acclimating to NAVY life.

[Cora 8_5]

hi i'm new to this board and need support.

just want to introduce myself.

i'm older, divorced with young family, and in relationship with officer in NAVY (also divorced). we want to marry soon.

know nothing about NAVY life, but have background in ARMY. (GO ARMY!!) LOL

so, any pearls of wisdom you want to offer, ropes, manuals you might recommend to my family, are welcome. also any OPSEC sources that are good for a newbie are welcome.

thanks a bunch.

margaret

[sailorwifenmom]

Hi, and welcome :-) 

One thing I would encourage you to do is to take a COMPASS class once you get married.  No matter how old you are, or how long you've been married to your Sailor, you can still learn a lot from this program - it's great :-)  I would also look into getting a copy of Sea Legs - it used to be a book, now you can get it on a disk (I don't know if it's still available as a book or not).  It's got a lot of great info in there for spouses :-)

As far as OPSEC goes, if you have facebook, the Navy has an OPSEC page --- http://www.facebook.com/NavalOPSEC

Also, once you are married, you can have an account with NKO (Navy Knowledge Online).  It's not just for the military members - spouses and even children of Navy can have accounts with them, too.  They have LOTS of great info (and even books to read, etc) that cover a wide range of topics - some are things that family members could be interested in, others, not so much...  They have some great things on OPSEC and PERSEC there, and if you get orders to go overseas, you can do your anti-terrorism brief through their site.

As a former CT married to a CT, with a son who was going to be a CT and is now going to IS school (all of these are in the intel field), I can't stress enough though - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't fall into the trap of thinking you can come up with a cute or cool code with your Sailor to pass dates and info back and forth via email or the computer.  Our military pays a lot of very smart people a lot of money to "read the mail" so to speak of the enemy, and they do the same to us.  Those codes can and will be broken.  I'm NOT trying to say you all would do this, but a lot of spouses and their Sailors do this, and it can cause a lot of problems. 

As far as words of wisdom, just know that you can do this - just keep a sense of humor, stay flexible, and stay open to new things, and remember we are all in the same boat.  It doesn't matter if your Sailor is the most senior officer on bridge or the most junior enlisted swabbing the decks - in the end, we are all family members standing there on the shore saying goodbye to a person we love.  Connect with the other families, and it will go by a lot easier when they're gone.

OH - something I would be sure to do, if I were you - since you are divorced with kids, then if I were you, I would make extra sure with your lawyers that your custody and divorce papers say that it's ok for you to leave the State / country with the kids if / when your Sailor gets transferred.  I have seen and known a lot of Navy families that have had some serious problems with this - the mom has custody, she's married to a Sailor, things are great until it's time to transfer, then the ex starts throwing up roadblocks so they can't leave the State with the kids, and now the Sailor has to go on ahead, and the spouse and kids stay behind to deal with it all. 

Anyway, hope this answers some of the questions you asked and hope it helps some!

[sailorwifenmom]

Oh - something else on the OPSEC thing - I don't know if you've seen this before.  It's a silly spoof on Green Eggs and Ham, but it really does have a lot of good info in it...

I am Sam.
Sam I am.
Do you like OPSEC and ham?
I do not get it, Sam I am.
I do not get OPSEC and ham.
We must use it here and there.
We must use it everywhere.
You CAN share it in a car.
But you CANNOT in a bar.
You CANNOT share it in a text.
You CANNOT share it at the NEX.
You CAN say it in your house.
But should NOT tell a random spouse.
You CAN say it in the shower.
But do NOT go sharing at happy hour.
DON'T make the Ombudsman sweat.
DON'T post it on the internet.
You CANNOT share it in a tweet.
That would not be very sweet.
Beware of Facebook and Myspace too.
It's tempting to let your feelings through.
You Cannot tell it to a friend.
NOT even at the very end.
It is a privilege to know a date.
DON'T tell ANYONE or they may be late!
Oh, I get it, Sam I am.
Now I get OPSEC and ham!
I will not tell anyone. I will keep hushed until they're done!
I will not tell him or her. I will not tell my dog with fur.
I will not tell my child's teacher. I will not tell any creature.
Thank you, THANK YOU, Sam I am.
Thank you for clearing up OPSEC and Ham!!!