What is "A" school like after BC?

[b-mans biggest fanSHIP3DIV237]

My son will be going to "A" school in Groton CT in July, what will that be like for him?

What can they do as far as leaving the base, can they have their cell phones. Anything that you can tell us will be helpful. Thank you

[Anti M]

There is a Groton group in Groups, they'd have the best info.

http://www.navyformoms.com/group/grotonctsubschoolaschoolmoms

He should be able to have his cell phone right away, however, there will be times he can't use it. Liberty is earned in phases at other schools on other bases, I assume the sub school is the same. The first few weeks he likely will have to earn the privilege to wear civvies and leave the base with liberty buddies. All other schools ahve a liberty limit of 300 miles, he won't be able to travel on long weekends without written permission. Double check with the group, I'm not familiar with Groton specifically, just know how most of the other A schools work, it is often similar.

[b-mans biggest fanSHIP3DIV237]

Thank you so much for the info. My husband and I have been looking for info on the A schools what they can and can not do. We have had a terrible time finding something. My son said a lot of the guys in BC are really concerned if they will get to leave base. I think they must think they can't ever leave the base. Thanks

[Pat]

My only experience with A school is Nuke...which is different than others, but I would think that the basic premis, that you earn your time off, would hold true. 'A' school is a time to learn your trade, job, rate...Nuke's had mandatory study times, which limited their time off base. They were limited as far as how far they could go from base, once they classed up. They were allowed cell phones, computers, etc...but were not able to take cell phones to 'class', which makes sense.
Since your son is going to Groton, CT...I would definately check out the group that Anti M suggests above.
Groton is a neat place, historically...you should try to visit while your son is there. One of our subs is located at a museum just off base...great place to learn some of the history and to actually walk onboard a sub! What rate (his job) is he? Do you know yet?

[Vickyrun]

"A" school is like college, only they get paid to go instead of the other way around. A = Apprentice.

[luvinmatt]

Let's see, I am assuming he is on subs because he is going to Groton. The first thing they do is subschool which has the most restrictions like a pp said they have different liberty levels Blue, Yellow, and White. Blue is the most restrictive. Once you get into your actual "A" school you don't have as many restrictions. My husband was able to move in with us off base once he got to "A" school. You can have cell phones as soon as you leave boot camp. The barracks have wireless internet. Once you get off blue card you can leave base. Most of the new subschoolers go by cab. Once you hit white card you can have a car and have very few restrictions. This was how it went for my husband he is a nav et. It can vary by rate.

[SubWifeSarah]

Hey luvinmatt...I was searching for stuff about et-navs and I found this post. =) My hubby is just about to graduate BESS in a few weeks. We are looking into me moving out to Groton. Was his ATT, techno and a-school as an et-nav long enough so that the navy would move you out there or did you have to pay for the move yourself? I would appreciate any help figuring this out! The housing office told him that his school was not long enough by itself for them to move me out, but he can file some paperwork to get orders for all 3 schools (Att, techno, a-school) and that may be long enough? Take care!!

[luvinmatt]

I am not sure how they are setting it up now. We went through this 7 years ago and I am pretty sure the schools are shorter now. I was able to come as soon as he graduated BESS. They paid for everything and he was in school for a year after we got there. Sorry I am not of much help.

[Laura]

b-mans biggest fanSHIP3DIV237, everyone here has given you great information regarding liberty. luvinmatt was spot on with regard to the different levels of liberty. My son has been in Groton since last year and has really liked it for the most part. The only complaint came during the winter months. Kevin grew up in the south and was not use to the bitter cold to say the least but he got use to it after a while. Groton is central to a lot of great things to do. Boston, NYC, the beach and there's also hiking trails near by. For those of you who have sons on subs there's a submom's group that is a great source of information and support.

[tammy0506]

My son wrote me a letter and wants to know if he will be able to pick his roommate when he gets to A School. If anyone could give me any information on what he will be going through that would be great. Trey is going in as a Corpsman so he will be staying at Great Lakes. Thanks for any help you can give.