This site is for mothers of kids in the U.S. Navy and for Moms who have questions about Navy life for their kids.

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FOLLOW THESE STEPS TO GET STARTED:

Choose your Username.  For the privacy and safety of you and/or your sailor, NO LAST NAMES ARE ALLOWED, even if your last name differs from that of your sailor (please make sure your URL address does not include your last name either).  Also, please do not include your email address in your user name. Go to "Settings" above to set your Username.  While there, complete your Profile so you can post and share photos and videos of your Sailor and share stories with other moms!

Make sure to read our Community Guidelines and this Navy Operations Security (OPSEC) checklist - loose lips sink ships!

Join groups!  Browse for groups for your PIR date, your sailor's occupational specialty, "A" school, assigned ship, homeport city, your own city or state, and a myriad of other interests. Jump in and introduce yourself!  Start making friends that can last a lifetime.

Link to Navy Speak - Navy Terms & Acronyms: Navy Speak

All Hands Magazine's full length documentary "Making a Sailor": This video follows four recruits through Boot Camp in the spring of 2018 who were assigned to DIV 229, an integrated division, which had PIR on 05/25/2018. 

Boot Camp: Making a Sailor (Full Length Documentary - 2018)

Boot Camp: Behind the Scenes at RTC

...and visit Navy.com - America's Navy and Navy.mil also Navy Live - The Official Blog of the Navy to learn more.

OPSEC - Navy Operations Security

Always keep Navy Operations Security in mind.  In the Navy, it's essential to remember that "loose lips sink ships."  OPSEC is everyone's responsibility. 

DON'T post critical information including future destinations or ports of call; future operations, exercises or missions; deployment or homecoming dates.  

DO be smart, use your head, always think OPSEC when using texts, email, phone, and social media, and watch this video: "Importance of Navy OPSEC."

Follow this link for OPSEC Guidelines:

OPSEC GUIDELINES

Events

**UPDATE 4/26/2022** Effective with the May 6, 2022 PIR 4 guests will be allowed.  Still must be fully vaccinated to attend.

**UPDATE as of 11/10/2022 PIR vaccination is no longer required.

**UPDATE 7/29/2021** You now must be fully vaccinated in order to attend PIR:

In light of observed changes and impact of the Coronavirus Delta Variant and out of an abundance of caution for our recruits, Sailors, staff, and guests, Recruit Training Command is restricting Pass-in-Review (recruit graduation) to ONLY fully immunized guests (14-days post final COVID vaccination dose).  

FOLLOW THIS LINK FOR UP TO DATE INFO:

RTC Graduation

**UPDATE 8/25/2022 - MASK MANDATE IS LIFTED.  Vaccinations still required.

**UPDATE 11/10/22 PIR - Vaccinations no longer required.

RESUMING LIVE PIR - 8/13/2021

Please note! Changes to this guide happened in October 2017. Tickets are now issued for all guests, and all guests must have a ticket to enter base. A separate parking pass is no longer needed to drive on to base for parking.

Please see changes to attending PIR in the PAGES column. The PAGES are located under the member icons on the right side.

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Navy Speak

Click here to learn common Navy terms and acronyms!  (Hint:  When you can speak an entire sentence using only acronyms and one verb, you're truly a Navy mom.)

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Navy.com Para Familias

Visite esta página para explorar en su idioma las oportunidades de educación y carreras para sus hijos en el Navy. Navy.com

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I have read previous comments regarding this topic on this group but they were from back in 2018. Is the best way to go for cell phone usage in Sasebo to use Softbank and put his verizon Iphone on a freeze until his deployment is over? We are new to all of this and I was doing some research for hiim when I came across this older info. Is the same still true? Also, what video/messaging apps will work best on his Softbank phone? TIA!!

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Aggiemom2020 - my son wasn't in Japan but when he did deploy we used the WhatsApp to communicate.  Hopefully someone else will chime in with better info for you though.

My daughter-in-law is from Sasebo, Japan and talks to her family every week.  They use an APP called 'LINE'.  But you could use others like 'WhatsAPP', DUO, etc.  I like DUO.

Your sailor needs to put his U.S. cell phone service on a military hold.  Check out how long the hold lasts and how to continue it when it expires.  See if he can let you speak for him on the account.  My sailor had TMobile and they let him turn on his service when he visited home and put it back on hold when he left.

Your sailor can get a new cell phone and service in Japan.  They will help with the contract on base.  It is best for him to ask when he gets there.  Every new sailor has the same needs.  Number one is always the phone.

Let me know if you have any questions about Sasebo and I will ask my daughter-in-law. 

My son left Sasebo a little over a year ago now so some of this might be old. I agree with Kim, ask during the orientation. They can probably give current advice. I did ask my son your question and he said that there is a Softbank kiosk on base so that is really easy. Softbank only has iPhones (or did as of a year ago). My kid wanted an android phone and lived off base so he went with AU which he got in town. Data on the plans is limited there and expensive (his words, I don't know how it compares). As he was leaving Japan, AU started offering an unlimited plan again. No idea again how the price compares. If your son will have access to wifi reguarly, he may not need much in the way of actual data. You might also see if his phone is unlocked or could be unlocked. He might be able to just use his phone and get a local sim card. My son and his GF said that was possible but I thought that Japan was particular about using overseas electronics long term in Japan. So I wouldn't count on that, just a backup plan if he has a  phone he likes and wants to investigate that option when he gets there. Having his US phone work for a few days when he first gets here is a nice backup in case he needs to reach out to someone regarding the bus from the airport to Sasebo, etc. We activated pay by the day (if he used it, was $10 for the next 24 hours or something like that) rather than buying a ~30 day international plan ahead of time. In the end, I think he needed to use it 1 day, cheaper than the 30 day plan. That was on ATT.

Whatsapp, Facetime (iphone), Facebook Messenger, Duo should all work for chatting and messenging. So nice to have options.

We visited our son in the fall of 2019. Traveling from Toyko to Sasebo via train for a week. We then spent another week in Sasebo. What a beautiful place. The farther south, the more green and beautiful it seem to get. Best of luck to your son!

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