Beyond recruit training, the next level of education for new sailors is apprenticeship training.  Whether it's a technical electronics course or engineering fundamentals, Basic Underwater Demolition Preparatory School or Surface Common Core seamanship training, it is the mission of Training Support Center (TSC), to deliver students for the various technical and apprenticeship schools.
    As the second-largest tenant command at Great Lakes, TSC supports technical post-recruit training at "A" (technical) and "C" (advanced) schools, qualification training for special warfare programs, along with other various courses in about 80 different disciplines.
    TSC has an annual throughput of about 13,500 students, with up to 4,600 students onboard at any time during the year — from those attending a two-week apprentice program to training foreign military personnel. The staff consists of 15 officers, 269 enlisted, 85 government employees and 69 contractor employees and supports over 85 percent of the Navy's surface apprentice-level schools.
    TSC was established on April 8, 2004, replacing the former Service School Command. Completing a lineage at Great Lakes of almost 70 years, it is now the only training command located within the vicinity of Recruit Training Command (RTC), home of the Navy's only "boot camp."
    The command's mission is to provide management and professional military development of sailors, and functional support to the independently operated Naval Education and Training (NETC) learning sites including Center for Surface Combat Systems Unit (CSCSU), Center for Naval Engineering (CNE), Center for Personal Professional Development (CPPD), Naval Special Warfare Preparatory School Great Lakes (NSWPS) and Center for Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Diving Great Lakes (CEODD).
    Commanding Officer, Capt. Peter R. Lintner, a former limited duty officer is a graduate of the Operations Specialist "A" School himself, he has a personal viewpoint on student life at TSC for a CO.
    "TSC provides well trained, motivated sailors to the fleet. Our sailors know how and why to give back to the community; they understand basic seamanship, how to stand duty and how to conduct themselves," Linter said. "We provide sailors who are ready to enter 'C' school or to enter the fleet and perform the basic functions of their rate."
    Students may be in a pipeline to study fire control systems, electronics technician, machinist's mate or gunner's mate curriculum. But from navy divers to boatswains mates, they all start out the same:  indoctrination.
    Departing RTC, sailors board a white Navy bus in the afternoon just hours after graduation from recruit training. Loaded down with seabags and a large manila envelope with their orders, these former civilians, now full-fledged sailors, head off to the next stage of their training at TSC. 
    With approximately 95 percent being "A" school students, they account for the largest population of students arriving directly from boot camp.
    The first day of the five-day indoctrination class includes meeting the commanding officer, command master chief and other various department chiefs.  The curriculum defines the "professional sailor," what's expected and who to ask for guidance.
    "It's wonderful to be able to look out and see the future of our Navy," said Student Indoctrination Division Officer Sandy Lopes. "One thing I try to do during these classes is to make sure that it's a positive experience for the students. First impressions really do go a long way."
    Next, is a intensive, two-day training session that starts the orientation process and begins before sailors move on to their apprenticeship training. The program ensures an understanding and compliance of pertinent military regulations and policies, and a background in many naval subjects.
    During this time, staff members cover core topics such as BEQ regulations, zero tolerance policies, sexual harassment and assault, deployment, fraternization, suicide prevention, time management and stress control. Instructors not only instruct the class, but provide the leadership and counseling needed, becoming the positive role models.
    Finally, students attend a two-day Personal Financial Management (PFM) class that gives them a number of basic money management tools. The curriculum covers pay and allowances, insurance plans, bank and savings accounts, credit and the importance of one's overall credit picture.
    "Students leave here feeling a little less overwhelmed, and have a better understanding of what is expected from them during their time here," Lopes said.
    The young sailors are now prepared to continue their technical or specialty training, both with TSC and their designated learning site.
    A student's initial exposure to TSC is generally the command's professional staff of instructors.  Starting with the indoc class, taught by civilian government employees and contractors as well as active-duty Navy personnel, maintain the discipline required in every leaning venue the command conducts.
    Military instructors, known as Navy Military Training Instructors (NMTI), may work in classroom environments, or may be assigned to one of the command's bachelor enlisted quarters (BEQ) known as "ships" that are named after combatant Navy vessels. Together, all the instructors continue the work started in RTC, designed to continue the "sailorization" process.
    The TSC staff ensures students maintain high standards of personal and military conduct while simultaneously acquiring the technical knowledge and skills necessary to perform effectively once they are in the fleet. They maintain an environment that fosters personal and professional excellence while infusing sailors with esprit de corps and a sense of self-worth. 
    Instructors also provide strong mentoring in personal and professional issues while maintaining a high level of military decorum within the facilities they manage.
    The largest portion of training provided by TSC is performed by the NMTI's themselves who wear many different hats each day.
    FC1(SW/AW) William Stanford, barracks leading petty officer aboard USS Cole (BEQ 6301) said, "I view my role as an extremely important one because once outside the rigid structure of boot camp, a new accession sailor's needs for direction increases due to the liberties, freedoms, and temptations that the sailor now faces."
    The life of a NMTI requires them to impart their knowledge and skills on to a new generation of sailors, whether it's technical training or just the wisdom that comes with age. 
    "I believe that the only separation between an NMTI and a technical instructor is the write up of their job description," Stanford added. "An instructor in the schoolhouse has the same goal as an NMTI in the barracks ... send the best possible sailor out to the fleet."
    With the barracks broken up into "Blue Fleet" and "Gold Fleet," each barracks ship has a leading chief petty officer (LCPO) and leading petty officer (LPO) who run the building like a command afloat.  Under their guidance, the ship's office, manned by TSC staff members and a number of student yeoman, who deal with leave requests, transfers, checks-ins, and other personnel issues on a daily basis.
    "A lot of times the staff to student ratio is 1 to 50 which stretches us very thin," said NMTI ET1(SW) Nathaniel A. Roach. "We have to be fact finders and subject matter experts at all times. We walk the deckplates once an hour, counsel students, answer e-mails, lead a cleaning party, volunteer with the community, complete college classes, and remain active in the division, department, and command.
    "We have to ensure the students feel comfortable enough with us to come to us with their problems, yet we must always be loyal to our sailors and never steer them wrong."
    This is part one of a two-part feature — Ed.