him. (this was also before the tickets, so our passes were different a little bit.) For almost the first time in my life, I submitted to the fact that I wasn't in control of the situation and I better just stay calm, and keep waiting. After all, I just wanted to get a hug from my son (he dashed off after PIR without giving me one to get this all done.) There are more details I am leaving out, but in the long run, it was better for him that he got everything taken care of and was able to fly out the next morning with others from his TG than to have to go back to THU and there are moms here whose sailors will tell you that is no fun.

So if it is a matter of a short time after PIR with your sailor and they get to fly out, or you get the weekend with them, but they are in THU for several weeks, I think your sailor would prefer to fly out and it is all about our kids. - Then there are those who have had no frustrating moments and everything goes according to plan. I just operate better if I know that my plan could very much be interrupted and not the way I want it to be. And I guess part of my staying active on this group and BC for Moms is to help those whose sailors fly out or go to GC to have a different perspective on what may or may not happen. Instead of thinking that what is written anywhere is a set in stone proclamation.

Welcome to our newest member ~ NukeManDad!  Please be sure to read the pages to the right (11) under the member profiles and also take a look at the discussion forum above (hit "view all").  Don't let the fact that this is a mom's group scare you off - we don't bite!  Jump right in and feel free to ask any questions you may have!

Hi all - Happy Wednesday!

SantaBabs81 - that is wonderful news!  I'm sure everyone was so happy to have him there for the wedding ~ what a blessing indeed :)

I just talked to B a little bit ago - as you know he made it back to VA yesterday but as of today his luggage still hasn't shown up :(  The airlines is trying locate it - I had seen a post on FB that Norfolk airport was inundated with wayward luggage lol!  I hope they find it since it has all his Christmas presents in it!

SantaBabs81 - that's so terrific that your Nuke got to go to his brother's wedding.  I know my daughter is upset that her Nuke brother may not be able to make her wedding.  Not sure if it's an issue because it's a destination wedding on an island so, out of the country.  He put in for it but isn't hopeful.   We were even thinking of streaming but he's not even sure that he will be able to be there at that specific time.  She is getting married mid week as opposed to the usual weekend and he figures he may still be in class. 

Haven't thought about the cardboard cut out but I like that idea.  Can you share the how to for that so we can put the cut out into the pics. 

SantaBabs81 - Thank you for sharing this great blessing and updating us on the positive outcome. Not every circumstance works out this way, as soccermom19 commented they are trying to get leave for her son as well, but sometimes those struggles can end up working out in the end.