Master at Arms

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Comment by Navy Dads Co-Admin Tom on September 11, 2013 at 9:34am

Michael B...How is Devin making out? I saw that she was headed to her first Command...?

Comment by Michael Baione on September 9, 2013 at 8:22pm

What Ray and Mike said....lol I totally agree with them on this. The Riverwalk is a great way to spend some time together. The Alamo is definitely worth touring. The is a great view from the "Tower of the Americas". The Riverwalk mall is also nearby! Lots of great Mexican food!

Comment by Ray Norberto on September 9, 2013 at 3:03pm

I stayed at the Carefree Inn back in March 2011, and it was literally right outside the Lackland base entrance. It was close to a Sonic, which I had never eaten at before, since NYC has none! I walked onto the base - about 20 minutes to the badge ceremony site. And downtown San Antone was a pretty short drive.

Carefree was basic, and not too bad. There were some online reviews that were clearly competitor driven and horrendous, but it was clean, and as functional as I needed. If I were going back though, I would probably stay right on the Riverwalk, with which I fell in love. And the Alamo was a short walk from there. You will have to drive to the ceremony but it's not onerous, nor as potentially fraught with traffic as the PIR in Great Lakes. It is smaller, and informal but still poignant. My son asked if he could have his badge pinned by one of his favorite instructors from the A School, which I (grudgingly) allowed!
I don't remember how many restrictions he had for visitation off base, but I know we spent some time at the aforementioned Sonic, and the riverwalk, and the Alamo before he returned to the base for the night. He was allowed to fly home with me - well, actually we returned to NYC on separate flights since his itinerary was Navy based. And he started an immediate ten day leave, before he had to report to Norfolk for the start of his first assignment there.

re: the Alamo - it's way smaller than one would imagine, and unremarkable looking. But one can feel the history emanating from the walls and ground.

Comment by Mike Bennett on September 8, 2013 at 10:43pm

Charlie,  I went to my son's MA graduation.  It's very informal but I'm glad I went to it.  You get to pin their badge on them for the first time they get to wear it.  It was nice but nothing compaired to PIR.  I stayed at a hotel on Riverwalk.  It was a short drive to the base (about 15 minutes).  It was nce to walk around and there are hundreds of restaurants to eat at.  I was within walking distance of the Alamo and we went to see it (no big deal but it's historic).  You have to go to the main gate to get a pass to get on the base.  Go at 7 AM the day of graduation or it will be a long wait after that.  They WON'T give it to you the night before.  It's in a small auditorium and not every sailor will have family there.  It only last for an hour and then the MA's go back to their barracks.  You're aloud to go with them and see where they were living but they aren't aloud to leave the base until 4 PM unless they want to be charged a vacation day to leave early.  My son said they have to clean his room and get checked out before they can leave so I left and came back later to pick him up.  The Navy makes thier travel arrangements and they don't tell him until that day.  They had my son on a 7 AM flight the next morning so we didn't get to spend much time in San Antonio. 

Comment by Michael Baione on September 8, 2013 at 6:19pm

I live in Austin so it was easy to just drive in. There are plenty of places to stay near the base. It is probably best if you get a hotel near the Military Dr Gate. This is off of Hwy 90.

Comment by Scott Karneth on September 5, 2013 at 9:42am

My daughter tells me that a computer is not necessary. The Navy provides everything that is 'necessary'. But it can be helpful and the internet access in the off duty hours is invaluable.

The Wi-Fi on base is by Czee and the coverage and performance is not the best. It runs ~$35/month if you don't sign up for an extended term.

Given that MA A-School is only 2 months long, the Czee Wi-Fi seems like the best bet. A Mobile Hotspot device is another option but you will be signing on for a term commitment with one of those.

Comment by Navy Dads Co-Admin Tom on September 3, 2013 at 7:28pm

   Welcome to the group, Charlie!

Comment by Michael Baione on September 1, 2013 at 3:52pm

He will be there for about two months for training. There is internet available, but my daughter said it wasn't very good and you pay a lot for it. 

Comment by Michael Baione on September 1, 2013 at 2:37pm

Welcome aboard Charlie! What would you like to know?

Comment by Navy Dads Co-Admin Tom on August 17, 2013 at 9:51am

   It doesn't seem possible that my daughter has just finished 2 years....PIR was only a couple of months ago...LOL!

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