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Comment by diannep on May 19, 2010 at 8:00am

KY MOM: Well, I Iearned something yesterday. There IS a limit on the amount you can use your debit card for...at least at a car dealership...even if the money is in there. The car dealer will only accept $5,000 on the debit. So my son has to go to the bank up there and get a check from them, since he was issued no checks when he opened his Navy account. Seems crazy to me that the debit card wouldn't be enough, but I guess with all of the fraud going on with debit cards (and overdraft available), the dealerships don't want to get STUCK.

Comment by diannep on May 19, 2010 at 7:57am

Julie, what is IA? Yes, my son told me about Afghanistan....freaked him out! He is still in INDOC. Just started on Monday. I had read about them being assigned to other ships too. He is not a happy camper at this moment...mainly on the neighborhood situation. I sure wish they had more security for our guys when they arrive and leave their compound area. I'm glad you found a nice neighborhood and hope you find some other kids close by for your children to play with!
Thanks, for the info, Julie. Good luck to your husband! What is his rate? MIne is a YN.

Comment by diannep on May 18, 2010 at 5:14pm

Thanks so much, Shannon. He actually is not living on "the ship" as it is dry docked for the next 2-3 yrs. So he is in temp housing. And, yes, he is upset with the area he is in. To be dropped off by his sponsor from the airport and told, "Now, don't go outside becaue it isn't safe" scared him to death. He has adjusted much better now, and has a car now (bought it on Sat.) THAT has been a godsend since he can now get into better places. He mentioned to me that he found nice parts of Newport News. It's a shame that they are in the temp housing where they are...they had the police come talk to the "newbies" yesterday at indoc. They told them do NOT go out alone...ever. You will be shot at. They aim for Navy personnel. The girl who drives the duty van got shot out. That 7-eleven right there was just robbed recently. There is lots of gang activity here. Do NOT go over the bridge either. (by this time, I'm sure he was major freakout!). He feels very secure in the Navy "compound" that they are in and he is able to park his car in a secured garage where it is protected. But the problem is...he has to walk 2 blocks from that garage to his building. So he will have to have someone with him. The police said that they have managed to move some of the crime "west". But told them that prostitutes used to hang out right where their building is. Oh JOY!
He asked a Chief there about living off base. He was told that no housing allowawnce would be given at his rank (like you said), plus he would not be allowed to a do it anyway. He's an E-3 but was not told what you said...that with roommates, he can do it (he had 2 lined up who wanted to join him). So maybe the rules have changed? Personally, I wish he COULD live off base in a better area.

He found an A School buddy at Portsmouth, so they toured over the weekend....Virginia Beach, etc. So he has seen the nicer areas and knows they are there. Theresa had told me about Busch Gardens, which I passed along to him...sounds like fun!
He is very discouraged right now (but getting better!), but has only been there 4 days. I truly think if he weren't in such a bad area, he would be ok. It's a shame that they can't clean it up more. I think our navy people deserve better than that....

I know he will look forward to going with the TR on its first cruise after renovations. IF he is still connected to her. They were told that many dry docked personnel are being sent to Afghanistan. Uh oh....

Thanks so much, Shannon, for all of the info! Good luck to your sailors too!

Comment by diannep on May 18, 2010 at 7:31am

Thanks for the Busch Gardens info, AlwaysReady. I will pass that on to my son as that sounds like fun! And the "free" part is wonderful!

Comment by diannep on May 17, 2010 at 10:16pm

Thanks, Theresa, for your offers. Very sweet of you. So sad that Newport News is no longer nice like it was before. He drove by VA Beach on Sunday. I didn't realize Busch Gardens was so close by too. I had heard about the free one-time pass! Thing is....he hates rollercoasters! :-)

Comment by diannep on May 17, 2010 at 7:22pm

Thanks, Theresa. Yes, he said there is an ATM there. He had his first day of "indoc" today. Also got a roomate that he knew from A School. The police talked to the new guys today about how bad the area is they are in...said never to walk alone out there and certainly not at night. They shoot at Navy personnel! My son is freaked out. He seems to be dealing ok, but that part really made him scared. They said that the Navy duty van (transports them to where they work) was shot at. They said they have cleaned the crime up some...moved alot of the crime further west...but still have problems. His car that he just bought will be secure in a garage they let him park in...told him not to worry about it there. But what about when he parks it there at night after being out, and has to walk a block back to his room? Oh boy. Yes, he feels bad being at a shipyard too and is very discouraged. He said he can't wait to be done with this Navy stuff, and he had never talked that way before. They also told them that those connected to a dry dock ship have a chance of being sent to Afghanistan. So it has NOT been a good day for him, although he seems to be making the best of it. He seems much better than he was 3 nights ago, so that's good.

Comment by Julie on May 17, 2010 at 5:08pm

My son will be out to sea for his birthday and I thought at some point I had read something about a cake service, any information on this would be greatly appreciated.

Comment by diannep on May 16, 2010 at 6:46pm

Thank you too, Theresa. This is all a bit overwhelming in the beginning. I would imagine being on a base is a bit more structured! Does anyone know where the "free" ATM's are for Navy Fed in that area? He was running up fees in A School. Silly

Comment by diannep on May 16, 2010 at 6:44pm

Thanks, KYMom on the debit card info. You can tell I don't use mine much!

Thanks, Nancy. I will tell him about the post office. I'm assuming that it is right there where they are working.

Comment by diannep on May 16, 2010 at 3:00pm

Thanks, Nancy. I guess he will figure this out once he reports to work tomorrow.

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