Ballston Spa

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Permalink Reply by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on December 23, 2010 at 8:26am

There is not much I've found on Ballston Spa, though it has been mentioned a number of times in www.nukeworker.com

you may want to go there and do a search and see what pops up....I was looking to see if they had an Ombudsman you could contact....I know that the coursework if very high pressure and very fast paced....

 

here is another link I found....more a blog...maybe some advice or guidance there: Prototype rundown

 

also found squidoo.com with some info:  Squidoo.com....Prototype info

Permalink Reply by Bruce on December 23, 2010 at 10:36am

It has been my experience that they try to do everything they can to help the students succeed.  But there is often frustration at this point.  And this is tough training - they have to demonstrate their knowledge not just answer it on paper.  A lot of the exams are oral as well as written and they have to get "signed off".  This is where they can not pick 'A" 'B" "C" on an exam but must know everything and explain the entire process to an instructor.  Gets tough .  Hope this helps - feel free to ask if you want more info -  Happy Holidays - Bruce

Permalink Reply by Mary Rose Hildinger on January 11, 2011 at 9:29am

Dear Scott,  after reading your message on Navy Dads, i wanted to reply. My son graduated from Boot Camp in March from Great Lakes Naval Base in IL. He went on to Charleston SC for Nuke school. He was a talented young man who wanted to serve our country. While in Nuke school he got very depressed about not living up to the expectations. He committed suicide so they say. After much research and talking with Congressman Mike Pence on Indy I have realized what tremendous amount of pressure our young men and woman are under. They dont prepare them or give them counseling like they should. I am trying to come up with a program that will help them understand what they are up against. This is all new to me and I would appreciate your support. I wish your son the best, and just be supportive and make sure that he can contact you. Mary from NY.

Permalink Reply by EM3 Espada on January 20, 2011 at 4:41pm

I'm living with three other nukes, two of which have classed up already. From what they tell those of us stuck on hold, there are simply too many students for the staff to handle right now. The senior classes should have long since graduated, but due to problems with the plants, they are only now just starting to qualify and graduate. The most recent class was also too large, as they added a few dozen students to the class at the last minute.

 

His instructors are probably giving him look ups or homework, which is supposed to help you for checkouts, but usually just makes things worse. A few instructors give ridiculous lookups to get rid of students.

 

This is the worst part of the pipeline, according to my brother and husband, who went through it in Charleston. The long working hours, the shift work, The Curve, and the nature of qualifying all combine into a massive pile of suck. 

 

Stay in touch, send your love, and maybe some care packages filled with delicious cookies. In all seriousness, it's amazing how coming home to a care package can help. Cookies, reeses cups, whatever weird thing you love, can remind you that there is an outside world, and there are people who love you. Every little thing helps.

Permalink Reply by Rob Gennrich on January 20, 2011 at 11:25pm

Speaking as one who qualified reactor operator (class 9304) Prototype is probably the most intense pressure cooker possible. Its VERY VERY common it get look-ups from instructors. And yes the instructors do NOT go looking for people to give check outs to . The students must come to them READY and able to work the check out out fully and be able to demonstrate command of the item in hand. These may be in the form of oral quizzing or practical hands on demonstrations. The easiest check out is probably the reactor compartment (RC)  tour.. However there is only a limited window to get this since during operations the RC is an exclusion area.  This is the same way it is in the fleet so they don't hold your hand in prototype. each school is more and more like the fleet really is.

  The qual card they are given starts with the basics systems (ie primary coolant or primary instrumentation)  and builds upon it. In the later portions of the card you have integrated systems checkouts (i.e. mass casualty  or  starting as a molecule of sea water  charge the battery   )  The very last portions of these cards are known as end of cards.. these are a comprehensive review of a given field (i.e. electrical, reactor, radcon/chem) .  The finals for prototype are a nightmare: 4+ hr long written exam , oral board, and if your an officer a final graded watch.   The oral board, for me at least, consisted of 3 members. I was allowed to select 1 person to sit my board. I had about 1/2 a sheet of paper worth of look ups for my board, but I passed it. 

 

All of this in 12 hr days makes for very unhappy campers. Its an intense bit of training.  Yes I've seen people go bonkers during the pipeline. and even after wards.    The stress levels are intense and the need to be!!!  Those fine people are the first and best line of defense for the prevention of accidents. They must keep there heads during actual accidents and the pressure of the schooling is designed to help weed out those that would freeze and not be able to respond during a casualty.