just finished Nuke School

[NukeDad]

My son just finished Nuke school in Saratoga, NY. He is assigned to Norfolk, Virginia. (SS Roosevelt)  My questions are :What is he allowed to take with him and any suggestions on what to expect.  He is an EM3. Thanks.

[taterhead]

He is best advised to show up with a full seabag and any items that he would need to spend time onboard, maybe even overnight.  I am not familiar with the schedule of the TR, but I'm sure someone else here will be.  He should already have an assigned sponsor onboard the TR to advise him on schedule as well.

He will be extremely limited in the storage space he is allotted, but most junior sailors are able to fit their seabag items plus personal stuff (books, CD players, laptops, etc) in their lockers if they are creative with their folding and rolling.

He can expect to hit the deck running, because there likely will not be a great deal of personal time once he is all checked in.  Words of advice...qualify, qualify, qualify.  Nothing will earn him more respect than becoming a useful body as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, it's just something that every new sailor/nuke has to do.  It is extremely intimidating the first time...I'll never forget mine.  M Div berthing is a trip.

[NukeDad]

Thanks for your reply.  I'll pass it on to my son when he comes home.

[Flooznie]

Well, I came from a submarine, but there are some things which I am sure are true on a surface ship.  Nobody likes a nub that has an attitude.  It seems like all the newer guys we kept getting got dumber and dumber, and got more of an attitude.  Tell him that he is gonna have to bite his tongue until he is qualified.  If he gets put into the duty section as a nub, tell him to hit his quals hard core, especially on his duty days.  BNEQ quals are a must to knock out.  The faster he gets on the watchbill, the less he will be hated by his division.  As long as he keeps his mouth shut, his ears open, and is willing to bust ass every day in the engine room, he will excell far.

ET1 (SS)

[taterhead]

Oops, almost forgot...tell him to bring 2 locks for his lockers.  The first order of business will be getting him into a rack/locker.  Key or combo, it doesn't matter.

No telling how many guys show up without them.

Hey flooznie...I was 9802 (MM) as well...those were the days eh?

[Flooznie]

Ah, another fellow classmate from 9802.  I knew most of the mechanics from that class.  Did you have Chief Rushton as a section advisor?  He was our section advisor and one mechanic classesadvisor as well.  I hated Chief Rushton.  Where did you go to prototype at?

ET1 (SS)

[taterhead]

Nah, we had MM1 Randall, then ETC Clemons for Section Advisors.  Both of them were pretty good guys, and I still keep in touch in with Randall (we later served together on Lincoln).

I am pretty sure I remember being in Section 5.  If the name Hulett rings a bell, that's me.

I did SC prototype, 635.