progresss report from this VPNM

[Wanna Know Mom]

Well, my little grasshopper (love that term of endearment...may I adopt it?.. saw it posted by someone ) is graduating ET school next week!  Then, home for a 10 day visit. Said he would have done the recruiter assistant thing for the extra five days of EL but Power School classes up within days of his return to Goose Swamp.  Onward!  I enjoy the forum.  You all keep me connected to him in an off beat sort of way.

Kathy, VPNM

[retired nuke]

Congrats to you and him....

[JustinHEMI05]

Congratulations! Tell him to relax on his time off... but don't get in trouble.

Justin

[taterhead]

Jason-

You got a little something brown on your nose, there 

[Wanna Know Mom]

Hey, thanks everyone.  Overall GPA 3.46 and 4th in his class of 15. Said he was on VOL 10's most of the time. OK, I'm done being the VPNM.  You'll get another progress report midway thru Power School.     Kathy

[Marlin]

Good luck to your Grasshopper he seems to be on track and self motivated, I'm sure your next report will be a good one too.

[Wanna Know Mom]

Well, he's halfway thru Power School and I'm back with the  progress report.  He's alive and kicking!  He stands 61 in his class of 286, on voluntary study hours since he started.
He's still in his A school room and has a room mate who seems a little intimidated sharing quarters with an E-4.  (In the last care package I included and extra package of beef jerky for his room mate.....maybe that will help). He wont tell me if he likes the Navy way of life.  "I dont want to say until I get out in the fleet". I wanted to add  üntil you're out in the fleet and fully qualified". (learned that from this forum!!)                                                                                                         Kathy VPNM

[HydroDave63]

Karma to him, through mom! Sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders, and humility!

[Preciousblue1965]

Yes bravo to him, tell him to keep up the good work.  Just hope that he doesn't fall into the pitfall that gets a lot of high GPA students(myself most deffinitely included) in that in NPS they force feed you all the info you need and all you really gotta do is absorb it and spit it back out.  At Prototype you have to go looking for it(took me a little while to grasp that concept). Good luck to him and fair winds.

[Wanna Know Mom]

So here's an update: My ET just phoned home .......he passed his comps!! ( to the nth degree!)  And his comp final score was 90%.  His class  had a deal with their Chief.  If they all passed he would shave off his bushy mustache.  Well, that Chief better find a sharp razor.......everyone in his class passed!  Kathy, VPNM

[G-reg]

So here's an update: My ET just phoned home .......he passed his comps!! ( to the nth degree!)  And his comp final score was 90%.  His class  had a deal with their Chief.  If they all passed he would shave off his bushy mustache.  Well, that Chief better find a sharp razor.......everyone in his class passed!  Kathy, VPNM

Very, very well done!!!

- Greg

[Wanna Know Mom]

He passed his oral boards yesterday!  Does he now have the official ET Nuke NEC?  Is it time for me to promote myself from VPNM to VPNNM (VeryProudNavyNukeMom)?  I'm ready for all your comments/advice about NUB status. Let the fun and games begin! 
Kathy,VPNM

[Preciousblue1965]

He passed his oral boards yesterday!  Does he now have the official ET Nuke NEC?  Is it time for me to promote myself from VPNM to VPNNM (VeryProudNavyNukeMom)?  I'm ready for all your comments/advice about NUB status. Let the fun and games begin! 
Kathy,VPNM

I could be wrong on this, but I don't believe he "officially" has his NEC until his graduation ceremony and he has orders in hand to report to his next duty station as NEC ####.  Reason I say this is that I have heard of people passing their final boards, going out and doing something stupid, and getting dropped from the program.  Doesn't happen very often, but it has happened.  Whether that is being "denuked" and loosing his NEC or never getting it in the first place is a matter of symantics. 

So in answer to your question, I would hold off until he goes through his graduation ceremony(neat time to get him some kind of gift, if he is going surface I recommend some Little Mermaid arm floaties as a gag gift).  If you want some wonderful NUB stories, well there are many threads with bits and pieces of NUB-ly advice in them.

[G-reg]

He passed his oral boards yesterday!  Does he now have the official ET Nuke NEC?  Is it time for me to promote myself from VPNM to VPNNM (VeryProudNavyNukeMom)?  I'm ready for all your comments/advice about NUB status. Let the fun and games begin! 
Kathy,VPNM

By all means, move up to VPNNM!  Your son has completed everything to earn his NEC - now it's just a paperwork drill to get everybody at BUPERS and DFAS (and a million other acronyms) up to speed "officially" on your son's status.

Regardless of anything else, he has earned his NEC.  Congratulations!!! 

- Greg

[JustinHEMI05]

Congratulations!!! Happy to call him a nuke!

Justin

[Wanna Know Mom]

Progress Report, star date 0723.5 (if my star date calculation is right, that's 1 week shy of  2 years active duty).
 
He reported aboard his ship 2 months ago and is doing the NUB thing.....painting his heart out. Along with this, for right now anyway, he's on day shift, weekends off, and no duty.  Hey, wait a minute, that's a better work schedule than mine!!  Passed the E5 exam but was not advanced because his NEC was missing.   (either he does not yet have a NEC or it wasnt available to advance him....I'm not clear on that).  He and his NUB buddies took the exam one month late (wow , how did that happen!!).  They all passed, none advanced.   The same NEC problem.  Did something fall thru the cracks or is this just because the Navy is a big slow machine?  All in all he is doing well, rates his contentment 6 on the 1-10 scale. 

Kathy VPNNM

[HydroDave63]

 The same NEC problem.  Did something fall thru the cracks or is this just because the Navy is a big slow machine? 

Should have been fixed long ago... I'd call your Congressperson , or even better if your state has a Representative on the House Armed Services Committee http://armedservices.house.gov/list_of_members.shtml  with the details , and let them know.

[Madcow43]

Passing the exam does not mean you will be advanced.  There are 3 things that can happen with an advancement exam: Fail, Pass not Advanced (PNA), or passed and advanced.  Basically, there are a certain number of people who can be advanced, so the people with the highest point totals, taking into account score on the test, awards received, how many exams you have previously PNA'd, and performance evaluation score will be advanced.  I would not worry about only getting PNA on a first E-5 exam, as many of the E-5 slots are taken by people who STAR reenlist.  During my time on my boat I knew several smart people who took several test attempts to advance.  If he was scheduled and took the nuke version of his rate's advancement exam, his NEC is likely fine, but if he is in doubt he could check with the appropriate admin types on his ship to verify he has the correct NEC.

[Harley Rider]

Should have been fixed long ago... I'd call your Congressperson , or even better if your state has a Representative on the House Armed Services Committee http://armedservices.house.gov/list_of_members.shtml  with the details , and let them know.

Whoa, whoa there cowboy let's not go to congress quite yet for our stimulus. VPNNM, if you get politicians involved over something of this minor nature then you will bring nothing but pain down on the ships Captain, the Reactor department head and unfortunately the Sailor himself (not suppose to happen like that but it does). Your son could not have taken the Electronics Technician (surface nuke) test without having the 3383 NEC (unless something has changed in the 6 months I have been out). He probably PNA'd the exam (pass not advanced) which means he achieved a passing grade but not one high enough as the predefined cutoff established by bupers for that exam cycle. I would be glad to check up on him through "unofficial" channels so as not to alter his current status of flying low under the radar which is where he needs to be at this stage in his career. If you want me to do so PM me his name and ship and I will take care of it. Not promising anything but I will try.

[HydroDave63]

She said several guys don't have their NEC. IS that just a lone yeoman not getting it done, or maybe a problem at NMPC?

[Wanna Know Mom]

Thanks for the responses.  Appreciate the help offered, Harley Rider, but I am just the "wanna know" mom.   He is an adult, in charge of his own life now, and needs to continue to pursue this on his own.    He has not asked for advice and if he does, I would just tell him to work through his chain of command, being persistent without being a pest or whiner.  He knows he has to lay low being a NUB so it probably is taking some finesse to correct what he thinks is amiss.  I personally think it is more likely that he PNA'd due to being below the cutoff in total points. 
Kathy VPNNM

[Harley Rider]

Thanks for the responses.  Appreciate the help offered, Harley Rider, but I am just the "wanna know" mom.   He is an adult, in charge of his own life now, and needs to continue to pursue this on his own.    He has not asked for advice and if he does, I would just tell him to work through his chain of command, being persistent without being a pest or whiner.  He knows he has to lay low being a NUB so it probably is taking some finesse to correct what he thinks is amiss.  I personally think it is more likely that he PNA'd due to being below the cutoff in total points. 
Kathy VPNNM

You, my friend, are a great, supportive Navy parent. Thank your son, for me, for serving our country. If you need my assistance feel free to ask,,,always willing to help out a fellow Sailor and their family.

[Wareal]

Belated Bravo Zulu and congratulations.  I didn't see this thread until this morning.  My son graduated the Nuke pipeline 9/08 (ET).  If memory serves I've seen you on the navy-parents website.  Was your son in Ballston Spa? 

[Wanna Know Mom]

Another update from this VPNNM.....my ET2 just qualified RO!
Kathy, VPNNM

[MacGyver]

Another update from this VPNNM.....my ET2 just qualified RO!
Kathy, VPNNM

You should, rightly so, be proud.  Fantastic from a former MM2/SS.