Precom Sub

[boosterseat87]

My husband is currently a staff pickup in NY and we recently found out he will be heading to PCU South Dakota in Groton for about 4 years. I was hoping I could get some peoples experiences of what to expect and and tips or things to keep in mind. What kind of a schedule are we looking at? When and for how long would he go on a ride along? Would it just be the once? I don't think I know enough about it all to ask the right questions so any information would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

[spekkio]

If your husband has official orders in hand, then he should have (or will soon) receive a welcome aboard email with sponsor ('sea dad') info. If he doesn't get one in the next month or so, he can attempt to contact the boat and speak to his prospective Chief. They'll be able to provide all of the answers about the schedule.

I've never done a pre-comm, so I can't answer your questions specifically. He'll be required to qualify his senior-in-rate watchstation in 1 year, so that will undoubtedly entail some underway time on another boat.

[boosterseat87]

He has yet to receive his official orders, he was just sent an email at the end of December, telling him he will be going to Groton in July. Is there a chance things would change before he gets his official orders? I've begun planning and looking for jobs, should I hold off until we have the papers in hand?
Not sure if this is true, but he thinks he may be the first wave of people assigned to the boat, would he still have a sea dad?
A couple guys he works with mentioned the possibility of OBLISERV, I'm not sure if he would need to do this. What happens if he doesn't or would he even have the option to refuse?

[spekkio]

The CO of his ship can extend his tour of duty to up to 60 months. OBLISERV typically refers to extending one's enlistment in order to get shore duty orders because the EAOS date is too close to the PCS date to get orders. His choices would be to extend his enlistment, or stay on sea duty until he leaves the Navy. This will all depend on his specific timing, rotation date, needs of the Navy, etc. As a SPU in Prototype, I'm not sure why this is even on his radar.

Until your husband has orders, it's subject to change (and even after he can get his orders changed). Keep looking for jobs, just don't close on a house.

You husband's orders will include who he must report to and their contact information.

[HeavyD]

Unless things have changed, the OBLISERV for a new construction unit is also meant to get a sailor out to their minimum prescribed sea tour.  This is due to the fact that their sea duty counter doesn't start until a certain milestone in the boat's construction.  If I recall correctly, it is some time just prior to the boat being commissioned.  One of the guys or gals still on active duty can chime in with that info.

Best of luck and thank you both for volunteering to serve!

[spekkio]

Unless things have changed, the OBLISERV for a new construction unit is also meant to get a sailor out to their minimum prescribed sea tour.  This is due to the fact that their sea duty counter doesn't start until a certain milestone in the boat's construction.  If I recall correctly, it is some time just prior to the boat being commissioned.  One of the guys or gals still on active duty can chime in with that info.

Good to know.

questions...

One more thing: there are plenty of Chiefs at prototype who can help your husband find answers to all this stuff. If he isn't talking to them, he's doing it wrong.

[DDMurray]

My husband is currently a staff pickup in NY and we recently found out he will be heading to PCU South Dakota in Groton for about 4 years. I was hoping I could get some peoples experiences of what to expect and and tips or things to keep in mind. What kind of a schedule are we looking at? When and for how long would he go on a ride along? Would it just be the once? I don't think I know enough about it all to ask the right questions so any information would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

A lot depends on whether or not you initial manning.  I was initial manning on the Jimmy Carter in 2001.  We were there the same time as the USS Virginia.  Assuming you are initial manning, the first few months are pretty easy.  You make up for that later with multiple weeks of shift work for testing.  The shipyard life can be tough, but I always thought the testing was cool, except when the schedule changed daily.  Regarding "ride alongs", expect anywhere from a week to a few months, depending on you boat and other boat's schedule.  You may not want to here this, but doing rides on operational boats will be of great benefit to your husband, his command, and the command he rides, assuming he gets qualified and stands a watch.  When I was in New Con, there were no Virginia class boats for guys to ride.   I was on 21 class and we sent guys to do Trident (SSBN) patrols for about 2-3 months.  For the most part, these were win-win.  We spent our last 7 years in Groton, retiring 2008 and then moved to East TN.  A lot of people don't like Groton, but we enjoyed living there overall.  90 minutes from NYC or Boston, or few hours to Downeast Maine.  Good luck.  Hope this helps.  PM me if you have any other questions.  -Derek

[Lethological]

A lot depends on whether or not you initial manning.  I was initial manning on the Jimmy Carter in 2001.  We were there the same time as the USS Virginia.  Assuming you are initial manning, the first few months are pretty easy.  You make up for that later with multiple weeks of shift work for testing.  The shipyard life can be tough, but I always thought the testing was cool, except when the schedule changed daily.  Regarding "ride alongs", expect anywhere from a week to a few months, depending on you boat and other boat's schedule.  You may not want to here this, but doing rides on operational boats will be of great benefit to your husband, his command, and the command he rides, assuming he gets qualified and stands a watch.  When I was in New Con, there were no Virginia class boats for guys to ride.   I was on 21 class and we sent guys to do Trident (SSBN) patrols for about 2-3 months.  For the most part, these were win-win.  We spent our last 7 years in Groton, retiring 2008 and then moved to East TN.  A lot of people don't like Groton, but we enjoyed living there overall.  90 minutes from NYC or Boston, or few hours to Downeast Maine.  Good luck.  Hope this helps.  PM me if you have any other questions.  -Derek

I can vouch for that.  I was part of initial manning for a virginia-class, and the first 6 months or so were cake... Then the stress levels went up exponentially.  Pre-RSE, RSE, sea trials, Pre-ORSE, ORSE, other miscellaneous testing, it gets extremely demanding once deadlines get closer.  Deployments won't even be a reality until MAYBE 5 years down the road or so.  That might sound like a good thing on the surface, but being in the shipyard feels like a deployment in and of itself.  The plus side, though, is you learn a lot.  A LOT.  The crew is there for each and every system test, and they all get to watch the boat get built from the ground up.  Being a plankowner has its perks.  Also, Groton isn't as bad as some people say it is.  It's a small town, so you can't expect much within the city limits.  There's plenty of things to do right outside of the town, though.  There's two casinos that are less than an hour drive, for example.  I hope this helps!