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Comment by jim'scupcake on June 10, 2011 at 8:35pm

Ok...so, who is graduating 6/17?  I NEED a few pictures of my son, since we will not be able to attend.  Thank you.

Comment by MamaMiri (FT) on June 10, 2011 at 11:17am

Not sure how it all goes for parents or anyone without a military ID since I'm a spouse and can freely go on base on my own, but I just wanted to chime in that the ceremony is very nice and well worth it! If I recall correctly it started at 8am. I went in to sit down a little later since I have a toddler and I knew he would only sit still for so long. They showed a short video about the sub school, spoke a little bit for the families' benefit about what it means for their Sailors to have gone through BESS and graduated and earned the title of Submariner, and a couple of other speeches, at our graduation it was a retired Submariner who is still active in the sub community, and the new Master Chief. Each new Submariner walks across the stage to receive his certificate. They pause for anyone who wants to take pictures so be sure to grab a few! They also honor students who performed exceptionally during BESS. It's a very laid-back atmosphere but still put together and makes you proud. There were several young children at our ceremony and they were very warm and accepting of that. At one point my son was falling apart so I walked around in the back and even sat down and nursed him in the back row and no one batted an eye.

If there is a sub in port they may even have some of the crew there to join in honoring your Sailors. My husband's class was named after the Miami and it happened to be in port, so some of the crew was at the ceremony and they also opened the boat to tours for the day, which is very cool! Our tour was led by a man who had just recently received his dolphins so all of his knowledge was fresh, and he was very proud of his boat and happy to answer lots of questions. So don't skip the tour if you have the chance to go on one! 

After the ceremony your Submariner should be on liberty for the rest of the weekend, unless his duty day falls on the weekend in which case he will have to stay on base and stand watch for a few hours.

Comment by my favorite Martian (Groton) on June 10, 2011 at 10:36am

cjasmin518 : thanks for posting that video. It looks like fun, actually! 

Comment by Rose7..Norfolk on June 8, 2011 at 12:49pm

rowiejr....When my son graduated back in March, we get there 6:30.  My son told us he will meet us at the gate, not the big one the second gate.  If you are renting a car you don't need a pass.  If you are driving your own, then you need to go inside the office, is at the second gate to the right side and fill some papers and then they will prove you with a pass.  To go to the big gate (where everybody go) your son have to ride with you and provide his identification and you just you your rental agreement or the special pass.  Hope this help you a little, this was my experience may be somebody else has done differently.  Good luck is a experience that you don't want to miss.

Comment by ElizabethC on June 7, 2011 at 8:10pm

Hi Groton families...I was reading some of your posts about the Escape Trainer, my son has been in Groton since the beginning of January, I also asked him about the Escape Trainer (I was even more nervous to hear the answer) but he wasn't able to do the trainer when he was in BESS and there was quite a number of other guys who were unable to do it either...I think its pretty common.  I was also worried that since he couldn't do the esape trainer that he would be disqualified in the sub program but apparently that is not the case because he has moved along in school...anyway thought I would throw in my 2 cents.

Tackijacky...I am so jealous that you are going to Groton for the 4th of July..wish I was going!!!  I don't know if there are any 4th of July celebrations but I would imagine with it being a huge Navy area that they would have some sort of celebrations.

Comment by my favorite Martian (Groton) on June 7, 2011 at 5:52pm

Oma: My son has been at Groton since May 7th and they just did the escape training exercise. I'm unclear as to when his BESS school actually started, though. He was there a week or two before classes began.

 

Mare1012: They can have their cell phones at the airport when departing after PIR.

 

tackijacky: my son was disqualified from the escape exercise, too. He's suffering from allergies. I guess they're really careful about not damaging anyone's eardrums. He was very disappointed, but said he might get a chance to do it with another group later.

Comment by Mare1012 on June 7, 2011 at 4:30pm

Can they have their cell phones at sub and a school?

Comment by tackijacky on June 7, 2011 at 1:41pm

I asked my son about the escape trainer the other day, said he could not do it because his ears wouldnt pop.  My husband, my 3 yr old and I are heading to Groton for the 4th of July....does anybody know if there will be celebration activities going on?

Comment by janlee on June 6, 2011 at 6:07pm

haha Cheri..thats the truth. I would worry when  son didnt come straight home after school....lol!  Im sure it never goes away. 

Comment by janlee on June 6, 2011 at 12:42pm

jasmin---my son said the same thing. I was like everyone else..worried sick. I even called my sister and told her how worried i was about it. My mistake was that i looked it up on-line and read about it. i should have never done that..lol BUT..when i called him and asked him about it...he said he and a few others didnt have to do it. he did mention the water leak test and said it was crazy but all went well..

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