NWM - thank you for prayers. I know he takes this responsibility and honor very seriously. 

Chipmunk - I will let you know how it goes. I hope if he does apply, he gets it!

B’sNukeMoM - thank you. Very helpful. Now I just wait to see if he applies. He’s brought it up a couple times recently. I’m proud of him either way. I do worry his college grades will hurt him (started very high first year, before he lost interest… then pretty bad). But he did exceptionally well throughout the Nuke Pipeline. Will have to retake SAT/ACT since he took it so long ago. We’ll see….. I’ll let you all know how it plays out if he applies. 

There seem to be a lot of Sailors recruited into the Nuke and other Advanced Technical fields who were poor or indifferent students. Many seem to thrive on the more structured learning approach of the Navy. The trend in colleges has long been to a less structured do-your-own-thing choose-your-path approach that appeals to some students but may be a hindrance to others. I suspect, though, that Sailors going back to school on something like STA-21 will have gained a lot of focus and maturity and will certainly be accustomed to hard work.

As you may know, my son has gone through the STA-21 program and is now an ensign. As a matter of fact, he is back at NNPTC going through the nuke pipeline on the officer side. He is exactly the sailor WearsLargeHats describes. He barely graduated from high school for lack of trying and focus. The Navy changed all that. He did well in the structure of the nuke pipeline when he was enlisted, thrived in college, and is happy with his first test scores in officer power school. STA-21 has worked out well for him, and I'm grateful to the Navy for bringing out his potential.

PacNWmom - Thanks for the update! I was wondering how your son was doing and hoped that you saw DsMom2020 - to share with her. He has gone full circle and now back again. I am looking forward to hearing how things go for him. 

I love reading these updates about your sailors.  I could say "Ditto" about the underachieving son.  We fully expected our son to not make it through A school because he hated high school and wasn't a great student.  But he did well in A school and is loving Power School so far.  He also mentioned the Seaman to Admiral program, but I didn't know it was called STA-21.  Thanks for that info!

It is so encouraging to have these connection with all of you!!!

Another underachieving kid here too! He is waiting to start ETN A school. He keeps saying he heard it is easy. I keep reminding him of his grades in Trigonometry. He texted me happy he got WiFi today because he has a lot of free time waiting for class to start. 

Lancertrackmom - He may realize it is not easy once he gets into it, and especially towards the end of A school. If you haven't read through my discussion above about A school, I suggest you do. My son is an ETN2. 

He would encourage your son to get his UIs (Under Instructions) "watch training" done as much as possible now, so that he is not scrambling to get it finished before he completes A school. They have to be fully qualified to stand watches during T-Track.  My son would also encourage him to make sure he is keeping up with his physical fitness daily, as well as volunteering for an assigned duty while in INDOC, verses being "voluntold". Mine was INDOC for a month, which included a hurricane evacuation. 

Thank you for sharing, he will enjoy that free time now and be wishing he had it later on. 

MomofJoseph & Q's Momma - Hi!! It is good to hear from you. 

Hi All - it IS always helpful to hear how common it is for Nukes to struggle before starting the Nuke program and then to hear how they just blossom in this environment. I remember being soooo worried he would not be able to successfully complete the pipeline. It was such a relief to hear from other moms and even better when I saw my sailor was stepping up.

I would love to hear from more moms who’s sailors were accepted to the STA-21 program. Anyone else have a sailor that bombed in college too?

I had heard that previous grades counted on the for STA-21…. I read all the links B’s Nuke Mom sent (Thanks again) and read that only about 25% of those that apply are accepted (I’d heard it was low) and that many Nukes apply several times before getting in (glad to hear that they can keep trying)…

Good Morning Everyone - 

I just realized that my discussion was no longer visible above, so I bumped it back into the queue. Here it is as well. Nuke A school daily schedule

BTW, my comment on underachievers in the Nuke program is based on almost 9 years of reading comments on this group. Lord, has it been that long?
There is also a surprisingly weak correlation between the academic part of the NNPTC program and actual on-the-job performance. Some breeze through A-school and Power School, but not Prototype, while others struggle through A-school and Power School and shine in Prototype.
The attrition rate is pretty high. Making it through, or not, doesn't mean better or worse. Being a Navy Nuke just isn't for everyone. IMO, the best advice for your Sailors is to take care of themselves, give it their best effort, maintain a good military bearing, and don't give up until the Command tells them to.
My son washed out late in Prototype about 7 years ago. He on shore rotation in a really cool job that he clearly enjoys. (Even though public articles confirmed what I thought he does, I still don't feel comfortable talking about it on a public forum.)

WearsLargeHats, totally agree. My son went through A School like a breeze but struggled doing the 3 different subjects in Power School. I still think being out of any kind of school for 7 years played a big part  especially in calculus and physics but he is loving his new rate and isn't stressed to the max anymore. Nothing but the greatest respect for the Nuclear Program and all the help he was given but it's not for everyone. God has different plans and sometimes they are not the ones we choose. The Nuclear Program added to my son's character but it isn't what defines him.

Northwoodsmom and WLH - I agree with your comments too.  My son did ok in A school, struggled big time in Power school - even had to re-comp, and enjoyed Prototype - he loved the "hands on" aspect of it.  Different strokes for different folks lol!

Happy Thursday!

Happy Friday!!!  I took my car to be inspected and when I was checking out, the mechanic said, "It is RED Friday!"  I had forgotten that I was wearing my RED Friday sweatshirt.  :-)

Happy Friday. Just heard from my sailor and he's back from his last underway. Now the countdown to out begins! I will continue to wear red, but celebrating the coming reunion!

CSW - congratulations!!!  I know your heart is so happy!

CSW - It is good to hear from you!! I am glad that you have heard from your sailor. I have my RED on and now that they are actually out longer than a few days to a couple of weeks, wearing my shirts means even that much more. 

MomofJoseph - That is wonderful that someone else recognized it!

CSW - woohoo - let the countdown begin!

Happy Monday!

Happy Tuesday!

Hi everyone, My son just started his A-school classes last week, had his first exam and got a 2.57, so just barely passed. He’s so stressed, and exhausted.  Has any other mom’s sailors had the experience of having a rough start then improving once they are settled into the routine? Any advice for how to best support him? He did pretty well in boot camp with no set backs. 

SDNukeMom - it can be a little stressful in the beginning (and beyond).  There's a lot thrown at them and very quickly!  The Navy will teach him a whole new way to study lol!  My son said it was lots (and lots) of memorization.  He'll get into a rhythm and it will come together.  He can always ask for help too...they want him to succeed.  Tell him to make sure he's eating right and getting as much sleep as possible (might seem like an impossibility but he needs to figure out a schedule). 

And the saying is "2.5 to stay alive" - so he's fine.  It's only one exam, there will be many more where he will be able to improve his grade.

He's got this!

SDNukeMom, the Navy is very specific they want things done and it is tough breaking old habits from their school years but he will learn it. Takes a little time but like any job you learn the way your boss or teachers want it done. Remember they are there to make your Sailor better at his job. I know that they are extremely smart but when they get lumped up with nothing but extremely smart kids it is very intimidating for them. Tell him to shake it off, there will always be someone smarter than you but your there because they believe in him. Encourage him but also keep the communications open to the fact that you are proud of the young man he is becoming and whatever he chooses you will support him.

Northwoodsmom,  Canuka , B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN-  I am in tears right now so grateful to have somewhere to come for support. Thank you, your words were exactly what I needed to hear. I know that he will settle into a routine and come out on the other side alive with at least a 2.5!  He sent a text message last night after we talked that said, "Love you, I'll make it through this."   I just wanted to hug him.

He did tell me that he has been hungry because he hasn't had time to go the grocery store, and doesn't always make breakfast in the galley, so I sent him some healthy snacks. I also sent a comfy blanket and some new socks.  Sometimes it's those little things that can make a big difference. 

Thank you all for your support.

A very important thing to note is that nuke school exams are used to track progress and identify areas requiring more study. There is no permanent record. Once the particular school is completed, nobody will care about the grades. Likewise, in prototype and fleet, while there may be a deadline for completing qualifications it doesn't matter if a qualification is passed on the 1st attempt or the 5th.

It is kind of like the old joke: "What do you call someone who graduated medical school at the bottom of the class? Doctor."

So your Sailor should try to make the best grade they can, but don't worry about it too much.

Hi, SDNukeMom!  My son is at GC now and not quite a month into Power School.  I want to add to the encouragement that the Navy will work with your son and they WANT him to do well.  My son had some friends who struggled initially in A school and the Navy worked with them.  Some of them got into a routine and brought their grades up.  A couple of them got setback into another group, and then did better. 

One of his friends was studying nonstop and still having a hard time passing the tests.  The class lead brought that up to the SLPO because he felt like the Sailor was working too hard.  ("All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.")  They ordered him to not study so much.  :-)  He got rolled back into another group and is doing well now.

SDNukeMom - It is hard for me to believe that I wrote this discussion Nuke A school daily schedule just a little over 5 years ago this month!! It has been a long 5 years, a lot has changed, the biggest being my son will not be coming home next summer to live with us, since he is now married. I don't recall if I mention in that discussion, which I added to along the way, if my son mentioned about getting a certain kind of teacher help. I can't recall what it was called, but my son always wanted me to encourage anyone to tell their sailors to take advantage of it. 

There grades on tests will ebb and flow. My son disliked having required study hours, even if he was still planning to study that much. That is one of the benefits of doing well on a test, you don't have as much required study time. If you haven't read through the discussion, do so, it will help you understand some of the things your son shares with you and feel free to add any updates at the end. 

Also, their math was as someone else mentioned I think, done the Navy way, and having to learn a new system of how to do things can be difficult. The most important thing is to not fall behind, but it sounds like they are working even harder nowadays, to help the sailors succeed. After all, they have already invested a lot into them, just to get them where your son is at. 

Your care package sound like a lovely idea. Also, every time we Skyped with my son on Saturday's he seemed to always have a Poptart in his mouth. He knew what things he could get from the galley.

Well he got his orders! He will be separating soon.  Thank you all for your companionship and support during these last six years!

Looking forward to being a vet mom!

CSW - Congratulations!  (It sounds like he WANTS to be separated?)  Does this mean that he finished his initial commitment and didn't renew?  I'm sorry, but I'm still kinda new to this stuff.  ;-)

CSW - Congratulations!! Please tell your son thank you for his service!!

MomofJoseph - I am fairly certain that CSW's son did not reenlist. Neither did my son. He is on his first longer trip out to sea, than just the multitude of underways that he has been on since arriving there 3.5 years ago. 

Q's Momma - I'm so sorry that your son has gone silent.  I have no insight because we are new to this, but I wanted to reach out and tell you that I will be praying for you.  I know that would be terribly hard.  (I struggle when my son doesn't respond to my text within a day.)  You are an amazingly strong Mom!!!

Q'sMom, my son is no longer in the Nuke program but I remember he suddenly went silent. He told me he didn't do well on a test and they gave him more mandatory study time which absolutely took everything out of him. He was disappointed in himself and couldn't face telling me. This young Sailors are the smartest of the smart and they aren't use to not being on top. I think it is extremely hard on them when they aren't living up to their own standards.  I finally reached out to the ombudsman there and he got in contact with me. I know no one want to go to those measures but worry was eating at me and affecting my sleep and health. Sometimes a mama has to do what a mama has to do. Prayers you hear from him soon.