Moms of IS (Intelligence Specialist) sailors.

They didn't talk to us either, just friends of the family, school mates, teachers, coaches etc

Looks like there has not bee much activity here in a while. I have word that if you wish to remain active at N4M you will need to post something, anything here soon. The website has reached the maximum number of members, so to allow for new members, they will be deleting inactive members

I do not know when this will take place. Anna emailed me that she was in on a conference call with some of the ad supporters and they clued her in on it. If you wish to continue to be here without having to create a new account please log in and just say Hi, Happy Holidays, or whatever.

A very Merry Christmas to each of you and your sailors!

Navy Hugs,

Mary

MaryNavywife/mom, great to invite moms to your facebook group. Remember that you want to keep some of those facebook pages as closed groups so the "wrong" kind of folks don't infiltrate your groups. OPSEC is the word of the day/week/year.

Have a wonderful Holiday Season!!

Deborah Ann, I understand. My sailor has started his 8th year. The first 10 months were the worst. I didn't think anything could get much worse than bootcamp and not having him here for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years but then as soon as school was over he was sent to Korea. Let me tell you...he and I both shed tears over that one. But after his second month there he found that he loved the country! Since then he has had ship duty in Japan, and shore duty in Hawaii. I miss seeing him, his wife and son but he is satisfied with his job. He still wants to take his family back to Korea to live a couple of years. He found his second home. :-)

ShawnMom...while your daughter is at GL, send news clippings, magazines, sports stories, etc that she can share with her shipmates. Some of them never get mail from home. It will also help you pass time trying to think of things that others in her "ship" might like to read.

Biggg Navy Hugs

@Deborah Ann My son is in England as well. 

My son is going on deployment early 2017.  Any ideas for Christmas presents?  

Happy holidays Navy family!

Deployment? Hmm...a nice watch that will keep track of a couple of different time zones, a good camera or large SD card for pictures, a subscription for an online streaming service to watch movies, listen to music, etc when he is in port. Prepaid credit cards are nice but many of them charge huge fees for international use.

JM, is your son still in also? Have not heard from you in awhile.

I don't really have any favorite web pages with jokes but just plug it into your search and there are many pages out there with jokes, inspirational messages, etc

JM, sorry to hear about your son. I hope he is doing well in the civilian sector again. Congrats on your daughter. My son's reup comes around next year guess he will go another 3 after this one. That will give him at least 12 years. He is still teeter-tottering about it though.

Glad to hear from you.

ShawnMom, good for the group! I hope you will be accepted quickly but security is good.

Thank you for all of the great gift suggestions! Happy Holidays to you all! 

ProudParents, don't let that timeline lead you to believe that you can guess your sailor's C school graduation. He/she may have to wait a few weeks to class up for A school or wait a few weeks between schools for another class to be formed. I always said as long as my kid was in boot or at school, I knew he was safe. They all want to rush out into the fleet but as parents we sometimes wish they had to wait months to class up! lol My son got out of A school on Friday and C school began on Monday. I have seen others wait for 3 months to class up for C school. If that happens then SOMETIMES they can get into one of the shorter C schools and get training in more than one subspecialty.

We are anxiously awaiting the "I'm a sailor" call!! Can anyone help us from your previous experience; are the IS sailors Grad and Go's after PIR or do they get to stay at Great Lakes for the weekend after boot camp graduation.

Thank you for the information ShawnMom!! We are really hoping to be able to spend at least Friday with her before she has to fly out!!

Hello all! I was a member before and now I'm back.  Hope everyone is well!

My daughter is an officer and she cannot wear her smart watch while in uniform.  So I'm not 100% sure, but I'd lean towards no.  Plus, the schoolhouse where all the classified stuff in will not let anyone having smart phones or smart watches because of their ability to record and take pictures.

Would anyone be able to provide me with information on protocol or advice on being on base waiting for sailor back from deployment?  Thank you 

Are you talking about being on the pier waiting for the ship?  Or do you mean your sailor flying into one of the airports on base?

Yes, Pier.  The weekend has gone and passed.  I was lucky enough to run into a Navy Mom that morning.  I found out everything I needed to know!  It was a joyful day.  My son never sent my info to the Ombudsman.  Now I know!  Thank you 

Beagle Lover,

My son is an intel officer, and he went to school at Dam Neck.  It is a smaller annex of nearby Naval Air Station Oceana.   It's right on the ocean. 

My son was there during the winter months, and he said the weather was not too bad.  It didn't get much below 32 F most of the time.  He grew up in Indiana's frigid winters, so he thought Virginia Beach was relatively balmy!

My son enjoyed Virginia Beach. It's a real tourist haven in the summer, but should be way less crowded in the winter.  My son lived in an apartment off-base.  I couldn't tell from your message if your son is enlisted or an officer?  The enlisted may have to live on base, but I'm not sure.

There are many hotels to choose from right along the beach if you go to his graduation.

Good luck to your son!

Welcome, Linda !  

Hi Linda.  I'm originally from Chicago.  The Winter can be a challenge at times, that's for sure!

Linda,

I live in northern Indiana, about 90 miles from Chicago, and so far this year, the winter has been surprisingly mild with no snow yet!   Although, the forecast is it will finally turn nasty this Friday with a little snow.  It has been nice while it lasted this season, because sometimes we have had our first snow around Halloween or Veteran's Day!

I feel sorry for the new sailors who are from the South, and have to go to boot camp at Great Lakes in the winter.  I knew a kid who lived his whole life in Hawaii, then joined the Navy.  He had to go to boot camp in Chicago In January!!!!!!   The poor kid just about froze to death.  Hopefully, he got stationed someplace warm!

I'm going to visit my son at Dam Neck in Virginia. It will be my first time in the Virginia Beach area. Any suggestion of what to see and where to eat?.  We fly into Norfolk and will take Uber to our hotel. Appreciate any suggestions.

There is a nice aquarium there. Will be a little cold for much beach time but I would at least go see it if you don't live close to the Atlantic Ocean.  There are several really nice places to eat especially down by the beach.  Don't know if you are staying closer to Dam Neck or Norfolk area.  Any hotel there should have some brochures on the local area.  Enjoy your visit!!!!

Hi Beagle Lover,

Well, the weather in VB is probably a little chilly right now to go frolic on the beach, which is the thing to do in the summer! There is a nice, long boardwalk on the beach along the main hotel strip, which might be do-able this time of year if you bundle up!   Dam Neck is right on the ocean, so take warm clothing if you hail from a warmer climate!

  Lots of great restaurants along the strip, but some may be closed for the winter.  When we visited, we ate twice at Murphy's Irish Pub which is a couple of blocks off the beach and had great Irish food, but people usually go for seafood at the beach!

An indoor thing to do would be to go to the Nauticus Maritime Museum in Norfolk.  It is all about ships and part is a Navy museum.  The USS Wisconsin battleship is moored there and you can tour it with an audio cassette player to guide you.  Might be chilly out on the decks this time of year, but still interesting.  If your son can get liberty to spend time with you, he would enjoy the museum also.

In the summer, there are boat tours of Norfolk harbor and the Navy shipyards, but I don't know if they run those in the winter. You could probably also check at your hotel for tourist info.

Remember, your son can't tell you anything about his intel schooling, or he will have to kill you.   ;-)     They all love using that line on their loved ones, so we learned not to ask!!  haha

Hi Beagle Lover,

I live in Virginia Beach. We are having a little bit of a cold snap here. The average temperature is 50 this time of year but we've been in the 30's and 40's.

Watermans is a fabulous restaurant, a little on the pricey side, but the view is great. I agree with M's mom, you are in the off season so some places have shorter hours. Be sure to check it out. 

Closer to the base, there are several outdoor malls with great restaurants.  Check out the Lucky Oyster, and Whiskey River.  Local hang outs with very good reasonable food.  There are plenty of indoor activities.  In addition to just sitting and staring at your sailor, which is what I did for the first hour or so, LOL!

Let me know what you need.

Thanks Navy Moms for all of the comments regarding visiting Virginia Beach !!!  Your information will really help. I understand that the weather is cool. We are coming from California. At least there isn't any snow to shovel : )  Since he couldn't get off for Christmas break we thought it would be a good time to visit before School resumes. Thanks again for all your help.

Hello Navy Moms,

We cancelled our trip to Virginia Beach because of the weather  : (   So sad not to see him.                                      My sailor will be starting A school next week or the next week not sure of dates. Do the sailors get anytime off between A  and C school ? Or should we wait to visit  until he is done with C school?  Of course we don't know yet how he will do and which C school he will be assigned to. So planning the next trip is up in the air. I think I read that there can be a small graduation associated with C school. So maybe that is the better choice. Although I guess he could be assigned right away and have to leave hard to plan. We are in California so it takes some planning to get there.  If you have any thought or ideas I would appreciate your experience.

Beagle  Lover,

So sorry you had to cancel your trip to Norfolk, but probably a wise move.  I was actually thinking of you today, and wondering if you were planning your trip for this weekend!  I heard that Norfolk was getting 8-10 inches of snow, and then tomorrow the temps will drop to 5-7 degrees!  If you are from a warm part of CA, I bet your sailor in Dam Neck will be suffering climate shock with the blizzard!    Hurricane Sandy hit Norfolk/VB while my son was there, so the East Coast is prone to "weather events."  

I can sympathize.  I live in northern Indiana, and it hasn't been above 20 degrees here in two weeks, and it has actually been below zero for about a week straight now.  (Supposed to warm up here to about 30 degrees on Sunday!  YAY!)  

As far as enlisted A and C schools, I'm sorry I can't help you with that, because my son is an officer, and he attended the officer's intelligence school in Dam Neck. I think he was there about six months. He did have a graduation ceremony that the families were invited to, so maybe you can attend your son's.    Hope you can re-schedule your trip for a warmer time!

 There was a graduation ceremony for a school, nothing for C school. After they finished C school they got a certificate and left that day for their first duty station. My son had time off between a school and C school, but not everyone in his class did. Some graduated on Friday and started back up on Monday. 

My sailor graduated C school about 5 years ago.  At that time, there wasn't a ceremony for A school.  He was handed a certificate and given a few days off.  We visited him but there wasn't a ceremony.

For C school, we did attend a small ceremony.  Less than a dozen graduated. He was given his duty assignment at graduation.  We wee able to chat with a few officers and other family members for about 15 minutes.

Then we waited in the parking lot for our sailor as he finished clearing out his room.  He was able to take a week or so of leave before he had to report to his new assignment.

It was a great time but we had to make sure we had room for all of his stuff in our vehicle.  Then off he went.

By the way, today (Friday) and yesterday, the bases here in Norfolk and Virginia Beach were shut down.  Only mission essential personnel had to report.  

Hello my son official arrive for A school on Saturday, can they come off base during a school when they get to va in the afternoon or do they have to stay on base until six week like I mean can he go to the store in evening or does have wait six weeks

Usually they have stages of distance they can go.  

Hey Rd ue call and he good thank u for the info

I love the 'Sorry Mom I can't tell you" . It is perfect for my son as well.  I am new to this site and my son will finish OCS soon'ish. Any Information regarding what happens after he graduates would be appreciated. 

PKM,

Is your son going to be an Intelligence Officer?