Navy Corpsman

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Comment by Natalie S. on December 13, 2009 at 5:31pm

Cora = thank you for that poem. I agree with Anthony.

Comment by Anthony M. Collins Sr. on December 9, 2009 at 1:41pm

Wow.

Comment by Ric Wrye on December 4, 2009 at 2:22pm

AK Mom, you enjoy the holiday with your son! You will not have the holidays with them all the time. Pat was in Rome for Christmas a few years ago when he was on the Monterey. He will miss the the one in 2010 to be in Afganistan.

Comment by J & G's Mom(AK Mom) on December 4, 2009 at 12:12pm

Got a call from jim this mornign from GL and was informed that graduation went well. Now the USm/Coprs have a new group of HMs on borad. Now they are all waitng at the airport to head for home or to their next duty station. He said he was lucky to get his ticket home for today (ANC Bound), other wise they have to wait until the mad exit which the 18th of Dec when the entire school is closed for the holidays. Well now I have to mange through my AF day and count the hours until we pick him up at the airport.

Comment by J & G's Mom(AK Mom) on December 1, 2009 at 11:46am

Yes, Dan it is a small world and I am finding many girl friends from HS who have sons (marines) who are stationed in Camp Lejeune where Jim will be stationed in a few days. Told one what if they meet and start talking about their mom's and how moms can be. On FB we are all discussing what we are sending in our care packages and needing to get them to the PO so they will arrive on time. One friend who has a son who is stationed at CL mentioned that she speaks with her son often and he asked to send him can food and mentioned it was quite cold in the sands. So fired off some favorite web sites for cold weather clothing which we use often. I have also heard from my AF guys during the winter while they were deployed they found the weather was fairly mild during the day but come evening it gets right down cold. When one is stationed up here one quickly learns what the definition of cold.

Yes, only in a few days after his class (Class# 09225), graduates this Friday from A School. Jim graduates with honors and was tied for first in his class (Wow what a concept-his HS teachers are amazed) . From what I understand they had a great instructor and it was her first class; yet she did not give no slack. All and all they Jim said there was much to learn. Yes, he is ready for FMTB. In three days they will all be departing GL and heading for home for the holidays or to their next duty stations. Jim plans to head to home to the Great White North (AK) see his comrades from HS and provide his little brother with advise and insight (inform him it is time to man up).

Then two weeks later he will head south CL to begin FMBT as well as, settle in for he will be calling CL home for the next few yrs. He will miss X mas ; however, we have dinner early and celebrate. All and all CL will work out well for his grandparents are from NC and he has experienced southern life over the years and really enjoys Kings BBQ. On the flip side of the coin, it is now time to begin to look for a 2nd home down in the lower 48, so I can visit him.

Well it is time to switch gears and begin my Air Force Day. Take care and will catch up later with you all after Jim heads south. Hope you all are enjoying the holiday season.

Comment by Daniel Melia on November 30, 2009 at 7:13pm

I just got around to posting a couple of pics from my son's return to Pendleton from Iraq in August. See my home page. One thing worth mentioning: each marine battalion has a "family liaison officer" (usually a civilian, I think) who can update you on things when your son or daughter is deployed with the Marines. I met the helpful family liaison guy for the 2/1 when my son returned and he turned out to be a high school classmate whom I hadn't seen in 40 years. Small World. He is a retired Navy aviator who took up the liaison job in retirement.

Comment by Anthony M. Collins Sr. on November 17, 2009 at 8:11pm

Thanks for the comments Jim and Dan. I appreciate it. Yes, Nick is planning on that same route after A school, and I wouldn't miss graduation for anything. Especially after PIR last Friday! Nick said he will always be "true to Blue" but is looking forward to FMF. As the Academic Excellence Award winner, and being Master at Arms, I know I wasn't the only proud parent in the hall, but I sure felt like the proudest. So missing graduations of any kind is not an option. Whether at GL or somewhere else. We are in the DSM area so thats too close to NOT attend.
I was responding to a fire alarm call at a local hotel today when he called me. Normally I wouldn't answer my phone while emergency driving, but I recognized the area code and had to (I'm sure you'd understand). He immediately heard the sirens in the background when I answered and we both just laughed out loud. He was not offended at all by me not being able to talk at that moment, but man did I feel guilty! He has grown up with it so he understands. And I will probably always feel guilty because of work. Especially now. Then I just happened to run into his recruiter about 30 minutes later at Subway, and was immediately addressed by him and 3 other Navy folks like family. It was a great feeling.
I am anxious to have a long conversation and gather all details on what is next and learn more of the acronyms, and hopefully get an e-mail address for him soon. I will be able to share more later I hope. The discussion threads on the main page of this have been very helpful, informative, whether I participate or not (eg - the insurance discussion), and some even entertaining.
Thanks again for the link and I will visit it next.
TC

Comment by Dana Mansfield Thomas on November 17, 2009 at 7:45pm

John,
It woludnt hurt him to attend FMTB , if thats waht was FMF (Fleet Marine Force) school , but it will depend on if he plans to stay a General duty corpsman or specialize ... I became a Biomedical Repair Tech myself after time on the wards, preventive med (multiple positions) ... and had wished i had been able to go to FMF school ... many of these folks that do WILL go be a Corpsman with the Marines, and if they do and do well they will EARN the nickname title of "Doc" ...

PS -

JoAnn ... my first assignment after Corps school WAS L&D , lol but was good overall, gave me an oppurtunity to learn skills i will later in other areas and even unto today ...

Comment by J & G's Mom(AK Mom) on November 17, 2009 at 11:21am

If the Navy is like the AF I suspect they will have all corpsmen x cross train be required to attend FMTB. It will likely take a few yrs to implement due to planning and funding. FMF pin is like the Surface Warfare Pin and I know that takes a lot of time and effort to earn. Spoke to Jimmy those who are in A school are beign adpoted by GL families for T Day, He is going with his buddies. Yes, it will be a great time (you have a down day and enjoy the atmosphere of home) for you meet new friends and will have memories to cherrish. Too your adopted Mom will have different dishes to offer but it is still not like Mom's cooking. His class will be done on the 4th of December then he returns to the Great White North which is a lot colder than GL. He mentioned he enjoyed the fall in GL but misses the snow and cold. Have to laugh for he always wanted to live in FL and wishes I had taken orders to HI rather then AK then we would be living where it was warm. For those who are in BC will enjoy a very nice feast on T Day and will likley be given a down day and allowed to call home. Yes, the experince will make them appreciate home! The best thing I heard from our phone call this past Sat is Jim made Honor Grad and he now knows what he had in HS and wishes he had done differently but the experince in A school allowed him to see/experince his potential but he is glad he took the path he choosen. Thanks all for your links and information, now I need to do some research of my own so I can speak the language when we visit on the phone.

Comment by Daniel Melia on November 17, 2009 at 1:53am

Here's a slightly old link about FMSS (name for FMTB until about a year ago).
(no www) usmilitary.about.com/od/navytrng/a/fmss.htm

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