NUKE moms

Good Morning Everyone!! 

I hope some of you were able to talk to your sailors this weekend. Saturdays were usually a good time for us. My sailor was usually doing his laundry in the BEQ and able to face time with his little brother. The rest of the time, he was often studying. 

I hope all who might have been in the paths of the bad storms last night are okay. My husband looked at the map and it went all the way from OK to SD!  I also know there is snow and ice in areas as well. 

When my son was at GC his first year, he flew back from Christmas vacation and then they had an unprecedented snowstorm!!! We had no snow while my sailor was home at Christmas, but he got to play in some when he got back to school. 

He also went through two hurricane evacuations, so if anyone ever has concerns, don't hesitate to ask questions. 

I had 8-10 inches of snow at my house. VERY unusual! It was the second highest amount ever recorded at our airport! I don't know how to drive in snow (and neither does anyone else in this city), so I've been cooped up at home since last Wednesday. I'm eager to get out today and get some errands done.

I'm looking forward to my trip to GC to see my son graduate power school (on the officer side) on St Patrick's Day! Anyone have any good ideas for a gift? He will be going onto an aircraft carrier after prototype.

PacNW and 99maui - Congrats to both of your sailors! I'm glad you're both able to be there for the graduation. Safe travels and enjoy your time in GC.

My son is also graduating on Mar 17th!  (Lord willing, of course!  Still has those finals to pass like 99maui said!)  We haven't decided what gift to give him, but it will either be cash, or something for his house.

MomofJoseph & Q's Momma - Congratulations on your sons' achievements! Q's - my son will be graduating A school with your son. Wish we could go, too, but we're planning a visit to Charleston in June. Can't come soon enough!

Congratulations to all of you with sailors graduating!! May they finish their courses strong and steady!!

I just want to encourage you to remember to share with your sailor how much you appreciate the effort and hard work they put into studying and doing their job. For my son, one thing he said, was he just wanted to know he was appreciated for his hard work and diligence. I realize this is also his "love language" but it can still be easy to be overlooked for doing something right, when so often they might feel like all anyone is paying attention to is if they are doing something wrong. So, just a reminder that we are the ones to just say, "thank you, I appreciate your hard work, and diligence!"

It is so exciting how many in the group are having graduations on Mar 17th.  I didn't realize that they do Power School and A School graduations on the same day.  I am curious about how crazy parking is going to be!  :-)  When we were there for A School graduation, it wasn't bad, but they only had one class of about 30 to graduate.  (My son says that usually A school grads have 2 or 3 classes that graduate together.) 

Hi all - Happy Monday!

C is officially at 30 weeks now (as of this past Saturday) and we head out on Thursday to MI for the baby shower!  I can't wait to see them and celebrate little Oli!

I just wish the weather would warm up a little bit lol!

B'sNukeMom - Enjoy the baby shower!! I know how excited you are!

Thanks Chipmunk!  Yes, I have an entire suitcase FULL of stuff that I'm taking - and that's not counting all the things I've had shipped there directly lol!

LOL!!

Good Morning!

There are many things that I have learned over the last years with my sailor, that I wish I could share openly but I do my best to stay mindful of our public group. So, please don't hesitate to reach out to me privately, especially if you have an ETN. 

All of our sailors represented here by this group are intelligent and gifted, they would not have been selected as some of the cream of the crop. However, I have learned a little more than I did 6 years ago, and that is my sailor is not the only one that is cream of the crop in the Navy. Many other fields have those same sailors, but their jobs, while intense at times, are still not the same as our sailors. We are all proud of our children, but the Nuke field is not always the best fit for everyone that starts out in it and that is okay. Some of my friends whose sailors rerated are much happier with their new job than they might have been with a Nuke rate, which is a blessing. We need sailors who are good at their jobs and who are interested in their jobs and perform any job to the best of their ability in the Navy.

As moms/ loved ones, we are here to encourage, but also to appreciate and acknowledge our sailors and their hard work. We are all proud of them and what they do, but I have to stay mindful of the difficulties they face and be understanding. It helps me when my sailor or my sailor gal share things with me, so I understand the workings of life, especially on a ship at times. Not every child will do that, so here are just a couple of things - if you did not know them already. 

Nukes are always first on, last off the ship. - Meaning when they go on underways or deployments, the Nukes have to be on board, ready for their watches maybe a day or two before the other sailors have to report. And most likely, they will not be the ones getting off the ship first at a homecoming greeting!

They have their own watch bill - Their watch schedule does not coordinate with the rest of the ship. They generally have duty days more often than other rates on the ship, and their work hours might be longer. This can also affect their opportunities for eating hot meals, or time to stand in line for chow. 

They do not interact much with the rest of the ship, and most likely, you may never see pictures of them on your FB groups and you for sure will not see their work area. The closest you might come to that, is to visit the USS Yorktown when visiting your sailor in SC (at least that is what mine did, after they had a field trip there as well.) - Recently, this phrase was shared with me, "We often forget the Nukes are even there, or part of the ship, even though we could not move without them. They are a ship within a ship."

We have the privilege and opportunity to encourage our Nukes, to listen to them, to understand their struggles, to offer them wisdom and advice. As they move through the Pipeline and encounter struggles and trials these are all things that prepare them for the course that is set before them. Some struggle with A school & PS, others with Prototype, but in the end, they are all Nukes, and they have a job to do, and our fleet and our Navy depends on them! 

We are here to help you navigate not only being a Navy Mom / loved one - but also a Nuke Mom / Loved one!

Chipmunk, thank you so much for this info! Incredibly helpful.

joe-mom - You are welcome!! Those of us who have rolled through the waves with our sailors can forget at times how new and unfamiliar this path is for many of our newer members and their sailors. You don't always know the questions to ask, and we don't always know what to say. Encouraging communication is helpful but even that doesn't always happen. I do have an advantage that I have a DIL with a different rate than my sailor, despite the fact that the recruiters tried to get her to go Nuke, and there are things that she shares with me that I would have never gathered from my son. Her situation prior to Navy was also a lot different and her perspective on staying Navy is different as well. But then again, she has also had to learn, when my son is out to sea or on the ship, her plans matter not one iota!! 

For example, my son's ship was still out to sea over one of the holidays. She had made plans to visit her family and knew when the ship was to return. Well, the RTP (Return to Port) date changed, it affected her plans of being there to pick up my son after he got off the ship, but she had to be okay with him having to call an Uber possibly or getting a ride with a friend. Because as she said, "I can't constantly live my life and change my plans just because the ship may or may not be back into port." - Yes, we all have to learn flexibility, but so do our sailors. Life goes on, and sometimes we have to make plans without our sailors, so that hopefully another time, we can make plans with our sailors. It is hard on us, but it is also hard on them as well. If we keep that mindset, there is give and take on both sides, which includes communication, it helps out in the long run. 

Chipmunk - thank  you. My son just got his “ soft orders”. (H e is expected to graduate in may from prototype) I have questions but will look up his boat before the questions start. 

Pizanche - Congratulations to your sailor, may he continue steady and strong to the finish line of Prototype!  My primary knowledge is of carriers, but I know we have others who have knowledge of subs if that is the route he is going. 

I hope you will be able to attend his graduation!

Chipmunk - Thank you for taking the time to share what you did about Nukes.  I had heard that they are first on, last off, but had forgotten!  I appreciate the reminder because when my son is assigned to a boat, I would certainly have been standing there wondering why he wasn't coming.  :-)

MomofJoseph - Yes, the fanfare for our Nukes can be pretty minimal. My son's ship has been in and out of port on a lot of underways and sometimes his duty schedule means he is not even off the ship until the day after RTP. 

I'm praying for our March 17th graduates to do well on exams this week!  So excited for this milestone on Friday!!!

Looking forward to hearing good reports!!! 

Here’s my share Chipmunk! Hope this counts he’s not in GC anymore. This is one of the many exams he was telling me for the past 3 months. Never ending exams and quals. Hang in there new moms, the roller coaster ride has not finished in GC. Congratulations to all the graduates this month ! 

Congratulations B’s Nuke Mom and to B&C so excited for your family

That's awesome, Gigi! Congrats to your sailor!

Yes Gigi - The never ending exams and qualifications and then promotion exams as well!!

Thinking about all of our sailors both at school and in the fleet, as well as the shore. I am learning that there are a lot of shore duty jobs that have specific ties to our sailors in the fleet, and how important those are as well.

May those traveling to graduations have safe travels!

Happy Thursday!  The baby shower was a huge success!  Little Oli got so many nice things - they are now ready for him to arrive.  We had such a good time - C and I got the whole room organized, all the baby clothes washed and put away, the many, many books (you can really never have too many books lol!) on his book shelf.  Closet organizer put together, bins for drawers, so much fun stuff!  He's due in May and our plan is hopefully to go back sometime in June.  That will give B&C a few weeks to settle in and bond with him first.  It snowed a bit each morning - looked beautiful and would melt by mid afternoon.  I handled the cold weather quite well - although we didn't venture out much lol!  Now I'm just trying to get caught up on everything here at work.....ugh!

Does anyone know where and when to look for tomorrow's graduation video?

My son’s was uploaded on Youtube  late afternoon that Friday search the class number  (ex. NNPTC 2204-01 or NPTU 2201-01)

If you follow NNPTC or NPTU Fb page they also post it there with their individual pictures 

Gigi - Thank you for sharing, I really had no idea, I am not sure if they recorded them for my son's graduations. 

B'sNukeMom - that is wonderful!! I am glad that the baby shower was such a huge success, and you were able to accomplish getting so many things ready for the baby. 

Gigi, Thank you!!!

Just dropping in to say HI!!  My sailor has passed A-school and is now in T-track.  He was doing some meetings to qualify for Watch Supervisor, whatever that means.  I went to the graduation and it was nice to see him.  I still lurk in the background, reading the posts.  

JNMnavymomOH, congratulations they work so hard.

JNMnavymomOH, Congrats to your son for completing A-school!  Do you know how long his T-track is?  (My son's T-track was 9 - 10 weeks because he was the first group to graduate after Power School classed up.)  Hoping you'll get to see your Sailor soon!

Thank you for your prayers for Comps for Power School.  My son passed and graduated on Friday and is home now!  Whoop whoop!!!  We are still praying for those who are having to re-Comp - hoping they have great success next week!  

MomofJoseph, so happy for your son, seems like he found his niche. Enjoy every moment of your time together and get some sleep!

JNMnavymomOH & MomofJoseph - Congratulations to your sailors!!

Good Morning !! I am just wanting to clarify something - Did I read in one of the recent posts about graduation - Are they still requiring you to show a proof of vaccination for A school, PS, or Prototype Graduation?

And as I recall, we also had to show ID's, ? car registration ?, I know our sailors have to put our names on the list. Did our sailors need to know our SSN? - I just need to jog my memory. Thanks!!

JNMnavymomOH - Congrats to your son! Mine also graduated A-school last Friday with the MM class. We weren't able to be there but watched it on YouTube later that day. Really happy you were able to see the graduation in person and hope you had a wonderful time with your sailor!

MomofJoseph - Congrats, also, to your son for passing his power school comps! That's quite an achievement. I can't answer for JNMnavymomOH, but my son told me last night that he'll be in T-track for about 8 weeks. He may have to have knee surgery during that time. If that happens, he'll be on convalescent leave for a while but will hopefully still be able to start Power School with his class.

Congrats to all the Graduates. 

Happy First Day of Spring!

(This is still one of my favorites lol!)