Camp Pendleton Corpsmen Moms

Less than a month left of FMTB.  My son is happy that he can weigh in wearing full uniform and still be below his maximum weight. I know he aches all over but he is probably in the best shape he has been since boot camp several years ago. 

Been lurking for a little bit as my hubby just got to Pendleton. No news from him, just waiting to go visit him in a couple weeks and bring him the car. Wanted to share this photo of our son that I took the other week at the Veteran's Day Celebration in our home town. It has quickly become both of our's favorite photo.

corpsmanwifeschu, this photo should be in a magazine.  Beautiful little boy with a heart warming message.  Thanks for sharing.

corpsmanwifewschu- suck a wonderful picture!!!! welcome to the group!

Hello all....been away for a bit (just busy with a class I signed up for-work related). I justed wanted to check in and wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. Welcome to all the newbies.

I will be hosting 3 or 4 of the boys and I'm so thrilled to have them and have the house full life. I will start my cooking tomorrow.

I can't believe Graduation is coming up so fast. I'm looking forward to it and not.  Knowing that they will be off again will be heartbreaking.  I've been so blessed to have him so close and after graduation he will be so far. He will be going to VA next.  

Enjoy your Turkey feast and some football of course.

This will be an interesting Thanksgiving for me.  Instead of eating at home, we (son, granddaughter, and I) will be eating dinner with my daughter-in-law on her ship in San Diego.  Menu sounds great.  Just hope I don't have to go up and down those crazy ladder-stairs too many times.

As of next Monday, our sailors will have less than three weeks till FMTB graduation!  Praying that they will all get through and make it to the big day.

I visited her ship a couple of weeks ago and just walking through the galley made me drool.  Not anything like the food I expected to see.  Think Thanksgiving menu is turkey, prime rib, shrimp scampi, and all the fixings.  I will need to be going up and down those stairs to burn the calories! 

hi everyone! I just found out yesterday that my husband will be going to CP for FMTB in January as well. Our permanent station orders are for San Diego. My husband's current officers (In C school down in Pensacola) think he may be able to live off base and commute to Camp Pendleton everyday so we (our kids and myself ) can get to San Diego and not wait until after FMTB..does anyone know if theres any truth to that? Or do they make them stay on base while in training? Any advice would be so helpful!

yenni- yes there is alot of possiblilites so i am not totally sure, but there is something called "brown baggers" (like bringing a bag lunch from home)  i think its called that. it means that they are people that have familes that live near the base and they can drive there and back. they have certain rules to follow but i think there is a chance that it could work for your situation. but he may have to stay on base for the first few weeks till the first restciction is lifted... you may be able to find more if you google FMTB at CP. i know you can download like the whole package your husband will get, rules and all.

docsmom- that sounds like soooo much fun!!! hope you had a good time! cant wait to hear about it!

Yenni, the fellows who have family at home in the San Diego/Camp Pendleton area can become "brown baggers."  It doesn't start right away and privileges can get yanked for your sailor because of what someone else has done which means you might have dinner ready and he is not coming home that night.

There are mandatory study nights when they don't get home until very late and they have to be back at 0430 (or earlier) for muster during the week days or around 1700 on Sundays to prepare for Mondays.  They go for three days at a time to the "field" camping (4 times) and are filthy dirty when then come home.   Also, Fridays are "field day" which means barracks cleaning and they don't get relieved until after they pass inspection.  This past Friday my son got home around 2100.  Your husband's commute would probably be about 45 minutes in little traffic and a lot longer in traffic if you were living in San Diego.    

My d-i-l is assigned to a ship in San Diego and my son is attending FMTB right now and will be assigned to a clinic on Camp P upon completion.  They live in base housing on Camp Pendleton.  The further away you live from the base, the more difficult "brown bagging" becomes.   

Consider the extra pressure your husband will be under while attending this physically and mentally demanding course.  He will be exhausted from PT when you are ready to go shopping.  But, if you are flexible, you can do it. 

As I have told a couple of other loved ones on this list, my husband and I had our granddaughter with us for over a year while her parents were in school in San Diego.  They realized that with both of them in school, it would have been virtually impossible for them to complete an extremely demanding course and be the great parents they are.  It was hard but, between visits and Skype, we all survived.  Right now, because my d-i-l's ship is in and out, I am staying with them and taking care of my granddaughter so they can be a family again.  Just couldn't hold out another two months. 

I envy you your assignment here.  There is just so much to do and see.  When I drive down the hill my son's family lives on, I see the Pacific one minute and the mountains the next. 

When my son comes home tomorrow evening (they are in the field now), I will ask him what his recommendation is since he is seeing it from both points

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Oh, about that exciting meal on my d-i-l's ship...didn't happen.  As I just mentioned in my post below, expect the unexpected when expecting your sailor to be home.  My son ended up with 24 hour duty on Thanksgiving and I am too chicken to drive to San Diego on my own and my d-i-l was also on duty in San Diego.  Lucky my granddaughter really doesn't understand that turkey comes Thanksgiving, not the day after. 

Before I forget, tell them to buy the "optional" mouth guard on list of things to buy.  I wouldn't want to be sharing.

Ruth, you are correct about buddy being with you.  Depends on rank and what your platoon has accomplished, I think.  I believe you have to apply to be a "brown bagger" and I don't know if singles can apply or not.

Good thing my son doesn't have to bring home a buddy.  There are enough people in this house with wife, mother, and little girl. 

The brown baggers, except HM1s, got a free turkey for Thanksgiving. 

Asked my son about brown baggers last night.  Says it only applies to married students and doesn't take effect until 2 1/2 weeks into the course. 

My son looked totally wiped out last night but still managed to press his dress blues and polish his shoes for inspection today.  One problem, he has lost so much weight that he could pull up his pants without unbuttoning or unlacing them.  Wonder if they will give him a rope belt (like the high schools do now) if he "sags?"  He'll have to buy new pants before reporting to his new job.

Wish these last 13 days would go by more quickly! 

thank you everyone for the advice! After much thought, we decided it would be best for me to stay back in Kansas where we're from..until he is completely done with traning..I hate that its that much longer before we're together again but it just makes sense for him to focus on his training and for me to continue working! Hope the next 3 1/2 months go by quickly!

Yenni, I think you have made a wise but difficult decision.  I know how difficult it was for my son and d-i-l to leave their daughter with Oma and Poppa while they attended IDC school but now that it is over, they agtee it was the best thing to do.

This morning started the last field exercise for this FMTB class.  On Thursday morning, they will do their 8 mile hike and PRT is Monday, I believe.  I, and my son, will be so relieved when we know his old body has made it through! 

Son passed inspection without losing his pants!  I wish I could say my pants are as loose as his but I seem to have developed the opposite problem since he started IDC school last year.  I eat when I am a nervous wreck and I worried the whole year long and FMTB hasn't helped, either.  January 1, my diet starts! 

D-i-l's ship is out this week and son won't come home until Thursday evening so my granddaughter and I will have a very quiet week holding down the fort. 

Just got text from my son, "made it."  Seven weeks ago, he did not think he was going to make it through this course, especially the 8 mile hike.  Would have been especially embarrassing as second in command of the 200+ students.  I am so incredibly proud of all his accomplishments the past eight years.  Academically, IDC school was probably the most difficult thing he has done and FMTB the most demanding physically and mentally.  My buttons are just bursting from pride (or eating). Just one week till graduation!

My husband starts FMTB in January!! We have orders to Camp Pendleton after. So we will be staying there. He is on shore duty right now, and I'm sad that it's ending. We will be moving on base on the 22nd!! Pretty excited.  :D  Anyone else have someone starting in January? 

hi Aaronswife! My husband is starting in January too! We have orders in San Diego afterwards..I'm not moving to California until March I think..I have yet to actually join my husband so still very unsure of how military life will be!

Lida, so glad you are enjoying time with your son.  Is he exhausted?  Thought my son was going to fall asleep at dinner.  Would have been embarrassing in the restaurant!

Congrats to all the new FMTB grads (and all the moms, spouses, dads, etc. that supported them from near and far) ;-)

congrats to all the new grads!!!!!! good luck on your new adventures!!

They don't graduate until 12/15.  Monday is PRT.

Does anyone have the details of graduation? I hate being in the dark about these things.

I believe it is at 1000 hours and in big area in front of their school house.  Just sent my son a text asking and told him to reply because the info was for another mother.  Maybe that will get a quicker response.

They were supposed to do PRT today but because of the rain it was cancelled.  This might be right down to the wire since rain is forecasted tomorrow as well! 

Here is a link about graduation:

http://www.marines.mil/unit/tecom/fmtbwest/Pages/Graduation.aspx

Thank you docsmom. Do you know if there is a limit of who can attend? He did not ask for a list like they did for PIR, so I was wondering if anyone can attend and if we had to give a list of names of attendees.  Any info would be appreciated. 

Cali-Mom, when my son graduated at CP there was no limit to the number of attendees and no advance list was required.  Just drive to the main gate and they'll point you in the right direction!

It is just a big open asphalt space with bleachers set up.  I don't think they expect as many family members as they do after boot camp.  Ooh, makes me shiver to think of waiting in the cold to go through that one building at Great Lakes just to go across the street to another building.  Seems my son likes to graduate from things in December. 

Heard graduation is at 10:00 am.

Graduation update.  Guys have to be in formation at 0945. 

Graduation was great, other than they were missing a page of names in their program and the company leadership listed was for the last class not ours. Met some nice young men. Hunted down Gloria and she talks faster than I can think.  What a handsome son she has.. 

Hello, my son graduated today!!  I was not able to attend so was wondering if anyone who was there took pics and can you upload them??  He will be stationed at 29 Palms after.  Anyone else have a sailor/marine going to 29 Palms?

Congrats on to all Devil Docs who graduated last week.  I was able to attend with my husband, daughter, our aunt & uncle.

DSmom, I took pictures and will be posting them this weekend. I also took video of the ceremony, hopefully I can successfully upload them all. We bought the DVD and watched it on Tuesday.  It was great to see all of them endure and succefully complete this trainings.

DSmom I do know someone going to 29 Palms and I'm good friends with his mom. She is also part of N4Ms and she goes by stingyb21 Ship 12 Div 158.  I took pics of her son and sent them to her. It's great when this site can create these types of friendships.

We took his liberty buddy that Thursday to the airport and My son left on Sunday night to Portsmount VA. It was very sad but he looked so good in his dress blues. Delta gave us (me and his dad) passes to be with him until his plane departed, which was real nice. He's working in L&Delivery. I kind of take pleasure in that. LOL. It will be our first xmas without him....secretly I've looked at the price of airline tickets but they are too expensive ...wishful thinking only. His A school at San Antonio roomate and another buddy is at the same location so he is not completely alone. Makes me more at ease and he is already posted on FB tagging his friends with him. You know they are ok when you see them posting on FB.

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays. Thank you for the support.  Look for the pictures coming soon. Good luck to the newbies wishing you a successful training beginnning in January.

Cali-Mom, Sorry we didn't make a connection at graduation.  It was a nice ceremony.  Wish they had done a better job on the program they handed out.  The HQ company listed was for last class and I know at least one sailor who was "demoted" on the program and a whole page of names was missing another family pointed out to me.  I think I will scan the program, correct the part that listed my son and promote the other sailor back to his rank.  I am sure FMTB doesn't realize these little boo boos bother family members.  My son says he doesn't care; he has the pictures to prove he was there.  

My granddaughter was born at Naval Hospital Portsmouth three and half years ago.  I was impressed with them when I got there a day earlier and spent a couple of nights sleeping there with my d-i-l and our new baby.  One of the best times of my life. 

My son's name was mispelled on his travel docs and on one of his certificate. He is "Damain" instead of Damian. He was letting everyone know how he was "the main" (insert our last name).  He too was ok with it and found it funny and wanted all of us to refer to him like that the rest of the day. LOL.

As for the programs leaving a whole page of names out that's awful....was it the colored program or the black and white one?

The colored one ends with "S" and starts again with "Y" so "T" through X" are missing.  Did you get a black and white one?  Were all pages included?

Company First Sergeant should be HM1 J. Palomares and Company Gunnery Sergeant should be HM1 Harmon. Don't know who Company Guide was.  .

I will have to see when I go home and report back my findings.  We have both colored and black and white programs.  That's a shame but nothing can take away their accomplishment. I was very proud of all of them, they will go off and do a great job wherever they are assigned.

lida-glad to hear your son got there alright! and i am sorry that you are without your son during the holidays! i know how hard it is to be away from the ones you love, especially around this time of year. at least you can take heart that he is around people he knows!! glad to hear he has friends there with him to help take care of him!

so glad to hear about the last graduation!!! but hearing about the mishaps with the programs is not good! i am sorry for those of you that did not get to see your loved ones name in print on it! i know that it is not the end of the world, however it is a little frustrating for the family! i know i personally take a pic of the front of the program and then one of the list where his name is, so i know how nice it is to see his name!! but congrats to them!!!

Cute story.  While my son was the resident "yeller" at this past FMTB, I have a very attractive daughter.  Several of the FMTB classmates have "friended" my son on Facebook and, I am assuming, they are checking out all  his pictures because two have already sent friend requests to my daughter!.   

gloria- sounds like you had your hands full and over flowing!! glad you got to have your son home for Chirstmas!!! sorry you missed the plane and had to throw away the mattress. but i bet that woman was sooo thankful for all the things you gave her! that was really nice! sounds like in the end you pulled on your super mom outfit and pulled everything off! great job! now take a rest! you more then deserve it!

Gloria forgot to mention the electricity being turned off in her son's apartment while she was showering in the a.m. before graduation.  Think she did her hair and makeup in the complex laundry room.  She really is a great story teller.

Aaronswife - Did you read the message I sent you a couple of weeks ago?  Lots of info there.

Yes, your husband will eventually get to come home.  He will be pooped!

My son was so relieved to graduate.  He was one sore sailor!