Norfolk Sailors - Family & Friends

AnnieKay, I am sorry no one has replied to you. This site does not seem to have a lot of active responders on it, despite the number of members. I am still fairly new to all of this fleet stuff and my son is not deployed, so I am going to just give you general info. 

I would check with your local post office. I don't even know how you send packages to a ship, but they might be able to help you. Are you on your ship's FB page, if they have one. Did your son give your contact information to his Ombudsman? The ombudsman should be able to help you out as well. 

Let me know if you are still needing more help with this. 

* I meant this group, not the site in general.

AnnieKay - hope this helps. It is from the usps website.

Happy Almost Thanksgiving Day!

Hello fellow Navy Wives, 

I need your advice!

My husband just got stationed in VA a week from today already. He is staying in barracks. I didn't move with him to VA because we wanted to get a house already. 

We wanted to get a house already because we wanted to invest early while we can. (Thinking that properties could appreciate in value in the next years to come). And as much as possible we wanted to maximize the use of BAH by using it to pay mortgage. 

With that, we may have a house but there might be less time he'd be able to go home because he still have to travel (from his duty station).

Another option is we buy a house, and if we plan to be together where he is stationed at, then we will rent out the house. 

Anyone, please advice or share any pros and cons. 

Thank you. 

Jarj - Hopefully, you will have some responses in the next few days. My son is stationed in Norfolk but he is assigned to a carrier that has full berthing facilities. I believe that the married couples are able to either buy a house or rent. I will say from my son's comments about the commute time you will want to keep that in mind when looking for a place to live.

As to buying or renting there are a lot of factors involved, hopefully some others will share their experiences. 

Hello All Navy Moms in Norfolk

My son just left back Saturday he stayed with his brother and family who is a Veteran.  My other in Norfolk, has been in 24  years now, always on a carrier so he will retire 2021 c how the jobs out in the real world are.

Blessed New Years to All of You

Happy Valentine's Day!
I hope our sailors are able to enjoy some time with their family or friends!

My husband just sent this link to me, a video from the Navy Chief of Operations regarding the current situation. I appreciated it.
https://news.usni.org/2020/03/19/video-cno-message-to-the-fleet-on-...

Hey everyone - 41 days until the election.  Please remind your Sailor's to vote - they can go to FVAP.gov for information.

If you have a sailor on the Ford (CVN78) here's the link to the group:

USS Gerald R Ford CVN 78

Hi all - Happy Wednesday!

27 days until the election - remind your Sailors to vote!  They can go to FVAP.gov for information.

I saw this in one of my facebook groups – “if you have Verizon as your phone carrier they have rolled out a program that automatically takes the Unknown and Potential Spam calls and sends them to your voicemail.  This has already been placed on your account.  You can call Verizon or use the My Verizon app to opt out of this services.  If you have the app you can go to Contact Us and choose We’ll Call You and put Other as reason and choose Call Me as soon as possible.” 

This is especially important if you have an SR in bootcamp or a sailor deployed.  You don’t want to miss any calls!

I don't know about other carriers but I can vouch for this happening with Verizon as I have Verizon.

Remember to set your clocks back one hour, for those of us that have to.!

As of Wednesday (today), Hampton Roads installation is going to HPCON Charlie 

B'sNukeMom - Thank you for sharing this information. I missed it the other day but saw it on my son's ombudsman page. I am learning to go to the source though with each and every new change!

oneals88 - were you trying to post something?  Nothing shows up.

Oneals88 - I also saw you were trying to post something. I have to be away from my computer most of the afternoon but I do have a sailor in Norfolk if you need to ask a question. Feel free to post a comment on my page (just click on my chipmunk) and you can post. I have my comments set to be approved so if you need to post something private, I can see it but no one else. 

As long as it is in the comments on My Page. 

I just realized that it has been almost a year since I posted anything on this group page. I just wanted to update and let anyone looking for information to know that I am still available. 

I know that the Norfolk area is possibly going to receive snow again this weekend. For any of you wondering about your sailors, be sure to see if they have a new schedule update from their command. Many things are taken into consideration, and the safety of our sailors is foremost. 

Good Morning everyone!! I seem to be about the only one posting on this group anymore but I am sharing this anyway, since I have people reaching out to me privately (which is fine, I just can't always spend a lot of individual time - although I enjoy doing it.)

I see there is some information in the discussions above but I have been asked about housing in the area. I found this link 

Naval Station Norfolk (navy.mil)

while hunting for information on PPVs (Public Private Ventures). Privatized Housing (navy.mil)

I don't know if all of these are apartments, but I have a female sailor friend who stayed in one prior to receiving her E-5 and BHA. Hers was like a small apartment with a shared bathroom. From what she shared, as with regular military housing, the Navy will issue the sailor their BHA (Basic Housing Allowance) for the area, but then they will take all of that BHA back to pay for their rent. 

If you are not familiar this is different than someone who receives BHA and uses it towards a private apartment or house mortgage. Those the sailor either will have a little left over for utilities and such or will need to pay extra out of pocket depending on what housing they choose, and the allowance given for the Norfolk area. 

I don't know what the average is for apartments, but I know some sailors who are paying around $1200.00 / month for rent plus some extra fees for a 2-bedroom apartment, if that helps with some ideas of cost. 

Fleet & Family Support Programs - Naval Station Norfolk

Norfolk (navymwrnavalstationnorfolk.com)

Fleet and Family Readiness (several in the Norfolk area)

Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story (navy.mil)

Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads (navy.mil)

Naval Support Activity Mechanicsburg (navy.mil)

Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic

Naval Station Norfolk (navy.mil)

Some information that might be helpful to those with sailors headed to the Norfolk area. 

Wow Chipmunk. You were right. Thisis a quiet board!

Good morning everyone! 

I don't know who still follows this group much, as we have very little activity on here. I rarely post on this N4M site when I see headline news about incidents that occur, because I never know who may not know information or how it will affect others.  So, I will just say this.

No matter what ship your sailor is assigned to, whether it is in Norfolk, or over in the shipyards at Newport News, we are Navy family here. If you are hurting, struggling, feeling like you are alone with things, please do not hesitate to reach out. 

If we can help you get connected to the ombudsman associated with your sailor's ship, or one of the ombudsmen for the Norfolk area, please ask for help. If you just need to share something privately, know that you are not alone. It can be hard to be part of the Navy family, and yet be a long distance from your sailor, especially those that are our children, but who now are adults and free to make their own decisions and choices, with or without our knowledge. 

There are several of us in various groups on this site as well that are still active. And my comments are moderated so if you need to post there feel free to do so. 

If you need help finding other groups on this site, please post here in the comment wall. 

Thank you! I follow and am a new mom with sailor in Newport News at the moment. I have many concerns about things and look here for information. I hope we can keep group active. 
Thank you Chipmunk!!

~MAV

Thank you Tabitha!! He graduated in January and recently came to Newport News, been there maybe 2 months. I’m actually coming to visit him this weekend to help him straighten out some issues he’s been having. At least I hope I can help. Nice to hear back from someone already!!

Blessings to you and your family as well!!

Congratulations Mav, what a huge accomplishment for him. Good luck to you and best wishes. 

Hi everyone!  I’m here too. My son has been in Norfolk since December 2020. 

Wiffer peanut - Please tell your daughter thank you for her service from us. I hope that you are able to enjoy some time with her after she has been gone overseas. 

Please do not remove or delete your account as we lose all information that was previously shared. You may simply turn off the notifications, both in your settings on your profile page and also by clicking below this comment window. 

Tabitha, it is good to hear from you as well. Please also, tell your sailor thank you for their years of service. 

MAV & Shanny - Hi!

I'm still here also. 

Since the explosion of fb, it seems that this site doesn't get a lot of activity. I still read all the comments though !!

I had to rest my password as It has been so long since I logged in, I forgot what it was !! Lol !! 

My son now has 11 years in. He has changed his rate. No longer IT. He has gone EOD. 

Pits been a wild ride these past few years !

Chipmunk, Thank you, I most definitely will. 

Maryland mom, one of the reasons I love this site is because I'm not on Facebook. So I am definitely glad it was here, especially when I needed answers 

Shanny, Hello glad you are here to 

Hi! i'm still here. I do utilize Facebook more, but I do check this site periodically. My son has been stationed in Norfolk since January and is currently deployed. NBMH to all you guys!! :)

Good Morning Tigermom98, Tabitha, & MarylandMom - I had full intentions to get back over to this group on Wed & Thur and say hi to you all but I have a lot going on here on the homefront.  

My mornings have also been usually blessed with a phone call from my sailor gal (my sailor's wife)  - which just occurred and delayed this posting by over an hour. 

I am glad you all are sticking around and responding here. I do not have a FB account and personally like the atmosphere of our group here. I do have a private paged group on this site that I started over a year ago for anyone that has an enlisted sailor. We are much more active and just do what we can to support each other and ask or answer questions. If you are interested in joining that group, please comment on my page and I will connect you with the information.

May you all have a wonderful day!

MAV - I hope you are able to help your sailor get settled. Thinking about you today!

Thank you Chipmunk!!! Heading down now. Can’t wait to hug him. Thank you for everything!!! I’ll let everyone know how things go and I’m excited to see the area. I’ve been to a few tourist areas down there but never near the ports. 
Hope everyone has a nice weekend!!

MAV - You are welcome!

Finally visited my Sailor this past week.. It was rainey, cold, and windy on Monday in Newport News.. but the hugs and time spent were warm and sweet... He even bought us all t-shirts and gave challenge coins to his brothers.. He is doing well. Iam very thankful to be able to visit him for a little bit. 

Dawn - I am so glad that you were able to spend some time with your sailor! I find it very helpful to me to see my sailor where he is at in each of his various locations. I have a picture in my mind, I know his surroundings, & I generally meet one or two of his shipmates which gives me more of a sense of what life is like for him. 

Hello All - I just saw this in my MSN news feed when I opened a new tab on my computer - Norfolk Naval Shipyard hiring with up to $5K sign-on bonus (msn.com) - I don't know if anyone has someone who has completed their enlistment period and looking for a job in the area, but I thought I would share this. 

Good Morning Norfolk & Newport News families!! I hope all is well with you and your sailors.  

Good Morning Everyone!! I hope things are going well for our families. 

Hello, not exactly sure if this is where I need to be. My son mentioned Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Oceania. I know he will be with a squadron on the Harry Truman as soon as he finishes his school in Lemoore as a Aviation Electronic Technician. If I am in the wrong place please let me know, sometimes the information he gives me confuses me more than it should.

Northwoodsmom:  Welcome to the area!!!  Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Oceana are in an area sometimes referred to as Hampton Roads. So if you hear that term, just know they are talking about that whole area. This board is pretty quiet but Chipmunk tries to get us going

Shanny, thank you for the welcome, I never even knew they had a Norfolk site until I read Chipmunks post on the Nuke site. Even if our son's do different jobs they seem all to be connected in some way. Maybe we can help Chipmunk get this site more vocal because I know nothing about the Norfolk area. Do the Sailors usually have barracks to live in, I know yours has a apartment.

Good Morning!! 

Shanny - Thanks!!

Northwoodsmom - first of all here is a link to the USS Truman group - USS Harry S. Truman CVN75 - Navy For Moms (ning.com) - B'sNukeMom's son was on that ship I believe so I know she posts or keeps up with that group some. 

Housing - that seems to be the million dollar question and frustration in the Norfolk as well as other areas. They should be given barracks to live in unless they are having them sleep on the ship. We have had a recent incident with another ship that was in the shipyards in Newport News and I know it is a sensitive and hard situation. 

For now this is what I believe is correct but I learn so many things from my sailors and it is hard for me to get it all down on paper. 

BAH - Basic Allowance & Housing  (I always say it backwards) is only offered to I think E-5 and above for bachelor sailors. This is what helps to pay for an apartment that is not government supplied housing. So, most likely your son will be living in government supplied housing instead of receiving BAH. - If your son gets an apartment or shares an apartment, he will be paying for it out of his own pocket. - That is the simple version. 

Living on the ship or in barracks is what they do in the Navy. 

More importantly, is transportation in the Norfolk area, especially if your ship is going back and forth from Newport News (shipyard) to the Norfolk base side and is in port.  My understanding is that there is very little public transportation and the base area is very large. 

Also, VA, is very strict on their speeding rules or just driving over the speed limit. 

Hopefully, this can help you get started on the transition. Your son should have a sponsor from his ship or the squadron attachment, so once you know more we can keep connecting you with more resources. 

Wow things are perking up here! 

My son's ship is away for another week or so so he has been in THU at Norfolk. He has been temporarily assigned to help on another ship but unfortunately it is at Newport News so he has to commute every day. However, since he is not on base for all mealtimes, he is getting BAS (not BAH) to cover expenses since he works "away". Thank goodness with these gas prices.

When his ship comes in, it will be undergoing some repairs so he will not be able to live on it. However, they give PPV ( Ithink?) so they can cover expenses.  It is less than BAH but decent enough. He is an E4 and had intended to live on ship until February when he is expecting E5. 

In the meantime, he stops at the beach most days on his way back to Norfold to run. He said the gym at Newport News is better too so it's not all bad. 

His twin sister is moving in with ust in the fall so she can work and save up money for nursing school the following fall. I'm hoping we can drive up to Norfolk to visit then (it's about a 10-11 hour drive). All in all he seems happy at Norfolk. 

Northwoodsmoms - here's the link to the AE group.  It's not very active but maybe if you post there things will perk up!

Aviation Electronics - AE

And here's the link to the AT group:

Aviation Electronics Technician - AT