Ship 5 Moms(Formerly Ship 17)

Yeah the girls are lucky and get phone calls every day. There was just too many guys to do that. And apperantly right after i left the girls jumped to around 120. There was only 85 max when i was in there

@mmyers-Thanks for the information about the daily routine. My son called a couple of times last week and now I have not heard from him at all. It makes sense if he has to pay for FB too-the messages have slowed down quite a bit.  The not waiting and not really knowing what is going to happen makes it so hard to be patient. If he has his check card is he able to use it at NEX and for fb time?

Hi Ladies

Sorry I have AWOL from here, but I've been tied up with stuff here. The easiest way that I have found out about unemployment benefits for your respective states is to Google  "Your state Veterans Unemployment Benefits". I did that for Texas and it came up with a lot of very helpful info.

Hope this helps.

momof3 he was told to wait 6 months then reenlist if he chose to

batmom... I believe that I speak for us all when I say that WE are always keeping everyone's SR's and their families in our thoughts and or prayers whether we post it or not.

As it has been posted many times, we are a family by virtue of what we have all gone thru with our SR's and continue to go thru even though some of SR's are home.

That is why we are still here and will continue to support each other, in our out of S5, we still care.

Teri - Hi, I check in here from time to time :-) (I'm mainly on the PIR groups but "see" some of the moms come over here and check to see how they are doing :-))

Is that Box 24 that says Discharge "General" rather than an ELS? I ask because earlier you stated that they were questioning the Uncharacterized/ELS.

OR is it somewhere else on the DD214?

A General (Under Honorable Conditions) is very different from an Honorable or an ELS from what I have been reading.

The Financial Aid link explains a little bit at the bottom about characterizations. Here are two links that explain them as well:

Entry Level Separations - What is an ELS? about.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorable_discharge#Honorable

(Though I don't think the about.com article explains the General (UHC) thoroughly. It does the ELS though.)

Terri, I combed over my sons DD214. I don't know how far in the process you got with FASFA, but our school seemed to have no issue once I provided the DD214. Under Character of Service ours says Uncharacterized (Entry Level Separation) the Seperation Code is JFC and the Re-Entry Code is RE-3E. Does yours say something different than that?

I looked over all the information I could find as well as everything Angie and FireTeam provided and see no reason for your issue, if your DD214 says the same as mine?

Good Morning to All-A few days ago there was discussion about calling our congressmen to help move things along and get our children home. My son has been waiting for almost three weeks and I am ready to step in if it will help to get him home. I have had one fb message in a week and a half, he said he is missing the phones and computer because he has been on watch. He went to legal last Friday, so is there something I can do to check on his status and possibly help to get him home faster? Thank you for your advice!

Thank you Six-my son is leaving for the same reason so that is good to know.

Great news Terri!

Ok-we will take it one day at a time, keep praying for Ship 5, and practice patience on this end.

Thank you!

That's great Terri (sorry I spelled your name wrong earlier!). Glad you were able to "educate" them :-)

@ Batmom-I called and left a message with legal. TJ said the guys that were in legal the day before he was are leaving on Monday. He is hoping for next week too but realizes it may take a little longer. Thank you for your help!

nick'sProudMom - I would just recommend that you try calling legal again on Monday.   They may be backed up due to the holiday week.   When I spoke to someone in legal, he was incredibly nice and helpful.  I will say that everyone I spoke to on Ship 5 (legal, Seps Admin Office,  travel) was nice.   My son arrived home on Christmas Eve.  I will never forgot the shock and grief of finding out he had been sent to Ship 5.   But when we got  him home we were all able to take a deep breath and look to the future.  I have not posted in awhile, but continue to read posts and pray for you all. 

VFW is helpful ask about the post if the have a va service officer sometimes they have someone there or can give you the phone to call. be nice to the guys at the VFW they are veterans and don't work for the gov. a good thank you for their service would be a great start.American legion also is good for getting help for va paperwork.

Hi All! Good news, TJ left a message he will be home on Thursday! Thank you for all of your support during this stressful time.

well i got a call from my daughter today 1st one since she left on 12/12/12.She was crying so it was alittle difficult to understand her I should have asked so many questions but i was shocked so i didnt. She stated she might be sent home then said she will be sent home. she has to get assessed for asthma if she has it they will send her home if she doesnt they will still send her home ????? she said she got measured for her dress uniiform but wont get it. i am so confused she said she is still with her division but will come home in a couple of weeks. I am not sure what to take from all of this maybe im in denial. did they move her to ship 5 or will she be moved omg someone help ....no sleeping tonite :(((

good for you nicks proud mom im just starting out with the whole thing good luck to you and son wish me luck too

MC Mama - we know what you're going through.   You will find many answers and lots of support here.   I 'lived' on this site for the two weeks after my son found out he was being separated.   The first few days are the worst.   Recent Ship 5 group members have had the 'asthma' diagnosis.   Perhaps they will respond, or you can read back through the postings to see what they've said.   When you and your daughter start to get some specific information you'll be able to plan your next moves.   Keep us posted...

thank you sooooo much for a response i felt very much alone on boot camps for moms there is so much support but here it is like you are all alone and have to figure out everything by yourself it is very stressfull it is like having a child in an international prison with no way to assess the situation i did write her this am and instructed to request to go to legal and fill out the privacy waiver form and hipaa form so if i need to i have more ability to get info. i am in limbo right now so any advice is greatly appreciated so thank you and bless you

omg thank you both from the bottom of my heart i have to go to a meeting in a few minutes but i had a few minutes to see if anyone responded and you both did there are actual guardian angels here on earth i will write back after my meetings god bless you both :)

MC Mama-My son is on his way home right now. He has been in S5 for 3 weeks, also diagnosed with asthma. Although he has not had any issues before in his life. Once he is home and I am able to ask some questions I hope to be more helpful to you. This site is great! Everyone is going through similar emotions and are very willing to answer questions. This has been a rollercoaster of emotion and I feel like I still do not have a clear picture of what led to the asthma diagnosis. I wish the best for you and your daughter. Your family is in our thoughts and prayers!

well I am back on this site I had hoped to get on earlier, 1st and formost I am so  really greatfull I have other Moms to talk to about my situation This has been such a difficult time. A roller coaster ride of emotions yesterday morning I was planning the trip to GL and 4 hours later I have a crying daughter telling me they will be sending her home. All her letters sounded positive I guess she couldn't do the run she says she had a panic attack half way through and fell over. so she had to go to medical they haven't diagnosed her yet but she says they will have her checked by the specialist in 2 weeks and if she has asthma they will send her home if she doesnt have asthma they will still send  her home. she said she is still with her division. It is all to confusing. If they are going to send her home why would she still be in her division ? wouldn't they put her on ship 5 to begin the process? at this rate she won't come home until sometime in March long after her class graduates?  wow this is so crazy I feel like I am losing my mind. To batmom, thank you for your support and I am so glad your son made it home and if doing well :). To TJsMom I bet you will so glad when your son gets home hopefully it will all fall into place for him. To sdcel thanks for your support and information. also thank you sixftblnd for you support as well you gals are great and so our children ;))))

Oh to sixftblnd thank you for the pell grant information that will most likely be used as she will need to go back to school so THANK YOU !!!

wow just read  the posts and we all know navy life isn't for everyone I just hope whatever happens, it moves along so she is not in limbo. I'm just worried as you all know little to no contact makes everything much more difficult. I will write her again this morning and just encourage her to push on until some kind of decision is made.  I think they will make it for her  but as we know nothing is speedy with the navy. On a lighter know anyone who wants a Navy flag and bumper stickers??? LOL I have to laugh because that is all I have left . Once again thank you gals for the support :)

Greetings Ladies! Yup. the loud mouth opinionated TxNavyDad is back. Sorry for being AWOL, but after our son came home Dec.18th, we were enjoying the holidays with our him and helping to get things back on track. (Not to mention everyone in our house having the flu, sinus and pneumonia) which we are finally starting to recover from)

@batmom... I'm like you with regard of getting stuff that my kids are involved in... For instance with my daughter, who is a dance instructor at a local dance studio, I have dance club t shirts, show shirts, a Dance Club Dad polo (there's not allot of dance stuff for dads to get).

In my sons case, I have 3 different Navy ball caps, 1 NWU (Navy Working Uniform) digital blue camo cap, a pair of the official issue Navy PT sweats, the official issue yellow Navy PT T-shirt and blue navy PT shorts, Navy T-shirts, we fly the official United States Navy flag in front of our house next to Old Glory and the list goes on.

Anyway, I understand how your son feels and wish him, you and the entire family the very best life has to offer. In my sons case, he has been accepted back at work and there are quite a few of the managers and VP's that know what happened to him (the company is run by retired high ranking military officers from different branches, cant say the company name) and welcomed him back with open arms, no loss in grade or seniority. Yes we are blessed are for sure. He is still on the fence about re-enlisting. He has a good code and I think I told you that his separation was due to a paperwork snafu. His college transcripts were the unofficial instead of official with the college seal and presidents signature. That is a big deal as far as my sons job is concerned, because he was going into CTI (Cryptology Technician Interpreter). That requires a top security clearance and after doing research on the issue of unofficial transcripts, ALL his paperwork has to be correct from the start. No faxed or mailed copies of ANYTHING are excepted. Yes the recruiter should have caught that and fixed it in the beginning, but it didn't happen. My son is a much more forgiving person than I, as I was ready to rip the recruiter a new one for this needless mistake and all the crap my son had to go thru. My son is 26, his own man and i have to respect that to a point. I have always told my kids that no matter how old my wife and I are, we are still Mom and Dad and what we say goes (YA RIGHT!!) Sounds good though huh??  ;D

Ok...I'm starting to write a mini novel again I see. Sorry about that y'all. You know how I get sometimes.

>>>>Before I forget, y'all remember the big deal we were all so mad about... the name tag being removed from the uniform issue? I finally got the lowdown on that. What happens is this: Ship 5's function is not only there for separation. There are also graduated sailors that stay on Ship 5 waiting for their orders (some not all) to go to their respective "A" schools and when to leave. If they don't leave for a few days, they have to stay somewhere, as the recruit barracks is filling back up with more recruits. The graduated sailors waiting to leave do have a separate compartment from the SR's going home, but they all share the common areas of ship 5 and enter and leave thru the same doors.

So to distinguish who's who, the SR's going home are told to remove their name tags, making identification of uniformed personnel allot easier.

@steph... Nice to see ya again lady. Hows your son doin with his migraines? Did he finally get over the crud? My son finally shook of his snotty nose and cough. Nice support call with regard to telling your son about his friend being so critical and that his friend was all military now. I can't help but wonder if your son's friend was a bit bummed out that he didn't make it and was just lashing out, not really TOTALLY meaning what he said or the way he said it.

@TJsMom... Awesome news that he is on the way home.

THE BESTEST PRESENT EVA!!!

One thing I have learned from talking to some local MD's about asthma is, allot of people never know they have until they are put into a physically strenuous condition and then it pops up. Example: my daughter is now a dance instructor as I mentioned in my previous book (sorry about it being so long)..ANYWAY, when she first started as a dance student, BANG... the asthma showed up. Even when she was in marching band in high school or as a drum major in marching band, the asthma never showed up until dance.

@MC Mama... so sorry to hear about your daughter. As you have already have had the benefit of the wisdom and experience of some of the others mom's, you have quickly found out that we are all in this together, even though our sons, hubbies, BF's, fiances may have already come home, we are still here to help calm the waters a bit and answer the many questions that arise during your SR's stay on ship 5. We also understand that evil roller coaster of emotion that everyone goes thru. I'll be the first to say that I found out just how MACHO I wasn't when we got the call from our son. MC... one thing you can take to the emotional bank is that we all do care deeply and always have each others families and SR's in prayer. Even when they get home, this crazy train ride is still not over yet. Life now has a Navy influence and always will. To a certain degree, that's not a bad thing as there are some pretty decent strong life values that are instilled in our kids, which actually benefits them and helps the grow.

Bottom line, as you have seen, we are ALL a family... A Navy family who cares for each other and always will.

Don't be shy, as there is no judgement here, only compassion, support and reassurance.

Remember... The storm is the strongest... just before it's over.