Comment

Comment by NavyBrat on November 5, 2014 at 8:30pm

Obviously there is going to be pain on both sides of the issue. I'm sure CrackerJackMom experiences the pain from both sides too. I'm sure her husband is a good man and her son is agood man too. I would only advise her son the rest of the sailors don't need to know his father's rating. Most would be okK with it while they are sober, but when they are drunk you never know.

Comment by NavyBrat on November 5, 2014 at 8:19pm

One of the best men I've ever had the privilege to work with never made Petty officer. He passed the exams every time, but as a black he received lower evaluations than the whites which kept him from being elevated to Petty Officer. He never let it get him down though, and as he was being discharged, he encouraged me to remember I only lose if I let the situation get me down.

I'm on the side of the sailors who can't defend themselves.

Comment by NavyBrat on November 5, 2014 at 8:11pm

I guess as a fleet sailor I saw too many sailors' hopes and dreams destroyed by the undesignated quota base system to regard it as harmless. 

Comment by NavyBrat on November 5, 2014 at 8:06pm

Up&Down I am proud to be a Navy veteran and I am trying to be gentle but given my family heritage, it isn't always easy to speak civilian. The touchy feely stuff is odd to me. 

Comment by E'sMom on October 28, 2014 at 10:26pm

Well Said AJ, and another Amen to your comment MyLAS.  I have read for awhile now and even though we are in the same boat our journeys will be different and hopefully we can learn from each other.

 

Comment by MyLAS (My Lips are SEALed) on October 28, 2014 at 6:42am

Amen, AJ.  And please Dear Lord, keep our sailors safe. They are often in dangerous jobs and work long hard hours in this rate.  Watch over them, keep them in your Hand. And, do a glorious work with this journey they are on

Comment by AJ on October 28, 2014 at 6:11am

We are all here because we have a precious loved one serving in the Navy, whether that be a son, daughter, husband, wife, and more …. and, some who have been and still are in the Navy, who are generously here to offer perspective, advice, experience.  Most likely one of the things that we all have in common is that this is one of the hardest things we’ve ever done, to say goodbye and have our loved one begin an unknown, sometimes scary, definitely different, and life-changing journey.  If you haven’t already, you will begin earning those well-deserved, hard-fought for, invisible parent and spouse badges.  Oh, they come in many different colors and symbols just like the real ones that our family members wear.  We will wear them just as proudly on our chests, knowing that we have walked through fire, waited out the non-existing or difficult news, worried and prayed, felt deeply patriotic and proud, had our fears taken to the very edge of what we thought we could endure.  Yes, these invisible badges and medals we wear come from the very experiences that everyone is writing about here …. those, and more.

Some experiences are so difficult that it makes you wonder about how it could ever be real, but real they were.  Those stories touch on the places inside of us that are extremely vulnerable and take us down a path of fear.  Some are so wonderful that it does your heart good to know that there is still goodness, honor, courage, and reward out there.

As a mother who had my son join the Navy at 18, test high on ASVAB, but wanted to join sooner rather than waiting for his ideal job, he also began his adventure here in undesignated.  When I found Navy for Moms, it was like having a security blanket that I could grab at any time of day or night.  It was a security blanket of information, an avenue for me to be able to ask questions, to learn from others, to know that there was this huge group of people out there going through some of the same things that I was going through.  I couldn’t get enough information.  I wanted it all.  I wanted to know the good, the bad, the ugly.  The truth is, all of it is real.  There are some truly dedicated, helpful, and honest recruiters out there.  Some of you have had that experience.  And, sadly, there are some who are much less so.  If you’ve had that experience, of dealing with a less than ideal recruiter who may have lied or misrepresented things to your recruit, then your experience is wholly different, and your feelings.

The thing is, just like in life, there is plenty of good and plenty of bad.  Recognizing, learning, and knowing some of all of it allows our Sailors to make choices that will hopefully serve them better as they move along.  My plea yesterday for the name calling and bashing of other members here to stop was based in this knowledge.  We are here because we are seeking every way possible to support our loved ones and to support ourselves during the military life.  We need each other.  Our loved ones need us to be strong, compassionate, well-informed, and a steady rock.  We can only achieve that through tolerance, acceptance, understanding, and perhaps a willingness to look under those rocks.  And, our ability to persevere, find hope, fine-tune the best in us, support each other, truly listen, and hold each other’s hands as we walk this walk is what will make us true, strong military families.  Don’t we owe that to each other?  Don’t we owe that to our family member whether recruit or serving?  Let us be our best here, for them.  God bless us all.

Comment by TropikalParadize on October 27, 2014 at 10:23pm

THANK YOU AJ!!! I couldn't agree more....lately the pettiness and name-calling on here has gotten ridiculous

Comment by Up&Down on October 27, 2014 at 9:08pm

AJ I do agree with stopping the name calling but my question is a very legitimate question.  

On another site that I'm on this happened.  Remember OPSEC well there can be/are internal "moles" stalking this web site

Comment by AJ on October 27, 2014 at 8:21pm

Please can this name-calling and member bashing stop.  This does not help the diverse and wide-ranging expressions of personal experiences with the Navy.  

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