New Nuke Mom

[thorgirl17]

My son just went back to MEPS to sign a new contract for the Nuke Program (I am crazy proud of him!)  

They moved his BC date from May 15th to October 3rd, 2013.  The recruiter said they will request early enlistment, but that he needs to cross his fingers people mess up so he can get a spot.

My question is- how likely is it that he will get to BC sooner than October?  Has anyone else had this happen and got moved up, and if so was there any sort of notice or will they call and say we need you here tomorrow?

I know he is disappointed because he was getting ready to go this 
Spring and another 5 months seems so long to him....

[MichianaMom]

2X Nuke Mom...Congrats on having 2 sons in the Nuke program!  I am going to pass on your words of wisdom to my son as well.

[B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)]

Hi thorgirl - my son signed his contract on 1/26/12 and his bootcamp ship date was 10/23/12.  At the time it seemed like such a long wait but I can assure you the time went by fast!  Like everyone says have your son stay involved in the DEP program, start memorizing things and make sure he is in good physical shape.  Towards the end my son would go to his DEP meeting and I just thought for sure he was going to come home and say they moved up his date and he would be leaving in a week (or sooner!).  It didn't happen though......which was fine with me!  He had PIR on 12/21/12 and is now in Goose Creek in his 2nd week of A school.  It seriously seems like only yesterday he signed his contract and yet it's been exactly one year. 

Just remember that things can change at any time..... It's now "the needs of the Navy!"  The other thing we heard a lot was "hurry up and wait!". 

Use this time to make lots of family memories!  Good luck to you and your son :)

[thorgirl17]

Thank you B's mom :)

He has a great recruiter who has been keeping him challenged and involved.  He is also doing some volunteering at church and getting confirmed before he leaves.  

You sound so proud and positive.  I'm glad to see so much of that on this site.

Best to you and your son!

[cathy]

Before my son went in, his BC date was changed so many times we couldn't keep up with it.  Then the date was changed to July from May.  All of a sudden, he was gone in February.  It made things really hard to plan.  One day he was called and asked if he could leave on Monday (it was Friday).  He said yes, got ready and was called Monday morning and told he was not going.  Good luck.  Just enjoy whatever time you have left with your son.  Eventually they will take him.

[Binker & Bro: 2X Nuke Mom]

Feel free to call me Binker=everyone does and I dont recognize the other names! I will be riding the same journey with all of you during number 2's journey. Having gone through it once, I have insight others might not have. Nuke is tough. They wash out a lot of kids. Once you are through A school, they will reassign you and for a lot of kids, that is the best possible option. One of Bink's good friends had that happen and he is now happily in Japan, enjoying life and the other job. Many of the Nukes get out after their first tour and make a pile of money in the civilian world. That is why the bonuses are so big. Recruiters get bonuses also for snagging a Nuke. That's why they push the smart kids to go nuke. It is a bear of a school. Most of them buy computers as soon as they get to Goose Creek. The Best Buy outside the base is the number one store in the company. All these kids who have 8 weeks of pay stored up hit that place as soon as they can get off base! Charleston is absolutely wonderful. What else for you to look forward to??? The first phone call when they arrive at BC--dont cry. They have a script they have to read from and it is short and sweet. Keep your phone on you at all times. I missed Bink's first call and I still have the heartbreaking message he barely left because no one answered. We wait up all day and night for the Battle Stations night, with blue candles lit for solidarity and prayer. Once they finish Battle Station they are officially sailors and you will get the celebratory call. Those few that fail have to do it over again with 2 1/2 days of no sleep. I'll tell you more about that later. PIR--former military people--the Navy PIR does not in any way compare to the other services. You will know it immediately. As Bink told me, you dont march on a ship. They dont have much in the way of marching and such, but it is exciting to watch and experience. But as I have often said, I came from a military family in which both me, and both my brothers went Air Force. The only graduation any of us went to was the one where I graduated from OTS. No one went to any of our enlisted grads. It has become a community tourist windfall for Chicago. We spent well over $1000 getting there, hotel, food, etc. And because Nukes are usually Graduate and Go, we only spent the afternoon of graduation with him. My daughter and I stayed at the airport with him until the planes took off but that can be outrageously early in the morning. I think that is enough for now. Feel free to friend me and I will happily answer any questions.

Bink is pulling into port within the next 24 hours. I sure hope I have a phone call coming. They dont happen often, but they sure make my day! Hugs to all. Welcome to Nuke world!

 

[thorgirl17]

Thanks so much for your welcome Binker.

  I will definitely send you a friend request.   I am sure there are lots of questions that will pop up and I appreciate teh offer to answer any of them if you can :)

Hugs and fingers crossed you get that call!

thorgirl

[William in Nashua]

Hi thorgirl welcome to the group it is quite an experience.  Charleston is a beautiful city and really has a lot to do there.  A good time to visit there if possible is April-May.  By the end of May it can be very hot down there and high humidity.  You should try to visit there at least once if you can.

[thorgirl17]

Thanks for the welcome William.  I am excited to get to visit Charleston while my son is there.  

[MN Mom of MM]

My son tried for early enlistment, but it did not happen for him.    I remember thinking he could get notice and have just a few days to report. 

[Sunshine66]

Hi All,  My son is currently in BC and will PIR 3/8.  He was in the DEP program for 9months.  He has several Nuke buddies in his DIV and is excited and looking forward to heading to Goose Creek.  I'm and very nervous about it.  I've done a LOT more research into the program than he has!  He was steeted into in just because of his scores. However, I truly believe if it's not for him, he will be assigned another job that will suit him.  I love reading all that you fellow Nuke parents post, It's very helpful for this mom!  Thank you so much.

[dmans mom]

My son enlisted February 2012 and went to boot camp on january 8, which was his original date.  He was also told that he may get moved up but that didn't happen.  I was thrilled, it gave me more time with him.

[sheilada]

My son is also in the Nuke program.  I encouraged him to take the ASVAB (sp?) test his junior year in High School as he kept telling me he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life and he did, scoring a 93.  We went all thru his senior year with the same answers of "I don't know what I'm going to do after High School".  Then he came home one day in October and told us that he was going down to talk to the Navy recruiter, he went to MEPS for the first time just before Thanksgiving, and left for BC on 02/11/13.  When he went to MEPS they originally enlisted him in MASS COMM (I think) and then switched him over to Nuke on 12/01/12.  We didn't get his ship date until mid December, and the time just flew by after that.  I have run the gamut on emotions in the last 5 months...proud, scared for him, proud, excited for him, sadness on the day he left and the days since, but I am very proud of the decision he has made and know that he will do excellent.