For prototype, I believe my son said that they try to assign roommates to the same watch shifts so they don't have 3 or 4 vehicles coming from the same place. BUT, that is not guaranteed. Best for each person to have their own transportation.
Also, a vehicle is almost a must in the fleet too. Many base areas,, especially Norfolk & San Diego, don't have good public transportation systems. Also, ships/boats are in homeport more than they are deployed. It depends on timing, when they report vs. boat/ship's movement. When home, it is like a regular work week with evenings and weekends off, except for 24 hour duty days. So, there is time to get away for short times. Being stuck on the boat//ship will get old, fast.
AZ_RACCOON - First of all, you are NOT a terrible mother! You are an amazing, concerned, caring mother!
Second, your daughter has time to get a DL and a car. It will be AT LEAST a year after PIR before she goes to Prototype. There's not much free time during A School and Power School, but there are breaks before and after each school, so she can get her license and get a car during those times.
Third, when my son was in Prototype (2023), they assigned roommates to the same shifts so that they could carpool. In practice, though, once both of his roommates had cars, my son often chose to drive separately so that he could stay later without inconveniencing his roommates.
AZ_RACCOON - I think my son found out about 6 weeks into BC what his Nuke rate was going to be.
And You are NOT a terrible mother!! And you are not the first one to get on here and ask about cars and driving and such. I just wish the recruiters would have more of a clue about the Nuke Program and the logistics of the housing. But Canuka is correct, even sailors without a Nuke rate find out when they get to their duty station, such as Norfolk & SD that a personal vehicle is almost a must.
AZ_RACCOON - My son also found out about six weeks into BC. They had to pick their choices in order of his Nuke Rate they wanted. MMN, EMN, ETM. He is now EMN and about to graduate A school. The final decision is where they need the Sailors.
When my son arrived to A school after BC he just took Uber with his friends when they needed to go somewhere! We finally shipped his Jeep to GC from WA state.
I am still new to all of this. Everyone here has helped us!!
AZ_RACCOON - One more thing none of his friends from BC had cars. They were all planning to get cars when needed when they got to A school in GC and before Prototype.
Ditto!! My son was in prototype in 2022. His roommates all had cars he did not. Never had a transportation problem. They all worked the same shift. He did apply to be a prototype instructor following graduating the new program. That process started a few months before he was done and there was a deadline to get a car at that point. His application would not be accepted until he had his own transportation. He bought an old car while he was waiting to get a Ford maverick which was hard to find at the time (and $5000 over MSRP if you could find it). He never did get that Ford maverick. Right before he was scheduled to move to his first duty station last year, he did buy a nicer car and sold the beater. The Navy paid to ship his vehicle to his duty station in Hawaii.
I might add that he paid cash for his new car so it was easy to transport it to his new duty station. IF he had a loan or lease, there would’ve been an approval needed from the lien holder and lot more paperwork to move the car to Hawaii, I don’t know if it would’ve been approved or not.
B'sNukeMom - Thanks for posting the shift schedule! I couldn't recall the exact times or names. Those crazy shift schedules stay with them through the fleet and shore duty. I think my DIL has had a worse time of crazy shifts on shore duty than she did in the fleet. (She is not a Nuke). But while on the ship my Nuke son had a hard watch, because they don't have as large a pool of sailors to pull from like some of the other rates do.
The shift changes are some of the hardest things they have both dealt with, being in the Navy.
Reserves on the other hand, has been a good option for my son now that he is out.
You ladies have all been so helpful, thank you so much!! I think the one that my daughter is hoping for the most in MMN, but she understands that you get what you get.
FYI: The housing situation, looking way forward. The contract your sailor signed says that the Navy will provide her with a bed, one bed; where & type is up to the Navy.
At GC, this is a barracks room for A school and PS. Since there are no berthing facilities at prototype, the Navy provides housing allowance or extra pay to partially cover off-base housing. This is a big exception to normal allowances which don't kick in until the sailor reaches higher ranks or time in rank. At GC, my son rented a new 4 bedroom house in Moncks Corner with 3 others. The total rent was around $2200 a month and they each got $1700 a month so they banked some extra cash.
The fleet situation varies greatly by boat/ship and home port area. The contract bed is obviously on the boat/ship and even then, may be shared (hot racking, especially on subs). While in port, sailors will live full time on the boat/ship unless they qualify for an on-base barracks room (subject to availability) or housing allowance (which varies by rank and city). Otherwise, they have to pay the full cost of an apartment out of their own pocket (many home ports are very high cost of living).
So the lower ranks, even E-4 nukes, are stuck on the ship/boat full-time. Depending on timing of the vessel's operational movements, this could be months to over a year. Availability of on base rooms depends on the base and the number of ships home at the same time. Here in SD, we have 3 homeported carriers and all three are often here at the same time. It is up to the ship to decide who gets the allocated rooms. I don't know how cramped the Pt. Loma sub base is. Other non-carriers or subs tie up at SD Naval Base which has several bachelor quarter buildings, but many schools and shore based commands in addition to the ships. All these bases are huge and not always convenient to local amenities or public transportation.
The above is only for single sailors. This is all different for sailors with dependents. There are many military housing sites in SD, but some are quite a commute from specific bases.
Bottom line, a personal vehicle is a very good idea. There are storage options while long-term deployed.
I know this is down the road for your sailor but we mom's like to know what is coming for our babies even if they are too busy or don't care right now.
AZ_RACCOON - The Navy utilizes more MMNs than they do EMNs or ETNs, so the likelihood of your daughter getting an MMN rate is higher, however, it also just depends on the needs of the Navy!! All the best to your daughter!!
This is NASNI this a.m. Left is 72 Abe, right is 71 Teddy, in between is the open carrier dock (our 3rd is 70 Carl V-currently deployed).
Teddy is in a construction status so no one can sleep on board, so the sailors who don't have any other housing go to the white box which is a berthing barge. The galley & conference rooms were moved too. Sailors still do regular watches on board. This barge is fairly new but the berthing barges used to be old, old ships.
WRT housing, I don't think my submariner (STS2, currently assigned to an SSGN, not a nuke) has ever had to stay on the boat when not underway, even when he was junior E4. There just isn't room for everyone on attack subs, and tight quarters on the Ohio class. Too, the Ohio class SSBN/GN boats have two crews that alternate, so the "off" crew needs housing. He did have to stay on a barge on deployment in Guam. Homeport bases usually have housing in the BEQ for sailors up to E4 with less than 4 years. They may or may not have availability for E4+4. When they hit E5, they are effectively required to have off-base housing. If they are not in government housing, they get (non-taxable) BAH to offset housing costs. For the frugal that can be more than rent or a mortgage payment -- money in the bank. I don't know what his apartment in Silverdale WA costs, but he gets like $2K/mo BAH. Military pay scales are publicly available.
Question: Does Prototype get any days off? Is Prototype 24/7? He will be going from Power School to Prototype. I’m wondering if I would be able to visit him on a weekend during Prototype. I’m in California so it takes a whole day to travel. Thanks for advice.
Hi Val - it’s been 3 years, but here is my memory of it: they have a rotating schedule. Example, start with 7 Swings shifts, then 7 Nights, then days. Two days off in between but they are adjusting their sleep schedules. After days, they get 2 days off, then followed by three shorter day shifts, then 4 days off and restart the rotation with swings.
I live in California and visited often (he had a house with plenty of room even with his roommates). I’d fly out and arrive when he had his shorter days, then spend his 4 days off together. Realistically, you could start the trip with the 2 days off following his day shift rotation and have dinner together after his shorter days (off work by 3ish).
Hope that helps! BTW avoid Dallas for your layover if you can help it this time of year. I got stuck there for 30 hours due to storms!!
Val - There was a family weekend when my son was in Prototype (pre-Covid), but he did not tell me about it ahead of schedule. He figured he would be studying and there really would not be time for us to visit. And as DsMom2020 said, they are adjusting their sleep schedule as well.
Prototype is an entirely different study situation than what they had during A school and Power School. Some of the sailors do really well with Prototype and some struggle. It is more self-paced, for lack of a better description, but it is also hands-on. And depending on your sailor's Nuke rate and who they have as their instructors, plus the sleep schedule change, it can be difficult. My son would call me early in the morning on his way home from working the late shift, just to help him stay awake. I was thankful that there was another family member at that time who could also receive those calls, so I wasn't the only one.
I would definitely give your sailor time to adjust to Prototype and then discuss the options of coming out to stay. Our route usually gives us a layover in Atlanta, but this year, that area is being hit with storms just as much as the Dallas area.
To follow up with what DsMom2020 said about prototype schedule - I had posted this a couple of weeks ago giving the hours of the 3 shifts for prototype. Everything else that DsMom said is as I remember.
Swing - 11:30am-11:30pm
Mids 7pm-7am
Days 7am-7pm
DsMom2020 - as for posting the actual schedule, even though it's an old one I think it would be better to send it in a private message....Could you send it to me too so I can look it over?
val - I'm also in CA and we managed to get in a visit to B when he was in prototype in NY. We planned it around his 4 days off and it worked out well - it was in April so the weather was nice. We had fun sightseeing - even got to the the Baseball Hall of Fame - which made hubby super happy! Then we made one more trip back in January 2015 when he graduated prototype. That one was a little colder lol!
Good morning! I have a question about OPSEC. FYI, I have taken the OPSEC training course and passed it, but I'm still super nervous about sharing too much information.
My question is about if it's okay for me to share which boat my son is assigned to. There is an event Coming up that has been publicly advertised in lots of places including Facebook. The Navy has posted pictures of several of the sailors assigned to the boat, and has given their names. I feel like it's okay to say that my son is a part of this celebration, but I just wanted to confirm.
I guess an example that wouldn't give it away is something like this: "The USS Mickey Mouse is celebrating her 10th anniversary in the Navy. We are here to celebrate with my son. "
MomofJoseph - yes, you can share which boat your son is assigned to. Normally you don't want to give out any info on upcoming ship movements, but if the Navy is putting it out there, then it's ok for you to do the same.
My son is currently stationed in Ballston Spa. Your son’s class will be the first class to attend since it was closed for maintenance several years ago. The Ballston Soa area is beautiful and your son should find many things to do there during his down time. Good luck to him and the other sailors who will be completing Prototype.
val - I think your son will really like it there. B really enjoyed his time there. We visited twice and had fun seeing the area. We didn't make it into NY City, but B did.
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
And if she ends up stationed in Norfolk she will definitely need a car. Norfolk Naval Base is "the largest naval complex in the world".
Mar 20
AZ_RACCOON
Yeah, the recruiter didn't say anything, sigh. Now I am super stressed, poor kiddo.
Mar 20
CanukaVet
For prototype, I believe my son said that they try to assign roommates to the same watch shifts so they don't have 3 or 4 vehicles coming from the same place. BUT, that is not guaranteed. Best for each person to have their own transportation.
Also, a vehicle is almost a must in the fleet too. Many base areas,, especially Norfolk & San Diego, don't have good public transportation systems. Also, ships/boats are in homeport more than they are deployed. It depends on timing, when they report vs. boat/ship's movement. When home, it is like a regular work week with evenings and weekends off, except for 24 hour duty days. So, there is time to get away for short times. Being stuck on the boat//ship will get old, fast.
Mar 20
MomofJoseph
AZ_RACCOON - First of all, you are NOT a terrible mother! You are an amazing, concerned, caring mother!
Second, your daughter has time to get a DL and a car. It will be AT LEAST a year after PIR before she goes to Prototype. There's not much free time during A School and Power School, but there are breaks before and after each school, so she can get her license and get a car during those times.
Third, when my son was in Prototype (2023), they assigned roommates to the same shifts so that they could carpool. In practice, though, once both of his roommates had cars, my son often chose to drive separately so that he could stay later without inconveniencing his roommates.
Mar 20
AZ_RACCOON
Thanks for the help ladies!
Mar 20
AZ_RACCOON
How soon will my SR know if she will get ETN, EMN, or MMN? She has her PIR on May 8th.
Mar 20
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Happy 1st Day of Spring!
Mar 20
Chipmunk
AZ_RACCOON - I think my son found out about 6 weeks into BC what his Nuke rate was going to be.
And You are NOT a terrible mother!! And you are not the first one to get on here and ask about cars and driving and such. I just wish the recruiters would have more of a clue about the Nuke Program and the logistics of the housing. But Canuka is correct, even sailors without a Nuke rate find out when they get to their duty station, such as Norfolk & SD that a personal vehicle is almost a must.
Mar 20
Seahawks12
AZ_RACCOON - My son also found out about six weeks into BC. They had to pick their choices in order of his Nuke Rate they wanted. MMN, EMN, ETM. He is now EMN and about to graduate A school. The final decision is where they need the Sailors.
When my son arrived to A school after BC he just took Uber with his friends when they needed to go somewhere! We finally shipped his Jeep to GC from WA state.
I am still new to all of this. Everyone here has helped us!!
Mar 20
Seahawks12
AZ_RACCOON - One more thing none of his friends from BC had cars. They were all planning to get cars when needed when they got to A school in GC and before Prototype.
Mar 20
DsMom2020
Ditto!! My son was in prototype in 2022. His roommates all had cars he did not. Never had a transportation problem. They all worked the same shift. He did apply to be a prototype instructor following graduating the new program. That process started a few months before he was done and there was a deadline to get a car at that point. His application would not be accepted until he had his own transportation. He bought an old car while he was waiting to get a Ford maverick which was hard to find at the time (and $5000 over MSRP if you could find it). He never did get that Ford maverick. Right before he was scheduled to move to his first duty station last year, he did buy a nicer car and sold the beater. The Navy paid to ship his vehicle to his duty station in Hawaii.
Mar 20
DsMom2020
I might add that he paid cash for his new car so it was easy to transport it to his new duty station. IF he had a loan or lease, there would’ve been an approval needed from the lien holder and lot more paperwork to move the car to Hawaii, I don’t know if it would’ve been approved or not.
Mar 20
Chipmunk
B'sNukeMom - Thanks for posting the shift schedule! I couldn't recall the exact times or names. Those crazy shift schedules stay with them through the fleet and shore duty. I think my DIL has had a worse time of crazy shifts on shore duty than she did in the fleet. (She is not a Nuke). But while on the ship my Nuke son had a hard watch, because they don't have as large a pool of sailors to pull from like some of the other rates do.
The shift changes are some of the hardest things they have both dealt with, being in the Navy.
Reserves on the other hand, has been a good option for my son now that he is out.
Mar 20
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Mar 21
AZ_RACCOON
You ladies have all been so helpful, thank you so much!! I think the one that my daughter is hoping for the most in MMN, but she understands that you get what you get.
Mar 21
CanukaVet
AZ_RACCOON - That’s the spirit!
FYI: The housing situation, looking way forward. The contract your sailor signed says that the Navy will provide her with a bed, one bed; where & type is up to the Navy.
At GC, this is a barracks room for A school and PS. Since there are no berthing facilities at prototype, the Navy provides housing allowance or extra pay to partially cover off-base housing. This is a big exception to normal allowances which don't kick in until the sailor reaches higher ranks or time in rank. At GC, my son rented a new 4 bedroom house in Moncks Corner with 3 others. The total rent was around $2200 a month and they each got $1700 a month so they banked some extra cash.
The fleet situation varies greatly by boat/ship and home port area. The contract bed is obviously on the boat/ship and even then, may be shared (hot racking, especially on subs). While in port, sailors will live full time on the boat/ship unless they qualify for an on-base barracks room (subject to availability) or housing allowance (which varies by rank and city). Otherwise, they have to pay the full cost of an apartment out of their own pocket (many home ports are very high cost of living).
So the lower ranks, even E-4 nukes, are stuck on the ship/boat full-time. Depending on timing of the vessel's operational movements, this could be months to over a year. Availability of on base rooms depends on the base and the number of ships home at the same time. Here in SD, we have 3 homeported carriers and all three are often here at the same time. It is up to the ship to decide who gets the allocated rooms. I don't know how cramped the Pt. Loma sub base is. Other non-carriers or subs tie up at SD Naval Base which has several bachelor quarter buildings, but many schools and shore based commands in addition to the ships. All these bases are huge and not always convenient to local amenities or public transportation.
The above is only for single sailors. This is all different for sailors with dependents. There are many military housing sites in SD, but some are quite a commute from specific bases.
Bottom line, a personal vehicle is a very good idea. There are storage options while long-term deployed.
I know this is down the road for your sailor but we mom's like to know what is coming for our babies even if they are too busy or don't care right now.
Good luck to all.
Mar 21
Seahawks12
Canuka - Thank you very much for all of the housing and other information. It is very helpful and we appreciate it!!
Have a good weekend everyone!
Mar 21
Chipmunk
AZ_RACCOON - The Navy utilizes more MMNs than they do EMNs or ETNs, so the likelihood of your daughter getting an MMN rate is higher, however, it also just depends on the needs of the Navy!! All the best to your daughter!!
Canuka - Thanks for sharing!!
Mar 21
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Canuka - Yes! Thanks for posting that info - very helpful ;-D
Mar 21
CanukaVet
Last comment about housing...special situation.
This is NASNI this a.m. Left is 72 Abe, right is 71 Teddy, in between is the open carrier dock (our 3rd is 70 Carl V-currently deployed).
Teddy is in a construction status so no one can sleep on board, so the sailors who don't have any other housing go to the white box which is a berthing barge. The galley & conference rooms were moved too. Sailors still do regular watches on board. This barge is fairly new but the berthing barges used to be old, old ships.
Mar 23
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Mar 24
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Mar 24
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Mar 24
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Mar 25
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Mar 27
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Mar 27
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Mar 28
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Mar 31
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Apr 1
WearsLargeHats
WRT housing, I don't think my submariner (STS2, currently assigned to an SSGN, not a nuke) has ever had to stay on the boat when not underway, even when he was junior E4. There just isn't room for everyone on attack subs, and tight quarters on the Ohio class. Too, the Ohio class SSBN/GN boats have two crews that alternate, so the "off" crew needs housing. He did have to stay on a barge on deployment in Guam.
Homeport bases usually have housing in the BEQ for sailors up to E4 with less than 4 years. They may or may not have availability for E4+4. When they hit E5, they are effectively required to have off-base housing. If they are not in government housing, they get (non-taxable) BAH to offset housing costs. For the frugal that can be more than rent or a mortgage payment -- money in the bank. I don't know what his apartment in Silverdale WA costs, but he gets like $2K/mo BAH. Military pay scales are publicly available.
Apr 1
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Apr 2
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Helping mama grocery shop!
Apr 2
val
Apr 3
DsMom2020
Hi Val - it’s been 3 years, but here is my memory of it: they have a rotating schedule. Example, start with 7 Swings shifts, then 7 Nights, then days. Two days off in between but they are adjusting their sleep schedules. After days, they get 2 days off, then followed by three shorter day shifts, then 4 days off and restart the rotation with swings.
I live in California and visited often (he had a house with plenty of room even with his roommates). I’d fly out and arrive when he had his shorter days, then spend his 4 days off together. Realistically, you could start the trip with the 2 days off following his day shift rotation and have dinner together after his shorter days (off work by 3ish).
Hope that helps! BTW avoid Dallas for your layover if you can help it this time of year. I got stuck there for 30 hours due to storms!!
Apr 3
DsMom2020
I can post an actual old 2023 work schedule but not sure about OPSEC…
anyone want to weigh in on that?
Apr 3
Chipmunk
DsMom2020 - I commented on your page.
Val - There was a family weekend when my son was in Prototype (pre-Covid), but he did not tell me about it ahead of schedule. He figured he would be studying and there really would not be time for us to visit. And as DsMom2020 said, they are adjusting their sleep schedule as well.
Prototype is an entirely different study situation than what they had during A school and Power School. Some of the sailors do really well with Prototype and some struggle. It is more self-paced, for lack of a better description, but it is also hands-on. And depending on your sailor's Nuke rate and who they have as their instructors, plus the sleep schedule change, it can be difficult. My son would call me early in the morning on his way home from working the late shift, just to help him stay awake. I was thankful that there was another family member at that time who could also receive those calls, so I wasn't the only one.
I would definitely give your sailor time to adjust to Prototype and then discuss the options of coming out to stay. Our route usually gives us a layover in Atlanta, but this year, that area is being hit with storms just as much as the Dallas area.
Apr 3
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Good morning and Happy Thursday!
To follow up with what DsMom2020 said about prototype schedule - I had posted this a couple of weeks ago giving the hours of the 3 shifts for prototype. Everything else that DsMom said is as I remember.
Swing - 11:30am-11:30pm
Mids 7pm-7am
Days 7am-7pm
DsMom2020 - as for posting the actual schedule, even though it's an old one I think it would be better to send it in a private message....Could you send it to me too so I can look it over?
Thanks!
Apr 3
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
val - I'm also in CA and we managed to get in a visit to B when he was in prototype in NY. We planned it around his 4 days off and it worked out well - it was in April so the weather was nice. We had fun sightseeing - even got to the the Baseball Hall of Fame - which made hubby super happy! Then we made one more trip back in January 2015 when he graduated prototype. That one was a little colder lol!
Apr 3
DsMom2020
B’sNukeMom
Messaged you the schedule
Apr 3
MomofJoseph
Good morning! I have a question about OPSEC. FYI, I have taken the OPSEC training course and passed it, but I'm still super nervous about sharing too much information.
My question is about if it's okay for me to share which boat my son is assigned to. There is an event Coming up that has been publicly advertised in lots of places including Facebook. The Navy has posted pictures of several of the sailors assigned to the boat, and has given their names. I feel like it's okay to say that my son is a part of this celebration, but I just wanted to confirm.
I guess an example that wouldn't give it away is something like this: "The USS Mickey Mouse is celebrating her 10th anniversary in the Navy. We are here to celebrate with my son. "
Apr 4
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Apr 4
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Good Morning and Happy Friday!
MomofJoseph - yes, you can share which boat your son is assigned to. Normally you don't want to give out any info on upcoming ship movements, but if the Navy is putting it out there, then it's ok for you to do the same.
Apr 4
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Apr 7
val
Apr 7
momc
My son is currently stationed in Ballston Spa. Your son’s class will be the first class to attend since it was closed for maintenance several years ago. The Ballston Soa area is beautiful and your son should find many things to do there during his down time. Good luck to him and the other sailors who will be completing Prototype.
Apr 7
val
Apr 7
MomofJoseph
My son's boat (formerly PCU IOWA) was commissioned on Saturday in Groton. It is now the USS IOWA!!!
It was a GREAT ceremony in spite of the cold and dreary weather!
Apr 8
MomofJoseph
Wow, val, that's exciting that your Sailor will be going to Ballston! Will he be in the first class since reopening?
Apr 8
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Apr 8
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
val - I think your son will really like it there. B really enjoyed his time there. We visited twice and had fun seeing the area. We didn't make it into NY City, but B did.
Apr 8