NUKE moms

CSW, can't imagine being completely in the dark in a large body of water. I can't even make it to the bathroom in the dark without stubbing my toe or knocking something over. That would be very scary to me. Fog and a blizzard gets me disorientated. Was becoming a Diver  added to his program after prototype?

Northwoodsmom,

So my sailor is actually an ELT on a sub and each sub requires three certified divers. He started working out with the Navy divers on base and they recommended he apply for dive school. Covid made it a longer drawn out deal, but so far it's been something that gives him joy. 

Northwoodsmom - You had asked recently about what our sailors do while they might be in dock or the shipyards. I can't say that I know any specifics of what mine is doing but he also has trained for another job on his ship as well as qualifying for something else with his rate. After a phone conversation the other day, all I know is that he is basically doing double duty!! They keep them busy or they have them working on qualifications for other positions in their department. 

The hardest thing for a Mom is to see there child struggle week after week. Every phone call and letter is spent encouraging them, that's what we do. They keep battling through with everything they possess, they don't  want to disappoint us. Phone calls diminish and our minds go wild with fear. Our prayers change as we humbly call on our Lord to take charge of this situation. All we really want is are child to be happy, to love what they do.

Well Friday the Lord heard my prayers and reached down and removed my son from the Nuclear program. He saw him struggle so and said enough is enough.

The Navy has taught him so much in these 18 months. Working nonstop helping him to survive. They have taught him  perserverance and endurance which in turn built up his character. God said now he is ready to accept My Will for his life. When the recruiter saw his scores and decided he should be in the Nuclear program he glorified it and wrapped it up with huge bonuses and prestige. My son bought into it even knowing math was his weakest subject, so he struggled and gave all he could give.

Right now he has been moved to DTP, a building away from the dorm rooms he once was in. He said it is housing approximately 80 others ranging from A school to Power school, the Prototype individuals are with them but go back to their apartments to sleep. They have him do various jobs and was so happy to finally do some physical work unloading trucks instead all the mental work he was doing. He went before a board to discuss why he was being removed from the program and was told he would remain in DTP until he was re-rated. I am told he will get to pick 5 rates in which to choose from but there is no guarantee what he will end up in. This could take anywhere from 2-6 months. They also told him he could use up some of the leave he has built up for the past 18 months . I am overjoyed that I might finally get my boy home for the holiday.

He remains very upbeat and excited about his future. And both him and I are grateful for the opportunity to be in the Nuclear program. He has learnt so much and values knowledge knowing in the future everything you learn will benefit you somewhere in life.

I am hopeful that the administration will allow me to stay on this site so I may share with others the knowledge and the experience I have obtained through this journey. I thank all of you who have helped me with all of my questions and have encouraged me through the ups and downs of being a Nuke Mom.

 God Bless all of you and I will keep you posted on the progress of my son's new adventure in his Navy career.

Northwoodsmom,  

I am a firm believer in things happen for a reason.  We do not always know it at the time but look back and realize it.  My his next journey be a better fit and he is happy.  In then end that is all we as parents can hope for our children.

Northwoodsmom,  Hugs and blessings to you. It is never easy to be the one to see someone struggle. But I'm hoping that you'll rest easier knowing that your son has begun to find a new path. Your words struck me and I wanted you to know my heart breaks but yet is also excited for you both. Thinking of you .

NWM - while I am saddened to see one dream come to an end, I am so happy to see that you and your son are able to see the positive. I have always tried to bring my son up to see the silver lining in every cloud and can only hope he and I would be as happy, positive and optimistic and you and your son in this situation. That ability  is such an important tool to have in life. Your words are an inspiration to all. I look forward to hearing where your sons Navy journey takes him. Fondly.., DsMom 

Northwoodsmom, I am going to be praying for you and your son, but I wanted to let you know that i am so inspired by your faith and your positive attitude.  I know that your son will do great and that God will put him exactly where He wants your son to be.  I hope that you do stay in this group because I'm certain you'll have insights for those of us who are coming behind you.

When the recruiter talked to my son about the Nuke program, I was really skeptical.  My son is smart, but he's not a great student.  And he joined the Navy because he "hates school and doesn't want to go to college."  So why would he sign on for Nuke school???  It's because of the bonuses.  Anyway, I did lots of research about what happens if he can't make it in Nuke school and it was actually very encouraging.  I read that the attrition rate is very high and people who don't graduate are called "Nuke waste" (which is really unflattering!) but I read over and over that people said their favorite shipmates were Nuke waste because they are smart, and hard workers, and people of character.  It gave me a lot of hope that if my son doesn't make it as a Nuke, he can still have a great experience in the Navy!

Much love (and prayers) for you and your son!

Good Evening everyone! It is late and I am ready for bed but have other things to deal with. I wanted to log on though and make sure that the DTP discussion was above for your Northwoodsmom - It is there and I want you to feel free to add any comments to it as you are able. 

You are always welcome to stay with the group and to offer words of encouragement to others. I have another friend whose son has rerated and while we have not visited privately for awhile, that last I had known, her son was doing well, he was enjoying his new rate and she was even able to go on a Tiger cruise. DTP can become a little draining, in and of itself after a bit, so hopefully the physical work that he is doing is energizing him for now. My prayers for your son and more later. 

I thank you all for you thoughts and prayers. Like I said my son and I are very grateful toward the Navy for given him the opportunity and doing everything they could to help him succeed.  My son started Power School three different times and was only 6 weeks away from graduation. I am sure they saw his perserverance and how hard he tried , otherwise they would of not given him so many chances to make it. 

MomofJoseph, you made me laugh Nuclear Waste!  Well with both know what God can do with the outcasts. Good luck to your son, it takes alot of long study hours and complete dedication on top of brilliance to make it through. Thank you for your compassionate words.

Northwoodsmom- I am saddened by this news as I have been rooting for his graduation. I know God has a perfect plan for your son. I’ll keep praying for you and him. Also please please do not leave this group, I may not posting but still reading. You’re one of the moms I am comfortable with (along with BsNukeMom, Chipmunk and others on here) since the beginning of my BC days. Your word of encouragement is so powerful to keep me/us uplifted. God Bless you even more. 

Northwoodsmom - I agree with everything Gigi said.  God Bless you and your son - this wasn't his calling but he will be called for something else.  He showed a lot with his perseverance.  Ill be thinking about you both!

Good Morning all and Happy Monday!

Northwoodsmom - I am sorry to hear that your son will be re-rating but on the plus side I am happy to hear that you both are in a positive place with it.  It definitely does NOT mean he failed, it just means there is another path for him.  I have every confidence that he will be re-rated and find his place and succeed in the Navy.

And most definitely you please stay here - you have lots of valuable info to pass on to others and your support is needed for others!

Good morning Ladies, I am not by any means a expert on this subject so please don't take it that way. After getting to talk to my son for almost a hour yesterday, something we haven't done since the beginning of Power School, I learnt somethings.

First thing, he called his Dad instead of me to let him know he was removed from the Nuclear program. That was very unusual, we are very very close and anytime before he would always confide in me and I would be the one to smooth things over between him and his Dad.

Second thing I found out was he was actually removed from the program over two weeks ago and couldn't bring himself to call us because he felt he let us down.  These two things completely broke my heart so I asked why of course. 

He told me Everytime he would call and every letter I would send I would brag on him and fill him with all kinds of encouragement. He stopped calling me because he didn't want to hear all of that, he just wanted me to understand not try and solve his problem. He needed me as a sounding board. Sometimes as a parent we just need to shut up and listen! I know it sounds harsh but I wish I would of listened more. Sometimes we can build them up with false hopes to a point that makes them ashamed of not being able to live up to pride we have in them.  When they can't live up to our expectations they close themselves off to us. Of course they don't be tell you this, instead they make up excuses why they are not calling you like " I'm just really busy with my studies, I shut off my phone so I can stay focused. 

Listen to your gut Moms. My son's voice didn't even sound the same, I could actually hear the stress in his voice.  When he called yesterday it was like a whole different person,  full of joy and enthused about his future. I forgot how much I missed that about him. So don't always start giving encouraging advice, listen instead about what is really going on, you might even need to pry it out of them. 

Being a Navy Mom is as much about listening as it is about encouraging, sometimes even more.

Northwoodsmom, thank you so much for sharing this!  It made me cry! My husband hurt me crying and ask what was wrong. I told him that your advice was so helpful. I'm concerned we're going to be in the same boat with my son. And I just really appreciate your sharing what you learned. This parenting thing ain't for wimps, and then you add the Navy into the mix, we're just going to have to become superheroes! Thank you again for sharing your journey with us!!!

The worst times bring out the best in some people and help you know for certain who the crummy ones really are.

Good Morning Everyone!! I hope your day is going well! I have been quiet for a bit on here, since I have been doing some traveling. First we got to see our sailor and his fiancée at their duty station, then a trip to GA for a sporting event with my youngest and now I have just returned from seeing my granddaughter! I wish I could say that I got lots of baby snuggles but since she is almost 2 and I haven't seen her since this summer, she pretty much reserves her snuggles for just her mom. One of the biggest downsides for me of the shutdown. But she still is adorable and while still working on her speech she had her own name for me, which was different than her name for her other grandmother, who is closer and able to see her more often, so that was special. 

Do we have any graduations coming up?  I still feel like we are so out of the loop on A school, Power School and Prototype graduations compared to when my son was at GC. 

I did ask my son about how our conversations were like during his Nuke training, mostly if I was too pushy. I think part of it, we both knew that he probably would only do his six years and then be out. But he did say, that when he was struggling with just being there, we did remind him of the benefits that he had and the time he was putting forth to learn was not wasted. Since he went to BC just a month after graduating HS, there were a lot of things that were hard for him, since he did not have experience otherwise to recognize that some of his circumstances were not completely different than what others have to work hard at as well. 

He also said, your ASVAB scores don't matter at all once you are in class. He still had to work twice as hard as some of the others who studied less, despite his ASVAB score. There are many circumstances that also affect how well someone is going to do at Nuke school and even out in the fleet. It is tough. Now that he is out in the fleet, we hear more about other rates and their hours and shift times also, so I have started gaining even more appreciation for all of our military.  

Chipmunk - yay for grandbaby snuggles - even if it was only a few!

Yes, they are the best!! And I did "babysit" a little bit as both Mom and Dad had some things that they needed to do, so it helped out that I could just watch her. The entire time Mommy was gone though, she kept asking for her. I even pulled up some old videos on my computer so she could watch pictures of herself with her mom. 

Thanks B'sNukeMom!! 

Welcome to our newest member ~ His Angel!  Her boyfriend is currently in nuke school.

Please be sure to read the ***NEW MEMBERS*** info at the top of the page.  Lots of good info there.  Also take a look at the Pages (20) to the right under the member profiles - be sure to hit "view all".  And the discussion forum above has some good info too - be sure to read Chipmunks "Nuke A School Daily Schedule".  And of course, feel free to ask any questions you may have.

His angel - Welcome aboard. We are glad you have joined us. Please feel free to ask us any questions that you might have. My son is out in the fleet now as an ETN and is also cross training in another department as well - not sure how that all works, other than I know he is busy! 

Nuke school is hard, what stage of the Nuke Pipeline is he in? 

Well ladies, I booked my flight to Hawaii. Let's see if this trip to Pearl gets to happen. One year ago I thought I would see my sailor and now we'll try it again! United was great with the rebooking and moving the credits. Hope the flight will go as well.

Happy Tuesday to all. Don't forget to VOTE!

CSW - fingers crossed it happens this time!  We were just talking to B&C last night - they are flying here to CA at Thanksgiving and we are a little concerned about whether or not their flights will happen.  B flew to NY last week and had delays on both ends of his travel - spent 7 hours sitting in Chicago with a delay.  It's a mess right now......{{sigh}}

CSW - Staying hopeful that you will be able to make your trip. I have family who is also scheduled to travel, so prayers for all that things will work out. 

For our new members, if you have sailors who may be coming home from NNPTC, at holiday stand down (assuming they are back to their pre-Covid common practice) mine wanted to return a day earlier than required. Also, last year when my son flew home, he booked the flights through some military service that he was able to get cheaper cancellation insurance, but I know that there are some other options for military, I just am not sure of them. Because of our location, Delta has been our primary go to because they have a connecting hub in Atlanta and fly out of our town and into both Charleston and Norfolk, VA where he is stationed currently. Delta has always given priority boarding to our active military when my son has flown and they have also graciously allowed us in the past to stay with him at the gate when he was flying back to school or his duty station. 

Your sailors will have to fill out leave chits and most likely they are focused on getting any Thanksgiving ones figured out before they get the Christmas ones approved. Your sailor will be the best source of specific information for their leave time. Those out in the fleet will all have various leave scenarios based on each command. 

Chipmunk- LOL just cancelled after receiving a text from a boatmate that son was on duty and said to cancel-changes coming!  Hope to rebook after I can talk with him tomorrow. The time difference and his work schedule is making this crazy. THANK GOD for the support He's given me through this site.

CSW - I am sooo sorry!!! The back and forth and uncertainty is always difficult!! 

CSW - oh no!  Hopefully you can get it rescheduled soon.

Don't forget to wear your RED!

Remember Everyone Deployed!

Yes CSW!  I posted this in a couple other groups this morning but forgot to post it here.  ;-D

I thought I would jump on here. CSW, so sorry to hear of your travel troubles. Prayers that all that gets resolved and you can get to be with your sailor. How frustrating, but nobody ever said Navy is easy.

I just got back from Italy. Travel was pretty smooth. I left my phone on the plane when we landed so I was without it for the entire week. I was so bummed! I will have to rely on others's photos. However, when I checked into the gate to come home there was the phone! I don't know how. When I got home I had an email from Delta that said they still hadn't found it. I am figuring that prayers do get answered!

My son is officially done working for the Navy. Now he is on terminal leave. The Navy does that so when a sailor completes their enlistment they have 30 days to start a new job and hopefully will not find themselves without a paycheck. He has been hired by a nuclear power plant in Georgia, (very happy with their offer), their house in SC is sold and closes within the next week, and they have an offer accepted on a home in GA. They will have a short period in an airbnb before they get into the house but so far all looks good. So, that's that. We wanted them in Nebraska but the job offer was too slow. He took the bird in the hand and let the birds in the bush fly on past, if you get the reference.

I will stick around for a little while. I have loved N4M for 11 years so if I have anything to offer I might pipe up but I see others here with more current information than I have so I think you all are in good hands. Hang in there, Sea Sisters! Together we are Navy Strong! Have a great weekend!

Hello all-

Wow. Well, my son's been at his new command in Hawaii for all of ten days, and he's already left on his first underway. Trying to visualize being in the depths of the ocean. Trying NOT to visualize being in the depths of the ocean...

He was so excited and I am so excited for him. Suddenly though, I feel like I did when he left for boot camp two years ago. He said he would likely be out 2-3 weeks. Maybe. Guess I'll chalk this up to good practice run for those long deployments...

Catching my breath...

NancyJo - wow!  So much has happened.  First I'm so glad you had a wonderful trip to Italy.  And how crazy is that about your phone!  I'm happy to hear that things are moving smoothly for J.  I know how much you would have loved for them to be in NE but it sounds like everything is working out the way it should.  Don't leave - Once a Navy mom, Always a Navy mom! 

But if you do leave, please don't delete your profile because if you do everything you've ever posted will be gone!

I'm still not ruling out another trip to NE.  Someday.....and we'll get together again.  I've enjoyed our many years together and the many times we've met up in person....until we meet again......And please thank J for his service!

ShipOfDoodles - Hang in there mama!  He's got this!

Ship of Doodles, stay strong. Yes its like a horrible boot camp reboot but you're better equipped this time. Seeing them go does not get easier. He's with a well trained crew, in fact the world's best! You know how to reach me if you want to chat. 

Nancy Jo congrats to your son! Best wishes to him in his new career.