Hi cmacdon....congrats to your daughter. My son has been in Guam since Dec. and likes it. We did not ship his car because it would have taken 2 months to get there so he purchased a used car and he will sell it when he leaves. She will need a car unless she likes to ask for rides all the time. It's not really walking distance from the barracks to the ship. She could purchase a bike but they have a lot of rain! She can't stay off base unless she is an E5. She will be assigned a mentor who should contact her via email and help answer her questions. Unfortunately this page isn't very active :(. Let me know if I can help with anything else.
Welcome to Guam Moms cmacdon!! My son is a Corpsman in Guam & has been there 1 1/2 yrs, he will actually be leaving @ the end of March. As for the car, I agree w/Charlotte, she's better off buying 1 when she gets there. My son actually bought his from 1 of his LPO's. Guam is beautiful but unfortunatly it's not very big so there isn't a whole lot to do. My son has enjoyed his time there but is ready to get off "the Rock" as they call it. His girlfriend is also stationed there & will remain there for another year after he leaves. Like Charlotte said, let us know if there is anything else we can help you with. Good luck to your daughter!
Thanks for the information! My daughter will be a corpsman also! She has not heard from her mentor yet, but cant wait to find out the details! She graduates beginning of November, I think the 6th and she is to be in Guam Nov 25th. I am not even sure if she gets off right after graduation or if she only gets so much time and then they ship her out! Thought we would be able to have Thanksgiving together but looks like it will be a early one this year! Can you guys remember how that worked with your sailors?
My son didn't hear from his mentor until shortly before he went to Guam. My son flew home right after his ASchool graduation & then went from home to Guam. He had about a week home before he went. Enjoy your time w/her & your Thanksgiving even if it is early:) This will be our 2nd Christmas w/o my son being home but I know he'll be home in the end of March, I can't wait!!
If your daughter/son is heading to Guam, my son just got over there. Please make sure yours has contact with his/her sponsor plenty of times to have definite plans of being picked up by their sponsor at the airport. My son and his sponsor had emailed each other a few times and he had given his sponsor his flight arrival date/time. However, his sponsor was not at the airport to pick him up. He didn't answer his phone either. My son finally called the ship phone # and they sent over a duty driver. The driver showed up an hour and half later. It was around 2:00 in the morning Guam time. His cell phone didn't work so all he had was the pay phone at the airport to use.
Turns out he didn't have to report to anyone until Tuesday, since it was a holiday weekend. So he was on his own for 3 days in a place he had never been to before, with no phone and no transportation. He ended up walking to the mall so he could buy a new phone. (GTA is a good cell phone choice.) They say not to use cab service either. Extremely expensive.
Needless to say, his welcome to Guam was not an enjoyable experience. I'm sure it will get better from here on out, and I certainly hope this is not the norm for all sailors who arrive there.
Just want others to be aware. Have your son/daughter make clear arrangements with his/her sponsor ahead of time so they have a buddy at the airport waiting.
Thank you for this info ladies. My sailor has been assigned to be a mentor for the first time. He also did not have a great mentor experience himself. When our son arrived at the Guam airport there was no mentor there to pick him up.He had to call the ship via payphone and get picked up by a duty driver. My husband has passed on the info from all of you to our son. I think this was good information for him to read!
Mindy4boys- my husband had the similar experience at the airport, but was fortunate a duty driver happened to pass through and took him to the ship. No one helped him to call home and his ship deployed immediately. The one saving grace with the sponsor was after a week with no word I emailed the sponsor to say we were worried and they hurried up and made him an email and he wrote to me within the hour from sea. It all got better from there! And your sailors have much nicer barracks now- modern, safe, more like dorm rooms than the black mold/ ant infested houses they use to get, lol.
Tell him to contact the housing office (phone number in the government section of the phone book). There could be mold behind the walls where that flooding occurred. We had a leak in the walls between our washer and AC unit (I think it was a water build up around the humidifier) and they ripped out the small 2X2 area, sanitized and replaced and painted the wall. Also, it is extremely important that AC unit filters are changed very regularly. Everybody will give you different time frames but safe to check it every 1-2 months. I don't know how its handled in the new barracks.
oh, no! the housing department takes care of it. he may need them to come out and make sure they are being maintained and that there is no mold issue if he smells something.
I hope its ok that I'm on here- I'm not a mom of a sailor, but a wife to one and the mom of a baby :-) My husband is in Bahrain right now and we are supposed to be PCSing to Guam around feb-march, so I thought it would be nice to join this group and learn a little about it through you all before we go! My husbands an MA and is on unaccompanied orders in Bahrain for a year and a half right now. We can't wait to be with him when he's done there :)
My son arrived in Guam this past week. I need info on the best way to communicate with him. What does everyone do for phones, texting etc? Thanks for any help.
Sandy....your son will want to purchase a phone plan in Guam. My son also has his computer with internet and cellphone service. He has an iphone and we use an app called Voxer and we can communicate via text message through that for free. We also email and talk via Facebook all the time. The time difference is a challenge but we manage :)
My daughter will be in Guam as of December 18th, it is her first assignment since A school so I was wondering if they do anything special during the holidays? I am also wondering if I can send anything because I don't even have an address for her yet! I would like her to open something!!!
Hafa adai from Guam! I was born in, grew up in, and currently am living in Guam. My fiance just got to boot camp on December 5th. If you guys have any questions about Guam, please feel free to ask! :)
My son will be getting to Guam on Feb 18th. He is assigned to the USS Oklahoma City as a ET/Radioman. He is very excited to get there and get his career started. We are from FL so he is exstatic to be in the same climate as home.
cmacdon-what does your daughter do in the navy? Did she take her car there? My son is shipping his jeep and all his dive gear. Are you saving your $$ to go visit your daughter? I like to fall off my chair when I saw the airfare to Guam. Yikes! We live in North Palm Beach.
Palmbeachnavymom...my daughter is a hospital corpsman. She did not take her car so we just sold it and she bought one there! She was so excited...she got a jeep. She is going to be there for 2 years so we r planning on visiting at least once...we need to start saving! So far she loves it.
My son is on the USS Frank Cable. He's doing well and enjoying it. I am saving every penny to go next year - February or March. Any travel tips? Anybody want to join me?
Also, anyone have trouble getting mail to their sailor? I was wondering if there is an address to use that would get fed ex or UPS as opposed to US postal service. Some Christmas gifts got there in time and some took many many weeks.
Donna, my xmas package took 30 days and it arrived wet and chewed up but everything was intact. You have to use the postal service, but it's the navy that delivers it after that. I just sent another one. My son Ryan is on the USS Chicago.
If you get a chance to go to Guam by all means go!! It's awesome. My Daughter and son-n-law were there for 4 yrs. My Grandaughter was born at the Navy Hospital there. We went out there for 2 weeks.
Hey everyone! I'm a local Navy fiance with lots of info if you need it. I'm currently waiting for my sailor who is in A-school in Pensacola (rate: IT). If you have any questions about Guam, I can try to help you as best as I can. I don't have base access, but have been inside numerous times and could probably provide you some idea of what to do, what to find, where to go, etc. Hoping my sailor gets stationed here at home <3
ScarlettefromGuam: My daughter got there in December and is working at the hospital. Her birthday is Friday and I wanted to send flowers or something! Is that even possible? She is turning 20 and has never been away from home for her birthday so I hate to not do anything! Help, any ideas?? She is having a hard time being so young and so far away!
cmacdon: You can look up florists in our phonebook at www.guamphonebook.com and place an order to be delivered to her if any of their drivers have base access. You must have her address. Or you could simply look up the NEX here (theres obly one) and ask for their florist too.
palmbeachnavymom- From everything I have read and what my son has been told, your son will have to register his car in Guam. Is your son in Guam yet? My son just got there on march 17th ( he just loves it ). However his car won't arrive until approximately April 26th.
I mail to my daughter and son-in-law all the time. He is also on the Cable. I send directly to their house on base and don't have any trouble. Best value seems to be the priority mail flat rate boxes. They take about a week to arrive.
My son went to Guam March first. He shipped his Jeep Feb 19 and was notified he can pick it up on base in the morning. He has obtained an apartment off base since barracks are for those on a ship...he didn't know this beforehand so was unprepared for an apartment off base. Is your son on a ship?
Josh is an ET. He found out today that the jeep has to be registered before picking it up. He had already turned his rental car in before going to pick up the jeep. Then he has to have it inspected before driving. Guess it's live and learn. He had to have someone from his work place drive him around. He's been doing a LOT of walking before getting the rental.
Anita B.- Was your sons Jeep registered in another state before it landed in Guam? My sons Jeep will have FL tags on it so will they make him change his FL tags before he picks it up?
Talked to josh this morning and he said he can keep his Ohio tags. Did say there,s a "run around" so your son will have to have someone drive him there. There is an inspection with a small fee too. He seems satisfied there and has almost a month in!
My son is going to Guam in May also. He is excited and our Navy friends tell us it's one of the better places to serve. It Is very far away so we are hoping to be able to afford meeting him in Hawaii next year.
Hello everyone! My son is going to Guam late next week. He just finished A School and is home visiting with us now :-) I have a question about cell phone usage. Should he cancel the phone service he has now and get new service in Guam? Is it considered calling internationally when calling Guam or when calling from Guam to the US (since Guam is a US territory)?
This is the most activity I have seen on this page since my son went to Guam. He has been there 15 months. He is IT. He purchased a car when he got there and you have to get the Guam cellphone service or it will cost you an arm and a leg. He likes it. He doesn't love it but he doesnt hate it. He is not a fan of humid, hot weather! He does enjoy scuba diving and spear fishing. Good luck to all your sailors!!
Charlotte(ship02Div930)
Hi cmacdon....congrats to your daughter. My son has been in Guam since Dec. and likes it. We did not ship his car because it would have taken 2 months to get there so he purchased a used car and he will sell it when he leaves. She will need a car unless she likes to ask for rides all the time. It's not really walking distance from the barracks to the ship. She could purchase a bike but they have a lot of rain! She can't stay off base unless she is an E5. She will be assigned a mentor who should contact her via email and help answer her questions. Unfortunately this page isn't very active :(. Let me know if I can help with anything else.
Sep 29, 2012
rsv227-Devin's Mom
Welcome to Guam Moms cmacdon!! My son is a Corpsman in Guam & has been there 1 1/2 yrs, he will actually be leaving @ the end of March. As for the car, I agree w/Charlotte, she's better off buying 1 when she gets there. My son actually bought his from 1 of his LPO's. Guam is beautiful but unfortunatly it's not very big so there isn't a whole lot to do. My son has enjoyed his time there but is ready to get off "the Rock" as they call it. His girlfriend is also stationed there & will remain there for another year after he leaves. Like Charlotte said, let us know if there is anything else we can help you with. Good luck to your daughter!
Sep 29, 2012
cmacdon
Thanks for the information! My daughter will be a corpsman also! She has not heard from her mentor yet, but cant wait to find out the details! She graduates beginning of November, I think the 6th and she is to be in Guam Nov 25th. I am not even sure if she gets off right after graduation or if she only gets so much time and then they ship her out! Thought we would be able to have Thanksgiving together but looks like it will be a early one this year! Can you guys remember how that worked with your sailors?
Oct 2, 2012
rsv227-Devin's Mom
My son didn't hear from his mentor until shortly before he went to Guam. My son flew home right after his ASchool graduation & then went from home to Guam. He had about a week home before he went. Enjoy your time w/her & your Thanksgiving even if it is early:) This will be our 2nd Christmas w/o my son being home but I know he'll be home in the end of March, I can't wait!!
Oct 2, 2012
Mindy4boys (ship 04 Div 806)
If your daughter/son is heading to Guam, my son just got over there. Please make sure yours has contact with his/her sponsor plenty of times to have definite plans of being picked up by their sponsor at the airport. My son and his sponsor had emailed each other a few times and he had given his sponsor his flight arrival date/time. However, his sponsor was not at the airport to pick him up. He didn't answer his phone either. My son finally called the ship phone # and they sent over a duty driver. The driver showed up an hour and half later. It was around 2:00 in the morning Guam time. His cell phone didn't work so all he had was the pay phone at the airport to use.
Turns out he didn't have to report to anyone until Tuesday, since it was a holiday weekend. So he was on his own for 3 days in a place he had never been to before, with no phone and no transportation. He ended up walking to the mall so he could buy a new phone. (GTA is a good cell phone choice.) They say not to use cab service either. Extremely expensive.
Needless to say, his welcome to Guam was not an enjoyable experience. I'm sure it will get better from here on out, and I certainly hope this is not the norm for all sailors who arrive there.
Just want others to be aware. Have your son/daughter make clear arrangements with his/her sponsor ahead of time so they have a buddy at the airport waiting.
Oct 8, 2012
Mindy4boys (ship 04 Div 806)
Sammie, that is good to hear. I was hoping my son's was just a bad luck of the draw and not normal practice.
Oct 8, 2012
Charlotte(ship02Div930)
Thank you for this info ladies. My sailor has been assigned to be a mentor for the first time. He also did not have a great mentor experience himself. When our son arrived at the Guam airport there was no mentor there to pick him up.He had to call the ship via payphone and get picked up by a duty driver. My husband has passed on the info from all of you to our son. I think this was good information for him to read!
Oct 9, 2012
LivNLrn
Mindy4boys- my husband had the similar experience at the airport, but was fortunate a duty driver happened to pass through and took him to the ship. No one helped him to call home and his ship deployed immediately. The one saving grace with the sponsor was after a week with no word I emailed the sponsor to say we were worried and they hurried up and made him an email and he wrote to me within the hour from sea. It all got better from there! And your sailors have much nicer barracks now- modern, safe, more like dorm rooms than the black mold/ ant infested houses they use to get, lol.
Oct 9, 2012
LivNLrn
Tell him to contact the housing office (phone number in the government section of the phone book). There could be mold behind the walls where that flooding occurred. We had a leak in the walls between our washer and AC unit (I think it was a water build up around the humidifier) and they ripped out the small 2X2 area, sanitized and replaced and painted the wall. Also, it is extremely important that AC unit filters are changed very regularly. Everybody will give you different time frames but safe to check it every 1-2 months. I don't know how its handled in the new barracks.
Oct 9, 2012
LivNLrn
oh, no! the housing department takes care of it. he may need them to come out and make sure they are being maintained and that there is no mold issue if he smells something.
Oct 9, 2012
JosephsWifey
Oct 20, 2012
Sandy3632
Oct 22, 2012
Charlotte(ship02Div930)
Sandy....your son will want to purchase a phone plan in Guam. My son also has his computer with internet and cellphone service. He has an iphone and we use an app called Voxer and we can communicate via text message through that for free. We also email and talk via Facebook all the time. The time difference is a challenge but we manage :)
Oct 22, 2012
Irene McClure
Hey everyone!!! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!!!!
Nov 26, 2012
rsv227-Devin's Mom
so proud of my son!! He picked up rank & is now HM3!!
Nov 29, 2012
cmacdon
My daughter will be in Guam as of December 18th, it is her first assignment since A school so I was wondering if they do anything special during the holidays? I am also wondering if I can send anything because I don't even have an address for her yet! I would like her to open something!!!
Nov 30, 2012
ScarletteFromGuam
Hafa adai from Guam! I was born in, grew up in, and currently am living in Guam. My fiance just got to boot camp on December 5th. If you guys have any questions about Guam, please feel free to ask! :)
Dec 12, 2012
rsv227-Devin's Mom
Merry Christmas to all the Guam Navy families!
Dec 25, 2012
ChrisNukeEMmom
Anyone have a sailor on the USS Chicago?
Jan 2, 2013
palmbeachnavymom
Good Morning Guam Moms and Wives,
My son will be getting to Guam on Feb 18th. He is assigned to the USS Oklahoma City as a ET/Radioman. He is very excited to get there and get his career started. We are from FL so he is exstatic to be in the same climate as home.
Jan 18, 2013
cmacdon
Jan 18, 2013
palmbeachnavymom
cmacdon-what does your daughter do in the navy? Did she take her car there? My son is shipping his jeep and all his dive gear. Are you saving your $$ to go visit your daughter? I like to fall off my chair when I saw the airfare to Guam. Yikes! We live in North Palm Beach.
Jan 19, 2013
Anita B. (Josh's Mom)
My son goes there in March and is also shipping his jeep. Maybe we could get group rates to visit!! Price is HIGH.
Jan 19, 2013
Regina
My son goes in March as well, also shipping his car. I like the group rate idea! Flights are high in Michigan too!
Jan 19, 2013
cmacdon
Jan 19, 2013
ChrisNukeEMmom
My son bought a car there. He's been there about a month and loves it so far. That makes me one happy mom.
Jan 21, 2013
wenlower
My son is on the USS Frank Cable. He's doing well and enjoying it. I am saving every penny to go next year - February or March. Any travel tips? Anybody want to join me?
Also, anyone have trouble getting mail to their sailor? I was wondering if there is an address to use that would get fed ex or UPS as opposed to US postal service. Some Christmas gifts got there in time and some took many many weeks.
Jan 24, 2013
ccpoet
Donna, my xmas package took 30 days and it arrived wet and chewed up but everything was intact. You have to use the postal service, but it's the navy that delivers it after that. I just sent another one. My son Ryan is on the USS Chicago.
Jan 25, 2013
Irene McClure
If you get a chance to go to Guam by all means go!! It's awesome. My Daughter and son-n-law were there for 4 yrs. My Grandaughter was born at the Navy Hospital there. We went out there for 2 weeks.
Jan 27, 2013
ScarletteFromGuam
Hey everyone! I'm a local Navy fiance with lots of info if you need it. I'm currently waiting for my sailor who is in A-school in Pensacola (rate: IT). If you have any questions about Guam, I can try to help you as best as I can. I don't have base access, but have been inside numerous times and could probably provide you some idea of what to do, what to find, where to go, etc. Hoping my sailor gets stationed here at home <3
Feb 25, 2013
cmacdon
ScarlettefromGuam: My daughter got there in December and is working at the hospital. Her birthday is Friday and I wanted to send flowers or something! Is that even possible? She is turning 20 and has never been away from home for her birthday so I hate to not do anything! Help, any ideas?? She is having a hard time being so young and so far away!
Feb 25, 2013
ScarletteFromGuam
Feb 25, 2013
Regina
My son is now in Guam:)
Mar 17, 2013
palmbeachnavymom
Hi Ladies,
I am getting ready to ship my sons jeep to Guam. He wants to keep his FL tag on his car. Does he have to get a Guam tag?
Mar 21, 2013
HeatherT(09/003)
Mar 24, 2013
Regina
palmbeachnavymom- From everything I have read and what my son has been told, your son will have to register his car in Guam. Is your son in Guam yet? My son just got there on march 17th ( he just loves it ). However his car won't arrive until approximately April 26th.
Mar 24, 2013
Tramama
I mail to my daughter and son-in-law all the time. He is also on the Cable. I send directly to their house on base and don't have any trouble. Best value seems to be the priority mail flat rate boxes. They take about a week to arrive.
Mar 24, 2013
Anita B. (Josh's Mom)
Mar 24, 2013
palmbeachnavymom
Yes my son is on the sub-USS Oklahoma City-He got to Guam on Feb 18th.
Yes...He loves it! I bet he does. Saving to go visit but it's hard to tell when he will be there.
Anita B.-What does your son do in Guam?
Mar 25, 2013
Anita B. (Josh's Mom)
Mar 25, 2013
palmbeachnavymom
Anita B.- Was your sons Jeep registered in another state before it landed in Guam? My sons Jeep will have FL tags on it so will they make him change his FL tags before he picks it up?
Mar 26, 2013
Anita B. (Josh's Mom)
Mar 26, 2013
palmbeachnavymom
Thank you so much. My son will be most appreciative for the info.
Mar 26, 2013
Maria Villa
Mar 29, 2013
Ranger
Mar 30, 2013
JMTMom
Hello everyone! My son is going to Guam late next week. He just finished A School and is home visiting with us now :-) I have a question about cell phone usage. Should he cancel the phone service he has now and get new service in Guam? Is it considered calling internationally when calling Guam or when calling from Guam to the US (since Guam is a US territory)?
Mar 30, 2013
ccpoet
To JMTMom, the answer is yes. Otherwise it will cost an arm and a leg. That is what my son did.
Mar 30, 2013
JMTMom
Thanks ccpoet.
Mar 30, 2013
Charlotte(ship02Div930)
This is the most activity I have seen on this page since my son went to Guam. He has been there 15 months. He is IT. He purchased a car when he got there and you have to get the Guam cellphone service or it will cost you an arm and a leg. He likes it. He doesn't love it but he doesnt hate it. He is not a fan of humid, hot weather! He does enjoy scuba diving and spear fishing. Good luck to all your sailors!!
Mar 30, 2013
Regina
My son seems just fine when we talk to him. He loves it there.
Apr 4, 2013