Preparing for daughter to go to Japan...HELP, please

[Mooselover (GW Mom)]

So, trying to figure out all bunch of different things for my daughter's orders to Japan. She will be at Yokosuka and be assigned to the USS GW. What kind of things should we have shipped over there? What kind of place will she be living in?? We we will only have 10-12 days from the time she leaves a-school until she departs for Japan. Any advice on everything and anything would be great.

[Donna AKA Hunter's Mom]

Will she be on the ship full time or with an air squadron and be staying in housing when not on deployment??

The reason I as is if on the ship full time, she will be very limited for space to store much of anything, and there is an exchange there for her to pick up the basic needs items. My son was in housing in Atsugi beings he was with an air squadron assigned to the GW,  while there he had a lazy boy chair!

Also she might be limited on what she can take with flying over. And packages mailed take 10 days to 2 weeks to get there. I had one package with my sons birthday goodies in it come back to me in the states after 9 months!! And we frequently had single envelopes that he never got. So bulk rate postal boxes are best.

Ask your daughter if they have told her what to expect...

And Skype calls will be your best thing ever!!! Then you can see her face :-) And talk!!!

 

[Blondie]

if she's on ship there is not much room at all, just send her uniforms and long underwear and a couple changes of street clothes, you can mail her the rest, as needed.  if she lives off base it's a different story but they have to haul all there stuff back and forth.  I beleive they have to be an E5 to live off base.

 

[NavyMomx2]

I will see if I can get info from my daughter (not sure how soon it will be - could take a few days until I hear from her).  It has been 2 years already since she went to Japan.  Your daughter should have received some guidance on what to take (i.e. uniforms, civilian clothing, etc.).  When the GW is in port, your daughter will have a barracks room that I believe she'll share with another sailor.  I actually didn't go into my daughter's barracks room when I was in Yokosuka but I've seen photos.  It's fine.  But for the moment, the most important focus should be what your daughter needs to take with her when she travels.  If she has a laptop, she can take it.  There is a nice Exchange at Yokosuka and a commissary.  Again, I'll check with my daughter to find out if she has any advice to pass along.

[Anti M]

In addition to long johns, go out and buy a good selection of bras.  The NEX runs short on some sizes, and the ones offbase are just not going to fit well.  While she can mail order bras, shipping can be expensive and take too long.

 

Don't ship a thing until she finds out more about her living space.  Berthing aboard the ship is shared, crowded, and there is theft.  Bring a lock!  If she's in the barracks temporarily, she'll still need a lock for her locker.

[NavyMomx2]

My daughter just informed that you should not ship anything.  Your daughter needs to take her full seabag and if she wants her own sheets, they have to be white.   She should take some civiliana clothes but not much. The rack on the ship is the same size as the rack at boot camp.  Also, I would assume that your daughter may receive further guidance on her travel and what to take or not take.  The only thing I've shipped in 2 years is a care package now and then.  Hope this helps.

[Mooselover (GW Mom)]

Thanks everyone!!

[BADma]

Mooselover... Hopefully before your daughter leaves A School,she will be given the name  of her sponsor.This is a sailor in Japan that she can email and ask other questionsas well. My son had a sponsor with whom he communicated.Of course my son didn't tell me anymore than hat. Oh,my son was  advised to wear civilian clothes on the flight to Japan and not having anything denoting military. He had bought a big rolling blue digi suitcase at the NEX in GL.He left that here and took one of our rolling suitcases. I believe he was told to only have 3 pieces of luggage. He had his suitcase,seabag, and a backpack.

[randy'smom]

Hi there! My son just went to Japan 2 wks ago. He will be on the USS GW also. I have been able to communicate with him freq. either by phone or facebook. He is happy over there, but of course misses his girlfriend. I would love to make the trip to see him sometime, so I really enjoy reading the posts from other mom's that have been there. It helps me feel connected to my son. I miss him so much!! Do you think you will visit your daughter at some point?? I love learning about Japan and where my son is living. He has posted pictures on facebook!  Good luck to your daughter.Hope to stay in touch.

[davesmom]

hi Randy'smom, my son will be leaving soon to go to Yokosuka.  How are you communicating with him by phone.  There seems to be so many options that I am a little confused about what is best.  Can you text him? What kind of phone does he have?

[Pamela]

My son will be going to Misawa Air Force Base for his 3 year shore duty in Nov.  But, he has been in contact with his sponsor.  He is learning lots of information from him.  Very informative.  He will be flying on AMC flight from Seattle.  Best advise is to have her contact the sponsor as much as possible.  I feel a lot better when my son tells us all the info he is getting.

[jsrmom]

Hi Pamela, I was just looking for information on my son too when I noticed your son is going to Misawa AFB.  My son leaves Nov 30th for Misawa, but only for 6 months. He is currently stationed in Jacksonville, on short duty, but this is his first deployment.  He has been in the Navy for 2 yrs so he is excited to finally go somewhere.  He joined to navy to see the world and he is stationed 1 1/2 hours from home.  What is your son's rate? Mine is ATI, works on the P3's. He has a few people from his shop that will be going as well so at least he will know someone.  He was told he will be living in a hotel or the Navy Lodge while there.  Kind of strange but whatever.   I was looking for information on cell phones and such, so if you get any info on that I would love to hear about it.

[sailorwifenmom]

Pamela and Jsrmom,

While your Sailors are here, I would encourage them to go to the Hachinhoe Fish Market - it's really a sight to see!