Getting Married During "A" school

[J_lynn]

My Fiance and I decided on getting married this upcoming summer 2012.  Since that time he as enlisted in the Navy and begins boot camp in march followed by Navy Nuke school in Charleston.  I understand the demands of nuke school and have done lots and lots of my own research.  We are looking at getting married in August, he will have already been in nuke school for about three months.  My first question is, will he be allowed to leave base on weekends to get married? I understand he will not have time off during the week and any time off he will have incurred up to that point will not be usable since he will have so much schooling.  I know that I can't live with him on base while he is in A school. That is fine since I will be finishing up my masters degree in education and will be student teaching until that December.   I also understand that during the time he is in A school and during the rest of that two year stint he will be studying 95% of the time. All I want to know is if he will have weekends off and if he will be allowed to get married on one of his weekends off.  The wedding will only be about 40 minutes off base and I can have him back at school that night if necessary.  I know it seems silly to get married if he would have to be back on base the next day but we don't care.  I already only seem him twice a month, so not being able to see him often is fine and a sacrifice we are willing to make.  He will be class E-3 and was told he would be advanced to E-4 very quickly and I know once he reaches E-4 he can live off base and by that time I will have finished school and most likely already have a job lined up in Charleston. So some advice from some past or present nukes...Is a weekend wedding during A school possible? Will he need permission to go off base on the weekend? If he is doing well in A school (which I know he will) is it still possible his superior could tell him he could not leave base on a weekend? Thank you to all of you for your excellent and helpful responses.

[gcrfire3]

Yes, after being there 3 months, he will be able to leave base to get married.  He will not need special permission after 3 months of being there to leave base.  When you first get there, you cannot leave base for about 10 weeks (my information may be a bit outdated).  The only senario that I can forsee of him not being able to leave base at all would be if he gets himself into any trouble.

Additional info-  1.  Your future husband will have about 3-4 hours of homework assigned PER NIGHT, and at least 10 hours to complete on every weekend.  I would highly suggest putting off getting married until his first permanent duty station.  Whats the rush...unless you want that extra BAH pay!  Ahh, yes, I remember now.
2.  "...and I know once he reaches E-4 he can live off base and by that time I will have finished school and most likely already have a job lined up in Charleston."  --this is inaccurate.  He will definitely not have a job in Charleston after finishing school.  He will go off to the fleet...

Good luck with your future lives!  It may be tough, but worth it (marriage).

[MMM]

My info is even more outdated, but he should have been able to leave base on weekends from the time he got to Charleston. However, he has to wear a uniform when he goes out on the town for the first several weeks. If you get married during A School, I believe he will be able to live with you in base housing or off base (I'd recommend base housing, you won't get BAH, but the commute is better).

When he graduates Power School, he will be on hold, waiting to class up for NPTU, which could be a while, depending on his rate. I don't know how they do it in Charleston, but in NY, the hold students typically work staff hours: 8-ish hour days, rotating shift work.

I've been in the navy for 17 years, I know a few guys were married when they came in and their marriage survived. I also know guys who were in serious relationships when they came in, theirs didn't. I've been married for 8 years, and still counting, so it relationships can survive this job, but it takes a lot of work and communication. Remember, even though his hours will suck for the next few years, your future husband will still come home every night. When he gets to his ship/boat, not so much, and that's when things usually get tough, but like the last post said, it's worth it.

[Samabby]

J Lyn, try www.submarinewivesclub.org for some good info from the Ladies point of view. Good luck, Miss.