Girlfriends, Fiances,and Wives of Sailors

When you don't get a letter, stay positive.  As the loved ones in their lives, they are missing you very much, and you are important to them.  They are only allowed to write letters on Sundays, and you never know, maybe they had watch, or had their wisdom teeth out and are sleeping it off over the weekend.  Maybe the letter got lost in the mail.  They aren't going to get upset over some little thing in your letter!

Also, a standing hint: if your SR is writing after hours on other days, never post about it here.  You never know who is reading, and you never know who is going to ask their SR "why don't you do that?" and it gets back to the RDC and they all get punished.  

http://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/EFMP/SNAP-Document.pdf

Military Pay: If you reside on an installation, your housing will not be counted when computing eligibility. It will be treated as an in-kind benefit for income eligibility purposes. If you receive Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and reside off the installation then your BAH will be included as income when computing eligibility and will count against you.

Hey, don't judge, because you don't know their situation.  In some areas, childcare is so expensive that a job doesn't even cover that.  I have working members of my family on SNAP, they cannot seem to do better no matter how hard they try. And not every disability is visible, or can be judged by apparent short term mobility.  If they qualify with truthful applications, then they are not stealing.  Those services are there for a reason, there are limits and qualifications so no one can abuse the system very long.  Very junior sailors with dependents often struggle.  I do not mind feeding children, I donate to food banks and the local on base Airman's Pantry (AF).  I know my brother had to use food stamps when he was active duty and got hit with unexpected financial emergencies.  I was on food stamps myself long ago for one summer.  Most people only use such benefits for as long as it takes to get their shit together.

You do not know if she is healthy or not.  Please be kind in this forum, and save the rants for general discussion.  

Thanks, I need a boost now and then.  Because I have learned a lot of the rules, I often have to tell excited young people, "no, that is not the way it works".   I feel like an evil dream crusher.  I would also like to smack around a few recruiters.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Once upon a time, I was on hold at Great Lakes for ET A school.  This time of year at Glakes is cold, dull, grey and depressing.  Cleaning only takes up so much of your time, and then you have to make do with what is on base.  It sucks, plain and simple.

He needs to understand that this begins to mirror some of the real Navy.  Cleaning, boredom, and hurry up and wait is very much what sailors deal with, as day to day life in the service. The Navy is rarely exciting outside of combat zones.  Even deployments with long days of shifts, training, drills and work  have a lot of drudgery.  Recruiters never tell you this as it is not glamorous.  

What to do?  For you, stay encouraging.  He is still doing his part, even if it is boring and depressing.  

For him?  Stay positive, he is being paid, fed, and housed, more than what a lot of people get in today's world.  He needs to take this into his hands.  Go to the gym, get moving.  Participate in the MWR single sailor activities, even f he thinks they're cheesy and silly.  See if he can get his hands on his PQS stuff for advancement and work on it early.  Make the trek to the movie theater, get OUT of the barracks.  If things are bad, talk to a chaplain.  They are totally confidential, not religious unless he wants that, and can help him see the light at the end of the dark tunnel which is hold time at Great Lakes.

@18gf ... Easter is not a federal holiday, so the Navy does not give any special time off for it.  They can go to services, unless they have duty, but that is the only special liberty related to a religious holiday.

http://usafederalholidays.com/

Here are the federal holidays for 2016.  Means they get that day off (usually a Monday, except for Thanksgiving/Christmas).  If they do not have duty, they have that day off.  If they are at a training command, they are subject to liberty phase rules.  Even with a three day weekend, they are subject to travel restrictions unless they can take leave or get an out of bounds special request chit approved.  

Yes, you can get it copied.

I have never had, or seen, a Tricare card.  Your military ID is your insurance card.  Check the FAQ on their website, see what they say.

Anti M, you are an absolute angel on this site. I feel like I can always trust your answers, so for now, it's indoor life for my two kitties. 

I figure no matter what, someone will get upset like you said. I understand why, while we signed up for this life when he enlisted and had time to adjust to it, our friends and extended family didn't get a choice, and I don't think anyone really knows what to expect, especially since it's different for everyone. For example, some of my fiancé's friends were upset when he didn't come back to visit after basic like another one of their friends that is in the military was able to do. Anyway, I think your handwritten card idea is a great one. We had debated a formal announcement, but I think even a short handwritten note on each of them will help people understand that we still love and respect them enough to send more than a mass printed announcement. 

18gf you can't really be either over or underdressed unless you show up in a ballgown or bathrobe. There's a wide variety of outfit choices. I picked out a nice dress that I dressed down with more basic accessories. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that it's really cold. I could have gotten away with wearing a trash bag because I had my coat on the entire time anyway. If you wear tights with a sweater dress, it's not too bad for short periods of time.  A pretty good picture of what people are wearing to PIR is to think about what people around you wore to your college (or high school) graduation...it's a good place to start just remember that it's March in Illinois. They're still getting snow, and it's very windy.