Recent content by 5centsmom

Yup yup yup And no smart watches. Selecting what spares to pack is in art form, but this is a good call according yo DS.

That’s so special! Family support is so critical, especially for single sailors, as they get through the training process. There are many forks in the road ahead and Navy Needs are the priority of course. My DS has gotten his top choice at every step so far (we’ve always called him “Lucky”) but...

Quibble away: you’re correct of course and always informative! The PXOs are very unique and the two in DS’ section were just great people, too. DS felt fortunate to be in the same section because of the professional tone they set. Their individual paths to NPS were not identical. They received a...

A classic… and given the requests I’m receiving for clean jokes, not much has changed…

I seriously covet that helmet design…

A happy arrival story… DS arrived at his boat a few months ago. He was introduced to the Wardroom and given a tour, everyone super friendly and happy. The JOs, particularly… at one point the JOs all mash into one small room, shut the door, and initiate my Bull/JORG with the joys of a “JORM”, a...

Definitely. Nothing with dolphins yet, DS is afraid of jinxing! Assuming your kid is already settled in an apartment look for something in Charleston to do: during prototype there are several 3-4 day periods of free time for shift transitions. SC weather is relatively pleasant, so gifting...

I hope the conversation went well… my kid just completed the three part training program. The first part, Nuclear Power School (NPS) is hard. No other way to put it. It’s basically a year of nuclear engineering graduate school crammed into 6 months. Lots of math and theory. The SWOs and Subs...

I’d actually tell folks to not miss the Prototype graduation if they can only attend one: it’s on the Yorktown and the graduates’ boats/ships are known. And…It’s just a wicked cool site. The enlisted the ensigns have been working with are mostly off to the fleet and SWOs are off to their ships...

Do not bring your own boots. Follow directions to the letter. NSI is the NROTC equivalent of enlisted bootcamp or Plebe summer. There are many videos on YouTube at this point to give you a feel for what to expect. This is where we step back and let Papa Navy mold our kids into competent sailors...

This is not Penn State experience, but son’s unit generally had 25-33% of entering midshipmen classes as college programmers. Usually half of those would drop within the first month (this was true pre-Covid). Many factors played into this including CPs not realizing the time commitment. That...

Just want to add, while you’re doing the legwork suggested by Capt MJ above, with your interest in maritime law you should be looking hard at the Coast Guard and Merchant Marine academies in addition to all things Navy. A friend of our extended family took a job with the Coast Guard after law...

More knowledgeable people will hopefully add to your information collection, and I would suggest starting with your NJROTC unit. My son went NROTC and saw within his 30-50 person unit a few people apply for major/Tier changes both successfully and unsuccessfully: needs of the Navy determined the...

You can contact your selected college and inquire about their college programmer program. Read up on both the ROTC and college unit’s websites - NOW, not in the spring - to learn about the option and other possibilities. I am most familiar with NROTC, but know that quite a few college...

In our experience four years ago, it was actually seen as proof of desire to serve and not being too particular about how one would serve. Many advisors (such as BGOs for the non-Navy services) encouraged DS to think broadly about what service meant - being willing to meet the needs of the...