This site is for mothers of kids in the U.S. Navy and for Moms who have questions about Navy life for their kids.
FIRST TIME HERE?
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:
Events
**UPDATE as of 11/10/2022 PIR vaccination is no longer required.
FOLLOW THIS LINK FOR UP TO DATE INFO:
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.
Format Downloads:
- Graduation Info
- PDF – 2.7 MB
- PNG – 2.3 MB
- JPG – 3.4 MB
- Printable PDF – 2.0 MB
Latest Activity
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.)
N4M Merchandise
Shirts, caps, mugs and more can be found at CafePress.
Please note: Profits generated in the production of this merchandise are not being awarded to the Navy or any of its suppliers. Any profit made is retained by CafePress.
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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Anyone with Sailors/Soldiers/Marines in War Zones and Combat Areas
Information
For parents and loved ones of deployed and deploying military personnel...Aghanistan/Iraq and any and all war zones. Please introduce yourself on the main comment page.
Members: 116
Latest Activity: Jul 14, 2020
Anderson Hall is in San Antonio, on the campus of Fort Sam Houston...the place where future corpsman will learn their trade.
"Doc" Christopher Anderson served with Marine 1/6.
(He also went to Basic and to FMTB with my son. TDM)
Corpsmen on the job in Afghanistan:
Helpful Links:
It provides access to services and resources at the national, state and local levels to support recovery, rehabilitation and community reintegration.
Absentee Voting Link Get info here on registering to vote and absentee voting.
Navy Individual Augmentee Information "IA"
Ombudsman Registry Find your sailor's unit and contact information
Seabee Info Web site Answers to many questions about deployment, etc even if your sailor is not a Seabee.
Fleet and Family Deployment Navy Facebook
Online Program Helps Military Vote Absentee
Guardian Angels for Soldiers Pets Facebook Page
Dogs on Deployment One-Stop Resource page for military members to turn to for advice and direction to all pet-related needs. They also are looking for fosters for pets whose owners are being deployed.
****Red Cross and Help for the Military, Emergency Notificaton Link to the Red Cross Military Assistance page, on the left is a list of links to important sites, including the phone numbers if you need to notify your deployed loved one of a family emergency. This note: Beginning June 13, 2011, at 8:00 a.m. EDT, all military members and their
families can use one number- 877-272-7337 (U.S. Toll Free) to send an urgent
message to a service member. The change means that all military members and
their families can use this single number to initiate an emergency communication, regardless of where they live.
Coaching Into Care works with family members or friends who become aware of their Veteran’s post-deployment difficulties—and supports their efforts to find help for the Veteran.
This is a national clinical service providing information and help to Veterans and the loved ones who are concerned about them.
Defense Center of Excellence information and help for TBI and PTS for active military, vets and their families.
After Deployment... This web site is VERY useful to service members, family and loved ones after the return of a loved one from deployment.
VAWatchdog.org Very useful links for our vets and their families.
Secondary PTSD Resource Link For families and loved ones of a soldier/sailor/Marine/airman with PTSD.
Facebook Support for OPSEC An online resource for OPSEC regs and questions concerning safety in social media web sites.
Graphic Novel Helps Corpsmen Cope with Combat-related Stress
Links to those sending packages to our deployed sailors/soldiers/marines/airmen:
Molly's Adopt A Sailor Group Join the group, or just read for ideas on what to send to your deployed kid.
Jacob's Program Another group of volunteers sending packages to our deployed folks.
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To all who drop by! WELCOME! please post below so we can get to know you. If you send a message around to 'all members' , we CANNOT respond. So, please introduce yourself below, and remember to not share dates or specfic movements by any military unit on the board! Thank you!! and again WELCOME!!
Discussion Forum
Son in Spin Boldak
Started by rysony. Last reply by rysony Mar 14, 2012. 40 Replies 0 Likes
Care Packages - lists of items, how to order priority boxes and how to fill out customs forms
Started by Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom. Last reply by millon4 Oct 2, 2012. 29 Replies 1 Like
Sailors in Afghanistan with boots on the ground
Started by Ruth, Gun's Mom. Last reply by TexasDocMom Sep 18, 2010. 18 Replies 0 Likes
RSS
Comment Wall
Comment
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Comment by JerseySusan on September 21, 2012 at 10:52pm
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Postcards, Great idea MalaMama! My S-in-L told me to go on-line with Walgreens & make a photo account. So I downloaded some pics & ordered a 2x3 wallet size booklet of 24 pics to send when we get his address. TexasDoc, was that about the size your son carried in his pocket, or was it more like a 4x6?
Vansmom, I left a message in your in box. :)
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TexasDoc, You have "great" sound advice!!! Of course I am very teary eyed with all your stories,but the bacon puts has a funny smile on my face along with the tears.
I am going to work on the suggestions you talk about, especially get that small photo album ready ASAP, so "if" we ever do get an address, that will be the "1st" thing I send in the mail that very day. I am printing this page out, so I can look & be reminded of your suggestions of advice everyday!! Thanks for a little healing spot in my heart today.
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Comment by TexasDocMom on September 21, 2012 at 1:48pm
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Ladies...I wish we had magic words to ease your fears. I wish we could see you and hold you in deep hugs...like I did a total stranger over that damn bacon that day she walked up to me and out of the clear sky told me her nephew left that morning for Iraq.
But I can't...I can validate your fear because it's real and it consumes you. You've been in charge of this child his whole life, protecting him, feeding him, cleaning up after him and now he's someplace where he's in danger from people we don't even know simply because he's the All American kid you raised. But one difference, your sons are highly trained military professionals, serving with other highly trained military professionals and they all have each other's back. They know their jobs, they know they have a job to do, and they know how to stay focused on it. They are not the boys that left for basic training any more. They are still your sons and they love you...and they worry about you...
So this is what you can do to help them...first of all, take care of yourself. If you've been wanting to paint the house...start now. I painted all the bedrooms. If you workout in a gym go more...or start going. If you have a dog, walk that dog. If you do family history, hit the libraries. Whatever it is you do to keep yourself sane do it now. If you need to speak to your doctor for something to help calm you, do so and get it. Try to sleep at night, eat 3 meals a day. One of the main things I've seen on this board is moms becoming ill during deployments. I've always had fever blisters,herpes simplex, but had not broken out for years...by the 5th month of my son's Iraq deployment my mouth was never well, sores all over my lips...continually. We've had a mom come down with colitis, another with ulcers. Take care of you.
Next, make a list of topics to talk with your son about when he calls. Football scores, neighborhood gossip, dog stories, whatever...so that when that phone rings, you have something to focus on, and not break down. Be the mom. Be that strong voice he knows, do not focus on how much you miss him. He knows. He misses you too, but he's calling to hear "HOME". And that's your job, home. (okay, you're allowed a couple of "we miss yous" at the end....
We can't do anything to help them while they are deployed except take care of us and home...and the dog.
Remember what my son emailed me once from Iraq..."they might say they miss their wives, their moms, their kids....we miss our dogs. "
Send real photos in those packages and letters, not just digital ones. Ones they can hold in their hands, the yard, the dog, the cat, the neighbor's ugly car...My son had two photo books, one was little larger, with tons of photos (but still small) and one really small one I got from the Dollar store, with a few photos. I found out later that small one was in his pocket the whole time he was deployed. ( A mom on this board told me to do that.)
You are not alone, and you are doing the right thing to come here to share your fear...and when they come home we'll be sharing your joy.
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Comment by vansmom on September 21, 2012 at 12:39pm
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Susan, you are in the same situation as me.......I do not watch the news either. You can message me privately if you want and we can talk. I think our sons may do the same thing. I am not allowed to ask anything or tell anything either. It's very hard and very different from what I am used to. And this is his dream job????!!!!!!
I heard his favorite song and just started crying in the car, thought I'd have to pull over and lose it completely. Last week at my other son's high school football game a kid got hurt on the field and they had to call the ambulance to come and get him off the field and I about lost it thinking here I am praying that this kid be okay and the whole country is parying for our kids......here in this country you can just call 911, I hope God forbid my son is not left in the mountains of God forsaken place if anything happens....I'm just thinking all these crazy things and had to pull myself together. Just seems so crazy that I'm thinking these things..........then I realized I'm looking at it when my son used to play lacrosse and got hurt......seriously! I finally realized I was being ridiculous and stopped, but seemed like just that one thing set me off............jeez! anxiety!
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Comment by mamawalrus on September 21, 2012 at 12:36am
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MIne just left a short time ago, I do have an address but no idea where he is. He was able to call me once so far and it was a timed call and we got disconnected trying to fit everything in. I have sent one box and was able to tell him that so he is going to see when he gets it so we can try and estimate times for mail.. I just dont know when he will be able to tell me when he got it. LOL Oh the funny things we come up with and then think WTH was I thinking.
I try to not think to much into this but like you all.. not knowing is hard, hearing a song he likes is hard, seeing the family pic is hard and just in general its hard. I get really upset when I see others who have no respect and just are ruthless and I think of my son and others over there and the sacrifices they are giving up for these idiots. That boils my blood more then anything. I am so grateful for our children and for all of us to have this site to vent.
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Vansmom, I don't have an address either & I don't even know what city he is in. He prepared me several times, he didn't know when he would be able to tell me anything. I have heard from him, but no info & I know I'm not aloud to ask.
To 'All' the moms with 'melt downs', Thanks for sharing your stories, it really helps me realize my feelings are 'normal'!! For the last couple of weeks I felt like something was wrong with me with an overwhelming feeling of guilt, confused like I was grieving, yet knowing we are still blessed he is still with us.
TexasDocMom, you were brave, I can't bring myself to watch the news yet, maybe in time.
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Comment by Paymaster on September 20, 2012 at 3:40pm
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My meltdowns were over the laundry. So needless to say I had them every week.
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I couldn't stop watching the news, I had to know every single thing...three weeks before he was due to leave Iraq, the US bombed Syria....and he was stationed on the border...but he called and said they were still on the way home, and when he got home I heard some stories about that.
Meltdowns...mine was over bacon.
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It's okay, we were told it was one of those situations, and were told it was one of those jobs. I was told not to talk about what he does to anyone or who he is with. So I feel really left out of the loop and never thought he would be doing this kind of thing. He really wanted it and trained a lot for this so I feel he was ready. He is in good hands and knows what to do and is with people who do as well. I just do not watch the news and and pray like crazy! :) I'm going to need all of the help I can get from all of you as I broke down many times already and he only just left......thank goodness for this site! :)
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Does anyone else have this type of situation in the Navy? He is not a Corpsman.....
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