NUKE moms

Hi JayDee.

My son already graduated BC last December.

I'm talking about A school graduation at the NNPTC in Goose Creek, SC.

DOREMI, sorry about that!  Yes they do get an opportunity to take leave after A School but I don't think that it's automatically the first week.  My daughter took a week off about 2 weeks after  A School graduation.  I think they rotate them but they can probably put in for their preference.  

Moonbeam:  my son was in THU (holding at Great Lakes) for close to three weeks waiting on medical clearances.  I planned for him to leave but instead we ended up leaving him there while we went home.

Chipmunk - we spoke to our sailor last night and he said he turned and went the other direction as soon as he saw them.  He determined only bad things could happen. Lol.

DesertRose - I think that is exactly what my son thought as well and why he immediately stepped back into the classroom!!

DOREMI - Liberty after A school seems to depend on the class. My son is only receiving 3 days of liberty after he graduates April 6th, because they had extra time off at Christmas. But another friend whose son is a few weeks behind mine has told his mom he thinks they will have a week of liberty. Mine does have "work hours" after his Friday graduation, so I found out that liberty was Sat, Sun, Mon.

I am finding out it is best to get information straight from your sailor, with anything because we all have different experiences. As bigsky21 mentioned - "usually".

NoahsMom - I feel for you. My son actually left on his scheduled date that remained intact through his DEP year, but an early leave comes as a shock to all. I concur with JayDee659 and bigsky21 - stay flexible, and breath - feel free to ask questions and if you haven't joined BC Moms group, be sure to do that as well.

Thanks, DesertRose & Jaydee.  My son told me the school will keep the sailors for one month cause they still have to go on duty after graduation. So the month after graduation they may get 1 week off.

Oh my! I just learned my son's expected grad date from nuke power school and it is the day before my niece's wedding in August!  I am going to try to make both but so frustrated with the timing.  All is totally out of my control.  

Workingatit - I saw your note but didn't get a chance to respond. I know how frustrating it can be to plan and coordinate monumental family events. I hope all things work out for you to be able attend both.

I just wanted to share about a new coffee shop in Charleston, SC, my son and I found out about after watching this CNN 10 report. https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/11/cnn10/ten-content-mon/index.html

They just opened their newest shop in the historic district of Charleston, SC. We are already making plans to visit it when we go to A school graduation in April. 

https://www.bittyandbeauscoffee.com    Neat story. The CNN link tells about the owner receiving an award.

Chipmunk - I love it - I will definitely put it on my list of places to visit when we go to see our sailor! Thanks for sharing!

My son passed his A school comps! Hooyah! headed to GC on Friday! 

bravo Zulu proudNukemom. Enjoy your time in GC with your son.

thank you! 3B'smom

Oh wow Mammagoose....if they are put in holding can they have their cellphone or laptop?

Congratulations proudNukemom!!! Enjoy.

I am wondering how early do you receive your invitation to A School graduation? Also, do the different ratings have a different time frame on when their comps are  versus when they have graduation on Friday?  - I will be driving out to SC and it will be a couple days drive, so was just checking how soon I might know that we proceed forth. Thanks.

momterp - Glad I shared.

proudNukemom - I think my son and yours are in the same class -- I sent you a friend request. BZ to the MMN3's graduating this week!

Moonbeam:  yes they can.  Everything that they have should be kept locked up while they are on duty so what they have should not be bigger than the space that they had during boot camp.  My son had his charging cords stolen while there so it was a great lesson to learn.  It could have been his iPhone.

They also have to have extra locks at GC as well. My son was bothered that they didn't tell him that at bc so that he could have purchased more when getting the one for his sea bag. It was just an extra thing he had to pick up at the mini Nex once he got to GC.

I think we have some new moms who joined over the weekend. Our moderator has had a busy weekend, but she will send a welcome out soon.

Feel free to ask us any questions, we invite you to share with us where you are at in your Navy journey and be sure to read the information pages on the right.

proudNukemom - Congratulations!!  Great News!!  Hope you have a wonderful time in GC.

ProudNukemom, hooyah! Tell your sailor congrats on his huge accomplishment. And good on you too. Behind every nuke that makes it through this, is a special mom.

Chipmunk, we received our invitations early (was it weeks or a month...cannot recall), but our nuke did not finish his A School comps until we were already in GC! That was a nail biter. We made up our minds to be there to support our nuke, no matter the outcome. 

Chipmunk - We did not receive an invitation to A school grad. Big Kid did mention putting our names on a list. That was several weeks prior to the graduation. Comps for MMs are on Monday or Tuesday. I don't know about the other rates.

Chipmunk, we also did not receive an invitation to A School graduation, but things may have changed since then.

Our sailor had to put our names on a list so we'd be admitted to the Rickover for graduation.  When we went to sign in, they could not find our names and the master at arms was called.  I have to admit that I was a little freaked out.  He then escorted us into the graduation hall and proceeded to very loudly call our sailor by name.  The room went silent.  When she turned around and saw us standing behind this really tall, armed man she went white.  All he did was confirm that she knew us and tell her she should have put us on the list (she did, it was a clerical error) and then release us to her.  Haha.  Good times.

JayDee659 - OH MY!!  Nerve wracking experience!!  But after it turned out ok and you could breathe easy, it certainly is a funny memory. . . "released into the custody of your child"  of course, that is a fully grown adult sailor, but still a bit humorous.  It's times like those that I really wish I had a camera to catch the expressions. 

momterp & prodNukesmom - CONGRATULATIONS to both of your sailors on their upcoming A school grad this Friday!

Chipmunk - we did not receive invitations, just names on a list.

B'sNukeMom - I've been empathizing with your mom a bit.  I've been following along on here but not posting as we are in the middle of a move ourselves - downsizing.  So buying and selling.  The big move is next week so it's been busy busy.  But I have been following and enjoying all the posts.

Ladies - thank you!! So it sounds like for A school graduation you just need to know that your sailor put your names on a list (which my son did call and asked me about a month ago.) But it seems that an invitation is sent out for Power School.

JayDee659 - I hope that doesn't happen to me! But if it does, at least I have an idea that it will be okay.

ProudOfK - All the best to you as you undertake your move.

JayDee659 same thing happened to us with the list. Only we never got past the checkpoint because we were not on it. My Sailor swears he turned our names in, but his SLPO had surgery and was out the week or so before graduation so we think maybe ours got lost in the shuffle. One word of advice I can give is to have your Sailor keep their phones on until the last second in case there is a problem. In our case the uniform inspection that they were supposed to have before graduation did not happen so my guy went back to check his phone in the room before they reported to the gym. When he did he saw my frantic texts saying that we were sitting outside the gate. (I didn't tell him until later that I was crying hysterically. Lol) He was able to hop in his car and come out to get us and we were allowed entry since he escorted us in. We got into the gym 10 minutes before the ceremony. Whew! Good times for sure, but this Mama was about to lose it! 

Chipmunk, you probably won't have any problems.  I will say that the look on  my daughter's face said that she was pretty sure that we had done something wrong.  

Nukelukesmom, you were lucky he checked his cell.  Another reason to arrive early!

For all you of you ladies heading out to A School graduation, have fun.  It's a lovely, small ceremony and isn't terribly long.  You'll have lots of time to spend with your Nuke.  Remind them to remove their security badges before you take pictures though.  They generally put them on and forget that they cannot be in pictures.

Thank you Mammagoose and Chipmunk.  What kind of locks, a regular combination lock?  Also is there a FB group for Nuke Moms?

Nukelukesmom - Thanks for sharing your story as well. There are always the exceptions and I do much better when I can plan for adversity.

JayDee659 thanks for the reminder about the security badges not being in pictures.

Moonbeam - I am not sure of the type of lock, but I believe whichever one they have to buy at the RTC NEX to lock their sea bag for travel, is the same they had to purchase at GC. Call time with my son is fairly limited at the moment due to his studies, but I will do my best to remember and ask him.  I am not on FB, but I think there is a Nuke Moms group. You might have to be invited though.

Got the call.  My son passed his A School comps.  So proud of him!  Going to GC for graduation this Friday!  Congratulations to proudNukemom and momterp.  

Hi y’all! I follow along with all the posts and figured I might ought to say something as I was starting to feel like a creeper peeper!

congrats to all the A school grads so awesome!

kai cat hope you had good visit with your Sailor! Being able to communicate regularly makes it so much easier as a mom.

Every time my Sailor calls I give thanks he chose this path, he is so content and excited and having entirely too much fun.

Having ppl going thru same thing or have gone thru it has rbeen a huge blessing and I really enjoy following along. Have a glorious afternoon everybody.

MetroMom - congratulations!! What rating is your son? I am just trying to get an idea of how soon the ET's know if they have passed. Since my son's grad date is drawing near.

Tracie, thanks for popping on and sharing.

Hi everyone - Happy Tuesday!  Well, we pretty much got my mom moved ~ still have the garage and the sheds and one whole room but for the most part she is in her new place!  It rained on us Saturday when the movers were there but it didn't dampen our spirits one bit.  I just wanted to pop in and see how things are going here - I'll try to get caught up as the week goes on.  You've all been busy, which is a good thing!

Welcome to our newest members ~ cccfamily, NEMmom and pandalvr!

Please be sure to read the ***NEW MEMBERS*** info at the top of the page and of course feel free to ask any questions you may have!

MetroMom - Congratulations to you and your sailor!!  What a great accomplishment.

Tracie, JayDee659, ProudOfK, Buzzbeck, soccermom19, thank you so much! looking very forward to graduation in GC. I have absolutely appreciated your prayers.  I luv my Sea sisters!

MetroMom, congratulations to your son! Ill see you Friday! Are you part of the Nuke mom facebook group?  There is an entire fb page of nuke moms going to the mar 16 graduation and heading to brunch after.  If your on facebook pm me and ill hook you up

Chipmunk, i never received an invitation but my sailor just put us on a list.  Also ET comp is the monday before the friday graduation.  They usually do not know results until about 4pm ish and often can not communicate it until between 6-8 pm.  So it is absolutely agonizing waiting to hear from your nuke.  Most nuke moms begin posting on facebook around 8pm ish that they heard from their nuke.  I know your sailor is coming up soon and he is in my prayers.

momterp, my sailor is in class 1749-T.  BZ to your son as well. Ill see you on Friday.  Are you part of the Nuke mom facebook group?  There is an entire fb page of nuke moms going to the mar 16 graduation and heading to brunch after.  If your on facebook pm me and ill hook you up.

Congratulations to all you navy moms going to celebrate on Friday!! 

I wanted to let you all know that I had a GREAT weekend at PIR! My son was put in THU because of some boxes that weren't checked on his paperwork...so...not sure how long he will be stuck in Great Lakes before going to GC.  He was upset about it - but because of this we got to spend all day Fri, Sat, and Sun with him! We did so much together. He wanted to go to Buffalo Wild WIngs first thing! We got to see a movie, go do one of those Escape Rooms (which was so much fun!), get him some new socks and we celebrated Christmas, New Years, His Birthday, and Easter together! I', fortunate we drove there because we planned on leaving Saturday after the airport to drive home, but we ended up staying until 8PM Sunday night, because he wanted to be away as much as possible!

I got the date of the next classing up in SC and I am just sure he will miss it, it feels bad because he knows and likes the kids there! But no big deal - he will get to know and like the new kids!  I am just hoping he doesn't have to stay more than 3 weeks in THU.  

I feel kind of bad because his job is to guard the seperations.  It seems sad because it doesn't feel good to be separated and then to have to be guarded and escorted all the time must make you feel even worse...

But I am just so happy because of the wonderful unexpectedly long weekend with my new Sailor!

He is so sure he is going to keep his red stripes! LOL I told him no - He thinks I am sooo wrong! LOL - WOn't he be surprised when we gets to GC!

B'sNukeMom - loved the dog picture!!!  Glad the move has gone fairly smoothly.

proudNukemom - Thanks for the extra A school information and the prayers - Yes, grad date is scheduled for April 6, he is 1801-T.

kai cat - I know you were excited to have some extra time with your sailor, but I pray that he will not have to be long at THU.

So, exciting to hear about so many graduations and reunions with our sailors.!!

Kai cat tell him not to worry about not being in a class with his buddies . Sometimes by the time they get to prototype they're mixed in with lots of people from other classes.

Im glad you drove too, nothing better than extra time with your sailor.

I'm lost, why would he lose his red stripes? My daughter kept her until she ranked up after A School  

I could be totally wrong here! I thought ET's got different colored stripes than the EM's and MM's?

Kai cat you are probably right. I had lost track and forgot that your son was an ET

ET's do get different colored stripes because they are classified as SN versus FN - JayDee, I am impressed though that you can keep track as well as you do. I have to keep notes and haven't kept up with who all is doing what/ where / when.

Chipmunk there's a very off color joke among the sailors that helps me remember the colors. ;) 

Hello ladies. I've been following along here and there but not really sharing. My son doesn't communicate very much with what's going on so I don't have much to share. He did graduate Power School last Friday and arrived at Ballston Spa yesterday (I was not able to attend). Him and a classmate got an apartment together. He is really excited. It's furnished which makes it so much easier on them. My son went and bought some bedding and blankets. He said he slept 11hours. :O

OR_NavyMomx2 - How exciting! I imagine this is his first place!

JayDee659 - Please PM me or email me the Joke! Also - I can't believe what you can keep track of here! LOL

OR_NavyMomx2 - Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear that your son is getting settled in BS. I am sorry you were not able to attend his graduation.

JayDee659 - I will be sure to ask my son about the joke the next time we chat. He may have told me already, but I forgot. I am rather naïve when it comes to jokes, so my husband and children have to explain them to me. I don't usually remember them.

Ladies  it's possible that your sons won't share it with you. It's rather inappropriate and a little disgusting .

Happy Pi Day to all you fellow moms of Nukes/nerds :)  Here's to having smart kids!

JayDee659 - Loved the pic.  I had to steal that one and post it to my FB!!!  :-)