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For as limited as Nuke school seems to be, there sure are a lot heading there. Mine is going to boot Nov 10 (his 22 birthday) then on to Nuke school as well. He is currently subsititute teaching to get him through.

MontanaDawn... try this site http://usmilitary.about.com/od/navy/l/blasvabscores.htm

I will be praying for your son, Craig and your family. I know the ups and downs are hard but have faith and keep believing that Craig will be able to fulfill his dreams.

I said rosary for you and your son today. I pray he is ok and can stay in the Navy.

Everything they get will be Navy issue. Everything!! Even BCG's - better know as Birth Control Glasses. Because no would come near you with them on. So no Thermal undies until after Boot Camp.

My son's recruiter stopped by the house yesterday. It's the first time that I've met him. Anyway, he said that the Navy was no longer going to call the young men and women DEPPERs but Future Sailors. Has anyone else heard this? I think it's great, sounds more focused and positive.

Does anyone know what was wrong with Michelle's son Craige, the sailor with the bleed problem? If so,is he going to be OK? Michelle posted problem around 3/5/10.

Still waiting to find out. Haven't heard any news yet. I'm sure she will keep us posted.

Thank you, JM I was worried about him,I will cont. praying the rosary for him. I'm Johns mom and I see you have a third child joining the military in Sept.! Wow!! God Bless ya!! I don't know if I could survive that!! LOL

Actually I only have a second child joining in Sept. I have a daughter who just finished A school for IS. She will go on to C school as soon as she has clearance. Out son will also be training as an IS. Different speciality but same rate.

Hi KK. I get that, but I think our friends say that because they care about both of us. In my case Nate is an only child, so they fear the worse case senario for me. I understand their concern, we've been at war for such a long time, so I do understand their reservations. I just let them know tht I support his path -- I really do want him to do this -- and they smile along with me. I haven't seen it on here, but I'm sure that there are some parents that do not support their children.

On another note, Nate's hours have been cut at work. His recruiter told him to come in next week to do/take the PTs, then he is going to put him on priority list to go to BC. Nate cannot wait until October to go, he has too many responsibilities -- car loan, student loans, etc. I'm hoping that this works out for him.

Hello Everyone! I've been on N4M about 2 wks I guess, although I've been reading enough to have been on here for months it seems! lol Just stumbled on the Deppers Group! My son doesn't ship till November. The best part of DEP is the hour ride there and back each week, and dinner after, just he and I! He learned the 11 General Orders last week only to have to do extra push ups because not everyone knew them... but he needs extra help in the push up category, so it was all good! kk - I have had that reaction, heck even my aunts husband (retired E9) asked why on earth my son would want to go nukes?! When I've had a negative reaction from people in general (which thankfully has not happened much) I've just told them how proud I am of him and his choice, and I leave it at that. They are not worth the effort...

KK and CodesMom
Well it looks like we have some pretty smart boys -- Nate is going into Nukes too. I have friends from one end of the spectrum to the other and can get the "how are you" question from both ends. I have to admit, when Nate told me he had signed the contract and he was in, I had an panic attack. It didn't matter how much I support him, my thought was "this is my baby boy!" So I called my best friend, cried to him over the phone then moved on.

I wish you both the best.
--Lori
This too is the perfect fit for Nate. In high school it wasn't that he couldn't do the work, he just didn't. The structure will be good for him and help to give him the confidence he is lacking.

It sounds like you are talking about my son, the comparison is so simular. I have a daughter who is already in the Navy. But when my son decided to follow we were quite surprised. Third child, only son, did honors in high school but hated college classes because he had to take ones he wasn't interested in or didn't need for any major. So very capable of doing but didn't. He will also be doing the intel program like his big sis. Andrew is excited that even though he has to go to school, once he is done with A & C school he will have a marketable skill without the extra classes.

And KK I gt the same look from friends and family when our daughter went in, can you imagine the looks I got once they found out I will have to serving. Excited, proud and yes a little scared. Sometimes that isn't easily conveyed to friends and family.

Well, looks like I'm going to be a DEP mom for a bit longer than anticipated. My daughter was scheduled to ship out in July, but has just been diagnosed with a torn meniscus from a softball injury. She has to have surgery and her recruiter says they are going to drop her since it is too close to her ship date. She'll have to have the surgery, rehab and then totally start the process all over. She already took her ASVAB, so doesn't have to redo that, but will have to go to MEPS for medical clearance and wait for waivers on meniscus surgery. She has been training for 8 months to be a rescue swimmer and that was what she wanted to go in as. I guess the wait won't be quite as long since she can get a rescue swim contract again as soon as she is completely healed and has her running back up to speed. So we're thinking this is going to set her Navy career back about 6 months from the original ship date of July. In the long run it is for the best though, but she really didn't want to wait around her for 6 months after graduation. She thinks 6 months is a lifetime, but to us 'older and wiser' moms we know it's not that bad. Especially in order to get what she wants. She could really push it and get it sooner with another rate, but being a rescue swimmer is all she has wanted for the past year, so I am encouraging her to get her knee back to rescue swimmer ready and just be patient. I would much rather her go into the field she wants and be satisfied with her career instead of rushing into something she didn't really want. So, I guess we'll be around here a little while longer :-)

My son got put on the bump list. Did his run time under 10:00 for the last PFA requirement. Hoping to go in around June 7th so that his already Navy sister can make his PIR. She will start her "C" school training on Monday.

Physical Fitness Assessment.

It's what they have to pass in BC. They will be tested before they leave and 3 times at BC.

The physical part doesn't seem to be a problem for him. He did 3 varsity sports in high school, so he is use to the workouts. I'm more worried about being screamed at, although his older sister didn't seem to have any difficulty with it while she was in BC.

Hi, my son is leaving in April 27. Is anyone else leaving that date.

Hi, I'm Arwen and I'm baaack!

My older son Chris is now in the Navy at Pensacola, and his brother Sean has decided to give the Navy a try. So, I figure within the next few months he'll be a Depper. I might as well get used to it.

Sean is a 17-year-old high school senior, a year ahead in school. So, depending on his ship-date, we will have to sign for him. He doesn't turn 18 until December. I think he's going to ask for a ship date for after his birthday so he doesn't have to deal with being a minor in the military. It's kinda weird.

I'm a Navy veteran, as is my husband, so this is pretty old-hat to us. I just want to keep in touch with other DEP parents, and maybe help out when I can.

Some stories are too good not to share. Chris may kill me for sharing this one, but if he didn't want anyone to to know, he shouldn't tell his mother, a REPORTER.

It all started so innocently: the end of a school day (1830), and an announcement that "the following sailors will report to dental at 0730... (Chris' name was on the list.)

So far so good. Chris headed to chow, then to barracks. Looked at the clock and realizes its 7:15. His appointment was in 15 minutes? Yikes! So he took off to Dental.

Okay, so, who has spotted Mistake #1?

Chris arrived at Dental with moments to spare, entered the turnstile and THUD... it stopped, halfway through. Okay, he said to himself, try another door. Go back - THUD. The turnstyle is 1-way. It's locked so it can't go forward and back, and NO ONE was around!

So Chris was stuck in the turnstile, couldn't climb over, since it is covered, bars from bottom to top. At this point he realized Dental was closed, and that his appointment was in the morning. 0730. Not 7:30 pm. And that at 7:30 pm at the dental clinic, it's empty, and it's off the beaten path. And he was trapped. And he left his cell phone at the barracks.

There's no room to sit down, just enough room to stand. And stand. And stand.

Finally, at about 2000 the regular MA patrol just happens to drive by, and sees Chris. Once the MA1 figured out what is going on, he finally managed to stop laughing long enough to call in for someone with a key to another door. Chris was then subjected to this MA1's teasing and taunting (richly deserved) for the next half-hour, until the building maintenance person showed up to release the turnstile mechanism.

Chris has a bad history with doors. Now we can add turnstiles to the list of doors that have caused him grief.

My son will not be graduating high school on time, at this point he will graduate some time in October. This state has a stupid "senior project" graduation requirement, and Sean hasn't completed it. They only have presentation events three times per year, and he missed the last one on Wednesday. He did the project, but forgot an important checklist, so he can't grad until he presents at the fall event.

So he is going to look for a date leaving in November or December.

Chris did almost exactly the same thing, he finished that last class over the summer and attended college that fall, as scheduled. I'm just very frustrated because I STILL won't have a photo of a child in cap and gown. So far I'm 0 for 2 on high school graduation ceremonies. If my daughter pulls the same thing I think I will kill her.

Hello All...I have been "lurking" for a while and have posted here and there recently. I just want to say thank you to all the wonderful people on here. I look forward to getting to know you as we make it through. Right now, I have one young lady, Elizabeth (age 19) who will be leaving for boot camp on 8/2. My other young lady, Melissa (age 18) is awaiting a waiver. We hope we will have this any day now so she can go pick out her job! :) We are all so excited and I am so very prourd of my beautiful women.

Sean has his surgery on Tuesday, and the recruiter has already been in contact. He wants us to fax him Sean's medical paperwork (that he got the screw out and the stability of the knee) as soon as he gets out of surgery in order to get the waiver stuff going. We're hoping to have his waiver by June so that Sean can start looking for a job opening. Then I can be here for real, LOL.

Both my daughters are at a DEP meeting this morning...probably working out and sweating! LOL It is the first meeting for them. Should have some exciting stories tonight at the dinner table.

Arwen...you are here for real...lol...this is just a bump in the road. We are still waiting on Melissa's waiver for her having bronchitis when she was 12! good luck...it is quite the process.

Funny, but real! my son went with his recruiter today to some training and the senior recruiter asked him who is Joseph Lieberman and my son did not know so he was told to do 500 push ups!!!! Welcome to Navy life i guess?!

Wow BB...that sounds painful! My daughters went for PT on Saturday. They did a lot of pushups just because people in their group could not complete an "about face" properly. The girls were able to do it after they were showed one time. THis was their first meeting and some of the ones that were messing it up had been there a few times. Needless to say, they werent happy!

My daughter's DEP group is not that active. I wish they were working out each week. They are having a sports day on Saturday with Softball and other team events with other DEP groups in the area. She just started a new job so she can't get off work to go.

Lieberman? But he's not in the chain of command! That's getting some pretty high expectations going for these kids, to expect them to know Senators, even if Lieberman did cause a political ruckus a couple of years ago. Most teens don't know or care who is in congress for other states, much less their own state!

We have a pretty active DEP group that meets weekly at a high school for drill, PT and study, but since we live 75 miles away from where it is held Chris was excused from it. I figure Sean will be too. They're on their own for training. The recruiters come out once a month or so to test them, make sure they're doing their studying and exercises, but they're left out of the fun, social stuff. Tis the price of living in paradise, I guess.

there is a reason why he should know that but as my son is awaiting a seals opportunity i don't think that i can exlpain the connection :). But yes the expectations seem to be high, this is first couple of weeks as a DEP and he needed to know ALL commands already.

Kyle's Mom...where in the Keys are you? And where did you go? I am in the Miami area.

Good luck to your son! :)

You truly are in Paradise! :) I am glad they reached out to you...They should have all along. I really hope that saying "better late than never" offers some comfort.

Elizabeth and Melissa are very fortunate to have really great recruiters. I even hear from them from time to time. :)

It sounds like our kids were together and we didnt even know it. They were at the big park for PT! :)

Elizabeth is leaving 8/2 for BC, but we dont know yet for Melissa. She is waiting on a waiver. While she hasnt officially "depped" in yet, she is treated as if she has and I really appreciate that. It is hard enough planning this for the last 2 years and then get the "hurry up and wait routine." Thanks to her recruiters, she has a lot more peace of mind.

Sending big hugs Kyle's Mom! It must be such a roller coaster. I love this site as well...maybe we can keep up with each other!

No, not the Florida Keys... somewhere better, the Southern Oregon Coast. Here the Pacific waves meet sandy beaches, rocky cliffs, the redwoods and mountains. It's incredibly gorgeous.

I'm a OC girl myself.

Brookings - tiny town a stone's throw north of the California border.

The real OC, southern calif. :o)

I am, by birth and in my heart, a NorCal girl. I grew up in Santa Rosa, which is the northernmost "real" city in California. However, it has grown way too large for my tastes and I needed to find something smaller. This town, however, is a bit too far on the other end. We don't even have a Walmart. But we have fresh fish and lots and lots of lumber.

I was just in Santa Rosa last week visiting another N4M friend. She is off of a street called Sebastopol. We went to a great place to eat called K & L Bistro. Great food.

The boys got their rates changed. Yea! Both got CTR and leave for GL on Nov. 2, 2010. Now the waiting begins. Justin will take the DLAB again in Aug. to see if he can score better. I am so glad that part is over! Thanks to all for your kind words and great info on here.

Sebastopol Road, yeah, that's near my old neighborhood. My parents still live there.

Okay, you saw the western side of Brookings... here's the eastern view, sunrise on the Oregon Coast.

Idahojeep, this is funny, poor Corry Station, they're going to have to do it again! Not long ago Corry Station graduated a pair of female identical twins, it made news at the time.

Arwen how funny is it that you are in Brookings and we moved to Idaho from Cresecent City!

Love that article! Thank you. I think the boys do not want to stand out though. :)

Why in the world would you want to leave the Wild Rivers area? (um, jobs, economy, and education might spring to mind, but...). When did you move?

I'm headed down to CC tonight, my younger son wants to go to a gaming event there. I'll hang out at the Starbucks until he's done, I think.

idahojeep, as identical twins going through boot camp and A school together, they will inevitably stand out.

Actually we loved CC but there is not much for kids there and they ended up at a much better school here. We had great jobs there - S Coast (hubby) and PBSP (me). But we decided money isn't everything. You do live in a beautiful part of the country but we do now also. I love Idaho and we have been here since 2005. When did CC get a Starbucks? Moving into this century was inevitable I guess. :>)

I guess you're right that the boys will stand out anyway.