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Comment by Melissa (Tucson) on January 12, 2009 at 2:47am

Another Wasp Mom:

http://www.navyformoms.com/profile/PaigeHellums

Comment by Melissa (Tucson) on January 12, 2009 at 2:45am

Another USS Wasp Mom:

http://www.navyformoms.com/profile/FAYGLOVER

Comment by Melissa (Tucson) on January 12, 2009 at 12:48am

I'm working on attending Fleet Week in NYC this May.....I've been to many in San Diego. If you have any interest in the Navy.....it's pretty damn cool. I spent Fleet Week in San Diego last September with my Sailor son, my Sailor nephew and 8 other wild Sailors. We stayed at the Omni overlooking the bay. Had a birds-eye view of the carriers, ships, Star of India, airshows and ground shows. If you ever get a chance to go, do it!

Comment by Ruth, Gun's Mom on January 11, 2009 at 7:54pm

I've seen Fleet Week on the Today Show in NYC, the closest I've ever been to it--my TV. It looks pretty wild!

Comment by Melissa (Tucson) on January 11, 2009 at 4:47pm

Teri: Do you have AAA?

Comment by Melissa (Tucson) on January 10, 2009 at 12:40pm

Hi Gerri Lynne: Come join the Destroyer Moms DDG group. There are 2 other moms with kids on the USS Oscar Austin. Here's the link to the ship's website. Send an email to the ship's Ombudsman and ask to be added to the email tree.
http://www.oscar-austin.navy.mil/default.aspx

Comment by Ruth, Gun's Mom on January 10, 2009 at 12:39pm

I just posted a long response on the GM group about sailors being unhappy, wanting to quit, not getting the assignments they wanted, etc. My son has now been in for five years and headed to Great Lakes as an instructor in February. Remember this is about being a GM, but it can apply in general to any rate. It's long, but here's what I wrote:

I just talked to Andy and asked him a bunch of questions. He said he's talked to or emailed several new sailors [I connected them through their moms]. He said he told them that they aren't going to get anything but ship duty to begin with. BC and A school are not the real Navy, so the Navy wants sailors to see how the Navy really runs (for good or bad, that's my comment!). He said when they report for duty on the ship, they need to get the gun boss and departmental master chief to start recognizing them. (I was so surprised when he told me today that the command master chief recognized him today. That's a BIG deal. Now I know why--it's politics and networking.) He said the sailors have to let the gun boss know they're interested in GSA (global support assignment). That's what they're calling IA now. The gun boss and DMC are the ones who will approve a GSA if a slot opens. The GSA could be in Somalia, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. When he applied, he wanted Iraq and the gun boss said there's one in Afghanistan. Then he said, "Where's that?" He obviously missed that geography lesson! So my son's career so far has been (and I think it's pretty typical): BC, A school, assigned to the Roosevelt with various sea trials of lengths of a week, two weeks, and a month, then deployment on ship 6 months, shore duty with the Roosevelt for almost 18 months, picked for IA so 3-4 months at Ft. Riley, 11 months in Afghanistan. now a month and 1/2 in Norfolk (polishing an admiral's bell and emptying wastebaskets and going to school), then 3 years at Great Lakes. He said he will decide there whether it will be a career. If so, he has to go back to another ship duty before land duty again. Going IA pretty much assured that he'd get his first choice of duty stations, so that's how he got Great Lakes. Honestly, we really didn't think it would happen because it's a much smaller command that Norfolk or San Diego. The others like Tucson and Corpus, there have to be openings, of course.

He also said that the IKE is not a bad ship to be on. It's one of the oldest of the Nimitz class, but it must be a pretty good command from what he knows.

Keep asking questions. He's pretty knowledgable and willing to tell me stuff now. I remember one of his friends on the Roosevelt had guests come to visit in Norfolk when I happened to be there. The friend took them to the ship to show them around and they ran into Andy who was on duty. Andy started telling them about how many planes, how long the deck was, how many decks. The friend sailor said to him, how do you know all this stuff? Andy said, um, we were all supposed to learn it. Pretty good for an ADD kid who hated school! Maybe that's why he didn't know where Afghanistan was....

I posted more pictures of my granddaughters today of our Christmas with them. They got to empty daddy's stocking and call and tell him what Santa brought him, too.
****************************************************
Remind your kids that it's a job! Not everyday is wonderful in any job. My son didn't start as a GM, so if your sailor is in something he doesn't like, it is possible to change, but it will take time. This generation wants everything NOW--patience is a virtue and builds character.

Comment by Ruth, Gun's Mom on January 10, 2009 at 11:42am

Speaking in code--I recommend it! On the last deployment, I knew exactly when the ship was coming in to Norfolk because it was "6 days before my granddaughter's birthday". We had reservations at Navy Lodge and travel plans with no problem. If he said he was going to the place with the 7 star hotel, I knew they were headed to Dubai again.

Well, I'm in the place today with new blowing snow, 21 degrees. I wish I were in Texas at our place there!!!

Comment by Ruth, Gun's Mom on January 9, 2009 at 5:49pm

You're all making me laugh. Remember, my kid called me with tofu questions!

Comment by Ruth, Gun's Mom on January 9, 2009 at 1:09pm

I also like facebook. It's easier than myspace, I think, and I don't like all the stuff posted on myspace. I doubt that it can be used on ship, but when my son is on shore, he uses facebook, too.

He just called twice from Norfolk. The first call--he just ran into his command master chief off his ship. I wondered why the CMC was in Norfolk as the ship is out. Andy said he's transferring to another command like Andy is. The CMC said "they'd" just been talking about him and wondering how he was doing, then gave him a challenge coin which is a pretty cool thing. Second phone call--MOM! guess who just flew in! Ummm, the president? Yeah, he's here to commission the USS Bush.

Andy was rather "non-talkative" for at least the first years of the Navy, but now after five years he calls all the time, even when he was in Afghanistan. He calls with questions, too, but isn't it nice to have your kid finally willing to listen to your advice! LOL. I know everything about his shocks, springs, brakes, spark plugs, wires--in the last week. He doesn't call for advice necessarily, but he reports to us. I think it's part of the boredom. As he says, a month ago he was still in Afghanistan, now everyday he polishes the admiral's bell. Thank goodness, his school starts next week!

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