My Son is up in Ballston Spa completing his Proto type training. All I am going on is by my conversations with him, but I am feeling a since of frustration from him. He is complaining of falling behind and can't get the help he needs (he has never been behind in his work before). He is upset about his civilian instructors and giving him work to complete that has no value for his check out points. I am also aware that I may not understand anything about what he is doing as I don't want to ask him too much because I don't want to accidently ask him about something that he should not be speaking about because of security. Is it normal for a sailor to be very unhappy at this level in their training? I read all the discussions about depression in the services these days and I am becoming somewhat concerned. Some advice for a concerned parent would be appreciated.
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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.
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.
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