Not sure how it works!

[nightingale cvn72]

My husband just got orders to a carrier and either he is horrible about giving me information or they aren't giving him any. We are trying to figure out how communication works during deployments. He has a three month deployment in about a month. Can he take a computer? Is there internet on the ship? Skype or emails? What about phone calls? I keep getting different information, very frustrating. Thank you in advance for your help! :)

[Anti M]

He can take a laptop, but can't get online with it; it would be for his own entertainment.  The ship has computers, so he can send and receive emails.  All emails are screened, so keep them PG and free of sensitive information!  The computers are always very busy, and he will be too, and the whole system gets shut down for operational purposes.  So  you could be emailing every day, then nothing for a week or two!  No skype at sea, no matter what you see in that ad on TV.

Phone calls will be rare.  He can pay to use the satellite phone, but it is expensive, busy, and not always available.  He can call from port, be sure he has an international calling card, activated and ready.  

Have you join the Family Readiness Group and made contact with the ombudsman?  That will be your best source of information.

[meagan5220]

On top of what Anti M said some ports have an MWR on base that has computers where they can skype. Some commands even do VTC which is a secure version of skype but you have to go to base or another designated location for a secure connection. My husbands ship will open up skype on the ship when they are in ports sometimes if they base doesnt have it. The connection is typically horrible. Phone calls are expensive from the ship its about 50 cents a minute. They can buy calling cards on the ship. I would suggest getting the 14 digit PIN from him and calling and adding minutes when he needs them instead of relying on more calling cards being available. specially around holidays they will run out. most carriers are banned from fb, which if his is make sure to tell him not to get on it if he finds a way around it. People do and if they get caught they will loose emails or shut communication down for the whole ship. He can get phones in  ports that will work in a few I think like Bahrain, Dubai and those areas.

 

What is your command? Maybe I can point you in the right direction for ombudsmans. Welcome to carrier life and make sure to update on OPSEC :)

[meagan5220]

oh ps while they might be holding out on info... sometimes they really just dont know lol

[nightingale cvn72]

Well that's not much contact :(  But its better than nothing. Is there a way to send him a care package or anything? He is going to be on the USS Abraham Lincoln. What is OPSPEC? Thank you both for the help!!

[meagan5220]

o.O really? Thats the ship my husband is attached too! dont worry its hard but almost over, but there are lots of other women in the same situation. :) we all help each other out. Yes you can send care packages! They will help him a lot! You can google the address for the ship but I would wait until he has a for sure address bc if not it takes foreverrrrrrrr to get to him bc they ahve to look up where he is and thats a pain. He will also be assigned an email address. Right now we are on deployment and have been for just over 5 months. Do you know if he is attached to the ship or a squadron? If its with the ship tbh you have gotten veryyyyyy lucky. The ship will be in drydock for years. The deployment should have been over 2 weeks ago but we got two extensions. What is his job?

 

OPSEC is BEYOND important especially with this ship right now. OPSEC is Operation Security. Pretty much do not tell anyone anything about the ship's movements or dates or anything other than basic stuff except in person. Not over phone, email, facebook anything. Our ship has had quite a few issues and the spouses have all been warned if more violations happen we will see another extension and not know about anymore dates. So just please be sure you do not post any dates, any speculation about what you think the ship might or not be doing, or where it might or might not be going. Not on here, on fb, or on any other website. Emails are also not protected. Also not over the phone, via text or snail mail. I would say set up a code if anything. but do be very careful. But the only source of information date wise, should be your sailor until its officially released.

 

 When does he report to the ship? Well he will actually probably report to Norfolk if he is ship's company or to a few other places if he is with a squadron, then they will decide if and when they will fly him out to the ship.  Are you going to move while he is deployed or wait? Sorry for all the questions but since my husband is with the same command I can help you out :)

[nightingale cvn72]

We did get really lucky, when they said dry dock I was on cloud nine!! I am moving down to Virginia right around June 13th. Right now I'm in Chicago because he's in Aschool here. He gets leave on the 6th. I have no "home" or anything tying me in a specific area so I go where ever my sailor goes.  Hes an operation specialist. I believe he has to report to the Norfolk command sometime between the 19th and the 21st, though I'm not sure when he will be sent to the ship. All I know is what port they are meeting the ship in. I'm so happy to hear from another wife who's husband is on the Lincoln. I'm so nervous. I'm so new I have no idea how the Navy works yet, I'm still a wife in training lol. My brother-in-law was on a sub so his wife stressed how important security was, I just didn't know it was called OPSEC. We went out a few weeks ago and bought droids so we could have skype on our phones, though I'm not sure if verizon gets signal anywhere but the US? But atleast it will pick up wifi. Are you down in Virginia now?

[meagan5220]

oh yea! The only thing that could possibly happen is if he doesnt have enough time to get anything done he needs to they might send him out to another ship to get it done later on down the road but he should have time to get it all finished up before they get back I would imagine.

 

oh ya from your timeline I bet I know which port he will meet them in and when abouts. Yea Norfolk is huge! thats for sure! but its nice. :) there really are tonsss of wives with this command.. which you would expect from a carrier lol! well I sort of got the hang of it so I will help ya out the best I can! And the ladies here help me fill in blanks all the time. yea OPSEC is a huge issue with our ship.. apparently keep your damn mouth shut doesn get through to some of these women. One girl even tagged the ship when it was coming home from an underway saying how many days it would be home in. We got lucky it didnt get extended for that.

 

yea he should be able to get wifi over there if not they have places he can skype from the base. actually he wont even get the opportunity to skype ya that much since they are wrapping the deployment up... lol but he will get an email address assigned to him he cant use regular ones, Phones are pretty good this deployment sound wise which is good there is a delay so be patient lol!

 

yes I am already in VA I moved down here mid march. Luckily you will be coming down right at prime time bc its PCS season around these parts lol. Lots of people are up and leaving. 5 houses for rent in my neighborhood... and thats just the 3 streets by me... doesnt even count going farther out. Are you looking at base housing or no? Be warned that for BAH they are going off or Newport News not Norfolk as of August at the moment. They are working on it to get Norfolk instead (Norfolk is 1365 or something and Newport News is like 1206 so a big difference). So if you live somewhere more expensive you will have to absorb that cost. I chose to live on the Newport News side since thats where we will be the longest but he could get temp duty somewhere else. I actually live in Hampton and like it better.

[meagan5220]

also if you are on facebook you can start following the ships fb page and also add the ombudsmans if you want. I have them all added I dont talk to them that often but its always nice to know them in case anything happens. Make sure you get a POA :) especially if you dont get housing done before he leaves!

[meagan5220]

btw thats probably why he isnt getting much information. Its all been a crazy hot mess and up in the air. and they have been trying to keep information under wraps considering how many wives have decided OPSEC is pointless and nothing to worry about. (which isnt true btw) also please please remember PERSEC too. personal security. Be careful about what you post and letting too much information out.

[Arcadia]

My boyfriend is deployed on a sub right now, but on a note on communication in port, if he has a smart phone he can download Skype and call either your cell phone directly for about 2 cents per minute or he can call you on your own Skype account for free. You can get Skype on computers, phones, tablets, pretty much anything. My boyfriend being able to call this way instead of waiting for a pay phone to open up has about tripled the number of calls I can be in port, and they aren't limited in time like a lot of base phones are. Usually hotels will have wifi and he can call you from that as long as he has Skype. If this is what you choose to do, I suggest setting up both your and his accounts and buying Skype credits BEFORE he leaves. My boyfriend spent a couple of very frustrated hours dealing with laggy wifi and trying to set it all up to call me the first time. It is so worth it though. 4 calls from port is so much better than one. Being able to call from his hotel also gives you a little privacy, totally different from the rest of your communications. Also, he tells me they can get email a lot more often than they can send it, so don't get discouraged. If its the same way on a carrier, he will love every one you send. I haven't gotten anything in over three weeks, but I still do my best to send him something light and sweet every day. In addition to watching OPSEC make sure you keep it positive, they won't send it through if it has any really upsetting news because it could affect his job performance. It will be ok, and everyone here will be more than happy to give you a little pep talk when the days get long between emails!

[meagan5220]

good tip on the skype Arcadia! typically communication is a little better on carriers just bc there are sooo many computers and computers in a lot of shops. but also depends on their jobs. Also going off the email thing. sometimes if they dont answer an email dont assume they are ignoring it. For carriers at least sometimes when email is down they dont get through! lol one time I thought my husband was ignoring an important question and it never got through lol :) also the Lincoln can recieve pictures butt just know anything you send will be seen by people. So nothing inapproriate not only is that something I dont want anyone else seeing but in addition it can get him in trouble and I have heard of a ship that got in trouble for wives sending so many not ok pictures they turned all email off for the whole ship. :) just a heads up. :) I def keep it positive but I do tell him little things that went wrong just bc if I pretend everything is always perfect he knows I am lying lol! so I throw things in there, and if I absolutely have to tell him anything big I would have him call me.

 

[Anti M]

Because skype uses the data, it is definitely cheaper or free.  Regular phone calls on Verizon from other countries can be crushingly expensive.  We bought a special plan when we traveled to Mexico because it was cheaper than a single call, when we went to Canada, we just turned the phones off completely.   Be sure he knows what the roaming charges are.... it adds up fast.