Comment

Comment by Bandmom on March 20, 2018 at 12:20pm

 wow Tammy D, that is exciting!  Haven't heard a thing since my son left, he told us we probably wouldn't for at least a week.  The experiences that are sailors are having are remarkable.  So proud of all of them.

Comment by Bandmom on March 20, 2018 at 12:14pm

Isb,  Your daughter should get some sort of leave before she leaves for Japan.  Even if only for a week.  Lets hope she gets some good news soon.  My son ended up not getting leave, but says before the Big Deployment coming this fall he will get two weeks.

Comment by lsb on March 19, 2018 at 4:28pm

My daughter who is being stationed in Japan is still on hold in the Great Lakes due to lost paper work.  She was planning on coming home before she leaves but mentioned to me today that she still won't know anything until Friday, hopefully.  She was told she would be able to come home but not sure now. Looks like if I want to see her I will have to get myself to LA in hopes that I can see her before her plane leaves.  So very disappointed and sad.  Not being able to see her before she goes so far away and for so long is devastating to me.  Praying for strength. 

Comment by Tammy D on March 17, 2018 at 1:48pm

I keep telling myself that-no news is good news! He posted something on Facebook the other day about seeing F18s fly by because his ship was near a carrier. He was pretty excited about that! I'm so excited that he is having these experiences, and am so proud of him! This deployment is supposed to end mid-June. Not sure what will happen after that. 

Comment by Bandmom on March 16, 2018 at 1:12pm

Tammy D.  My son is going to be going through some short deployments soon.  I have asked him get me signed up with the Ombudsman, not sure if he has or not.  I will keep after him because this fall he will be be being deployed for at least 8 months.  Stay strong.  No news is good news I guess.

Comment by Tammy D on March 14, 2018 at 3:19pm

My son left about a week ago for his first deployment. He is on a destroyer that had already left on its deployment while he was in A school, so after he finished he was on hold in San Diego for a while until they could coordinate his travel to meet up with the ship. We have just now started getting emails from him (he is using his personal email account-not a navy issued one), and he sounds like he's adjusting well. When we hadn't heard from him, I contacted the ombudsman for his ship, and she got back to me right away. She told me my son has to fill out some form that has our names on it, so she knows it's okay to release information to us. She mentioned something about a newsletter and stuff, so it will be interesting to see what that is about. It's weird not knowing where he is, but I'm thankful that (so far) we've been able to touch base via email. It's better than snail mail! 

Comment by Bandmom on February 22, 2018 at 9:40am

Navymom2014 and GeorgiaGirl,  Thank you for the info.  I appreciate it.  I am trying to be strong and upbeat for him.  He is loving the Navy.  Hard to believe he hasn't even been in 1 year, and he is already a Petty Officer, done with school and being deployed next week.  We had very little time with him, because his A School just got done as well.   Thank you for being there.

Comment by Georgia Girl on February 21, 2018 at 10:12pm

Bandmom-When my son is on deployment (which is right now) I also check a website called DVIDS.  It's a site where pictures from all branches are posted.  I search for his ship and a bunch of pictures will come up.  You can search by date to find the most recent pictures.  This is how I kept up with his ship on the last deployment.  When I didn't hear from him I sometimes could find out where they were or where they had been from the pictures on this site.  On his last deployment I found out his ship was participating in a huge war games off the coast of Australia.  They weren't even supposed to be there, but were sent at the last minute.  He loved Australia.  Hang in there, we are here if you need us.

Comment by Alejandra on February 21, 2018 at 4:54pm

Good Luck to your Sailor! I got in touch with the Ombudsman thru the Facebook Page, and ever since I get detailed emails,  letting us know what's going on in the ship, and our sailors.

Good luck Bandmom

Comment by NavyMom2014 on February 21, 2018 at 4:05pm

Bandmom, When they are out on patrol, I will usually hear from my son when they are in a port somewhere.  He always calls to let me know what new and cool country they are in now...I swear, it is just to rub it in.  My son does not have a POA filled out.  He says they are more for the people who have families (wives) of their own and own property that they have where ever they are stationed.  That way if a decision needs to be made regarding said property, while the sailor is deployed, there is someone with the power to make those decisions. 

You can send letters, cards and care packages and if they are deployed, whatever mail they receive will catch up to them at some point.  

The first deployment is the hardest on Mom.  You will spend nights up all night wondering where they are and what they are doing.  One small thing I recommend is to get on his ship's facebook page.  You can also join the fleet facebook page.  It is a day behind whenever updates are posted as to what they are doing and where they are or have been, but that is because of OPSEC.  Sometimes it will only come up and say the are in the Med, but at least I know the ship is still afloat.

I don't know anything about the Ombudsman thing.  Sorry.

Another small piece of whatever you want to call it, or just a heads up...deployments don't get any easier.  The next one my son goes on is his 5th, I believe, and I still worry and still hate the fact that I can't pick up the phone or just message him to ask how he is doing.  You just kind of learn to accept the fact that he will call when he can and trust and pray and pray and pray.  We have gone as long as 6 weeks, on his last patrol, before we heard from him.  I have also learned to cry when I need to, whether it's just a picture that shows up on something or a song or just something funny that I remember.  

Last thing, you will learn to never make plans regarding your son.  Everything happens on "Navy time" which is subject to change at any moment.

I don't know if I helped at all, but let me know if there is anything else.

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• …
• 174
• Next ›
• Page