We are trying to think ahead about plans for Christmas, anticipating it's likely our future sailor will be in nuke A school at that time. We anticipate him getting to A school around Thanksgiving but it's all in flux right now, waiting on his security clearance.
We are trying to figure out whether it would be doable to go visit him there during his "free days" off so that he doesn't have to use his leave to come home.
A few specs:
There would be 4 of us, including teenage brother and sister.
We have about a 12 hour drive to Goose Creek so it's doable and driving is more affordable than flying 4 of us.
So here are my primary questions:
Are there specific days that are given off from A school at Christmas?
How much liberty would he have to leave the base during that time?
Any recommendations on where we could/should try to stay? We would probably look into renting a house for the 5 of us if he's able to leave the base.
Thanks for any tips/info!
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Hi Tony, We took a vacation this summer to Charleston, and used AirBNB to rent a house. We were looking to hit the beach while also being able to cruise around Goose Creek to give our son Spencer a view of the local town. Plus this gave him some Fun memories of the area to help him during the tough times.
The house we rented was about 30 min from the base...and was fantastic. I recommend the owner of the house and here is some info regarding the rental. While there may be some houses closer, at least I can vouch for this one: 1234 Secessionville Rd, Charleston, SC 29412
I will let others respond to the questions of liberty.
Thanks and good luck! (tell your sailor we said Thank You for his service!)
Thanks Scott. You've been so helpful and encouraging. We are eager to get this adventure underway. It was a year ago this week that he first talked to the Navy. We are all ready for it to get started! It's a big comfort to know we will have opportunities to go see him on his turf.
If he is in Phase 2, which he will be if he gets there at Thanksgiving, he should be able to stay with you for the duration of your visit since there will not be academic days during that time. The only exception would be if he has to stay in his barracks the night prior to a muster day (which I would recommend doing anyway just to be sure he doesn't miss it).
The villas are kind of a hidden gem. for whatever reason, they don't get publicized much other than the website so not a lot of people even know they exist. Once he gets to Charleston and has a more firm idea of his schedule, he shouldn't have any trouble making a reservation. You should be able to check availability on line. I know my folks didn't have any trouble getting their reservation.
So if I'm understanding this correctly, the only thing I see that states explicitly that's a requirement to be allowed off base is the last statement in phase I: Must complete command indoctrination prior to off-base liberty.
Does that mean, if all other things are in line (grades, behavior, etc) that he could be granted liberty to leave the base during the day - when school is not in session - staying in the Charleston area, hanging out with us, and spending nights in his room from whenever his curfew is - if he has completed that command indoctrination? In other words, it looks like phase 3 is not necessary to be granted liberty for going off base, within certain limitations?
Another question it raises is how quickly the villas fill up that time of year. If he gets to Goose creek around thanksgiving, I don't know that there would be much of anything left - I'm assuming no reservations can be made until he arrives, and maybe even not until he has reached certain milestones while there? Should we realistically be looking at Christmas 2018 if that is the case?
At the discretion of the Commanding Officer, liberty during school nights will expire at a time to ensure 6 hours of continuous sleep in a 24 hour period.
Phase III - Personnel may be advanced to Phase III upon meeting the following conditions:
4 weeks in Phase II.
Within Navy physical fitness standards.
Satisfactory uniform appearance.
Satisfactory academic standing.
Satisfactory military performance.
Will allow Sailors under NMT to experience liberty equivalent to that of staff.
The chain of command or a nonacademic review board may recommend Sailors be set back to a previous liberty phase for military infractions or unsatisfactory performance.
All in all, a special request chit may work, although it may be just as easy to take five days leave. He'll accrue more than enough while he's in a school that long.
Now that I think about it, it is Phase 3. It's been a few years since I was there and they were all Phase 3 by the time I picked up the class.
I don't remember if they relax the rules any for the stand down or not. At any rate, he can route a special request to have overnight liberty. The worst they can do is say no.
Replies
Hi Tony, We took a vacation this summer to Charleston, and used AirBNB to rent a house. We were looking to hit the beach while also being able to cruise around Goose Creek to give our son Spencer a view of the local town. Plus this gave him some Fun memories of the area to help him during the tough times.
The house we rented was about 30 min from the base...and was fantastic. I recommend the owner of the house and here is some info regarding the rental. While there may be some houses closer, at least I can vouch for this one: 1234 Secessionville Rd, Charleston, SC 29412
I will let others respond to the questions of liberty.
Thanks and good luck! (tell your sailor we said Thank You for his service!)
No problem. If you have any questions about the Nuke pipeline, or anything else for that matter, I'll be happy to answer them.
If he is in Phase 2, which he will be if he gets there at Thanksgiving, he should be able to stay with you for the duration of your visit since there will not be academic days during that time. The only exception would be if he has to stay in his barracks the night prior to a muster day (which I would recommend doing anyway just to be sure he doesn't miss it).
The villas are kind of a hidden gem. for whatever reason, they don't get publicized much other than the website so not a lot of people even know they exist. Once he gets to Charleston and has a more firm idea of his schedule, he shouldn't have any trouble making a reservation. You should be able to check availability on line. I know my folks didn't have any trouble getting their reservation.
Does that mean, if all other things are in line (grades, behavior, etc) that he could be granted liberty to leave the base during the day - when school is not in session - staying in the Charleston area, hanging out with us, and spending nights in his room from whenever his curfew is - if he has completed that command indoctrination? In other words, it looks like phase 3 is not necessary to be granted liberty for going off base, within certain limitations?
Another question it raises is how quickly the villas fill up that time of year. If he gets to Goose creek around thanksgiving, I don't know that there would be much of anything left - I'm assuming no reservations can be made until he arrives, and maybe even not until he has reached certain milestones while there? Should we realistically be looking at Christmas 2018 if that is the case?
It was bugging me that I couldn't remember so I looked it up.
CNET Instruction 1540.20, Navy Military Training Policies & Procedures
Phase I - The first 3 weeks after recruit training.
Phase II - Personnel may be advanced to Phase II upon meeting the following conditions:
Phase III - Personnel may be advanced to Phase III upon meeting the following conditions:
The chain of command or a nonacademic review board may recommend Sailors be set back to a previous liberty phase for military infractions or unsatisfactory performance.
Tony, that will depend on how well the class is progressing and the instructor. My son was an AWO and it took about 3 weeks of "good behavior."
All in all, a special request chit may work, although it may be just as easy to take five days leave. He'll accrue more than enough while he's in a school that long.
I don't remember if they relax the rules any for the stand down or not. At any rate, he can route a special request to have overnight liberty. The worst they can do is say no.
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