ANY advice will be greatly appreciated!

[Navy_Wife 914 (Ship 09, Div 330)]

Hello!    I'm new to this site and also to the Navy/Military life.  My husband leaves for boot camp August 9th, 2011.  We have a 2 year old daughter (3 in sept.)  I am very nervous to be away from him and even more nervous for my daughter, because shes too young to understand what is going on, but old enough to realize her daddy isn't here.  I don't really know how any of this works. So if anyone has any advice for me or my husband it will be greatly appreciated.  If you could tell me what to expect, when I will receive our housing allowance and payments or anything about A school.  His rank will be an Aviation Boatswaine  Mate (fuels) I heard it is a very hard job with long hours and alot of work. If anyone has any advice or knows anything about what to expect please let me know! Thank you in advance!

[Gulf Coast Mom]

You can go to build a bear and get her a stuffed bear with a sailor uniform to cuddle with.  Or get a picture of him printed on a pillowcase for her to sleep with or hug when she is missing her daddy. You can also make a paper chain for the number of days he will be gone and tear one down each day so she can see that it is getting closer to time to see him. Have him record himself reading several books before he goes that you can play back to her.

 

 

[Craig]

Being a ABF he will hear himself being called a "Grape".  The reason is the shirt he must wear is purple, which tells everyone that he is a fuel dude.  Everyone has a certain color on the flight deck to let everyone know why they are there and what they are doing....  The below is taken off of NavyDEP.com  

 

From:

http://www.navydep.com/forums/showthread.php?t=509

 

 

 Color-Coded Sailors: On Flight Deck, Your Shirt Says It All

What do these Sailors do? You can tell by their shirts....

When working on the flight deck of ships, everyone needs to be aware what everyones job is. So we "color code" our sailors so we can immediately know who they are and what their job is.

Color-Coded Sailors: On the Flight Deck, Your Shirt Says It All


Only flight deck workers wear jerseys, long-sleeve cotton shirts to protect from the heat and the cold. The colors are vital, identifying the job of the wearer:

Yellow: The main handlers and directors of movement on the flight deck. Nothing moves without being told to do so by a yellow shirt. The aircraft handling officer and catapult officers, as well as the air boss and mini-boss, are all yellow shirts.

Blue: Working mainly with yellow shirts, they operate different yellow gear, such as tractors and forklifts. They "chock and chain" aircraft to the flight deck or hangar deck, as well as operate aircraft elevators.

Green: Mainly the catapult and arresting crews. Photographer's mates and postal clerks also sport green jerseys when working on the flight deck.

Brown: Brown shirts are the plane captains, or "brakers" of the aircraft. They sit in the cockpit while it is being moved, braking as needed. They are in charge of making sure that all maintenance is performed prior to launch.

Purple: "Grapes," as they are affectionately referred to, or "fuelies." They refuel all aircraft and monitor all fuel supplies. There are purple shirts working seven decks below the hangar bay, on the hangar deck itself, and the flight deck.

Red: Red shirts signify ordnancemen. They load aircraft with all ordnance, missiles, mines and ammunition. They also make up the crash and salvage teams. This includes manning the flight deck fire trucks.

White: It would be fair to label white shirts as "miscellaneous." They consist of safety and medical personnel, catapult final checkers and catapult and arresting gear quality assurance inspectors. Anyone who does not normally work on the flight deck wears a white shirt on deck 
during flight operations.

 

 

[Navy_Wife 914 (Ship 09, Div 330)]

Thank you all SO much for the support and advice!  The build a bear idea is really cool. I think we will do that.. and we did record him reading books to her. I'm excited to see her reaction when she sees daddy reading to her on the tv lol. Glad to hear that you are half way there! I bet you're so excited for it to be over! How long did it take for you to find out the date of his PIR? How often do they get to write you back? I plan on writing everyday to let him know what's going on back at home.  I've been trying to prepare my daughter and i've been telling her daddy is going away for work for a little while, but he will be back as soon as he's done.  I've also been telling her that he's going away for work in the Navy, and now she keeps saying "Mommy, I want to go to the Navy with Daddy." haha its soo cute! When the BAH finally comes through, will it be one big lump sum from the time he left? And if you can find any of the coloring books or other resources, that would be awesome! Anything you have to offer will be appreciated.  When he leaves to go to boot camp should he bring stamps, paper and envelops? Or do they provide him with that? What about pictures and stuff? Can I send them in the letters and does he have somewhere to save the letters/pictures i send to him? What things should he bring with him when he goes?  What is your husbands rate and how long is his A school? Do you plan on moving with him while hes in A school? I hope you got our letter today and it made your day a little bit better! Sorry I have so many questions lol Thank you again for the advice everyone!

[Navy_Wife 914 (Ship 09, Div 330)]

Most of what you've said, i've read at one time or another.. but with the internet, you never know what is true or not.  So i've been trying not to believe everything i read on the internet lol I did NOT hear about the phone cards though. That is a really good idea, so thank you so much for that tip. I'm literally freaking out because after tonight, we only have 2 more nights left to sleep in the same bed :( I'm trying to stay strong because I don't want him to see me upset because I know it makes it harder on him when i'm down.  So he should bring his cell phone with him? I heard not to.. So will they just send his phone back in the box with his belongings? I'm wondering because he has a really expensive phone, so I don't want it to just be lost some where lol And the first call that is about 30 seconds, will be from his cell? Then after that the calls will be from the pay phones? If he doesn't bring a check for his pictures will he have another chance for me to send him one? We are actually waiting on our new checks in the mail. And I don't think they'll be here in time. We do have one saved for him to VOID for his pay.  That is awesome that the base is only a few hours away.  My husbands A school is like 18 hours away from me.  So we are gonna just have to see how long his wait is for his class to start before we decide what we are doing.  Do you have a preference on where you guys wanna get stationed?  My husband isn't close to his family but we are both VERY close to my family, so i'm hoping we won't have to move too far away, but I am trying to prepare myself mentally for that because obviously there is a chance it could happen.  That is soo nice that you write to the whole division once a week.  What type of things do you say to them when you write them? I bet they love that since some if the people don't even have family or loved ones who write to them. 

 

Thanks SO much for the links! I gotta give my daughter a bath and get her ready for bed and then i'm gonna check them out. I'm gonna print some of the pics out for her to color so she can send her daddy while hes away. Thanks for all your help! You've been a HUGE help!

[lemonelephant]

There is no chance for a phone call the next day. If the Recruit is unable to call upon arrival, the first call is in a few weeks if earned by the Division--unless the Recruit has to call to get info that is needed, such as for security reasons, and then that call is all business and supervised.

[Anti M]

He can have the cost of his pictures deducted from his pay.

[BunkerQB]

Sparkeys, great to have you pop in and answer questions. Craig, lemonelephant and I are parents - you on the other hand is living through this right now. THANK YOU. GOOD JOB. PLEASE STICK AROUND.

[BunkerQB]

You parents must be very proud of maturity you have shown in your support of your sailor. The one who is probably the most grateful is your mother in law. To have a capable, loving and supportive wife for her son is every mother's dream (those w sons). My son is getting out. I have wondered sometimes if his gf (soon to be fiancee) was more comfortable with Navy life, would he have not turned in his resignation. I would of course never express this to her or him. She has been very patient - they started going out 7 years ago and they make a fabulous couple. Moms are always thinking of job security.

[Navy_Wife 914 (Ship 09, Div 330)]

Thank you all! He left on Tuesday and I got "the box" today. And his phone was in his shoe. I was really nervous about that, so i'm glad it got home safe. I didn't expect to get the box so quick. I REALLY hope this gets easier, because right now I feel so empty and alone. And everytime my daughter asks for him it makes it 10x worse! I'm being as strong as possible, but it's easier said then done!

[JC]

I just read through your post~ I am praying for you and your little one~ Stay strong mom!~

[Navy_Wife 914 (Ship 09, Div 330)]

thanks soo much! We appreciate all the prayers we can get! It's almost been 3 weeks, so i'm counting down the days til I can see my husband again!

[BunkerQB]

Navy_Wife, did you communicate with Sparkeys?  She just disappeared. Too bad, I thought her comments were very good. When a person leaves Navy For Moms, all their comments, discussions, groups, etc. all disappears with her/him.  Hang in there.