Staying in contact

[becky]

Hi. My son has only been in the Navy for 7 months. He left last week to go overseas. He'll be deployed soon. How do i stay in contact with him? Are they allowed a cell phone on their ship?

[Anti M]

Cell phones won't work at sea. No transmission towers. He can use it in port, but most of the guys I know suspend their plans while they're deployed. They use calling cards on pay phones. Make sure he writes down phone numbers on a piece of paper; cell phones that don't have access to their network cannot show him the contact list!

He can have a laptop on the ship, but cannot use it to send emails. He can do that on the shared ship computers. These emails are not very private (screened for OPSEC), and may pile up when there is no signal.

Snail mail is good, but very, very slow. And iffy, it can get lost at sea. Never mail anything expensive or important to a ship.

There will be weeks when you will not be able to make contact except through official channels for emergencies.

[amanda nevius]

he should have a ship email if he doesnt have one yet have him talk to his chain of command or you may be able to get it from his recruiter

[becky]

Thanks.Ladies. My son will be out to sea on his birthday. Could i send him a box of homemade cookies.

[Anti M]

You certainly may send cookies, but be aware the packages can take weeks to arrive. Normal packing will not keep them fresh and uncrumbled. They should be sealed tight, with no wiggle room. Even then, they may not make it in one piece. A friend one mine told me to never send chocolate or fudge, all he'd get on his end was a gooey mess.

Be aware that the ship email is not available at all times. There will be times when there is no signal, when the server is down, or when the ship is running silent with no incoming or outgoing signals... many, many reasons for it to be active only part of the deployment.

[KYmom]

I have found that on a ship it takes anywhere up to 3 weeks for them to receive a box. (some have taken longer).
My son is just finishing his deployment. The start and end of deployment is harder for them to receive and send. The fastest box he received was 8 days. The big flat rate box is the best value.