NUKE moms

Oh no kbpoohbear! I’m sorry I don’t have an answer. There’s no way your son can verify and get ahold of you? I suppose he doesn’t have his phone yet....yikes what a dilemma. 

Oh goodness Kbpoohbear!!! When I met my son back in April his flight to GooseCreek was at 7 pm but he arrived at Ohare at 0330. There was a group of sailors who arrived at 0130.  I let sailors waiting for their parents use my cell phone. Hopefully he call you and let you know where he is. Good luck 

Kbpoohbear, I am so sorry, I have been gone most of the day and not near my computer. You said he had his flight time, but I take it he did not give you his flight number or the airline. If he thinks he is going to O'Hare then I would go there first, depending on where you are at from the airports. And check with the USO people there. I am not familiar with Midway and how busy they are. My son's bus left at 1 AM from GL to O'Hare for a 6 or 6;30 Am flight to Charleston if this helps you judge anything, although you are probably sleeping at the moment. 

Like mugga said, the other bus will leave about 0330 for anyone else that has later flights in the day.

Kbpoohbear: My son arrived by bus from BC to Midway super early, 0130. His flight left for GC at 0630. But some nukes spend all day there waiting to leave. If you chose one airport, and he doesn't show, you may have time to drive to the other airport. Midway is small. We parked right outside the doorway in the wee hours. If you meet him you can get a pass thru security and spend time with him at the gate. Hope you meet up!

NancyJo, thanks for the burger story, that is a great idea!! Wonder what the Beaver burger is like? No I am not in Omaha, wish I could be. I am counting the hours until I can listen to the radio at noon to the voice of the Beavers, Mike Parker, calling the game. I am so happy to hear about others out in Beaver Nation. 

JayDee: So sorry you are missing your nukette.... I found your song, he sounds like Sting. Now I have it stuck in my head.

Octos: Congrats to your nuke for passing his boards!!  You must be very proud of him. No small feat! Our son was also assigned to a sub back in August. He is working on his Dolphins, which is the Submarine Warfare Pin. It's allot of work also, like the pipeline, but he is hanging in there. It takes alot of grit to be a nuke. That's my latest favorite word, Grit.

I am sitting on the floor at OHare, hoping

Kppoohbear I am with you in spirit! I am writing a letter right now to my SR and including an index card for him to write his travel itinerary. He graduates this coming Friday and is then also off to Nuke school. Can you private message any of your friends  here to see if anyone can track him down? Maybe go to the USO at the airport for help?  Hoping you get to see him off! Crossing my fingers for you!!

He guessed right. I am with him now. I sent the card. He didn't do it

Yeah! So happy for you! Stupid boys. I can almost guarantee my son won’t do it either. Enjoy your time and safe travels to all!!

Preparing for BST this week and PIR on Friday! Found out in his last letter he is going to be an MM and is thrilled that it's hands on and he has a bunch of buddies that are also MM's.  Is there another group I should be joining for more information on MM's and to connect with others of the same rate? Sorry, I'm sure someone already posted this but it's been hard to keep up! Thanks!

Nursemom, my son is also a MM. Might be in same class

Kbpoohbear  - The airports are about 1.5 hours apart.  If you inquire early enough at OHare with USO, maybe you will have time to go to Midway if it's the other airport.  Good luck

kbpoohbear - I am so glad that you have managed to hook up with your son!! I sent the notecard to my son as well to fill out, but he didn't actually have his orders in hand until the afternoon of PIR. Thankfully, my husband thought to take a picture, with his phone, of the flight info on the envelope as we caught him walking back and forth at RTC or we would have been totally lost - and I didn't have any of the extra information I have tried to share on BC Moms. I will have to put some extra emphasis there on getting actual airline and flight number.
Nursemom - congratulations I am sure your son will do fine in BST. When he calls, make sure you ask if he has his orders in hand and if he can think straight (they are soo tired), ask for the flight information then. You should be able to look it up a and then you can verify with him at PIR. Also, my son didn't think there was a place for him to carry the note card during PIR, but they can fold it in half and put it in their breast pocket behind their CAT card.
Also, you are in good company here, many of the moms have MM's on this site and all you need to do is ask them questions. My son is ET, but his A school description in the discussion above is pretty uniform, at least for the time being. Hopefully others who are MM and recently gone through A school will PM you so you can ask them more specific questions.
Socoermom19 - been thinking about you and how your job was going. Glad to know you are enjoying it.
No soccer mom here but I drove my mini van around like one to softball, then dance, band, pompon, cheerleading, wrestling, swim, robotics (although that was dad more) and now gymnastics, taekwondo, band again, and all the church youth activities. We love our kids and enjoy watching them excel and enjoy life!

Thanks, Chipmunk! I put the index card in the mail today and on the back of it I told him to fold it and put it in his breast pocket behind the CAT card (whatever that is lol) at PIR. We’ll see if he remembers!

Kbpoohbear - as I was reading through these messages I let out a huge sigh of relief when I got to the message that he had guessed right and you were with your sailor. I know how devastatingly dissappointed I would have been had it not worked out. I think only moms that have had their son or daughter in boot camp would really understand. So so glad for you. 

So glad everything worked out Kbpoohbear!!!

So what are the chances that recruits with the same rate that graduate boot camp one week apart will be together in A-school?

Nursemom - well first of all, my apologies - I asked my husband this morning to be sure and still misunderstood him. It is called a CAC - Common Access Card - it is basically their ID that they don't go anywhere without for the most part. Also, I just talked to my son, he was skyping with his brother, and he did tell me that while they have two pockets in their dress uniform jumper (the top) there are rules in BC that don't seem to apply anywhere else regarding pockets and for the most part, they are not allowed to use their pockets for anything in BC. So, you may want to write your son back and first of all , correct my mistake on the card name, and then this is what my son said, " tell them to ask their RDC if it is acceptable for them to write their flight information on a note card or piece of paper and place it behind their CAC card (that pocket is accessible from the front, the right breast pocket is only accessible from the inside, I think he said.

If not, just encourage them to make sure they memorize that information to be able to tell you after PIR and then get online and check the flight information to verify.

Hope this helps with that question.

Nursemom - 2nd question  - it all depends on the number of sailors they have ready to class up. There are a lot more MM's than EM or ET's so I don't think they have to wait as long to class up as my son did. But there is always the probability that if your son is the excess for the one class, then he will be held in INDOC and someone the next week will come in and fill in the new class that is forming and they will be together. There just isn't a way to predict as far as I know. It doesn't seem to go by their last name and it may or may not have something to do with the division number at BC.

Nursemom-

My son is also an MM, set to graduate power school on the 29th of this month. He is not terribly communicative, but I am happy to answer any questions you might have, if possible, based on our experience. 

I believe it took about 2 weeks for my son to class up. So definitely possible for them to start together. Mine had PIR on July 14th last year, and graduated a school on November 3rd. He didn’t start power school until early January. 

Buzzbeck, the Beavers lost. I'm so sorry. But it's a double elimination tournament so hopefully they win today against Washington. That should be exciting and I hope they win.

JayDee, that's a great song! Yes, it's an ear worm alright. It'll be in my head all day. :^D

kbpoohbear, what a rollercoaster! Glad you were with your son at the end.

Talked w/ my sailor yesterday. He sounds upbeat. The family went to Hilton Head Saturday and had a great time. I think they will enjoy SC. 

I hope everybody had a great Father's Day. Have a wonderful week.

MoMom - excited for graduation!! Not sure what PS exams are like and when they take them but prayers for your son!!

Welcome New Members - be sure to pop on and say hello, introduce yourself and share where you are at in this Navy journey.

Nursemom - I agree with MoMom, they could certainly end up in the same class. My son is also an MM in power school. I would be happy to try to answer any questions you have.

How many can go to Power School graduation?

Hi all - Happy Monday!

Grannyofnine - I don't believe there is a limit on PS graduation.  You will need to provide all the names to your sailor though.

Nursemom - it's possible being only week apart that they could class up together.  Just depends on how many arrive from BC to make a full class.

NancyJo - glad to hear they are having fun and exploring.  I'm sure they'll get to see more of SC this time around!

Soccer was exciting - especially for Iceland!

Buzzbeck - rooting for the Beavers today - come on - they got this!

Welcome to our newest member ~ MommaV7!  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.

If anyone's Sailor has time tonight my nephews band is playing at the Barrel in Charleston.  Come check them out!  Their band is 5J Barrow!  If they go tell them to say hi to Jason & Eryn and tell Jason his cousin sent them!!!

http://www.thebarrelcharleston.com/

http://5jbarrow.com/

I am home from graduation and now off to A School. I can't express all the feelings and emotions in watching PIR. I want to thank everyone for the kind words during my panic attack with the airport problem. I am glad that he got the bus time correct and we chose to try O'Hare first. None of the other information was correct. Kids!!

Buzzbeck - OMG are you watching the game right now??? Oregon just blasted a 3 run homer!!

Thank you B'sNukeMoM

Good morning, my son has been in T Track since May 22. He is suppose to start PS the first week in July but last week they pulled him for a week of pre PS. He was in class all last week and today he has a test and will go back to T Track on Thursday. Has anyone had this experience? Why do they pull them for a week during T Track? Is it for remediation?

ProudParent - Yes, and yes. He either failed a section or had low grades in a section. Don’t take it as a bad thing. Those that take  power prep often perform better than their “higher ranked” peers at the start of power school.

ProudParent - My son did not do Power Prep school but I had asked him some questions about it the other day. He said that it is primarily to help with mathematics, I believe. Like 3B'smom said it is meant to help them prepare for PS but my son did say that how they perform in Prep can affect the number of required study hours that they start out PS with. 

Hi all - Happy Tuesday!

I want to say Happy 29th Birthday to my son today ;-D (Although I don't know how he can be 29 if I'm only 39 lol!)

Good morning!  B'sNukeMom - Happy Birthday to your son!!

ProudParent - my son also informed me that he will be doing Power Prep.  He graduated A school mid-May, but he did struggle with ICE.  From what I understand, he starts Power Prep later this week and then PS the first week of July.  I'm thinking it will be good for him to get a little class-time back in after all this time "off" during T-Track.  Hope your son does well on his test today.

Happy Birthday B!! - Mom - thanks for sharing the pictures.

Just got this from my son.

Happy Birthday B!

B'sNuke and NancyJo: I don't want to talk about this too much and jinx the Beavers, but yes I have been following the games!! Beavers face North Carolina again tomorrow at 4 pm. My dad says relax, it's baseball... anything can happen...

https://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2018/06/beavers_need_a...

B'sNukeMom, love that Michigan State Green!

Buzzbeck, I had to laugh, my daughters used to sing this annoying song "The Beaver Song" when they were kids.  Now the darn thing is stuck in my head.  Thanks.... :)

What is the max number of mandatory study hours that can be given to a sailor starting PowerSchool?

Well, Buzzbeck, today somebody will go home and I hope it won't be the Beavers. N. Carolina got spanked pretty good yesterday by Mississippi St. so we'll see if that makes a difference. Go Beavers! 

ProudParent - I think the max is 25.

Hi all - Happy Wednesday!

Buzzbeck - I won't say much - but good luck!

JayDee - one of his roommates also got him MSU sandals lol! His GF surprised him with a couples massage (after they had gone for their morning workout) so he was feeling good ;D

ProudParent - I agree with 3B'smom - I think 25 hours is the maximum but the part that my son doesn't like is the tack hours. Those are the required hours per day that have to be done. And so I think with 25 hours for the week, it is usually (- 5) maybe only (tack 4) which means that from Sunday thru Thursday, someone on 25-4 or 5 would have to put in a total of 25 hours of required study time and either 4 or 5 hours per day. I say 4, because they might expect them to put in extra on Sunday, I am not sure.

But when you are in class from 0800 - 1620, go to dinner, may have PT either before class or after a couple days a week, and then have to put in the mandatory hours (which while still on voluntary hours, my son was saying that it was taking him 3 - 4 hours to complete the homework), there isn't much time for anything else but sleep.

And while a fellow graduate with my son thinks that college is just as hard and all he does is study as an engineer major, he still has a lot more free time and time to decide whether or not he actually wants to do his homework or not. Our sailors are working hard, studying and learning what they need to go out on the fleet and continue to study and learn and do well.

Welcome to our newest member ~ Jussurfin2!  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.

OMG Buzzbeck - what a game!!!

Wow, that was a thrilling game, a come from behind victory at the very end. A tip of the hat to the Tarheels, and so proud of the Beavers. 

pandalvr, there are a couple ways.  There are phone banks that they can use which take calling cards.  Unless I misunderstood those calling cards can only be purchased on the ship or at the NEX.  There are also computers which the sailors can use for email (probably FB too, but my daughter doesn't have one so I'm not sure).  She did email me frequently.  Like mail to boot camp they don't always appear in order and they sometimes take some time to get to us (and back to them).

When they're in port they can use their phones.  Verizon offered a $10 a day flat charge to my daughter when she got in to several ports.  We used that as it was just simple.  They can utilize wifi but I have heard that can be not a good choice in some ports for security reasons.  I've heard that some purchase burner phones when in port then toss them when they're done.

My daughter called frequently during her first deployment until she got qualified.  

Buzzbeck, beyond exciting! Now the Beavers can rest until they meet undefeated MIssissippi St. Fingers crossed!

Good Morning and Happy Thursday!