Comment

Comment by Mary (Chris' mom) on September 9, 2013 at 8:38am

Pam, this is Chris' second assignment (his first was shore duty), and during this assignment he has been attached to 2 different ships. The first ship was part of the Atlantic Fleet and the current ship is part of the Pacific Fleet so he has had port calls in a lot of areas.

He also had some extra days built up during his first shore assignment, and took a trip organized by his MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) for relatively cheap to SE Asia. He was not impressed with what he saw in Viet Nam but would like to go back to Cambodia someday.

His big Navy dream is to get an assignment to Italy or Greece so he and his wife can visit many of the ancient sites (she was a teacher before moving to Japan with him, and he is toying with the idea of becoming a middle school history or English teacher). One of his favorite things to do in his spare time is seeing ancient palaces, temples, battlegrounds, etc. With a baby coming soon, I doubt he will have much money for roaming around ports after his current deployment is finished, so I'm thankful for the opportunities he has had up until now. 

Comment by philipmom on September 9, 2013 at 7:40am

Wow Mary!  Sounds like your son is having some awesome adventures.

: )  Pam (Philip'smom)

Comment by Mary (Chris' mom) on September 8, 2013 at 12:28pm

Philipmom, yay!!! for runs on the beach! And more importantly...pictures! How awesome! My son only showed me two pictures from DN. Both of them were of a deer eating out by the barracks that stopped to poop. He thought that was sooo funny he had to grab his phone and get pics! Silly kid. Now he takes pictures of Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, Kuwait, France.....oh I guess I'd better not forget about the elephants and monkeys in Cambodia. lol

'Sounds like your sailor is adjusting quickly. Congrats to him!

Comment by philipmom on September 8, 2013 at 12:09pm

Hello to our new IS family!  We received a pic of our son after a run on the beach yesterday evening after arriving sometime on 9/7.  We are ALL happy BC is over and looking forward to this new adventure.  Are any of you a reserves sailor's mom?  I had a few questions about IS and the reserves.  Thanks!  And thanks for the wonderful info on this site!

Comment by Mary (Chris' mom) on September 8, 2013 at 7:46am

lol Debra! We have all been there and had to have others "bear with us". Others have said that even if you are a Navy brat or a Navy spouse, or a veteran of the Navy, it's not quite the same as having a child in the Navy. It's always having to make sacrifices and adjustments. It takes time, but you will be amazed that even if your son has to move farther away, that apron string will actually get stronger as you slowly clip it.

By the way....always better to err on the side of caution, especially in this field of work. (Believe me, I must accept OPSEC every time my son answers a question. I don't know where he learned to be so tight-lipped about everything) lol That's my boy!   

Comment by DebraColesMom on September 7, 2013 at 10:26pm

Mary--thank you so very much for the info.  I cannot tell you how helpful your comment was to me.  I did not send any electronics to A-School with my son because he wasn't sure what the phase 1 restrictions would be, so we erred on the side of caution with an agreement that he would tell me when to send what.  It is hard though to still be in a situation where we don't have a convenient means of communication.  I am trying very hard to cut the apron strings and let my baby grow up knowing that Mother Navy will help keep him on the right track.

 

A big "HELLO" to everyone in this group, please bear with me while I find my way though this new experience.

Comment by Mary (Chris' mom) on September 7, 2013 at 8:28am

Debra, It will be posted (although I don't know where) who is expected to class up, when. There are usually a few days of indoc for any base he goes to. They must get paperwork to medicals, to administration, to instructors, personnel, etc. They will learn where things are on base, rules for phasing up, rules for the schoolhouse, and more about security and clearance issues. They will also begin watches, get to know their roommates, and get settled and organized for inspections. Up to now, your sailor has been with 3 trained personnel, and 87 others who are as landlocked as he has been. Now, he will be with folks who have from 1 week to several weeks more of experience and can help make the adjustments easier. They also tend to watch out for each other because a messy desk by one, means all the roomies fail inspection. They will begin to help each other in class as well. They Navy really drills in the concept of teamwork and it becomes very important as they go through school. As one roommate graduates and moves on to C school or to the fleet, a newer person will take their place and it will be time for your son to help them along. They are kids, but quickly becoming adults.

I always looked at it from the safety of my sailor...if he was at bc or at school, he was safe on US soil with a lot of trained people around him...If the Navy wanted to pay him for a year before he classed up that was fine with me! (It only took just over a week for him to class up)  :-(

Congratulations on getting yourself a US Navy sailor and soon to be IS!

Comment by DebraColesMom on September 6, 2013 at 11:04pm

My son graduated from bc today, and flies out for Dam Neck first thing in the AM tomorrow.  He said his orders state that his duty (not sure if that's the right word for it) doesn't begin until 9/16.  Does that mean that's how long he has to wait to class up?

Comment by Mary (Chris' mom) on September 5, 2013 at 10:19am

pmass, lol...bc is harder on the families than school. They will admit that school is really tough but at least there is opportunity for communications. If he lacks anything at school, it can be mailed so there is comfort in knowing he won't have to do without for too long. After a few weeks he will be able to leave the base in the evenings or on weekends to go shopping so he can go to the NEX mall at Oceana or Walmart, or what is the name of the other mall so many like to go to...Lynnhaven maybe? There is also a small (very small) NEX on their base. Anything we can help with let us know...we will try! 

Comment by pmass5958 on September 5, 2013 at 7:34am

Thanks everyone.  I'm sure I will have more questions.  Still concentrating on bc right now.

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