AECF Wives Club for our ET and FC wives

[Mary, Proud Mom of Nick]

There seems to be so many of you lately!!! It is wonderful that you will have each other's support while going thru the process together.

Thought I would start this thread so you can at least connect and share stories together. Seems like there is a fair amount of you in Great Lakes and just as many more trying to decide if you can more to Great Lakes.

[newyearsbaby]

Well my fiance's recruiter called today and got him an earlier ship date but he also had to change his rating. He's now scheduled to leave 04/13/10 and he's sonar technician. So now I have to start researching this. Just as soon as I felt comfortable with AECF it's changed already. Thanks for all your help

[cricket926]

I haven't been around much lately. I've been busy with the kids. The movers called today though, and they are coming on Monday!!! We'll be in Great Lakes before next weekend!

[Josh's Wife ET3]

cricket926-thats awesome! if you need any help when you get here let me know ill be more then happy to help. it was hard to adjust at first but i love it now! what apartments are you staying at?

[cricket926]

We have are renting a house. We've got 2 kids and a big dog. I think we'd all go bananas in an apartment, lol! It's in Waukegan though. They came through to do the inventory today, and the guy said it would take about a week to get our stuff to us. They'll pack it on Monday, and we'll leave on Thursday to head up there. Next weekend I'll finally be back with my husband!

[Josh's Wife ET3]

Im so happy for you! I could only imagine how excited you are!

[nicolergary]

hey girls :) hubbys PIR is april 16th!! im sooo ready!! i wanted to look into moving asap! does anyone know any houses for rent by private landlords? im not really wanting to live in an apartment. And another question, we have a family reunion in july, will he be able to go to that its like a week long.

[Mistycb]

Hello all... My Husband is in Week Two of "A" School in Great Lakes. His rate is ET. He is currently on HOLD for three months before school even starts. We originally decided not to make the move, however, in light of this new time-line and the looming 33+ weeks of school -if he ever gets to start- we have both changed our minds. We have 2 little girls who miss their daddy. I need help and advice, his live offshore chit was approved but he's still in indoctrine classes and trying to phase up so he hasn't gotten much chance to research a lot and i have 2 small girls and i work full time. I am looking to move sometime in June and ANY help and advice would be greatly appreciated. I currently live in Norfolk, Virginia.... Thank you : )

[Mary, Proud Mom of Nick]

Welcome Misty - you've come to a great place for answers. We have a lot of families in this group that have made the move to GL for school. I'm sure one of them will stop by soon with some suggestions and you may want to go thru the discussion threads which will talk about the ET rate as well as living in GL.

[iloveBrenden]

Misty, so did your husband just complete bootcamp? If so, he's not actually into A school yet. First all sailors go to ATT school, which is about 2 and a half months long. Then, they are usually on hold for about 4 months or longer-it depends on how many people are there- and then they begin A school. A school takes about 4 months to complete, and after you comp A school, you will then await orders to your next base. I moved up here in October, and my husband is just about to start A school on April 16th. After he comps, we are probably looking at being here for a couple more months after that. I would strongly advise that you look into moving out here to be with your husband. A year is a long way to be apart. I live in the Eagle Ridge apartments. They're located in Waukegan, about 15-20 minutes away from base. There are other apartments too, and you'll find that most around here obviously have lots of military personnel living in them. If you have a facebook, there is a group on there called 'Navy Wives at Great Lakes.' Some women on there might be able to help you as well. Hope I helped! And good luck!

[Mistycb]

Thank you all for the advice. My husband graduated BC March 12th. He moved to what he was told was "A" School the Tuesday following and at check-in/processing he was told his school was on hold and would not start for 3 months. then he was told that there is a split during school and that there would most likely be another hold for 3-4 months. He has not phased up yet, but was moved last week to his new ship, has completed indoctrine classes, started duty rotation and was able to fill out his chit for live offshore. He was told he would be able to live offbase with his family once he phased up and his chit was approved. Is this not true? Does he actually have to be in classes? You have given me some great tips and i look forward to more as well as hopefully meeting some of you once i get up there. I would like to know if anyone can tell me approximately how long the average AECF ET "A" school process lasts from start to finish... - I know it is different for every sailor but if anyone has any idea what the average is... I am getting ALOT of flack from my family about moving. Also, Can anyone give me some average costs of housing there (apts and/or townhouses) any advice on daycare-in case the base facility has a wait list and moving ourselves vs letting the navy move us. He was told if the navy moves us it will take months and we will have to live for weeks without our stuff - with two little ones, that doesn't seem practical. I also need some advice on where to start - who to call to get this ball rolling. Is June a reasonable or even feasable length of time to expect to be able to be up there. I have contacted some private moving companies to get some estimates and thus far the cheapest estimate i have been given was almost $2000 - which i don't want to pay. I do not want to drive up there with the girls, i did that with my inlaws for boot camp graduation and it was a 15 hour trip that was pretty excruciating for my 10 month old, so i want to have my car towed up as well.... so now that i've asked every question i have at the moment.... thank you all again : )

[iloveBrenden]

Getting up to phase 2 takes about 2 weeks, and then however long it takes him to complete the Live Ashore chit, is when he'll be able to live at home with you. But first step is getting a place to live! You're probably looking at being here a little less than a year, but things can change all the time. He might be on hold for 2 weeks to start ATT school, ATT lasts about 3 months. Then when he comps ATT, he'll be on hold for about 4 months-it's different for everyone- and then A school will take about 4 months. After he comps A school, he'll probably be on hold for a couple months longer until he picks his orders to be moved some place else- like San Diego, Virginia, etc.. ATT school is something that the sailors can do at their own pace, so it will depend on how fast he moves to help him complete it. The holds are the thing that you cannot depend on. Your hold could be 2 months, 4 months, 8 months, you never really know. You can get told one thing, my husband was told 8 months, but really he classed up in 4. Once he starts A school, that'll take about 4 months, but the whole class moves together, so if someone is behind, it'll hold everyone else up.. The average apartments out here, from what I understand, are in the mid $900s for a 2 bedroom. I don't beleive the apartments that I live in have 3 bedrooms, which you might want if you have 2 kids, but a 2 bedroom might suffice. There is on base-actaully off base- housing that you can look into. The only thing you have to pay for is your cable and phone and such- not exactly sure what. But they're not as nice as regular apartments. There is an on base-located off base by the on base houses- and I believe I heard it was $179 every paycheck-2 weeks- but I could be wrong. You're best off to call the Housing department. There is also a Kinder Care off base in Gurnee. The Navy moving you is free from what I understand. But I think it takes a couple days after you get here for the movers to get here. It definitely won't takes months! But it probably is the best option for you with 2 small children. Doing a Do It Yourself Move, means you pay out of pocket, but you'll get reimbursed for it- about 6 months later is what happened to us. The upside to doing it yourself, is that you do profit off it in the end. The Navy has you estimate how many pounds you'll move, and that's how they pay you. We got a UHAUL trailer for $850, used our truck to tow it, gas cost about $500. But in the end, because we towed about 2000 pounds, we got paid $4000. I believe it is in your family's best interest for you to move up here. I have a daughter, and now that I'm here, I know that if I hadn't been here for all this time, I would have regretted it. You'll find that most of the Navy Wives you meet here, have husbands that are in the AECF program, because thats the job that makes you stay here the longest. Hope that all made sense!

[mecky09]

this group is super amazing!!!! my husband is jus getting done wit A school and goin into his final ATT here at the NAVSTA GL. hes been here for about a yr. includin bootcamp and we think his time here went by pretty fast. although we had a harder time gettin his live ashore approved it was well worth the time and effort to make it all happen. i have really enjoyed my time here. im a huge city girl and bein so close to chicago has made the move more comforting. we still have a waiting period of about 4 months where he will b on hold jus to get his next orders. which he is sure will b to a base in virginia and we will have to do this moving thing all over again. lol but this is really been a great support for me!!! thank you so much for everyone that has been such a great big help!!!