Comment

Comment by Mary (Chris' mom) on October 3, 2012 at 3:03pm

Carolyn, I'm sure it feels totally different in the beginning but they learn to travel with a seabag. I suppose having a small area for storage besides the seabag gets to feeling like a luxury. They all manage to survive, and if lucky they will find compartment mates who they like, and they will all share goodies etc so things don't get too piled up.

Oh one other item to think about for care boxes. Canned fruits. The only time my sailor was sure the food was relatively fresh was right after RAS (Replenishment at Sea) or port calls.

If you have a very tall sailor...grab a top rack when it becomes available (I've heard they have more headroom and are coveted by all).

Comment by Mary (Chris' mom) on October 3, 2012 at 7:50am

Laura, the tote is a great idea!! Now if I can get my amazing son to call home during a port visit (he'd rather call his wife for some odd reason :-] ), I will ask him if he has or wants one. His problem with the camera came when he was on duty during a special flyover from the ship, and he ask one of the officers to get a pic or two for him. The officer did, but still being on duty and not allowed to have a camera in his work area, he placed it on top of something outside the skiff. When he went out a short time later during a break to take it back to his rack area, it was gone.

The Big E? I thought it had already been decommissioned. Hmm...my son's bestie from A/C school 3 years ago went to the Enterprise. My son did get to also have contact with another man who was in a different class but at DN the same time as Chris. They ended up being shipmates for the first half of the deployment he is on now. Cam's dad, Carl and I got each other's names to our sons and it was good for them to form a connection, even if they never got to meet face to face. (They each worked with different squadrons, so they had totally different work and berthing areas). Love it when my son meets people he already knows from school or previous duty stations.

Comment by Michelle on October 3, 2012 at 7:42am

Thanks Laura for the tidbits!!

Comment by Laura on October 3, 2012 at 1:39am

My son said that he hasn't had any problems on the carrier with missing items. (knock on wood)  They remind everyone to keep their items locked up whenever they are away from their berthing area.

I also sent a 10" battery operated fan with velcro strips for attachment.  The Big E has had some air conditioning problems.  It reached 125 degrees in the berthing area for close to 2 weeks while they tried to repair the air conditioning system. 

With a 50+ year old carrier some of the repair parts have to be made in the machine shop.

Comment by Laura on October 3, 2012 at 1:34am

I should have noted that this item is a Kangaroon storage mesh shower toe.  I purchased one at Bed Bath & Beyond for $12.99.  Amazon also sells them.

 

Comment by Laura on October 3, 2012 at 1:33am

One of the best items for the carrier

The shower area is wet all the time.  This allows everything to drip dry.

Comment by Mary (Chris' mom) on October 2, 2012 at 9:27pm

My son is on his second carrier. Just like all the shore duties, it depends a lot on the specific command as to how well they like the job and how well they do. Although my son prefers shore duty he enjoys ship duty because of the travel. He has ported in Dubai, France, Hong Kong, Guam, Korea and homeports both stateside and overseas. Warn your sailors that maritime law is a bit different (I mean those carriers have thousands of people living on them and it's hard to control a lot of things)...theft is a biggie. My son lost his camera and 3 years of pics. Thankfully I had most of his pics from his first carrier on my computer but he lost some he will never be able to replace now. I have heard of laptops and iPods and food being big items for thieving. Advise your sailors to take some earplugs or muffs, and one of those soft sleepshades (you know, like blindfolds for daytime sleeping). People work different shifts, so there is often movement in the berthing areas and the sound of the jets taking off and landing can be disturbing during sleep. Also when they say space is limited they *mean* it! As far as sending foods...most is ok but chips tend to get crumbled as well as cookies but most of them will tell you it tastes the same, crumbled or whole. The food is pretty bland so my son enjoys bottles or packets of hot sauce and other seasonings. Hand sanitizer and toilet paper are also good "care package" items. Don't go overboard (pardon the pun) on anything though because of the space limitations. Do take a camera and memory card for pics at the world's tallest building, sand dunes, life on ship, ports, beaches, museums, etc. There is a good chance that the carrier has a facebook page. It's a good way to see where they have been and what life is like on ship.

Hope some of this helps.

Comment by Michelle on October 2, 2012 at 8:44pm

Laura/Carolyn ~ My daughter graduated C school 9/21 and is assigned a carrier.  I'm  brand new out of the shoot also, just BC & A/C school behind us, so any words of wisdom with the experience of the "unknown", would be greatly appreciated.

Jillbro ~ Curious if our sailors crossed paths? She met a few "shipmates" in the classes ahead of her.  Would have loved to made a trip to Dam Neck, but wasn't in our schedule, but looks like we'll get to visit the State of VA over the next 3 years!!

Congrats to all ~ What an honor it is to be a Navy Mom!!

Comment by Laura on October 2, 2012 at 12:54am

Hi Carolyn - My sailor is currently at sea on a carrier.  Friend request me then we will be able to determine if your daughter is headed in the direction of my son.  Temps get a bit warm on the carrier.

Comment by Mary (Chris' mom) on September 28, 2012 at 8:19am

Congrats Jillbro! I hope your sailor enjoys his first command in the fleet and that he is not tooooo far from home.

JM, a huge congrats and hug for your sailor on his EXW!! (The NAM is not a shabby thing either ;-D )

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