Norfolk Sailors - Family & Friends

Barbara, Congratulations to your son and to you! It has to make you rest easier to know he has the love and support of a good young woman.

Thanks for the info on the wind and cold winters, Ladies. Long underwear is a great idea for a Christmas gift! Sporting goods stores have non-cotton ones for skiiers that would probably be perfect.

Sadly, my son won't be home for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I'm going to see him for Thanksgiving, but I miss having him home, cooking for him, etc. I'm sure you all know what I mean.

My Son is attached too the USNS Comfort. He lives on base at Portsmouth. He is a Corpman. Wanting to visit him on Thanksgiving!

my Sailor msg'd me on FB yesterday - said he was mahi-mahi fishing off the side of the ship...i asked who was cooking?  lolany glimpse of his life is so important to me right now...sent his Thanksgiving box off last week.  Hope he gets it in time for turkey day - allot of beef jerky will be on the USS Nitze before too long...

i bought my daughter 2 pairs of the blanket sleepers just like the kids wear, feet and all.  some of them laughed at first then she asked me where to get them, several of the girls have them now, lol.  you can also get them for men, i got my son a pair of flannel sleepers with feet.  he's taking them on the tiger cruise.  yes it is cold in the berthing.

My son is leaving today to head for his duty station in Norfolk VA....this is all new to me as well as to him....any pointers?

Thank you Connie for the information, good luck to your son and family as well.

Heaven knows they can need it in Norfolk, especially the way the wind blows off the water!  I dug around and found the official Navy word on thermals. It's from this page: NWU - Footnotes 

Oops, I don't know why the font went to giant-size when I pasted it in  :)

Hi all,

Haven't been on for a couple days. I'd better do some reading. :)

To MJ:

Does your son have a place to go for Thanksgiving?  My husband and I open our home to sailors on the weekends and also for the holidays as well and he would be more than welcome to join us.  And just a reminder to others in this group, we would be happy to invite your sailors also.  We have room for about 8.  Let us know and we wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving!

does anyone know about the next tiger cruise?

me!

it depends on the ship, it takes place a few days before homecoming

The results are out.  you can go to this facebook page for the Navy advancement Center and there are links are the various rates/ranks.  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Navy-Advancement-Center/213190711299

Thanks John & Yvonne for the invite...I will try to talk to my son and see what his plans are for Thanksgiving.  He also turns 21 on the 23rd of this month so I'll miss that too...we'll let you know.  Thanksgiving Blessings to you and your family!

Here is another link that is a complete list for all ranks and rates.

http://militarytimes.com/projects/careers/navy/petty_officers/2011/...

is there a group for the san jacinto..i lookrd thru didnt see one..

KK, I don't think they would show that in these listings.  It would show up on his test results which the command will get and he will be shown.  Plus he has access to those results (and a lot of other stuff) through what is called NKO (Navy Knowledge Online).  The results will show how he did in each category of questions (also versus how everyone else did in it), his eval points, award points, etc.  All the things that end up giving the composite score.

Sandra: my boys played soccer for years and always wore under armor. It is much more tight fitting then thermals and does keep you warm

'

Got an excited call from my sailor...he made E6.  So proud of him.

My son is stationed in Tampa, Fl. If your child is stationed in Norfolk and  needs a home cooked meal and family for Thanksgiving, please send me a message.

I live in VA and my husband and I would welcome your son or daughter for the holidays. Just let me  know and we can make it happen. Our son is stationed in Tampa and is with is wife and  family so we feel no child should be alone or stuck in a strange state without family on the holidays.

kk, thank you, just like yourself, not all families live near a base and for those of us that live near bases, I feel it is our duty to give our service people a family for the holidays. So with that being said, it is our honor to be a surrogate family for any that would like a home cooked meal.

I created a Discussion a few days back for gathering together in one place these great offers of holiday meals etc  - perhaps Nancy could bump it up top again for the week?  Or show more Discussion topics (I think you can show up to six).  Anyway, here's the link Thanksgiving / Holidays 2011 for our Norfolk sailors

Grasshopper, Congratulation to your son. My son made Petty Officer 3rd Class last Weds. He said that there was no ceremony. He said that he will have a Ceremony when he makes Petty Officer 2nd class.

Let me know what your son's ceremony is like. :)

Hey trloguem...It looks like I am going to be able to come up for the Frocking Ceremony.  I'm thinking about getting a group of Philip's friends together and bringing them with me to surprise him.  Do you think he will have trouble getting them on base for the ceremony?  I've thought about calling to ask but I have no idea who to call and ask.  I want this to be a surprise so I can't ask Philip.

If you come up, hopefully we will get the chance to meet!  That would be great!  I'm not positive but I think Philip has to work that night after the ceremony. :(

As our Sailors make rank and earn their crows, the ceremony to pin it on is called a Frocking Ceremony.  The tradition is for their buddies to come by and congratulate them by slapping them on the shoulder which of course is where the crow was just pinned and can be a little painful.  My Cousin was here from Georgia (her husband was retired Navy and she has a son in also) when Philip called Friday morning to tell me he had made Petty Officer, 3rd Class and that his Frocking Ceremony was Wed.  She said to tell him it would be painful and he said "that's fine, it's a rite of passage and tradition."  My son takes a lot of pride in the traditions of the Navy.

Anyone know of good thiings to visit/see over the Thanksgiving weekend in Williamsburg?  Visiting my sailor for a couple of days and staying there. He has enjoyed visiting Yorktown/Jamestown and seeing the history there...so that is on the list!

Very well said, Marine_Navy Mom.

We thank God often for the blessings in our lives, particularly our sailors, their safety, and success. Today, we're joined by the rest of the country.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Well said by all - and can I add, I'm so thankful for my wonderful Navy Mom friends I've made here on N4M.  Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Diane P, I just got back from visiting my son in Portsmouth/Norfolk area. It's weird to live out of a hotel. I'd much rather have a house with a kitchen to cook for him and friends. I'm not sure what you like to do, but if history, food, alcohol, shopping, or musice interest you read on. ;^)  I saw a lot of great historic stuff while there. I only got to spend a little time in Williamsburg. Had a good lunch at the Seasons restaurant and did a wine tasting at the Williamsburg Winery, interesting history if you take the tour. Also went to a beautiful new winery in New Kent, not far from Williamsburg. It's built from old materials: pre-Civil War bricks, giant heart of pine beems that came from an old factory in New York, etc. The Jamestown Visitor's Center is pretty awesome, and so is the Yorktown one. I'd recommend the ferry too. It's just fun to be on the water and it tends to let you off in areas where there will be a lot to see. The Portsmouth to Norfolk ferry let us off right by the MacArthur Memorial (must-see) and a great mall where I found some very comfy shoes and we roamed a big bookstore. We also found an ad about some live music at a restaurant/bar called The Jewish Mother and a canned food fundraiser concert next to it at the NORVA, a small, inexpensive concert venue. We went to The Jewish Mother for some good bar food before going to a very enjoyable Bison (local indie band) concert at the NORVA. Other than that, we were in Portsmouth most of the time because my son just got stationed on the USS Truman that's in dry dock there, and he hasn't gotten his housing at the Barracks in Norfolk yet. I hope you have a great time with your sailor!

Hi Diane, it sounds like you kept busy while visiting your Sailor glad you got to spend Thanksgiving with him.Thanks for the tour details its good to know if I ever get to visit my Sailor

DebbieinCA  Thanks for the info. I'm going to need some ideas when my sailor comes home from deployment next year.    Glad to hear you had a good Thanksgiving!    My hubby and I spent Thanksgiving in Branson Mo.  Went to Silver dollar City and Dixie Stampede for Thanksgiving dinner.  It was great!!

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!

Hello my son is Stationed on the USS Bataan he wiil join them on December 19, afther he finis A school in Great Lakes. How can he get a sponsor?

My apology for the mispelled words, Just finish profreading. Thankyou

Welcome mso, my son is also on the Bataan.  Sorry I don't know about a sponsor. I'm sure someone does.

Hi mso!!  I heard that after Sailors are finished with their (A) or (C)school, they will be given all the information with their orders. The information will tell them who their sponsor is along with their phone number.  Some sponsors call the Sailor they are going to sponsor before they are due to go on ship. Or your son will have to call.

Thankyou so much.

Yes, mso, I agree with Sandy.  That is how it worked with my son.  His sponsor met him at the airport. 

Debbie:  Thanks for the info!  The ferry sounds like a great idea.  I actually saw that on the water when we were there and wondered what it was.  Will put it on the list for next time!  Thanks for the other tourist tips.  We love that area and will continue exploring!

Good morning, all!

Thankyou