C/O '26 parents - place to commiserate and share. Roller coaster for the next 3 years!

[justdoit19]

My DS texted last night after they boarded saying plane was delayed but it appears the plane landed on time in Dublin.

Second text this morning reporting that they were waiting to board bus from Dublin airport as someone had left their wallet on the plane . No other word at this point. Should be a great experience for all.

GO Navy, Beat Irish! (is this appropriate?)

Oh man….

Looks like there were two planes. My guy left before others did. He is happily enjoining beers. He has sent some beautiful pic!!

 

[justme]

Oh man….

Looks like there were two planes. My guy left before others did. He is happily enjoining beers. He has sent some beautiful pic!!

Wait, they are allowed to send pics?

 

[justdoit19]

Wait, they are allowed to send pics?

There are social media posts all over, so I would assume yes? Idk why they wouldn’t be able to?

 

[justme]

Also, I think there were 3 planes. flt around 530, 9 and 930. One of the 9's looked to be a charter and/or "extra".
Could totally be wrong, but the max on planes would be just over 200, per wiki, so 2 planes seem to few.

There are social media posts all over, so I would assume yes? Idk why they wouldn’t be able to?

I know. just venting that I never see any from DS. I can only hope he is building up some magnificent parent gift of a gold-plated photo album to hand us at some time.

 

[IronmanDaremo]

Kid is taking a weekend to go hang with his GF. Said his Tuesday and Wednesday are pretty brutal this semester.

 

[MidCakePa]

I can only hope he is building up some magnificent parent gift of a gold-plated photo album to hand us at some time.

For her graduation/commissioning party, DD created a photo collage commemorating her four years on the Yard. It was a tri-fold board, about 3-feet square, with a lot of fairly small images. I was seeing maybe 95% of them for the first time.

 

[IronmanDaremo]

So, the dude texted us at the end of the long weekend yesterday about yet another thing he heard about job opportunities. He said that not only can you get the $15k signing bonus for going nuke/subs, but there is also a program through Google where once you finish nuke school and prototype that all the graduates names are sent to Google and they offer a management position to you for when you complete your service assignment. They also let you take some exam with credit of two years from the nuke school as engineering work as well as the credit from the four years of active fleet duty. So, you start at Google in a mid-level management position, making somewhere in the $250k+ range right after your service assignment.

He also said you can request being assigned to a boat in dry dock, allowing you to gain experience, not deploy much, and do a TAD onto an active boat to get your dolphins. And they will rush you through that to get you back to your assigned boat.

I kinda rolled my eyes at this one. My response? "Dude. Mid rumors. First, you need to keep up the grades, PT, no conduct crap, etc. THEN, worry about whether you want to select a certain field. I bet this things is super competitive."

He did say his LT actually went this path, did the dry dock thing, and another is heading to Google soon.

My dude is so focused on the dollar bills of the future that he might lose sight of the immediate. Needed a little reminder that he's got sh-t piling up right in front of him that needs to be addressed first!!

But ..... on the aviation front, he did set up a meeting with an O-5, F-18 pilot to schmooze and hopefully work with as a mentor.

 

[justdoit19]

My firstie was telling me about a ‘new’ path related to subs. I had too many libations to really follow (actually much of the military stuff goes over my head, perhaps by choice ), but in a nutshell, it deals with not deploying as much. Something about a latt transfer path built in after maybe 5 yrs of subs? To 5 subs, and a 2yr guaranteed latt transfer to a restricted line community.

Someone will be able to fill in the dots. But it’s a forward looking program to address retention. I thought it was pretty cool. My firstie has subs listed above SWO’s. He was pretty stoked about it.

 

[A1Janitor]

LOL every career path my son analyzed included an analysis of how much he could make outside the military if he decided to get out.

He is comfortable with his career in the military and I suspect he may stay 20. But there was a scenario where he stays 13 and goes reserves after.

Lol it all goes over my head too.

 

[Capt MJ]

I thought I was going to get out. Got one whiff of the opportunity for command and that was it. Wouldn’t trade for anything, and abundance happened along in sufficient quantity. Ditto DH - one aerobatic hop in flight school and dreams of his own squadron, pffttt went flying for the airlines.

 

[A1Janitor]

I thought I was going to get out. Got one whiff of the opportunity for command and that was it. Wouldn’t trade for anything, and abundance happened along in sufficient quantity. Ditto DH - one aerobatic hop in flight school and dreams of his own squadron, pffttt went flying for the airlines.

My next door neighbor for past 20 years graduated USNA and was a pilot during Vietnam. Got out and worked as an airline pilot and for a large defense contractor.

I haven’t had the conversation with him about any regrets. But it seems possible there is regret.

 

[Parent1stTimer]

My firstie was telling me about a ‘new’ path related to subs. I had too many libations to really follow (actually much of the military stuff goes over my head, perhaps by choice ), but in a nutshell, it deals with not deploying as much. Something about a latt transfer path built in after maybe 5 yrs of subs? To 5 subs, and a 2yr guaranteed latt transfer to a restricted line community.

Someone will be able to fill in the dots. But it’s a forward looking program to address retention. I thought it was pretty cool. My firstie has subs listed above SWO’s. He was pretty stoked about it.

DS is really interested in subs - even after some scary experiences on a sub during PROTRAMID. He went in thinking aviation, and now likes subs. He really liked his experience on the sub - even with the scare - liked how they all do multiple jobs and there a a flatter line of interaction among the crew that he experienced. Liked the culture. It will be interesting if there is even more incentive to go subs.

 

[justdoit19]

DS is really interested in subs - even after some scary experiences on a sub during PROTRAMID. He went in thinking aviation, and now likes subs. He really liked his experience on the sub - even with the scare - liked how they all do multiple jobs and there a a flatter line of interaction among the crew that he experienced. Liked the culture. It will be interesting if there is even more incentive to go subs.

Most of subs first selection requests, come from exposure during PROTRAMID. For the exact reasons you mentioned. Most people haven’t had exposure to a sub. And then they do

 

[NavyHoops]

For some, the allure of the sub bonus has always been a draw. It’s why they offer the bonus. To the point of Google automatically hiring officers, I would call BS. Yes, Google hires a lot of former military officers, especially SA grads, but Google does not hand out jobs without vetting. I work a lot with Google, have had many job offers over the years from them. I love what I do and have no need to leave where I am. Google just doesn’t hand out jobs ever, not to mention at that level. I could spend hours talking about the pros and cons of staying 20 or punching out early and pursuing civilian careers. At the end of the day, someone has to do what is best for them. Even if Google has a fast track to middle management, not shocking as many companies hire officers and have similar programs for SA grads. Also, what happens now, versus 2, 5, 10, 20 years for now… none of us can predict.

 

[OldRetSWO]

He also said you can request being assigned to a boat in dry dock, allowing you to gain experience, not deploy much, and do a TAD onto an active boat to get your dolphins. And they will rush you through that to get you back to your assigned boat.

Danger Will Robinson, Danger!

Going to a boat in overhaul is a TERRIBLE idea. While you MIGHT get crossdecked to an active boat, you are likely to be seriously
delayed in qualifying compared to your year group which is not good for your career. Shipyards are not a good place to be for
either the crew or junior officers. This also goes for going directly to a Precom crew instead of an actual in-the-fleet boat.

 

[Old Navy BGO]

He also said you can request being assigned to a boat in dry dock, allowing you to gain experience, not deploy much,

I will admit.. there is some allure to not deploying much when you are young and newlywed...but looking back deployed operations were the most rewarding time in the Navy,

Shipyards are not a good place to be for either the crew or junior officers.

^ Truth, my First Class was on a FF that was in the yards in Boston. It was supposed to be getting underway within days of our arrival, but was delayed a few weeks, and when we finally got underway, it sank at the pier . (True story, engine room flooded to extent that ship rested on the bottom --- google USS Valdez Boston Harbor). Living conditions in Yard were horrible...Midshipman were berthed an a WWII era barge.
Only upside was the yard was within walking distance of Fanueil Hall in Boston, during the 1984 Summer Olympics and the bars all had drink specials whenever the US won a gold medal (and that was everyday since the Russians boycotted), After the "sinking," the Midshipman were removed quickly and reassigned to another FF out of Newport and we went up to the Maine Lobster Festival...coastal Maine was great !

 

[OldRetSWO]

^ Truth, my First Class was on a FF that was in the yards in Boston. It was supposed to be getting underway within days of our arrival, but was delayed a few weeks, and when we finally got underway, it sank at the pier . (True story, engine room flooded to extent that ship rested on the bottom --- google USS Valdez Boston Harbor). Living conditions in Yard were horrible...Midshipman were berthed an a WWII era barge.
Only upside was the yard was within walking distance of Fanueil Hall in Boston, during the 1984 Summer Olympics and the bars all had drink specials whenever the US won a gold medal (and that was everyday since the Russians boycotted), After the "sinking," the Midshipman were removed quickly and reassigned to another FF out of Newport and we went up to the Maine Lobster Festival...coastal Maine was great !

LOL, I transferred to Valdez in 87 as XO of their Alt Crew (Reserve half of the crew) and went to sea on her for a couple of years.

Hope you enjoyed the Lobster Festival. I embarked on USS Laffey DD724 (now a museum ship in Charleston) in '73 as a Sea Cadet for a three week Atlantic Coast run from Alexandria VA to Boston, to Portland and then Rockland for the Lobster Festival and then back to Alexandria. At least one of my fellow cadets aboard her became a classmate at USNA.

 

[Old Navy BGO]

LOL, I transferred to Valdez in 87 as XO of their Alt Crew (Reserve half of the crew) and went to sea on her for a couple of years.

Hope you enjoyed the Lobster Festival. I embarked on USS Laffey DD724 (now a museum ship in Charleston) in '73 as a Sea Cadet for a three week Atlantic Coast run from Alexandria VA to Boston, to Portland and then Rockland for the Lobster Festival and then back to Alexandria. At least one of my fellow cadets aboard her became a classmate at USNA.

The Lobster Fest was great....the locals really took care of the crew and treated us well. The picture of the ship (USS Connole) anchored in the little Bay was also petty cool.

I often wondered what happened to Valdez --they moved us off the next morning, and never heard much about the incident except what was posted in the news (and available on Google search). Rumor has it the Skipper was relieved, which was too bad as the blame was clearly on the Yard and I thought (in my very limited experience lol) that the crew handled it well. My contribution was sitting in Damage Control Central, keeping copious notes of everything the DCA did ... my GQ station was Damage Control Central, and the DCA very quickly recognized the seriousness of what was happening, and knew that there would be an inquiry and he wanted a clear record ! I also remember being a little nervous, being below decks and hearing all the reports of flooding without really knowing where I was relative to the flooded space .

The Midshipman were transferred off and went to Connole the next morning. Needless to say, everyone on Connole had heard (they were a sister ship, also home ported in Newport) and wanted to hear the story. I remember some of the Chiefs down in the engine room took great delight in drawing a new waterline on my Valdez ballcap. The OpsO on Connole at the time was my old NAPS Company Officer from 3 years before, so it was pretty cool seeing him in the real Navy.

 

[OldRetSWO]

The Lobster Fest was great....the locals really took care of the crew and treated us well. The picture of the ship (USS Connole) anchored in the little Bay was also petty cool.

I often wondered what happened to Valdez --they moved us off the next morning, and never heard much about the incident except what was posted in the news (and available on Google search). Rumor has it the Skipper was relieved, which was too bad as the blame was clearly on the Yard and I thought (in my very limited experience lol) that the crew handled it well. My contribution was sitting in Damage Control Central, keeping copious notes of everything the DCA did ... my GQ station was Damage Control Central, and the DCA very quickly recognized the seriousness of what was happening, and knew that there would be an inquiry and he wanted a clear record ! I also remember being a little nervous, being below decks and hearing all the reports of flooding without really knowing where I was relative to the flooded space .

The Midshipman were transferred off and went to Connole the next morning. Needless to say, everyone on Connole had heard (they were a sister ship, also home ported in Newport) and wanted to hear the story. I remember some of the Chiefs down in the engine room took great delight in drawing a new waterline on my Valdez ballcap. The OpsO on Connole at the time was my old NAPS Company Officer from 3 years before, so it was pretty cool seeing him in the real Navy.

Not in the know about the aftermath of the problem in Boston. I was aboard in 87 and 88 and she was a real steamer then. Whenever we came aboard for Reserve Weekend, we were bussed right form the airport to the brow and when we got there the lines were already singled up and we left the pier within a half hour or so. We would then go out to sea and do joint ASW with another ship and a sub and/or other missions such as an UNREP and would return to port at the end of the weekend in time to meet our departure at the airport. When I went aboard for longer periods, it was usually out at sea tracking real world subs that happened to patrol a couple of hundred miles off of the Atlantic coast.

 

[8th Wing Refugee]

The Lobster Fest was great....the locals really took care of the crew and treated us well. The picture of the ship (USS Connole) anchored in the little Bay was also petty cool.

I often wondered what happened to Valdez --they moved us off the next morning, and never heard much about the incident except what was posted in the news (and available on Google search). Rumor has it the Skipper was relieved, which was too bad as the blame was clearly on the Yard and I thought (in my very limited experience lol) that the crew handled it well. My contribution was sitting in Damage Control Central, keeping copious notes of everything the DCA did ... my GQ station was Damage Control Central, and the DCA very quickly recognized the seriousness of what was happening, and knew that there would be an inquiry and he wanted a clear record ! I also remember being a little nervous, being below decks and hearing all the reports of flooding without really knowing where I was relative to the flooded space .

The Midshipman were transferred off and went to Connole the next morning. Needless to say, everyone on Connole had heard (they were a sister ship, also home ported in Newport) and wanted to hear the story. I remember some of the Chiefs down in the engine room took great delight in drawing a new waterline on my Valdez ballcap. The OpsO on Connole at the time was my old NAPS Company Officer from 3 years before, so it was pretty cool seeing him in the real Navy.

LT Crawford?