DLI Monterey

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on November 11, 2009 at 4:49pm

a reminder about OPSEC and things best left to private messages:
while we are not tied to N4M guidelines, these should serve as a foundation to use common sense in discussions

Below are some regulations for the Cryptology group at N4Ms

-Don’t discuss current or future destinations/ ports of call/deployment bases .
-Don’t discuss current or future operations or missions.
-Don’t discuss current or future dates and times of exercises or missions.
-Don’t discuss readiness issues and numbers.
-Don’t discuss specific training equipment.
-Don’t discuss people’s names and operations.
-Don’t speculate about current or future operations

Permalink Reply by Mark on November 12, 2009 at 5:37pm

Hi John, my son also PIR'd last Friday, 11/6 (Div. 377) and left the next day for the DLI for CTI A school. I can't offer too much info on the questions you asked, as this is new for me as well. I did exchanged some texts with my son the other night and I know they spend most of Monday in briefings learning about life at the DLI. He also told me that the place was nice and he only had one roomate.

I live about an hour and a half from Monterey and have been there many times. The community is great, with lots to see and do. The weather is very moderate, usually cool and foggy.

Permalink Reply by John A. Bohn on November 13, 2009 at 10:16am

Mark,

Thanks for your reply. Our son called Wed nite from Monterey. He had arrived late the nite before. He was on liberty in town with four other sailors he knew from RTC (Div 380 and others), which surprised me. I thought they had three phases in A school, and that they had only on base liberty for at least the first two weeks. He said they had off base liberty immediately, in dress blues, and could go off base in civvies in two weeks! He asked me to send him some clothes, and had a temporary address. They will get permanent P.O. boxes soon. He also raved about the beauty of the area, the friendly, college campus atmosphere, and how laid back everyone was. What a change from BC! He also will have only one roommate, in a dorm-type room. He had no info on his class schedule, since it was Veteran's Day, except they would probably not start until Jan. They are scheduled for a PT test today. He expected to get only the day off for Thanksgiving, but would probably get some Christmas leave. In the meantime, he will sign up for college classes on base/on line, and has been encouraged to sign up for volunteer work in town.

We live in Incline Village, NV, at Lake Tahoe, and are looking forward to visiting our son when his schedule permits. Where do you live?

I am OK sharing language info, but, because I am so new at this, am not sure if that is OK. Can anyone give us some guidance on this?

Mark said:

Hi John, my son also PIR'd last Friday, 11/6 (Div. 377) and left the next day for the DLI for CTI A school. I can't offer too much info on the questions you asked, as this is new for me as well. I did exchanged some texts with my son the other night and I know they spend most of Monday in briefings learning about life at the DLI. He also told me that the place was nice and he only had one roomate.

I live about an hour and a half from Monterey and have been there many times. The community is great, with lots to see and do. The weather is very moderate, usually cool and foggy.

Permalink Reply by John A. Bohn on November 13, 2009 at 10:23am

Hi David,

Thanks. Will pass that along. As I replied to Mark, not sure if it is OK to share language info. Anyone know?

David Perschbacher said:

I have heard that the Navy volleyball teams are kicking some serious tail in the volleyball league this fall.

Permalink Reply by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on November 13, 2009 at 10:38am

Paul's personal advice--if you are in doubt about sharing something- play it safe and do so in private messages.

John A. Bohn said:

Hi David,

Thanks. Will pass that along. As I replied to Mark, not sure if it is OK to share language info. Anyone know?

David Perschbacher said:

I have heard that the Navy volleyball teams are kicking some serious tail in the volleyball league this fall.

Permalink Reply by Mark on November 15, 2009 at 10:19am

Hi John,
Sounds like you got lots more inforamation out of your son than I got out of mine. I do know he's been off base a lot and is spending lots of money! His classes start in February. He really likes it there (we'll see if that changes once classes start). He's been working on his "phase work" and they've got him doing janitorial work and PT. He said he gets the Thanksgiving weekend off, but needs to be back at base in the evening. We'll probably spend a day or two there and have Thanksgiving at a local restaraunt. He also mentioned getting a week off for Christmas.

We live about two hours away from Monterey, near San Francisco in the East Bay/TriValley area.

Permalink Reply by John A. Bohn on November 16, 2009 at 7:25pm

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the info. Nick does not realize he gets so much time off for T-Day. What is phase work?

Mark said:

Hi John,
Sounds like you got lots more inforamation out of your son than I got out of mine. I do know he's been off base a lot and is spending lots of money! His classes start in February. He really likes it there (we'll see if that changes once classes start). He's been working on his "phase work" and they've got him doing janitorial work and PT. He said he gets the Thanksgiving weekend off, but needs to be back at base in the evening. We'll probably spend a day or two there and have Thanksgiving at a local restaraunt. He also mentioned getting a week off for Christmas.

We live about two hours away from Monterey, near San Francisco in the East Bay/TriValley area.

Permalink Reply by Mark on November 19, 2009 at 9:11am

I'm not exactly sure of what Phase work consists of, but when they get through it they earn privilages like staying overnight outside the base on their time off and being able to wear civilian clothing off base.

Permalink Reply by John A. Bohn on November 28, 2009 at 10:59am

Hi Mark,

Nick called on T-Day from DLI to give us an update. He had just had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner on base featuring turkey, prime rib, crab and all the trimmings. The food was served by base officers, including the C.O!

We now have a better understanding of phase work. They attend meetings to learn about watch-standing, sounding the ship's bell for officers arriving, etc, becoming a duty driver, etiquette with officers. Overall, more in-depth training on basic skills sailors need. As they complete the phases, they get more privileges.

He will start his Spanish classes on 2/11/10. This will lead to an AA degree upon completion. Meanwhile, they are all being encouraged very strongly to take advantage of on-base and internet-based college courses. There are lots of counsellors and instructors who make themselves available to show the sailors how best to advance toward their degrees while awaiting language training. Since Nick has completed three years of college, he hopes to finish his degree in history ASAP. He is looking forward to several quiet weeks on campus over the holidays to make as much progress as possible. Apparently, he can challenge course credits by taking an exam, that, if he passes, he gets credit for the class without having to actually take it. This is offered for free for the sailors.

Nick is still in temporary housing with two roommates, Jesse and Sun, whom he knew at BC, but expects to move to other quarters soon, with one roommate. He is going to Salinas this weekend with several friends from BC to go clothes shopping.

He is planning on taking three days leave to come home for Christmas. We wish it was longer, but he is very wary of taking advance leave, which, as I remember from my service in the Marines, can be difficult to pay back.

Hope all is well with your sailor. Did you get to visit with him this weekend?

Happy Holidays!

John

Mark said:

I'm not exactly sure of what Phase work consists of, but when they get through it they earn privilages like staying overnight outside the base on their time off and being able to wear civilian clothing off base.

Permalink Reply by Mark on December 1, 2009 at 5:46pm

Hi John,
Thanks for the update. Sounds like you got lots more info than we did! Our Thanksgiving was very nice. We met my son and one of his friends at the wharf for a late lunch. We spent several hours exploring the area and talking. He's really enjoying being there. They spend lots of time, and money, at the local mall when not doing phase work. He also starts Arabic class on February 11, 2010 and his friend starts Russian around the same time. He currently has one roommate, but mentioned that he might be moving as well. Sounds like they move them around alot.

Right now it sounds like they're having a great time...we'll see how they feel once class starts!

Thanks for the update and happy holidays to you too!
Mark.

John A. Bohn said:

Hi Mark,

Nick called on T-Day from DLI to give us an update. He had just had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner on base featuring turkey, prime rib, crab and all the trimmings. The food was served by base officers, including the C.O!

We now have a better understanding of phase work. They attend meetings to learn about watch-standing, sounding the ship's bell for officers arriving, etc, becoming a duty driver, etiquette with officers. Overall, more in-depth training on basic skills sailors need. As they complete the phases, they get more privileges.

He will start his Spanish classes on 2/11/10. This will lead to an AA degree upon completion. Meanwhile, they are all being encouraged very strongly to take advantage of on-base and internet-based college courses. There are lots of counsellors and instructors who make themselves available to show the sailors how best to advance toward their degrees while awaiting language training. Since Nick has completed three years of college, he hopes to finish his degree in history ASAP. He is looking forward to several quiet weeks on campus over the holidays to make as much progress as possible. Apparently, he can challenge course credits by taking an exam, that, if he passes, he gets credit for the class without having to actually take it. This is offered for free for the sailors.

Nick is still in temporary housing with two roommates, Jesse and Sun, whom he knew at BC, but expects to move to other quarters soon, with one roommate. He is going to Salinas this weekend with several friends from BC to go clothes shopping.

He is planning on taking three days leave to come home for Christmas. We wish it was longer, but he is very wary of taking advance leave, which, as I remember from my service in the Marines, can be difficult to pay back.

Hope all is well with your sailor. Did you get to visit with him this weekend?

Happy Holidays!

John

Mark said:

I'm not exactly sure of what Phase work consists of, but when they get through it they earn privilages like staying overnight outside the base on their time off and being able to wear civilian clothing off base.