Moms of Aviation Rescue Swimmers

Birdiejr, praying for you and your family so sorry for your loss! The Navy family will con't to keep you and your in our prayers! 

My son is driving to San Diego. Left yesterday. He got 40 miles out of San Antonio and decided to stop for the night. He is SO looking forward to getting to San Diego:)

Birdiejr-so sorry about your father-in-law. Know that you are in our prayers.

Lydia-J graduates on Tuesday then next stop BC. July 3rd will be here before I know it. I don't think it has hit me yet that in just a little over a month, my "baby" will be leaving home for good. His buddy doesn't leave until 9/11 so I'll still have one around but it won't be long until its just the hubby and I (and the dog!).

Jodi Josh's Mom know that feeling it's hard, but be proud!!!

Birdiejr...Sorry for your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you!

Another week complete. Time stretches on and on and on. . . . .  

lexi - Im so sorry ....   but Im thankful that the instructors noticed and are taking care of him..  what ever it is...  you know you have OUR prayers little darlin...  if you need us we are here!

Bird -  I am soo sorry for your loss   =0(     please know we are here for you and our prayers for your family and sailor!

Andys - very kewl...  SD rocks!!!  IF he wants a church with lots of Navy kids... you saw the link I posted one page back... 

JodiJ - ewwwwwwwww  nerves nerves...  I remember  but believe it or not...  they do great - we are the ones who panic!  Oh and my son and all 3 of his buddies went into service...  2 navy 1 Airforce...  Im sooo proud of them!

sweetpea...   hi sista!  always thinking about your son and dil!  And you !

KKrHoosier - but that is soooo great!!!!  moving on..  this is such a long pipeline.  grueling and stressful for us loved ones as well.... 

My B thinks that after training in June (the last with his new squad) he will get those lovely wings!!!!  yipppie...  at long long last ...  like almost exactly 2 years to the day...  LONG pipeline but a good one!

Birdiejr-sorry to hear about your father in law.  Safe travels & I pray for God's comfort for you and your family

Jodi-Josh'smom-you are all too right about time speeding by.  When my son graduated we had until the beginning of August until he had to go to boot camp and that time went by in a blink.  That has been almost 2 years ago now! Hard to believe!

Lydia-congrats to your son, he is soooo close.  I talked to my son a little about him getting his wings and he said his squadron doesn't give out wings until after they have been on a detachment.  I thought what the sailors had to do to qualify for wings was standard across squadrons, but that is not apparently the case since I think you said your son won't go on his first detachment until after he gets his wings. 

Speaking of detachments, my son got word that he is slated for his first detachment in December so no coming home for Christmas this year.  He will be gone for about 6 months and will be going to Japan, Thailand and Australia.  I was hoping my husband and I could go to Guam for his 21st bday, which is in April, but I guess now we won't since he won't be there.  It would be great if we could maybe meet up with him while he is in Australia.  We'll have to see, it may just not be feasible to visit him while he is on a detachment.  He is super excited and I am very excited for him; I am just not looking forward to going almost 18 months without hugging that boy. 

Calimom...   Hi my dear friend...  gee I dont know...  Bens Hsc21 squad has to finish all exams and testing to get their wings...  THEN they get deployed...  like you said ...  who knows??   Unless as he said they are in a state of emergency.. then all is different...  i dont know but I DO know... they are happy its us moms will NEVER be THROUGH it though   =)    Oh honey December... well, you are not alone cause Bman said at first he was told next spring... now he is told..  early December...   so like you, Im praying for one more Christmas.. or pre Christmas with our boys....  i dunno   =(      he does not know.... we will not know till the last moment of course.  This is where our strong mamma kicks in (I suppose)   I DO know that we are all here to keep hoping praying and encouraging each other...  virtual hugs i guess!!!   xoxoxoxox

so texting with my son this week end...said he was on call for SAR this, but he wanted to go diving, so he asked his buddy to switch with him.  Leadership agreed and took my son off primary....and put him on secondary.  So they launched a SAR this weekend but because my son was not primary, he didn't get to go and because he was on call as secondary he didn't get to go diving either.  He was a little annoyed that he missed the opportunity to go on a SAR and save a life and to miss diving all in the same weekend. 

Also found out...he had a friend in high school that went into the Marines and they left for their respective boot camps a couple of weeks apart.  By chance, his friend was in Pensacola for a couple of weeks when my son was there and they happened to meet up.  Now that my son is in Guam, his friend was sent over to Guam to the air force base (not naval base) like my son, and they happen to meet up again.  I just think it is weird how these two keep getting sent to the same place by different military branches. 

Thanks for remembering me Lydia! :) --I'll def have to check out that church when I'm down in Pensacola!  I'm pretty sure I won't be in BC come July, I'm hoping to be ready by July and leave in October the latest (I want to go now! haha).  I'm on medical hold at MEPS right now waiting for my doctor to fix an operative report from my knee surgeries.  Once that's cleared, I'll finally get to swear in!  I only started training about a month and a half ago so I'm still not ready for my PST.  I have the swim, push-ups, and sit-ups, still working on that 9min. 1.5 miles and pull-ups.  I've never done a pull-up, but now currently can do 3...so 3 more to go!!  Once I get those down, I'll be good to go!  Even though I'm not officially in DEP yet I've already met with my scout/spec war trainer and have an active duty SEAL mentor so it's very encouraging that they're investing their time in me when I'm not even in yet!

Birdiejr-I'm very sorry for your loss, your family is in my prayers!

lexi728-I can completely relate to that helpless feeling.  When my best friend/ex was going through BUD/S he was so depressed, but when I went to visit it helped immensely and gave him that extra bit of reinforcement :)..however when he dropped..it was just a downward spiral no matter what I said or tried to do, but just keep encouraging them and they'll get through it, they know you're there :)

teamnavy -  well, we are here for you through this whole time!  OH that church is in San Diego...  but I know there are some good ones also in Pcola that the kids like to go too.  Yes Train train and then train some more...  very wise use of your time as this path is such a difficult one ....   go girl!!!!!!!

Calimom - hahaha that is like Bs best friend R.....   they have know each other since what middle school....  B went in a year ahead of R..  and I told B that him and R will one day be back together..  low and behold..  they are.   Both in SD Cali and they were roomates up until B moved on into his perm squadron.  Now wouldnt it be funny if R who will grad the RSS pipeline this month I think - gets SD as her perm station like B AND if he were to get HSC 21 also  -   hahaha..  that ws a weird situation for your son..  poor guy but Im sooo sure as always that there must have been a reason that we dont see...  God is wtching!

*** his not her  hahaha

Leaving for Pensacola in a couple of hours for a graduation from RSS on Thursday! Halleluiah!  It's been a very long 6 1/2 weeks.  I'm excited, happy, proud and very relieved!

kkrHoosier congrats, make sure you get to graduation early so that you can take the tour of the pool! Have a safe and enjoyable trip!!!! 

kkrH....  whoooooooop......  so awesome....  have fun and take lots of pix

Well B is gonna be on hold for about 5 weeks then he'll start week four again. Really hoping all goes well this time around and I'll be back in July for graduation. 

So glad we were able to share graduation today with our Rescue Swimmer.  Now to enjoy the fresh seafood Pensacola has to offer.

kkHousier.   SWEET memories.  And exciting days ahead for him too.  

EVERYONE - Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. It means so much to have your support during this difficult time. Our sailor was unable to be with us bc he is in class and had finals but that's the way it goes sometimes. Lexi - I'm sure B really appreciates your support and in the long run the delay will be in his best interest. Kkr - Hooyah!! Was today wonderful or what?!?!  To everyone else - I know there are many other msgs I've missed. Know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. Hugs!!

lexi - hoping and praying also!!!! 

kkrH - sweet sweet

Birdie -     =(     

Hi Vitamama

Item of interest - my son's RSS class that graduated on Thursday included a young woman - only the 34th female rescue swimmer in the history of the Navy.  She must have a lot of spunk as this was her 5th attempt to graduate.  One of the instructors mentioned that she did not really know how special her accomplishment is - for comparison there have been more First Ladies of the United States than female rescue swimmers!

kkrHoosier--that's awesome!! good for her :) ..here's to being the 35th!

gabbyhat - There was a medical issue involved I believe.

To everyone else who had such encouraging words - thank you.  It truly helped a great deal.  Now I guess I just wait for the next phase to begin. My son will be on hold for awhile.

hey yall.... please forgive  If seem out of line...perhaps I have been here too long... but I believe in each kid who goes through this process.. and Ive been here three years now.. and I have followed so many of yall...  regardless of battleing my own things....  I have seen so many pass this program and so many who have not... but I have not seen one Sailor who did not come out in the long run as stellar...  and Im speaking personally...  I have mommas whose kids did not pass or chose not to go on... and now...  they are doing awesome..  I have also seen kids who made it and are not really happy with it... SOOOO please forgive ...  perhaps im just tired of batteling Dans Cancer etc...  but Im thinking...  lets pray that each kids makes it to his or her right direction.....  Right Place  Right Time  Right Reason....  and sometimes we dont know what that is... we must trust AND we must stay here and support each other!!!!!     Love yall...  thank you for your prayers for my hubby....  and IM praying as I have that each of our sailors...  goes the path that they are mean to go...  and that us mommas wives and gfs can support always no matter what..     love yall so much and you know I DO

Morning everyone. I have a question (probably stupid but here it is). My J leaves for bc 3 weeks from tomorrow. Somewhere on NFM someone mentioned having your SR pack up the stuff they want to take to their A school before they leave for bc so that you don't have to figure out what to ship to them later. My question is, what do they need to take -clothes, etc (how much room is there where they are staying?). My kid would pack either everything or nothing if you know what I mean.I just want to be prepared and I figure you ladies would give me the best advise. So sorry for bothering you but I would appreciate the info. Thanks

Jodi J---  well, first of all...if you are going to the BC when he grads..  then yall will have a little time to talk..  no, your kid will not be allowed to have his civ stuff for a while after grad from BC and In Pcola...  he will be in uniform and other... now after he gets to Pcola after BC you will be able to ship him or take to him what ever...  remember once they are in Pcola on hold for RSS etc...  they have to Phase up...  (did you read the Path up above??)  so basically noooo  do not bother with that.  Now at PIR grad they get to have a day or two with family and as long as they are in the hotel they can wear what ever....  outside... full dress...  You can after PIR at the airport give him his cell phone...  but nothing nothing nothing before that...  and if you read the Path of the Rescue Swimmer you will see that there is a loooooooooooooooooong way to go before A school...  Resuce Swimmers start out with two other schools...  NACCS and RSS before A-school... I know it is confusing....   so no...  just wait... you will have communication with him after BC and can mail him his clothes, shoes etc... but it will be a while before he will wear any civs......   +0)     hey NO Question is a dumb question sis!!!!   Right now he and you need to focus on his going to BC..  letters (which take for ever to get and receive) and PIR

Oh and Jodi...  my son lost sooooo much weight in BC that he had to buy all new civ clothing after he got to Pcola...  he did aske me to ship his laptop and running shoes...  that was about it...  =)

Jodi J; Lydia mentioned letters... and one idea is that when you get an address from him, make up labels and have them on the envelopes  stamped and ready to mail him. Then you can print off stuff from sports or news that he liked, as well as verses that are encouraging and news from home of course.   Just ideas for you for him during BC. 

Thanks Lydia, for the info. I had read the Path before, several times in fact, but I should have reread the Phases and Liberty again. That answered most of the questions. I think I'll have him pick out the clothes he really wants to keep and get rid of the rest since most are for colder weather anyway. Hopefully he won't need that type of clothing for a long time!!

 Vitamama, I've already started buying cards to send to him but I will also follow your advice. I guess they can't get too much mail right?  It still hasn't sunk in that in just a few weeks he'll be leaving home. My other "son" doesn't leave for bc until Sept so I should be an old hand at this by then I hope. Thanks again and have a wonderful day.

Jodi - my son said I overwhelmed him with letter hahaha..  I mailed usually two a day.  But they love getting them.  Good Idea Vitamama!!!!

Does anyone know if there is a graduation for Aviation Rescue Swimmer school?

johunton, this is the one that we all try to make while they are in Pensacola.

johunton - yes there is..  it is very last minutes depending upon if your Sailor passes or not or fails something and has to roll back in.  They never know if they are going to pass until the last test which is the week of the graduation...  so you have to be sitting on ready.  One of our moms here had all her plans made and had to cancell as her Sailor did not pass a certain test and they are rolling him back in soon.  So she had to last minute cancel....  but it is kewl Graduation to attend if at all possible.   Oh and welcome I dont remember meeting you in here?  Where is your Sailor in the pipeline????

Lydia-I am knew.  My sailor is week 1 in bootcamp.  We just got his grad date from bootcamp and I cannot go.  My entire family is vacationing that week in Panama City, FL (we are from Maryland)-and cannot change any of our dates, so my husband will be attending...but I am devistated.  So I was hoping their is a graduation from Rescue Swimmer school--I am glad to here that.  Thanks for the information

Johunton, You will be vacationing in my part of Florida. Check out the beaches of South Walton, Destin area, instead of Panama City!!!

Lannettek- my son and your son will be graduating together! WIll your son also be heading to Pensacola afterwards as a Rescue Swimmer?

sweatpea4-we plan to check out South Walton and Destin next time.  Heard lots of good things about them.

Johunton, I just sent you a friend request!

woooow welcome then johunton and lannettek...   kewl your sons are together..  Oh man...  yes be sure and read the Path of the Rescue Swimmer up in the forum section it will help------ and as for BC...  well, they will be okay..  it is only the beginning for them and yalll.... 

johunton...  well, Im glad he will have a family member at PIR - to me it was the most crazy amazing day of my(our)  life.  but also yes...  RSS is a GREAT grad too.. just a little more challenging as the dates are so last minute... and the RSS pipeline is so challenging...not all will pass ----  well, just keep those letters going to him and let him know that even tho you cant be at PIR ( I assume you have told him ) that you are 100% there for him...  I challenge you tho...  if there is anyway you can get to it.. you should..  to them it is everything to see their families when those doors open and they march in...  but if not... Im sure he will understand.

Lannettek...  so good to have you here also..  you two moms need to friend each other...  pehaps your boys know each other.  Keep those letters going to them and just know that they will need you big time all through out this pipeline..  not gonna lie.. it is tough..  they will need all they got plus all you got!!!!  =)    

We are here for yall!!  Tons of prayers and holler here anytime you need anything or want to cry vent laugh or ask questions.....   

HI sweetpea

RSS Graduation is definitely last minute - as I can attest to from our recent experience.  We had airline tickets booked, hotel booked, vacation at work scheduled, I was standing in line at the bank to get cash for our trip on the Tuesday of graduation week when my son called with the bad news.  It all worked out and he graduated two weeks later but it was very stressful!  We were so happy to be there though to witness his success - just a little delayed!

kkr....  so good to see ya sis...  soooo glad everything worked out...  we knew it would  (smile and wink)  xoxox

Thanks, Lydia.  I have not been active on this site for very long, but I can certainly tell that you are the "mama' of all sailor moms here. It's very generous of you to share your time, experience and compassion and to speak to each of our specific situations with positive words.  Any chance you make your living as a counselor?  :)

johunton & lynettek welcome to our little group.  Hopefully you are also part of the group for your sailor's PIR date.  I made some great friends in the PIR group for my sailor's grad date and still keep in contact with many of them almost 2 years later.   

Lydia, I agree with kkr.  I thought...how sweet and caring.  She's gotta be a counselor!

CaliMom--thanks for the advice.  I have not found the group yet for my sailors PIR date (what does PIR mean?) - but will search.  Glad to have found Lannettek.

Howdy-- Navy Dad here...

My boy is just in the process of enlisting, and Rescue Swimmer is what he has his heart set on.  I'm here, just gathering info, so thank you to all who share so freely.

Jack - you are welcome here any time.  Go up in the forum discussion area and read "The Path of the Rescue Swimmer"  It will help you alot

EVERYONE....  I want you all to know that I read a response that I made several pages back and clearly I said it all wrong and in doing so I hurt a very dear sister who has been here for a long time's feelings..  It was stupid of me and I should have re-read before I posted it.  Gabby please please excuse my poor use of expression..  Im sorry

 Waiting on a graduation date! 2 more flights left! Can't book my flight yet, it just hurry up an wait!