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Originally Posted by TXNavyMother
 My son is at the airport right now in Houston, TX waiting for his flight to Chicago. I am so excited for his journey, but I am also so very scared. I worry about his mental state because he's such a caring and loving person. He wants to be the best and I know he will do his best. He's a Surface Nuke Recruit and I can't wait to see him soar.  |
Bootcamp is a mind game. The RDCs want to see if they can get into your head. I went through in 2016 through Great Lakes now I am going through Newport as an Officer (leaving this weekend). He will probably write you letters and in a couple weeks you will probably get your first phone call (takes a couple weeks before they let Sailors call families). Just tell him to ignore the RDCs and their criticism because whatever happens there stays here NO MATTER what they do/say. Best advice you can give him from us here is stand tall, do exactly as your told and do your best to stay low on the RDC radars and his time there will fly by.
Hopefully the recruiter was honest, Nuke school is no joke, its one of the most challenging (probably the hardest actually) A-schools in the military (all branches). It's long but will set himself up for success in the long run if he doesn't stay in the Navy long. A chief I know at work, his younger brother was a nuke and got out and now works for Exxon in Texas making over $200,000 as a 24 year old. He basically realized his education (courtesy of the Navy) was more valuable on the outside. So, your son is obviously smart academically to score strong ASVAB scores to get qualified as a Nuke, he will be fine. I am happy for him. Nuke is a rough job (long days, working in challenging parts of a ship) but the light at the end of the tunnel if he makes it through will be a rewarding one.