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Navy For Moms

This site is for mothers of kids in the U.S. Navy and for Moms who have questions about Navy life for their kids.

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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:

OPSEC GUIDELINES

Events

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**UPDATE as of 11/10/2022 PIR vaccination is no longer required.

FOLLOW THIS LINK FOR UP TO DATE INFO:

RTC Graduation

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

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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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USS TORTUGA

Information

This group is for anyone with a sailor on the USS TORTUGA in Saesbo, Japan.

Location: Saesbo, Japan
Members: 47
Latest Activity: Aug 25, 2014

About the USS TORTUGA

USS TORTUGA is the sixth Dock Landing Ship in the WHIDBEY ISLAND class and the third ship in that class built by Avondale in New Orleans. In April 2006, the TORTUGA replaced the USS FORT McHENRY (LSD 43) as a forward deployed naval unit in Sasebo, Japan. The hull swap was part of the Navy's long-range plan to routinely replace older ships assigned to the Navy's Forward Deployed Naval Force with newer or more capable ships. The TORTUGA was previously homeported in Little Creek, Va.

General Characteristics: Keel laid: March 23, 1987
Christened: November 19, 1988
Commissioned: September 7, 1990
Builder: Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, La.
Propulsion system: four Colt Industries 16 Cylinder Diesels
Propellers: two
Length: 610 feet (186 meters)
Beam: 84 feet (25.6 meters)
Draft: 21 feet (6.4 meters)
Displacement: approx. 16,000 tons full load
Speed: 22 knots
Well deck capacity: four LCAC or 21 LCM-6 (on deck: one LCM-6, two LCPL and one LCVP)
Aircraft: none, but two landing spots allow for operation of aircraft as large as the CH-53E
Crew: Ship: 20 Officers, 25 Chief Petty Officers, 302 Enlisted
Crew: Marine Detachment: approx. 400 + approx. 100 surge
Armament: two 20mm Phalanx CIWS, two 25mm Mk-38 guns, six .50-calibre Machine guns, two Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) systems
Cost: $153 million
Homeport: Sasebo, Japan

Discussion Forum

Mailing a letter to our Sailor

Started by number1fanofmyson. Last reply by number1fanofmyson Feb 27, 2013. 10 Replies 0 Likes

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Comment Wall

Comment

You need to be a member of USS TORTUGA to add comments!

Comment by beatrizm (Ship04 Div192) on February 19, 2011 at 10:02pm: lisa1025, my daughter joined the Tortuga in December and she is enjoying it. too. What does your daughter do? My daughter is a gunner's mate.

Comment by lisa1025 on February 19, 2011 at 8:48pm: Hello I have a daughter who is currently on the Tortuga. She has been there since November. She enjoys her job nad being in the navy.

Comment by beatrizm (Ship04 Div192) on February 15, 2011 at 11:27pm: Tom'sMom, that is terrific news! I was so proud when I saw the post about Battle E.

Sounds like they are getting ready to head out on another mission. Good luck and God bless them all. My daughter is very excited, and seems happy to be doing her job.

Comment by beatrizm (Ship04 Div192) on January 28, 2011 at 4:08pm: My daughter arrived in Japan on December 18. She seems to be adjusting well, though he did complain of headaches the first two days they got underway last week.
Jan14th/div725/PIR8/13, I can't tell you much about the cell phones, other than calls and service overseas are very expensive. She is looking into getting service through a local company over there, but I haven't heard much about it. As far as the laptop, we do Skype, though we usually just talk and skip the video as that doesn't seem to work well. The video freezes a lot and then drops the call. I think the most difficult part is the difference in time. I've taken to keeping my cell phone on and charging on the nightstand and the laptop handy. She will text message that she is on line, and I reply that I will get on line also, so we skype before I get ready for work in the mornings.
She tells me that they live on the ship until the pass certain Quals (sp?) and once they pass all of those they can put their name on a waiting list for housing. I believe for the single ones, housing is kind of like college dorms, where they share a room with perhaps 1 other sailor, and then share a bathroom with 2-4 rooms.
manicmoon, nice to see another mom with a daughter here. My daughter is a GM; what is yours?

Comment by FirstSailor on January 22, 2011 at 12:57pm: My son will go to USS Tortuga in late March this year. His PIR is 2/11/2011.

Comment by robsmom on December 31, 2010 at 2:05pm: My son made it to Sasebo on 30 December. Has settled in on board the USS Tortuga and starts work on 3 January. He changed his Verizon wireless plan to a Global plan before he left so he has called several times and the connection has been great. On the other hand, we haven't quite figured out how to call him so will be investigating calling cards and possibly an international plan with our wireless company. He says the port is beautiful with the mountains and the sea and didn't complain too much about the snow! His flight was 16 hours from GA to Korea to Japan and then the bus couldn't run due to the snow, so he had to take the train from Fukouka to Sasebo, but got there with all his luggage, seabag and not too much jet lag. Will start writing to him ASAP!

Comment by robsmom on December 15, 2010 at 8:05pm: Hello!

My son will be on the USS Tortuga soon. Any suggestions on things he needs to do before he leaves? Any advice for the first few weeks there? Will he be living on the Tortuga full time or only when the ship is at sea? Will he have room for alot of personal items? Computer? What do they do about cell phone service there? He still has a year on his contract/plan with Verizon---

so many questions and he is overwhelmed right now...

Comment by POMOM575 on July 12, 2010 at 3:41pm: My son arrived safely and is FaceBooking already. He loves it there, it's been almost a week!

Comment by POMOM575 on July 3, 2010 at 6:26am: Hi Moms! My son has been home for 2 weeks and leaves for Japan next week...I am getting so nervous... I can't sleep. I know he will be fine. I am so proud of him! I know you all feel and understand where I am coming from. Oh how I am going to miss him : ~ ( Thanks for just letting me share.