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Comment by abc815 on August 17, 2010 at 2:33pm

Comment by abc815 on August 17, 2010 at 2:31pm

hi there everyone! to carolina, it is true that sailors are not supposed to say anything, but...it happens. i also am friends w/ a gw wife who currently lives in japan, so i am able to get some more info through her as well. isn't it unfair that only the loved ones in japan are given this info while the rest of us sit in the dark? :( i know. anyhow, this gw wife also came out to their last port to meet w/ her husband. her husband and my sailor were liberty buddies, so we got to see the country together. it was EXTREMELY hot and muggy! from what i know, the sailors are VERY excited to get this deployment over with. with all that's going on, they say this time out to sea has been very different than others in the past.

not sure, but i think i read something about xmas gift suggestions somewhere on here? a kindle is a great idea if your sailor likes to read. mine doesnt. haha. a great suggestion is the nintendo ds. a little pricey, but will definitely come in handy and it is small enough to be convenient. also great for them to play on flights home :)

another thing my sailor was telling me is that he wants clothes. most sailors shop at the NEX when they are in home port. however, the selection is limited, so they see everyone else wearing the same thing! since they are in some type of uniform a lot of the time, it would be great if they could show their individuality while in street clothes.

to DC- yes, you are right! port dates/locations can change in a second...which is what i thought happened this time. thankfully i didn't have to use my trip insurance, but it is a MUST if you plan on a trip. the best insurance i found refunds you 70% of the trip cost if cancelled. do you know of any company that offers a full refund? thank you!

Comment by DC - G'mother of My Fav Sailor on August 17, 2010 at 1:04pm

Carolina, OPSEC says that the sailors are not to tell future ports, either where or dates. I know that if you live in Japan, you can get advanced notice in person. The GW Ombudsman reminds family members that they are not to e-mail the ports, write them in letters nor tell them over the phone. Also there is always a chance that the port of call will be canceled or changed at the last minute. This happened earlier this summer and family members who had planned to meet the ship had to use their trip insurance.

Comment by DC - G'mother of My Fav Sailor on August 17, 2010 at 9:13am

abc, I am so glad that you had a good time in Singapore! I am sure that you were getting uneasy while waiting. Seven hours is a long time. I look forward to hearing more about your experiences.

Comment by abc815 on August 17, 2010 at 12:58am

hi everyone! this is abc815, back on american soil! wow, seems like i missed alot as i checked my email to get hundreds of updates on this page! i'll have to sit and read what i missed. as many of you know now, i DID have the correct port location. whew! being in a foreign country alone is not fun! after my 20 hour flight, it was another 7 hours of waiting at the airport before i felt a tap and a "heeeey!" on my shoulder from my sailor. what a surreal moment! it was very hard leaving him.

anyways, i'm so glad to see that you ladies were able to talk with your loved ones in this last port visit! it's about time, huh? and thomas' mom, i think it was you who posted reunion pics w/ your son. FANTASTIC pictures! my eyes welled up with tears. you must've been so excited to be able to give him a hug. :)

thanks to everyone who thought of me or worried for me. everything turned out okay. as far as their future schedule for the remainder of the year, i have that info. but of course as always, nothing is set in stone. email for info. thanks and good night all!

Comment by Mollie...Kelcies Mom on August 16, 2010 at 9:22pm

Navy Ma....find out who some of your sailors female friends on board are. Then tell them that he's not staying in contact!! I regularly have my daughter get on to some of her guy friends for not calling their moms!! I know that some of the gals aren't the greatest either, but I think in general they are better than lots of the guys.
Kelcie LOVED Singapore!! From the shopping, to the bars and everything in between. Said it was SO clean, and everybody spoke english. It sounded like she took a "gondola" sort of tour up a main canal thru the city that was lined with shopping. She had no complaints....except the boyfriend that ticked her off once by going drinking when he was supposed to be spending liberty time with her. My guess is that the back of his head is flat, cause I know she wouldn't hesitate to smack him one for that transgression......what can I say, she doesn't take kindly to being stood up }:(

Comment by DC - G'mother of My Fav Sailor on August 15, 2010 at 4:54pm

Do they have buddies of the same sex or different sex, or does it matter?

Carolina, I am sorry your daughter did not get out of the hotel while in Singapore. I certainly am glad that she did not go out on her own. The rule is there for the sailor's protection and it would not be good to violate it. In some ways, I would think the GW would organize some sight seeing trips that the sailors could take. Then they would be in a group, seeing the area and having a pleasant time. The trips could even hit some of the places to do shopping.

Comment by DC - G'mother of My Fav Sailor on August 15, 2010 at 1:50pm

I had a very brief Skype chat with my g'daughter about midnight EDT. We were scheduled to try to chat at 8:00 but she could not get a connection. She said they were having storms and the Internet was flaky where she was. If they are going to be there a little longer, I will keep watching Skype. I am glad they are getting a nice break.

Comment by Mollie...Kelcies Mom on August 15, 2010 at 10:55am

I think they have a couple more days, at least that was the info I got. It was slated to be one of their longer port visits. But not 100% sure on that.

Comment by Mollie...Kelcies Mom on August 15, 2010 at 3:02am

Hi All, we had a skype call from Kelcie on her 1st day of liberty in Singapore, but nothing since. I do tend to think that maybe the email system is not exactly on track. I know she had 2 days of liberty while they are in port, but they are not consecutive days. I would imagine that the days that she doesn't have liberty are doubly hectic, cause probably the other half of the crew IS on liberty. I do TRULY hope that you ALL get to hear from your sailor at least once while they are in port. If only they knew how MUCH it means to us! But...alas, they are young, and most of them are not yet parents themselves.

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