kai cat - My son was also placed in THU right after BC graduation. And it was a blessing in disguise because we got extra time to spend with him for the weekend. Lucky that you drove and had more flexibility. I flew in so could not take full advantage of all of the extra time, but luckily I arranged to fly out Sunday because I did not know how much time I needed on Saturday to spend at the airport with him. Turned out to be the other way around, But it was nice because we drove in to Chicago and spent the day there. It was fun and just so great to see him. I still remember how formal he was in uniform the entire time we were in town. And in the end he classed up right away in GC. Of course he has since changed class. He is now in 1803.
Anyone else out there in 1803?
I'm so jealous of all of you going to 1801 graduation and having brunch together in a few weeks!!!! That's so great. Enjoy!!!
Kai cat- Thanks so much for the info regarding order of events when our Sailors take their A school comps! That is one of the many reasons I love this site!! I get so much great information.
I am also not very good at keeping track of who did what when. I don't get here very often I just try to jump in now and then so I apologize if I don't comment on great stuff but I love and appreciate everything I see from jokes to pics to recommendations!! You ladies are the bomb!!!
My son is in class 1809T- I am on Nuke Moms on Facebook but from what I've read here it sounds like there may be groups for specific A school graduation dates. I'd love to join one of those if someone could tell me who to contact to do that. Thank you in advance!!
JayDee- I will have to ask my son about the joke!! Not sure if he will tell me but he may tell his Dad who in turn will tell me! LOL! Where there is a will there is a way! My son had an issue in boot camp with his stripes. For whatever reason they give all the nukes red stripes in boot camp. Maybe because they put them on before they decide which rate they will be. Anyway, my son was an honor graduate and was going to be announced as Seaman so he couldn't have the red stripes on his uniform but he didn't have time to get them changed so he just switched shirts with another sailor who had white stripes!! ;) He figured it out!!
Ooops, I forgot to mention that I had hoped and prayed that my son would be placed in THU so that I would have the entire weekend with him. He had indicated that that might happen. As it turned out he left for GC at 6:30am Saturday morning. I was bummed. You just never know. I'm so happy for those who get that opportunity to spend the whole weekend with their Sailor!! Although my son was "anxious" to get out of GL. I guess once they finish boot camp they really don't want to hang around!
Where do I find a schedule for Nuke school? Mostly I am confused about the duration of A-school. Is A-School the same for all nukes and then they go to other schools once they graduate? My sailor is still at basic and has not been very clear to me about schools. Or maybe I have not listened well. Thanks!
Moonbeam, it's a private group so you will not see it if you look. B'sNukeMom can get you in, I'm sure she'll get with you when she catches up.
Freebird, A School varies in time by rating. My daughter is an MM and her A School was 3 months. I think an ET may be longer? You mentioned that your son was still in bootcamp. A school probably isn't even on his radar. He's, rightly, concentrating on finishing boot camp. After A School, they move on to Power School (with a short stop at T-Track in between). After they pass Power School it's on to Prototype. This is when they have to move off base. Also Prototype can be in either Goose Creek or Ballston Spa. They can state a preference but the Navy decides where they do Prototype.
Moonbeam - The Facebook group is called "Nuke Moms" but it is closed and I believe you have to send a message to xxxxxxxx. If your Sailor is already in A school then you should send her a message to join. I'm sorry I can't keep track of where everyone is in the pipeline. If still in boot camp she will wait until your sailor passes BS's before accepting you into the group. Please correct me if I am wrong. I may have mixed up sites. I'm on so many! LOL!
Freebird- ET's and EM have a 24 week A school and MM's I believe it is 12 weeks if I remember right. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. It should be in the files to the right side of the page here on N4M's in the Nuke Mom's group.
Freebird - This is the one with the information on the different ratings and A School - although, at Christmas, my son brought home a copy of the page that is scanned and had corrections on it, but I have set it aside and not figured out how to make those corrections yet here.
Your Sailor's Schedule Upon Arrival to GC
It is the top one on the pages at right if the link doesn't work.
Nuke A School daily schedule-a sailor's perspective-from 2017
Also, my son helped me with a daily A School schedule, mostly when he first arrived.
And there is more information with that in the discussions above, by the same name. I need to add an update so hopefully it will bump so you don't have to search. This will give you some understanding of what your son will be doing once he gets to GC.
Moonbeam, it’s a secret group that u can’t even search. I’ll send you a friend request and show you how to get in. You’ll have to on me on Facebook. It’s a wonderful group like this one. I’m meeting over 25 moms this Friday at GC graduation from that group.
Soccermom, T-Track is the time between A & Power Schools. They do what I'd call "odd jobs" around the base until they class up for Power School, approx 4-6 weeks depending on classes filling up. They do everything from mop/polish floors to stand watch at the check points. My daughter had a couple weeks where she escorted vendors around the base (like the guy who was there to fix the Coke machine for example). Bonus part of this is that my daughter was able to take leave during T-Track and come home :)
I edited a comment below by NNLori and removed the name of the FB admin for the nuke moms group. In case any of you new members aren't aware we don't use our full names on here - safety reasons and OPSEC. I am friends with the FB admin for the nuke group and I can get you added if you send me a message. And like NNLori said you can only be added to the FB group AFTER your sailor has PIR and has moved on to Goose Creek. And only moms are allowed in the FB group.
Chipmunk - I bumped the discussion so it's at the top now!
This is the mom that is the admin for the FB group. She's not as active on here but sometimes she does pop in. And just to let you know she will do some verification on your FB page to make sure you are who you say you are - and she may send you a message. Make sure you answer her or you won't be added!
Mostly for my ET moms but there is also other info regarding studying, which I added to the Daily A School schedule. Thanks for bumping it up again, B'sNukeMom.
Does anyone know if there is a FB group for Nuke Dads? I don't do FB, but my husband does, just wondering.
B'sNukeMom - no my husband isn't on Navydads, but I have gone to their site and gleaned information from some of their posts. Thanks for sharing this with us.
You are welcome Freebird - I just updated it some more.
Hi All - lots of news to catch up on here. I've been selected to serve as a juror this week in a criminal trial so it's been taking me a bit to read through it all. We are currently excused for two hours now while the lawyers and judge have discussions.
MetroMom and ProudNukemom - so happy for you and your Sailors for passing A-school comps! ProudNukemom - thanks for the info on ET comps. My son is also ET (1807-T). Sounds like a big group of you will be meeting up on Friday. That is exciting - enjoy every moment.
Can anyone share exactly what all is involved in comps? (at least as much as allowed) Are they oral, written, how long do they last? My son is not a great verbal communicator. He is soft-spoken and actually I would actually consider him shy. For that reason, anything he must do in front of others makes me nervous.
kai cat - happy to hear you had a wonderful time with your sailor at PIR. I will always cherish that experience and those memories - even though I ended up doing hours of unexplained waiting for my son after the ceremony.
OR_NavyMomx2 - Congrats to you and your son on PS graduation. Happy to hear he seems to be settling in at a new place.
JayDee659 - hmmm... wonder what the joke could be? I'm certain my lack-of-communicator will not share the joke, but perhaps I will ask anyway.
KayCee - the comp exam (some get upset when it is referred to as comps) is a comprehensive exam covering everything they have learned up to that point in their schooling. It is a written exam. At the end of prototype they have oral boards which is their final exam. They stand before a group (2-3 instructors) and they are drilled on everything. They have a white board and they can use that to work out their answers but it is an oral exam. It can be as quick as an hour or it can last a couple of hours depending on how well they respond and know their stuff.
I copied this over from the discussion on the right "A Sailors Perspective of Prototype from 2009" (Excuse the language!)
Almost done right? Right. Finally. Getting there. You've been at prototype for 5 months, you know how to stand your watches without breaking the boat, you can sit in a cube with more junior students and ramble off procedures and specs all day, and you're finally ready to qualify. So you take the comprehensive exam. This is a COMP like you've never seen before. Its detailed, they're nit picky, and whats more, anything you've learned from ALL THREE schools over the past two years is fair game. You pass comp, you get your final checkouts done, your ready for your qualification board. For your qualification board, you go into a room, and there's two people there not from your crew ready to tear your brain to pieces looking for minuscule details. One is a civilian, he's your worst enemy. The other is an enlisted staff member of your rate. He's worse than your worst enemy. He won't talk much. His job is to sit there and annotate in detail every little mistake you make on your in rate knowledge and then ask you about it later. The more he speaks, the worse your doing and the longer your board takes. The longer your board takes, the more time you have to screw something up, so the longer they keep asking you questions. Its the ultimate mind fuck. So they give you the initial conditions of the plant, and ask you a couple questions to make sure you know whats going on.
Then, they then say "You're steaming at XXX and X event occurs." You look at them, expecting a question. There is no question. They look at you like WTF why aren't you talking? you take the hint. you spend the next 45min if you're on top of your game explaining every little thing that happens on the boat when X event occurs. You go over every action that every watch stander has to take and you have to know WHY. You have to cite the procedure, but you can't look at the procedure. This isn't a big deal, because you have them all memorized at this point. Additionally, you have to go off on every tangent that you can think of that is topically relevant because the more you speak the less they ask.
Then you're qualified. They give you a list of every topic you need to upgrade yourself on and send you on your way. You go get upgraded on that knowledge, and then get your qualified student sticker. The next day, you come in to work and you're on the watch bill... without a staff member. Hope you weren't just cramming and actually know your shit, because now, it IS your crow on the line. At least there isn't a staff member barraging you with annoying questions anymore.... except the Shift Eng.
B'sNukeMom - thank you for the explanation of the comp exam and also for the "Sailors Perspective of Prototype.." I found myself amused while reading this, but that is only because I am not in those shoes. I actually cannot imagine my anxiety if I were. Thanks again! :)
kaicat: Lucky you, you got to spend the weekend with your nuke! After PIR, our nuke had guard duty, then the 2 am bus ride to the airport, then flew to GC at 6 am. We were zombies by then.
OR_Navymomx2: Bravo Zulu to your nuke graduating from Power School, it's an amazing accomplishment. I am also from Oregon, and my nuke also did not talk. At all. Everything I learned was from JayCee and her nukette.
Buzzbeck and OR_Navymomx2 - Another Oregon mom with a non-communicative sailor here (raises hand)! My dad and I have a running joke: when he calls me he asks what I've heard from my sailor, I say "Nothing, as usual", he says "Yeah, me neither." Thank goodness for this site. Love ya, sea sisters!!
Speaking of quiet, non-communicative sailors made me chuckle. So here is a typical conversation between my husband and I regarding hearing from our son: Me: 'I had a K**** sighting today!' Husband: 'What did he have to say?' Me: 'Yup'
But oh those Yups are precious!
kai cat - Awesome that your son is headed to GC so soon - that's great!
Ladies, hopefully your sons are / were (in A school) getting more sleep than mine - because they weren't talking on the phone!! I received a text response at 4:29 AM my time this morning that said - "Fairly well. I need to get more sleep though. Hi." - once I remembered what I had texted him that made sense but I told his younger brother that he could not call his brother and keep him up talking. To which my youngest said, I was off by 10 pm his time!! - The last two weekends, my son has carried on 60 ++ min of conversation with I or my son, but both times he fell asleep on us!!
Which is why I share all the news with you that I can and added more to my discussion above today. Good night my west folks friends!
Buzzbeck, we made a great team and between what our kids would tell us and KamMom's in put we got it all figured out. They say it takes a village to raise a child but what they don't say is that the parents of that village rely on each other very heavily.
Chipmunk, just a little tip, these kids never catch up on sleep. When my daughter gets off her ship she goes home and immediately goes to bed to try and catch up. In the pipeline they're studying but once they're out in the fleet they're busy doing that thing they do (and can't tell us about).
This morning I'm saying a prayer for the sailors who were killed yesterday when their F-18 crashed. That squadron was deployed on my daughters carrier last year and did the airshow for us during the Tiger Cruise.
Kaicat - Great news!!! He will be sure to class up with some buddies. And then it's always great to meet new buddies like my sailor did. Hope you had a great weekend with your sailor
OR_Navymomx2 - Wow - Power School. Amazing accomplishment. You must be sooooo PROUD!!!
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MM - thank you so much for sharing that perspective for qualifying. That was enlightening
ProudOfK - PacNWmom - OR_Navymomx2 - Buzzbeck - And I assume many of the rest of moms on this site - YES!!! We have kids that simply do not talk!!! This site has been a God send for me. We are in this together - as some say - "Sea Sisters" and thank God for each and every one of you, especially those who share the knowledge and pass it on so that we can simply know what's going on.
The Navy gave my son direction and in turn gave me this family of sisters. Group Hug!!!
Happy Thursday. One more day to Friday (RED day!!)
All the news this week has me all verklempt. I'm so proud of our kiddos. Congrats on all the graduations and passed tests and big moves and, just, everything. Sympathies, however, for the families of the 2 lost navy pilots. So sad.
My sailor is also a poor communicator and we're Midwestern, not west coast. I thank God for his wife but even she says sometimes it's like pulling teeth to get anything out of him.
No sleep reminds me that while on deployment on my son's ship they work 16-hr days. (I don't know if that's just his dept. or the whole ship.) He goes to work at 0300 and is off at 1800. I was appalled when I heard it. That leaves only 8 hrs for food, shower, sleeping and whatever else. But he says they get used to it and I know he nibbles all day on the job. He has a snack drawer.
Don't forget, Sisters, tomorrow wear your RED with pride!
Such sad news about the F-18 that crashed yesterday - sending prayers to the families of the lost pilot and weapons officer. JayDee - I did see were they had been attached to the Bush :(
Along with my Nuke I also have a Corpsman. I found out yesterday he's going to Captain's Mast. He's convinced he's going to be separated but I am praying not, he loves the Navy.
My Navy boys are so different. My Nuke barely communicates but my Corpsman calls me at least once a week.
OR_NavyMomx2 - prayers for the best for your Corpsman. I would be on pins and needles waiting for information. My son has told me the most important thing is to remember to be truthful and not try to hide anything. - Same thing we tried to instill in our children. Some get it, some don't though.
Prayers for those lost in the crash. I haven't had a chance to look up information on it yet. I have spent my morning behind the scenes trying to write something for BC Moms group and answering tidbits here and there. Definitely isn't what is on the to do list this morning.
JayDee and NancyJo - I understand the lack of sleep. It is the one thing that concerns me. My son had disciplined himself at home well with his sleep schedule but was mislead by the recruiters as to what his work day would be like once out on the fleet. Unfortunately, the recruiters don't have the same knowledge as anyone that has been in the pipeline. We were too busy just trying to get through his senior year, and my other family issues that we weren't able to do as much research on the internet as I would have liked. He is hearing more now that he is at GC, and I just keep hoping for the best.
Chipmunk, they adapt to the schedule. I've determined that unless the recruiters were Nukes themselves, they have very little idea of what goes on.
One of the ladies that I ski with has a sister who just passed all her Naval Aviator quals and flies F-18's. I don't think she is attached to a squadron yet, but I'm waiting for news from my friend confirming that her sister was not on that jet. Ugh, hate this.
I don’t watch TV or do the internet thing very often so missed the news on the pilots. The whole Navy family mourns the loss and prayers for their loved ones.
I’ve got a super chatty sailor, he calls at least twice a week to check on me guess he can’t believe I am coping without him haha! I pity his roommate a lil bit, my son can out talk almost anyone I know. The boy doesn’t have a bashful bone in his body and heaven help ya if he gets someone laughing cuz it’s about to get outrageous. Sigh his poor roomy.
Tracie, you are one of the lucky ones! Yes, a chatty nuke does exist!
Oh dear, JayDee, I hope your friend's sister is not one of the lost. I can't stand it.
Yes, our sailors adapt, because Semper Gumby isn't just for Navy moms. I wish I could catch some of the innocent folks who believe everything the recruiter says. Along with sometimes not knowing what they are talking about, some of the less scrupulous recruiters will say anything to get the recruit and get the bonus for recruiting a nuke. Nukes are prizes to a recruiter. The good news in this day and age is that the web is full of information. Everybody should do their homework and at the end of the day most of the time it works out just fine.
soccermom19
kai cat - My son was also placed in THU right after BC graduation. And it was a blessing in disguise because we got extra time to spend with him for the weekend. Lucky that you drove and had more flexibility. I flew in so could not take full advantage of all of the extra time, but luckily I arranged to fly out Sunday because I did not know how much time I needed on Saturday to spend at the airport with him. Turned out to be the other way around, But it was nice because we drove in to Chicago and spent the day there. It was fun and just so great to see him. I still remember how formal he was in uniform the entire time we were in town. And in the end he classed up right away in GC. Of course he has since changed class. He is now in 1803.
Anyone else out there in 1803?
I'm so jealous of all of you going to 1801 graduation and having brunch together in a few weeks!!!! That's so great. Enjoy!!!
Mar 14, 2018
NNLori
Kai cat- Thanks so much for the info regarding order of events when our Sailors take their A school comps! That is one of the many reasons I love this site!! I get so much great information.
I am also not very good at keeping track of who did what when. I don't get here very often I just try to jump in now and then so I apologize if I don't comment on great stuff but I love and appreciate everything I see from jokes to pics to recommendations!! You ladies are the bomb!!!
My son is in class 1809T- I am on Nuke Moms on Facebook but from what I've read here it sounds like there may be groups for specific A school graduation dates. I'd love to join one of those if someone could tell me who to contact to do that. Thank you in advance!!
JayDee- I will have to ask my son about the joke!! Not sure if he will tell me but he may tell his Dad who in turn will tell me! LOL! Where there is a will there is a way! My son had an issue in boot camp with his stripes. For whatever reason they give all the nukes red stripes in boot camp. Maybe because they put them on before they decide which rate they will be. Anyway, my son was an honor graduate and was going to be announced as Seaman so he couldn't have the red stripes on his uniform but he didn't have time to get them changed so he just switched shirts with another sailor who had white stripes!! ;) He figured it out!!
Have a great day ladies!! :))
Mar 14, 2018
NNLori
Ooops, I forgot to mention that I had hoped and prayed that my son would be placed in THU so that I would have the entire weekend with him. He had indicated that that might happen. As it turned out he left for GC at 6:30am Saturday morning. I was bummed. You just never know. I'm so happy for those who get that opportunity to spend the whole weekend with their Sailor!! Although my son was "anxious" to get out of GL. I guess once they finish boot camp they really don't want to hang around!
Mar 14, 2018
Freebird
Good morning everyone.
Where do I find a schedule for Nuke school? Mostly I am confused about the duration of A-school. Is A-School the same for all nukes and then they go to other schools once they graduate? My sailor is still at basic and has not been very clear to me about schools. Or maybe I have not listened well. Thanks!
Mar 14, 2018
Moonbeam
Thank you for the info Chipmunk
proudNukemom what is the FB Nuke Moms group called? I looked and I don't see anything.
Mar 14, 2018
JayDee659
Moonbeam, it's a private group so you will not see it if you look. B'sNukeMom can get you in, I'm sure she'll get with you when she catches up.
Freebird, A School varies in time by rating. My daughter is an MM and her A School was 3 months. I think an ET may be longer? You mentioned that your son was still in bootcamp. A school probably isn't even on his radar. He's, rightly, concentrating on finishing boot camp. After A School, they move on to Power School (with a short stop at T-Track in between). After they pass Power School it's on to Prototype. This is when they have to move off base. Also Prototype can be in either Goose Creek or Ballston Spa. They can state a preference but the Navy decides where they do Prototype.
Mar 14, 2018
NNLori
Moonbeam - The Facebook group is called "Nuke Moms" but it is closed and I believe you have to send a message to xxxxxxxx. If your Sailor is already in A school then you should send her a message to join. I'm sorry I can't keep track of where everyone is in the pipeline. If still in boot camp she will wait until your sailor passes BS's before accepting you into the group. Please correct me if I am wrong. I may have mixed up sites. I'm on so many! LOL!
Freebird- ET's and EM have a 24 week A school and MM's I believe it is 12 weeks if I remember right. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. It should be in the files to the right side of the page here on N4M's in the Nuke Mom's group.
Mar 14, 2018
Chipmunk
Freebird - This is the one with the information on the different ratings and A School - although, at Christmas, my son brought home a copy of the page that is scanned and had corrections on it, but I have set it aside and not figured out how to make those corrections yet here.
Your Sailor's Schedule Upon Arrival to GC
It is the top one on the pages at right if the link doesn't work.
Nuke A School daily schedule-a sailor's perspective-from 2017
Also, my son helped me with a daily A School schedule, mostly when he first arrived.
And there is more information with that in the discussions above, by the same name. I need to add an update so hopefully it will bump so you don't have to search. This will give you some understanding of what your son will be doing once he gets to GC.
Mar 14, 2018
proudNukemom
Moonbeam, it’s a secret group that u can’t even search. I’ll send you a friend request and show you how to get in. You’ll have to on me on Facebook. It’s a wonderful group like this one. I’m meeting over 25 moms this Friday at GC graduation from that group.
Mar 14, 2018
Moonbeam
proudNukemom that's awesome! Thank you so much!
Mar 14, 2018
soccermom19
Hi JayDee659 - what is T-Track ?
Mar 14, 2018
JayDee659
Soccermom, T-Track is the time between A & Power Schools. They do what I'd call "odd jobs" around the base until they class up for Power School, approx 4-6 weeks depending on classes filling up. They do everything from mop/polish floors to stand watch at the check points. My daughter had a couple weeks where she escorted vendors around the base (like the guy who was there to fix the Coke machine for example). Bonus part of this is that my daughter was able to take leave during T-Track and come home :)
Mar 14, 2018
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Good Morning and Happy Wednesday!
I edited a comment below by NNLori and removed the name of the FB admin for the nuke moms group. In case any of you new members aren't aware we don't use our full names on here - safety reasons and OPSEC. I am friends with the FB admin for the nuke group and I can get you added if you send me a message. And like NNLori said you can only be added to the FB group AFTER your sailor has PIR and has moved on to Goose Creek. And only moms are allowed in the FB group.
Chipmunk - I bumped the discussion so it's at the top now!
Mar 14, 2018
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Welcome to our 2 newest members ~ nukemomnc and Bear'sGF!
Be sure to read the info at the top ***NEW MEMBERS*** and of course, feel free to ask any questions you may have!
Mar 14, 2018
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
http://navyformoms.ning.com/profile/KatPre1
This is the mom that is the admin for the FB group. She's not as active on here but sometimes she does pop in. And just to let you know she will do some verification on your FB page to make sure you are who you say you are - and she may send you a message. Make sure you answer her or you won't be added!
Mar 14, 2018
Chipmunk
Mostly for my ET moms but there is also other info regarding studying, which I added to the Daily A School schedule. Thanks for bumping it up again, B'sNukeMom.
Does anyone know if there is a FB group for Nuke Dads? I don't do FB, but my husband does, just wondering.
Mar 14, 2018
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Chipmunk - not sure about a FB group for dads but there is a Navy for Dads (similar to this one). Is he a member of that?
http://navydads.com/
Mar 14, 2018
Freebird
Thanks Chipmunk!
Mar 14, 2018
Chipmunk
B'sNukeMom - no my husband isn't on Navydads, but I have gone to their site and gleaned information from some of their posts. Thanks for sharing this with us.
You are welcome Freebird - I just updated it some more.
Mar 14, 2018
KayCee
Hi All - lots of news to catch up on here. I've been selected to serve as a juror this week in a criminal trial so it's been taking me a bit to read through it all. We are currently excused for two hours now while the lawyers and judge have discussions.
MetroMom and ProudNukemom - so happy for you and your Sailors for passing A-school comps! ProudNukemom - thanks for the info on ET comps. My son is also ET (1807-T). Sounds like a big group of you will be meeting up on Friday. That is exciting - enjoy every moment.
Can anyone share exactly what all is involved in comps? (at least as much as allowed) Are they oral, written, how long do they last? My son is not a great verbal communicator. He is soft-spoken and actually I would actually consider him shy. For that reason, anything he must do in front of others makes me nervous.
kai cat - happy to hear you had a wonderful time with your sailor at PIR. I will always cherish that experience and those memories - even though I ended up doing hours of unexplained waiting for my son after the ceremony.
OR_NavyMomx2 - Congrats to you and your son on PS graduation. Happy to hear he seems to be settling in at a new place.
JayDee659 - hmmm... wonder what the joke could be? I'm certain my lack-of-communicator will not share the joke, but perhaps I will ask anyway.
Mar 14, 2018
kai cat
Just got the news! My son is done with THU and will arrive at GC tomorrow ☆
Mar 14, 2018
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
kai cat - great news!
Mar 14, 2018
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
KayCee - the comp exam (some get upset when it is referred to as comps) is a comprehensive exam covering everything they have learned up to that point in their schooling. It is a written exam. At the end of prototype they have oral boards which is their final exam. They stand before a group (2-3 instructors) and they are drilled on everything. They have a white board and they can use that to work out their answers but it is an oral exam. It can be as quick as an hour or it can last a couple of hours depending on how well they respond and know their stuff.
Mar 14, 2018
JayDee659
Kaicat that is great! He will probably class up with his buddies.
Mar 14, 2018
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
I copied this over from the discussion on the right "A Sailors Perspective of Prototype from 2009" (Excuse the language!)
Almost done right? Right. Finally. Getting there. You've been at prototype for 5 months, you know how to stand your watches without breaking the boat, you can sit in a cube with more junior students and ramble off procedures and specs all day, and you're finally ready to qualify. So you take the comprehensive exam. This is a COMP like you've never seen before. Its detailed, they're nit picky, and whats more, anything you've learned from ALL THREE schools over the past two years is fair game. You pass comp, you get your final checkouts done, your ready for your qualification board. For your qualification board, you go into a room, and there's two people there not from your crew ready to tear your brain to pieces looking for minuscule details. One is a civilian, he's your worst enemy. The other is an enlisted staff member of your rate. He's worse than your worst enemy. He won't talk much. His job is to sit there and annotate in detail every little mistake you make on your in rate knowledge and then ask you about it later. The more he speaks, the worse your doing and the longer your board takes. The longer your board takes, the more time you have to screw something up, so the longer they keep asking you questions. Its the ultimate mind fuck. So they give you the initial conditions of the plant, and ask you a couple questions to make sure you know whats going on.
Then, they then say "You're steaming at XXX and X event occurs." You look at them, expecting a question. There is no question. They look at you like WTF why aren't you talking? you take the hint. you spend the next 45min if you're on top of your game explaining every little thing that happens on the boat when X event occurs. You go over every action that every watch stander has to take and you have to know WHY. You have to cite the procedure, but you can't look at the procedure. This isn't a big deal, because you have them all memorized at this point. Additionally, you have to go off on every tangent that you can think of that is topically relevant because the more you speak the less they ask.
Then you're qualified. They give you a list of every topic you need to upgrade yourself on and send you on your way. You go get upgraded on that knowledge, and then get your qualified student sticker. The next day, you come in to work and you're on the watch bill... without a staff member. Hope you weren't just cramming and actually know your shit, because now, it IS your crow on the line. At least there isn't a staff member barraging you with annoying questions anymore.... except the Shift Eng.
Mar 14, 2018
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
ugh - sorry it printed so big. I tried to change the font to a smaller size but it won't let me!
Mar 14, 2018
KayCee
B'sNukeMom - thank you for the explanation of the comp exam and also for the "Sailors Perspective of Prototype.." I found myself amused while reading this, but that is only because I am not in those shoes. I actually cannot imagine my anxiety if I were. Thanks again! :)
kai cat - excellent news! That was fast.
Mar 14, 2018
Buzzbeck
kaicat: Lucky you, you got to spend the weekend with your nuke! After PIR, our nuke had guard duty, then the 2 am bus ride to the airport, then flew to GC at 6 am. We were zombies by then.
OR_Navymomx2: Bravo Zulu to your nuke graduating from Power School, it's an amazing accomplishment. I am also from Oregon, and my nuke also did not talk. At all. Everything I learned was from JayCee and her nukette.
Mar 14, 2018
PacNWmom
Buzzbeck and OR_Navymomx2 - Another Oregon mom with a non-communicative sailor here (raises hand)! My dad and I have a running joke: when he calls me he asks what I've heard from my sailor, I say "Nothing, as usual", he says "Yeah, me neither." Thank goodness for this site. Love ya, sea sisters!!
Mar 14, 2018
ProudOfK
Speaking of quiet, non-communicative sailors made me chuckle. So here is a typical conversation between my husband and I regarding hearing from our son:
Me: 'I had a K**** sighting today!'
Husband: 'What did he have to say?'
Me: 'Yup'
But oh those Yups are precious!
kai cat - Awesome that your son is headed to GC so soon - that's great!
Mar 14, 2018
Chipmunk
Ladies, hopefully your sons are / were (in A school) getting more sleep than mine - because they weren't talking on the phone!! I received a text response at 4:29 AM my time this morning that said - "Fairly well. I need to get more sleep though. Hi." - once I remembered what I had texted him that made sense but I told his younger brother that he could not call his brother and keep him up talking. To which my youngest said, I was off by 10 pm his time!! - The last two weekends, my son has carried on 60 ++ min of conversation with I or my son, but both times he fell asleep on us!!
Which is why I share all the news with you that I can and added more to my discussion above today. Good night my west folks friends!
Mar 14, 2018
Buzzbeck
Gee, I love this site! Others listen and nod, but with my sea sisters, I know I am not alone. It's a great feeling!
Mar 14, 2018
Chipmunk
Oh and Kai Cat - Glad to hear your sailor left THU and headed to GC!!!
Mar 14, 2018
JayDee659
Buzzbeck, we made a great team and between what our kids would tell us and KamMom's in put we got it all figured out. They say it takes a village to raise a child but what they don't say is that the parents of that village rely on each other very heavily.
Chipmunk, just a little tip, these kids never catch up on sleep. When my daughter gets off her ship she goes home and immediately goes to bed to try and catch up. In the pipeline they're studying but once they're out in the fleet they're busy doing that thing they do (and can't tell us about).
This morning I'm saying a prayer for the sailors who were killed yesterday when their F-18 crashed. That squadron was deployed on my daughters carrier last year and did the airshow for us during the Tiger Cruise.
Mar 15, 2018
soccermom19
Kaicat - Great news!!! He will be sure to class up with some buddies. And then it's always great to meet new buddies like my sailor did. Hope you had a great weekend with your sailor
OR_Navymomx2 - Wow - Power School. Amazing accomplishment. You must be sooooo PROUD!!!
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MM - thank you so much for sharing that perspective for qualifying. That was enlightening
ProudOfK - PacNWmom - OR_Navymomx2 - Buzzbeck - And I assume many of the rest of moms on this site - YES!!! We have kids that simply do not talk!!! This site has been a God send for me. We are in this together - as some say - "Sea Sisters" and thank God for each and every one of you, especially those who share the knowledge and pass it on so that we can simply know what's going on.
The Navy gave my son direction and in turn gave me this family of sisters. Group Hug!!!
Happy Thursday. One more day to Friday (RED day!!)
Mar 15, 2018
Buzzbeck
It is a sad day to lose 2 heroes. Praying for their families.
Mar 15, 2018
NancyJo (NNPTC)
All the news this week has me all verklempt. I'm so proud of our kiddos. Congrats on all the graduations and passed tests and big moves and, just, everything. Sympathies, however, for the families of the 2 lost navy pilots. So sad.
My sailor is also a poor communicator and we're Midwestern, not west coast. I thank God for his wife but even she says sometimes it's like pulling teeth to get anything out of him.
No sleep reminds me that while on deployment on my son's ship they work 16-hr days. (I don't know if that's just his dept. or the whole ship.) He goes to work at 0300 and is off at 1800. I was appalled when I heard it. That leaves only 8 hrs for food, shower, sleeping and whatever else. But he says they get used to it and I know he nibbles all day on the job. He has a snack drawer.
Don't forget, Sisters, tomorrow wear your RED with pride!
Mar 15, 2018
JayDee659
NancyJo, from what I've heard that work schedule is not uncommon. Maybe that's why they push them so hard in the pipeline.
Mar 15, 2018
JayDee659
NancyJo, verklempt is the perfect word. This quote keeps going through my head today:
Mar 15, 2018
NancyJo (NNPTC)
I love Frodo. Now I'm verklempt again.
Mar 15, 2018
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Hi all, well it's almost Friday.
Such sad news about the F-18 that crashed yesterday - sending prayers to the families of the lost pilot and weapons officer. JayDee - I did see were they had been attached to the Bush :(
Your quote is fitting for today....
Mar 15, 2018
OR_NavyMomx2
I missed the news about the pilots. :(
Along with my Nuke I also have a Corpsman. I found out yesterday he's going to Captain's Mast. He's convinced he's going to be separated but I am praying not, he loves the Navy.
My Navy boys are so different. My Nuke barely communicates but my Corpsman calls me at least once a week.
Mar 15, 2018
soccermom19
OR_NavyMomx2 - I will be praying for your Corpsman. Hopefully all is well.
Mar 15, 2018
NancyJo (NNPTC)
OR_NavyMomx2, prayers winging out for your Corpsman. Tough spot to be in. {{N4M hugs}} Let's hope for the best.
Mar 15, 2018
Chipmunk
OR_NavyMomx2 - prayers for the best for your Corpsman. I would be on pins and needles waiting for information. My son has told me the most important thing is to remember to be truthful and not try to hide anything. - Same thing we tried to instill in our children. Some get it, some don't though.
Prayers for those lost in the crash. I haven't had a chance to look up information on it yet. I have spent my morning behind the scenes trying to write something for BC Moms group and answering tidbits here and there. Definitely isn't what is on the to do list this morning.
JayDee and NancyJo - I understand the lack of sleep. It is the one thing that concerns me. My son had disciplined himself at home well with his sleep schedule but was mislead by the recruiters as to what his work day would be like once out on the fleet. Unfortunately, the recruiters don't have the same knowledge as anyone that has been in the pipeline. We were too busy just trying to get through his senior year, and my other family issues that we weren't able to do as much research on the internet as I would have liked. He is hearing more now that he is at GC, and I just keep hoping for the best.
Mar 15, 2018
JayDee659
Chipmunk, they adapt to the schedule. I've determined that unless the recruiters were Nukes themselves, they have very little idea of what goes on.
One of the ladies that I ski with has a sister who just passed all her Naval Aviator quals and flies F-18's. I don't think she is attached to a squadron yet, but I'm waiting for news from my friend confirming that her sister was not on that jet. Ugh, hate this.
Mar 15, 2018
Tracie
I don’t watch TV or do the internet thing very often so missed the news on the pilots. The whole Navy family mourns the loss and prayers for their loved ones.
I’ve got a super chatty sailor, he calls at least twice a week to check on me guess he can’t believe I am coping without him haha! I pity his roommate a lil bit, my son can out talk almost anyone I know. The boy doesn’t have a bashful bone in his body and heaven help ya if he gets someone laughing cuz it’s about to get outrageous. Sigh his poor roomy.
Mar 15, 2018
NancyJo (NNPTC)
Tracie, you are one of the lucky ones! Yes, a chatty nuke does exist!
Oh dear, JayDee, I hope your friend's sister is not one of the lost. I can't stand it.
Yes, our sailors adapt, because Semper Gumby isn't just for Navy moms. I wish I could catch some of the innocent folks who believe everything the recruiter says. Along with sometimes not knowing what they are talking about, some of the less scrupulous recruiters will say anything to get the recruit and get the bonus for recruiting a nuke. Nukes are prizes to a recruiter. The good news in this day and age is that the web is full of information. Everybody should do their homework and at the end of the day most of the time it works out just fine.
Mar 15, 2018
Chipmunk
Tracie - your Nuke and mine would probably get along really well together!
JayDee - thoughts for you and your friend. Even if her sister was safe, it is a hard thing to face.
Mar 15, 2018
OR_NavyMomx2
Tracie - That's my Corpsman. He talks to me about everything and I mean everything. lol He's not shy and doesn't care who's in the room.
Mar 15, 2018