Moms of IS (Intelligence Specialist) sailors.

Hello all. I haven't been on the page lately. I used to live near Great Lakes and was able to give folks all sorts of travel advice on the main Navy for moms pages, airports, places to stay, boot camp graduation etc. but now things have changed.

I now live near Dam Neck Naval Base. Hubby, a fed employee, had an unexpected job transfer to Norfolk. 

Bad news - We had to leave the place we lived in all of our lives.

Good News - We were able to spend time with our Navy son who is stationed here.

Bad News - The navy son got new orders two months after we got here.

Good News - He is now in Italy. I'm happy for him but sad for me. At least we had got to spend quality time together!

Yay Laura! So sorry Laura. :-( But yay for your sailor! I still wish he had remained with the HI orders so he and Chris would have been close enough to have lunch every once in awhile. Chris is enjoying HI but he would have much preferred Italy.

He and his wife did manage to meet up with of the long time IS contractors and his wife for lunch recently. He knew the contractor from his early days in S Korea. The contractor has been in Hawaii since leaving Korea but he and Chris have kept contact while Chris was in Japan. I love how he works with people and then stays in basic contact with them. His former IS1 and the contractor, and a couple of other ISes gave him a few heads up before they moved to the islands.

Chris, his wife and son will be coming home for leave in a few months. I can't wait. It will be almost a year and a half since their last trip home. Declan was still just crawling. This time he will be a big boy and have to have his own seat on the plane! I'm not sure this time who will get more hugs and squeezes...Chris or Declan. :-D

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Laura, keep folks updated when possible on changes to lodging, good eats, or major construction in the Norfolk/VA Beach area. Thanks and best to your sailor!   

My son has arrived in Dam Neck for his A school! Any advise would be great!

Our son went through A & C schools at Dam Neck. Finished C school at end of April. Now stationed there for 3 yrs. A school is almost all-consuming - school all day + PT then back to school house to study at night and on weekends. They 'earn' the privilege to go off base, etc.

Thank you for the info. Do they really need a car there? we live in oregon so its a long way to take him his car! i know he would love to have his car there with him!

Lisa:

My son was in A School over Christmas/New Years. The schools 'stand down' for 2 weeks (no classes). Half the sailors get leave over Christmas; the other half over New Years. They all accrue an amount of leave (maybe 2-1/2 days) per month.

There is free time for computers, gaming, TV, etc. I'm not sure about sending a PS system and games...1) Their space is limited and they are inspected constantly...everything must be in place before they head out for class in the mornings. There are many components to the games (the games, controllers, cords), it can be messy looking...2) There is not a lot of time for taking all the stuff out, playing, and packing it up. There is TV and a small "movie theater" area at the MWR and internet connections or he may choose to split cost of internet in his room with his shipmates. Computers and cell phones are great stress relievers but then so is walking the beach, watching the deer, playing softball and a lot of other activities they make available for them. Every once in a while the MWR plans trips to DC or Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, etc. If he has a weekend off and can get a chit to leave, he can go to the Outer Banks and try hang gliding at Jockey's Ridge. My son and his friends really hung out a lot at Lynnhaven Mall, a couple of arcade/restaurants and the IMAX theater over at Oceania. If he finds himself desperate for gaming I suppose it's not a big issue but he really will have to budget time.

Cynthia, whatever date you have been given so far is the one you can be reasonably certain with. Unfortunately I don't think I got the form letter until around the 7th week, when we got passes to PIR.

There are schools beginning often so if your sailor does not make from BC in time, it might mean not getting to graduate A school in time to get his/her top choice of subspecialty or a "dream" location after C school. The Navy is not going to let them just "fall through the cracks", after they have spent 9 weeks and  paychecks getting them through initial training.

Hope that alleviates some concerns. Best of luck to all our SRs and SNs.

{{NMH}}

Does anyone in this group have a sailor at Bahrain? My daughter shipped there in Sept. and they told her it was for 2 years.  She says in her area they are short handed and it looked like she was going to have to work 12 hr days, 7 days a week.  Since I have not heard from her since, I guess they weren't kidding.  I am worried about her.

Irene, so sorry they are undermanned there for now. Unfortunately, the more undermanned the jobs are, the better her chances for commendations, promotions, ribbons, etc but I know you feel for her. In the IS world...no news is good news (so we are told). One of my son's shore assingments was pretty cushy unless they were at alert or practicing war games. At those times it was not uncommon for him to pull 16 hour shifts and indeed at one particular time I remember him doing a 2 week or so stint where he was working 20+ hr shifts getting 4 or 5 hours of sleep and then returning for another 12 -16 hour shift, off 8 and then another 20+ hr shift. Once there were enough folks in the office, things smoothed down again. When he was on ship was harder. He often put in 14 hour days and then the jets on the carrier don't care how many hours you have worked or how much sleep you need...lots of earplugs for that job! Try to not worry about her and hopefully she will soon get a chance to call. Email her and set up Skype if you have Android or Windows, or Facetime if you both have iPhone. It is so comforting to see their faces. Sorry it's the nature of the beast in their line of work but they do find ways to manage.

{{{NMH}}}

Clarification....It's unfortunate that the best way for them to get perks is by going into an office that is undermanned...not that it is unfortunate that the get commendations, promotions, etc...just clarifying. :-)

Irene,

I too am sorry that she is in a unit that is so undermanned that she has to work long hours.  One good thing is that she is one more person there so I'm sure her shipmates are glad to see her since she is helping that undermanned situation.  Mary is right tho, sometimes our kids have to do jobs that are not always cushy. My son was also on a carrier for two deployments and worked long hours and got little sleep because of those jets!!!!  Sometimes he had to be cleaver to get something to eat because he couldn't get to the chow hall at regular meal times.  But he survived and moved on to other places.  Then he spent several months working in Afghanistan teaching the Afghan air force how to read intel.  We won't talk about that job and the hours and stress!!

In case you are not aware of it, there is a group called Moms of Daughters 2.  We are a very active group of moms in all stages of their daughters careers.  Some have been in for several years, some are brand new, some are officers, and some are veterans!!!  But we all help and support each other and we are a safe haven for all those moms looking for a place to share with other moms.  You can find us at 

http://www.navyformoms.com/group/momsofdaughters2

Carl and Irene,

So great to hear from you again!!!!  So happy to hear of Cam's marriage, but sorry that the Navy wanted to send him out to sea!!!  Especially that it cost him his Navy career.  But if he's happy with his decision then that's all that matters!!!  Just to update you on our family, Jenn is still a Naval Officer ready to resume her training for flight officer.  She's been on medical hold for over a year due to a thyroid problem and crappy civilian doctors that she had to deal with at Tinker in Oklahoma!!!  However, she has recently been declared healthy, is off medical hold and ready to get back to her training squadron and finish up!!!  Chris is still IS currently stationed in Hawaii with a squadron and they will all get moved to Whidbey Island in about a year.  Finished up a deployment on the ground in Afghanistan and then another one on a ship in the Gulf of Aquaba!!  Steve and I spent all of 2015 traveling in our 5th wheel RV going all over the western US and just about every National Park out there we could get to.  As soon as spring is officially in the Northeast we will be spending 2016 on the east coast, Maine and surrounding states, and as many Michigan lighthouses as we can get to!!!!  

Hope everything is well with you two!!!

Yes Mary,

Steve and I visited Catherine for Christmas one year!!  About as cold and windy as Northeastern Ohio!!!  Say a prayer for Chris, he takes the Chief's exam on the 21st!!  I've read about your upcoming decision by Duke.  I'm praying for you girl and I need to send you a private FB message!!  

Send on Anna! Or send an email or my phone number is still the same!

Marilyn of Monroe....welcome and I love the screenname! There is a city of Monroe not too far from the city I am in. Are you in Monroe, NC?

Carl,

Yes, we did go to Crater Lake.  We stayed at a campground in Chiloquin on Highway 97.  Most of the area was still closed because there was still quite a bit of snow on the ground.  We got there the 1st of May and stayed a couple days.  We went to the Park Headquarters and then onto Rim Village.  That was all we could visit.  Even the Lodge was still closed.  But it was still beautiful.  Our 2015 travels took us as far north as Astoria, OR and then we went back south, stopped at Mt. Hood and continued on down to Yosemite and the Sequoias.  Months later we made it back up north to Wyoming and Montana to the mountains!!  It was an awesome trip!!

I will have to get your email address so we can keep in touch, in case I ever get out your way again!!!!!

Ok we don't say much until it's all over and done but every now and then a mom just has to gloat. If you get ESPN, watch the beginning of the Pro Bowl Sunday evening.

Carl, if you make it to the SE next year, be sure to let me know. There is a really nice campground at Price Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Boone, NC (Appalachian State University) and Blowing Rock, NC (think one of the most picturesque towns you could imagine). They have not only several loops of tent camping and pop ups, but a separate RV area for the larger RVs, near the picnic grounds. There are also campgrounds right here on our lake, Lake Norman, Lake James, Lake Wylie. There are of course many RV camp areas down near the coast as well. Let me know if you come through!

Until then, watch the Pro Bowl game and watch those flags wave in the Honolulu breeze! (You know good guys wear white, right?) ;-)

Hugs everyone!

Carl and Irene, 

Yes, we were close! But we traveled up the coast,  stayed in Coos Bay,  went all the way up to Astoria, across and down by Portland,  cut over to Mount Hood,  down to Bend,  and then stayed in a little campground in Chiloquin!!  We stayed there a couple days while we checked out Crater Lake!!!  Will be out that way later this year as we travel to WA to visit Chris once he gets moved there. Will definitely contact you if we get nearby!!!!!

Mary,

We might be looking up campgrounds in that area! 

Anna, I sent an email with Carl and Irene's email addy. It will be so fun someday when we can all finally meet each other (I hope). Anna, I do so hope you make it back this way. It would be great to see you again.

An investigator is coming to talk to me for my daughters clearance on Mon. I don't know why, but i am nervous about this. I don't know what to expect at all.

Deborah Ann,

They will probably ask you for names of people your daughter worked with or went to school with. They know that parents will always say good things about their kids!!!!  They may also just need to verify information they have.  Try not to be nervous!!!  Just like people will tell you not to worry - - - right????

Lisa,

It's possible her clearance was done and no one needed to contact you.  My son got his clearance and we were never contacted.  I think they have to have their clearance in order to start A school,  unless they changed things. 

Lisa,  She is in A school. Set to finish March 11. I found out they are also going to see one of her friends and also a reference the same day they are seeing me.

They generally begin the clearance process around the time they enter bootcamp. It is not unusual for them to not get it all finalized nearer the end of schools. The agents know much about your child before they ever come to your house. Yes, most of the time they simply want either more information than what they already have about a situation or they can't find names or numbers and hope you can provide more. They knew more about my son's history than I did. Some of the things they learned, I did not find out until almost time for him to go overseas. These young adults are dealing with top security issues at one moment and general information at the next moment. They are in and out of different levels of security all day, every day. When the agent gets to your house be courteous but unless they have changed a lot over time, they will not accept food, drink or anything else but a seat while you talk and they take notes. Remember, even though they carry special agent cards, they are real people, try to relax. They aren't there to bury your sailor, only to make sure that your sailor isn't going to bury the Navy. You will do fine and your sailors will do fine also.

Thanks Anna!

I don't know when my sailor is leaving. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1170724096303821/

If you are on facebook here is a great group to join!  A lot of help for this journey.  I also live right by the IS A school base so if I can be of any help please just let me know.

Apple Lisa-has your sailor completed school yet? 

I wish him luck!! It's quite the experience, for all of us. 

My son has been an IS for 3 yrs reserves which was the best move he made, took 2 semesters off at UCLA to go to bootcamp and A & B school. Has a civilian job now with the DIA in DC and will take a year leave from that and  heading to Africa all next year for the Navy to replace someone over there but he is getting a lot of experience in both jobs. Just past his polygraph which  the civilian job required. any questions you can email me lesley.clark@att.net as I am not on here but still do get the emails. Regarding background checks, they never talked to me or my ex. They went to neighbors, friends, professors etc and met with him at bootcamp too,but it wasn't until he finished his 1 school in Dam Neck is when he received his TS clearance. !st school you have a Clearance. You need a TS clearance  to get into B school.