mjnavynukemom

Hello my son is in class 1802 EM they just started PowerSchool his graduation date is June 29 as of now

I see you have joined NUKE moms and School Charleston; you may also want to check out Nuke A School FAQ. You may want to check out https://www.facebook.com/Naval-Support-Activity-Charleston-SC-15496....

The Rating Information Card for NF can be found at https://www.cool.navy.mil/usn/enlisted/rating_info_cards/nukepower.pdf. (If you get the security warning, it is safe to go there.)

Your Sailor may have Prototype in Ballston Spa, NY; if so, join Moms/Dads/Families with Nukes in Ballston Spa, NYat that time. Some stay in Charleston.

mjnavynukemom - I saw your friend request and comment early this morning, but had to get off to work....sorry for the delay.  While I am certainly not armed with much in the way of official details about the DTP process, I am happy to share with you the information I have been able to glean from my son.  You can also read quite a bit of what I know in my previous posts in the  "DTP and reclassification questions" discussion on the NukeMoms page.

First off, let me say that there is absolutely no shame in being dropped from the nuke pipeline!  Your son should be very proud of what he's done already!  The work load is very intense and fast and the Navy recruits a large number of ASVAB qualified sailors into this program because they know there will be a fairly high attrition rate.  All of these sailors are bright or they wouldn't be there in the first place!  My son tested very well on the ASVAB, and so his recruiter geared him toward Nuke, but in reality, we knew he would be facing a challenge due to poor study skills in HS.  While we were hopeful the structured learning environment would help him to "play up", we were also not surprised to get the call when he started moving in the direction of being re-rated.  He doesn't really know what he is passionate about at this point, so for him, the re-rate option has been a huge relief, given the tremendous mandatory study hours he was doing!

My son was just about 2 months into A school when his SCPO told him he would need to get re-rated due to not being able to keep up with the work pace and test scores (I think the term they use is "unrecoverable"...which sounds SO negative, but I think it's just Navy speak).  Within the week he physically moved to DTP which is still on base, but located about 2.5 miles as the crow flies from NNPTC.  This is his 4th week at DTP and he has settled into somewhat of a routine of pulling 2 "duty days" per week, with all other days still requiring muster several times and PT 3x per week.  He has 3 roommates, all at various stages of time spent in DTP.  It sounds like there are a few hundred sailors housed here at any given time.  They have a small refrigerator and a microwave, but no kitchen in their BEQ.  Duty days are filled with watch duty and "cleaning" (can't seem to get much conversation about what cleaning entails, but it sounds like the usual suspect tasks).  

About 2 weeks in he was asked to provide a list of 5 re-rate options he would be interested in.  This does not imply he will get any of these options as it seems the re-rating process is basically driven by the Navy's need at the time.  Initially he was told to expect to be at DTP for 3-4 months, but again, it sounds like this is quite variable.  One of his previous roommates just shipped out to his new school and he was in DTP for almost 3 months.

I think your son will find the social support from the other sailors at DTP to be very good.  My son buddied up quickly with his roommates and has been getting off base on the weekends with a few other sailors to visit various parts of Charleston.  We also have been able to talk with him much more frequently since he's not in class all day, so we have been encouraging him to establish a solid routine and to keep his chin up.  Care packages, of course, are always welcome!  I tend to mail easy breakfast foods (ie energy bars and such) since the mess hall is located back at NNPTC so they have to catch a duty van to go to meals (also, no longer having Subway or Panda Express in walking distance limits food to the mess hall).  I seems to be no problem to get there for lunch and dinner, but our son prefers to skip the breakfast trip in favor of a little more sleep.  Incidentally, he is appreciating the increase in sleep time!

As for your son's allowance to get to a June wedding, I