DS redeployed in late Feb. after being home for 2 months from a 7 month deployment......should return mid summer but I've read the deployment of the carrier that was to replace them has been canceled so I guess they could be extended......DS told me their carrier ops will be cut by 55%.....he wasn't sure if that was for all aircraft or just the fighters......DS is NFO on the E-2......he does know that his airing is one of the 4 that will be grounded when they do return......DS is scheduled to be in the Sept. class at Top Gun but that could be delayed as well.....he hasn't heard about that yet.....they are definitely feeling the cuts though.....
My heart breaks for the families of those lost in the crash Monday morning.....been hard to think of much else.....these cuts are minor compared to what those families are going through now.....
I've been wanting to find that poem, thanks Nancy. My dad read that at my brother's funeral, it always makes me tear up too. My dad was RCAF and the poem was written by a RCAF (Canadian) pilot during WWII.
NavymominOhio and James, my DS is headed to Oceana. He just got patched.
We are all worried about the safety of our LOs due to the sequestration cuts, let alone the long term effects on careers. Short term, my forward deployed son is already seeing cuts in planned training trips back to the States. They don't have the simulators where he is at, so the only way to stay at peak is back Stateside.
For the "official" letter that went out from SecNav yesterday, go to
I am so angry at the politicians for playing games with our LOs lives that I am spending a ridiculous amount of time sending emails to D.C. Let's pray that they get their act together soon.
JudyM: My DS wings in Kingsville on April 12 also so I am looking forward to meeting you in person! Just got news yesterday that he completed his CQs. Continuing to lift in prayer all of our dear ones and especially the families of the three lost on Monday.
NancyW: If you find out about a public memorial service for the 3 at Whidbey, I would be interested in meeting you and going to the service together.with you. I will see if I can find anything out also.
NancyW: there is a link to a TN TV news story that indicates there will be a public memorial on Tues. March 19 at NAS Whidbey but I was unable to get any information. I will keep trying.
Suzie - your Dare to Dream photo album is amazing! I am mentally storing ideas for a photo album for my boyfriend when he finally gets through API and winging, etc. I teared up more than a few times. What is it about a man in uniform? No doubt you are an incredibly proud mama. It's awesome that he had such a passion for flying at such a young age!
Recently someone posted about having heirloom jewelry melted down to use the gold for a set of wings for winging. I was wondering if any jeweler can do this...is there a mold that they can get to use? How do you make certain that the gold used is the gold from your family treasures? How long does it take to do this? How much notice will we get before we are notified of a winging date? Do most aviators get gold wings at the time of their winging? Sorry for all the questions. I like the idea and am prayerful for a winging this spring.
Hello all...I've just arrived home after a wonderful 6 days in California with my daughter and her hubby. While sitting in the airport waiting for my flight this afternoon, I received a call from DS...he flew 5 times in the last 5 days and solo'd yesterday. So excited...the winds were "sporty" but not "varsity". So, he has tomorrow off; then he starts Aerobatics. Can't wait to hear all the details of that!
Sounds like lots of goings on with your aviators. I will keep Rory in my prayers this week. And you too Leslie. Hope everyone has a great week!
Leslie, Thinking of you, hang in there. Your nerves of steel are an inspiration to the rest of us. I've been following along on my phone and I can't comment from there. Someone asked when my son will wing--next Dec. 6 is the date they are talking about...we'll see! We are going to Kingsville for Easter weekend and his birthday. Looking forward to seeing him. He's on a flight tonight...hoping it's going well!
Kabar, It was our family that had the wings made. Sorry for the delay, I have been in Florida taking care of an elderly relative.
My Mom and Step-Dad (he was a private pilot) always encouraged our DS to fly. They have both passed on and I wanted our DS to have something from them.
I melted down a solid gold bracelet that was my Mother's and a Jeweler made a wax mold from a set of wings that are standard issue when they wing. I don't think that you will have a problem finding someone who can make them. It is very labor intensive, so the cast was $500 to make. He inscribed the back with "Always your Co-Co" because he would always ask his grandfather to be his "co-co" (co-pilot) when he was pretending to fly!
It's my understanding that most wear the standard issue wings day to day and the solid gold ones for special occasions.
It took about two weeks once they started working on the cast.
Any other Moms out there with LO's on the GW (USS George Washington) other than NancyW and I?
Congratulations Judy and gonavymom on the upcoming winging, just a few weeks away! Safe travel to Barb on your Easter trip to Kingsville. And Leslie I am thinking of you, not sure how long SERE lasts, hopefully finishing soon! I am getting ready for the upcoming weekend, I am in our church choir and we have a big service on Saturday evening, the Easter Vigil. Music brings me peace! I wish all of you a happy Easter.
Can some one tell me is there any ceremony at all when they finish primary before they move on or do they just finish and start their intermediate phase for what they get for their pipeline?
Paymaster! Can I poach this from you? You post is great! Happy Easter everyone. It's nearly 70 and beautiful here on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington State. Enjoy the day!
So, I'm exhausted from work, hanging out in front of the tv, surfing the net, when I check facebook. My DS hardly ever posts anything, but what do I see? A pic of him...sitting on his T-6 trainer, having just completed his Aerobatic solo flight! Looking so happy and proud. Makes me a happy mom!
Congratulations, CheriH! Isn't it fun to get pictures when you least expect it? My airman of an Easter egg hunt he went to with some of his mates in SD and they treated it like sweeping the runway--standing shoulder to shoulder and walking across the yard. They found those eggs pretty quickly!
JudyM: When will you arrive in Kingsville? I am arriving next Wednesday and can hardly contain my excitement! I am traveling with my DIL's mom. We are going to stay at the Holiday Inn Express. I took wings in to the jeweler today for engraving. They were very dear. They said "oh this is a very important job!" Really looking forward to meeting you and all the other families.
Judy I see your request. I got rid of my old profile picture since I was in scrubs and you can't really see what I look like. This one is from the September wedding of my DS. I definitely won't look like this but I do clean up alright!
Rosemarie.....my son just gave up his beach cottage in Virginia Beach (he's deployed) off of Shore Drive north of the boardwalk.....we saw it and it was a great place...close to stores, restaurants, and convenient to the base.....maybe 15-20 min. commute on back roads......traffic on the interstate in Norfolk can be a nightmare.....I will try to get the agency he went thru to get this place and let you know....
Hello All! We just got back from Kingsville late last night. Thank you everyone for your well wishes. It was so good to see our DS! His schedule was super uncooperative this time around so we didn't really do much but shop at the Walmart for his house and wait for him to get back, but that's okay, it was warm there! The first night he took us to the Sims and was able to turn one on to show us--wow! They are really amazing. Another day we got to go in to the maintenance hangar and look at the T-45s there and then he also took us into the "ready" room and climbed into all his gear for us!
We went to the beach at Corpus on Saturday, but we had his sweet doggie along so we didn't venture too far. It was nice to see the ocean though and put our feet in. Had giant drinks outdoors at Fajitaville's. (And we all got farmer's tans.) I made a turkey for Easter dinner. In Kingsville we ate at the Cherry Blossom Tea Room and it was very cute and then celebrated his birthday dinner (between his brief and his flight) at Butch's, which I think is the nicest restaurant in town. Both are in the cute little downtown area.
Suzie, Enid was small, but Kingsville is about half that! He has a nice little house, super run down, and his neighbors on either side are nice but wow, this is a poor community. I was pretty horrified as we drove into town, but after bopping around a few days I felt better about it. How is Meridian?
Leslie, glad to hear your son is back from SERE and that both of you survived it well. I have to admit that his comment, "it was awful," kept me awake a few nights even though my son's is still off in the future. Sometimes the worry gets to me and it can be overwhelming.
Sorry to go on and on...it was just so good to see him! I love listening to him talk about flying...our SNAs are so smart! Have a good day everyone.
Great to hear the scoop Barb! So glad you had some good time with your DS. Love hearing about the next stages. We too can't get enough of the flying details. And the excitement in their voices!
Congrats JudyM! Told my DS about your post and he says he knows who your son is based on that last flight. I wondered how far in advance you know of "for sure" winging date? (Wondering how far in advance you can buy airline tickets)
Leslie, we didn't wing yet...our visit was just an Easter holiday break. Glad we could be there for his bday...AND to talk a little basketball too! Go Blue! We really didn't expect Michigan to do so well. It was very exciting.
Have a nice weekend everyone!
Wow, there is never a chance to relax, is there? Thanks for letting me know. He does have his date. We'll just keep providing support and prayer. Thanks!
Everyone take a deep breath. We are all in this together and have to rely on each other. We all under a lot of stress also with concern about our LO. jMwrites no offense taken. Just a phrase, we all have different terminology and we all hear different terms from our kids, washout, fail, ditched, they all say it differently. Please don't leave the group. By hopes and prayers are with you, your son and your family.
Advanced notice of winging . . . these are the second set of tickets we bought. DS did not qualify his first time on the carrier. Hence, his winging date moved. And, we purchased current tickets before he completed his last flight. I am thankful to be going this week. This is a long and difficult road for sna's and family alike. We just have to go with the flow and believe they will be where they are supposed to be.
Dawn, agreed thank you. I know that we mostly all post the triumphs, rather than the challenges, but we are here for each other through both. Our kids sure have big dreams! JMwrites, keeping your family in our prayers. Judy, thank you for sharing the reality and congratulations! Warm thoughts to all...
The challenge of communicating in short posts is that you don't get the whole picture, feel the emotion behind the words and understand each situation. But the benefit of this site is finding women all across our country that have this one thing in common. Loved ones in a challenging, dangerous, and often heart-breaking profession. I pray that each of us is able to apply some grace to each other. I know that I so appreciate hearing what each of your aviators is going through...it helps me to know what might be ahead for us. And I hope that my sharing helps those just steps behind. I hope that my DS gets to fulfill his dreams, but surely don't want him there if he doesn't have the makeup to perform in the highly challenging environment. I shall be forever proud of him for following those dreams...however they turn out.
Barb: Another mom a long time ago posted on here a recommendation to buy your airplane ticket from Southwest Airlines because they will let you reschedule without a fee. As soon as we had a tentative date, I bought cheap airfare from SW. If you have to change they only charge you the difference in the fare price.
All: My heartfelt gratitude goes out to each of our young people & their families for the sacrifices that they have made & continue to make in order that we can have the most skilled air power in the world. I want to share something that is a favorite of DS & mine, the "Man in the Arena" speech by Theodore Roosevelt (and this goes for the woman in the arena also!):
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
JudyM
Barb, great that your DS had such a distinguished passenger. When does your won wing? Our DS wings April 12.
Mar 13, 2013
momk
Thank you for the welcome, Paymaster!
Mar 13, 2013
lou2949
Mar 13, 2013
lou2949
Mar 13, 2013
Michelle
I've been wanting to find that poem, thanks Nancy. My dad read that at my brother's funeral, it always makes me tear up too. My dad was RCAF and the poem was written by a RCAF (Canadian) pilot during WWII.
NavymominOhio and James, my DS is headed to Oceana. He just got patched.
Mar 14, 2013
Marianne
We are all worried about the safety of our LOs due to the sequestration cuts, let alone the long term effects on careers. Short term, my forward deployed son is already seeing cuts in planned training trips back to the States. They don't have the simulators where he is at, so the only way to stay at peak is back Stateside.
For the "official" letter that went out from SecNav yesterday, go to
http://navylive.dodlive.mil/2013/03/02/department-of-the-navy-respo...
I am so angry at the politicians for playing games with our LOs lives that I am spending a ridiculous amount of time sending emails to D.C. Let's pray that they get their act together soon.
Mar 14, 2013
gonavymom
JudyM: My DS wings in Kingsville on April 12 also so I am looking forward to meeting you in person! Just got news yesterday that he completed his CQs. Continuing to lift in prayer all of our dear ones and especially the families of the three lost on Monday.
NancyW: If you find out about a public memorial service for the 3 at Whidbey, I would be interested in meeting you and going to the service together.with you. I will see if I can find anything out also.
Mar 14, 2013
JudyM
gonavymom, my DS qualified this past week also. Looking forward to meeting you in Kingsville.
Mar 14, 2013
JudyM
Marianne, the sequestration letter is pretty scary.
Mar 14, 2013
gonavymom
NancyW: there is a link to a TN TV news story that indicates there will be a public memorial on Tues. March 19 at NAS Whidbey but I was unable to get any information. I will keep trying.
Mar 14, 2013
Navygf820
Suzie - your Dare to Dream photo album is amazing! I am mentally storing ideas for a photo album for my boyfriend when he finally gets through API and winging, etc. I teared up more than a few times. What is it about a man in uniform? No doubt you are an incredibly proud mama. It's awesome that he had such a passion for flying at such a young age!
Mar 15, 2013
Kabar
Recently someone posted about having heirloom jewelry melted down to use the gold for a set of wings for winging. I was wondering if any jeweler can do this...is there a mold that they can get to use? How do you make certain that the gold used is the gold from your family treasures? How long does it take to do this? How much notice will we get before we are notified of a winging date? Do most aviators get gold wings at the time of their winging? Sorry for all the questions. I like the idea and am prayerful for a winging this spring.
Mar 17, 2013
CheriH
Hello all...I've just arrived home after a wonderful 6 days in California with my daughter and her hubby. While sitting in the airport waiting for my flight this afternoon, I received a call from DS...he flew 5 times in the last 5 days and solo'd yesterday. So excited...the winds were "sporty" but not "varsity". So, he has tomorrow off; then he starts Aerobatics. Can't wait to hear all the details of that!
Sounds like lots of goings on with your aviators. I will keep Rory in my prayers this week. And you too Leslie. Hope everyone has a great week!
Mar 17, 2013
Dawn
Mar 18, 2013
CheriH
Yes Dawn, he is at Whiting in Primary. He and his wife live in a cute duplex in Milton.
Mar 18, 2013
Barb
Leslie, Thinking of you, hang in there. Your nerves of steel are an inspiration to the rest of us. I've been following along on my phone and I can't comment from there. Someone asked when my son will wing--next Dec. 6 is the date they are talking about...we'll see! We are going to Kingsville for Easter weekend and his birthday. Looking forward to seeing him. He's on a flight tonight...hoping it's going well!
Mar 18, 2013
TennMom
Kabar, It was our family that had the wings made. Sorry for the delay, I have been in Florida taking care of an elderly relative.
My Mom and Step-Dad (he was a private pilot) always encouraged our DS to fly. They have both passed on and I wanted our DS to have something from them.
I melted down a solid gold bracelet that was my Mother's and a Jeweler made a wax mold from a set of wings that are standard issue when they wing. I don't think that you will have a problem finding someone who can make them. It is very labor intensive, so the cast was $500 to make. He inscribed the back with "Always your Co-Co" because he would always ask his grandfather to be his "co-co" (co-pilot) when he was pretending to fly!
It's my understanding that most wear the standard issue wings day to day and the solid gold ones for special occasions.
It took about two weeks once they started working on the cast.
Any other Moms out there with LO's on the GW (USS George Washington) other than NancyW and I?
Mar 25, 2013
Michelle
If the jeweler still has the mold maybe he can make more.
Mar 25, 2013
JudyM
Anyone else going to winging in Kingsville April 12th?
Mar 25, 2013
gonavymom
Judy M: I am going to the Kingsville winging on April 12!
Mar 26, 2013
ulua
Congratulations Judy and gonavymom on the upcoming winging, just a few weeks away! Safe travel to Barb on your Easter trip to Kingsville. And Leslie I am thinking of you, not sure how long SERE lasts, hopefully finishing soon! I am getting ready for the upcoming weekend, I am in our church choir and we have a big service on Saturday evening, the Easter Vigil. Music brings me peace! I wish all of you a happy Easter.
Mar 26, 2013
JudyM
gonavymom, we will have to think of how to meet.
Mar 27, 2013
Dawn
Mar 27, 2013
Dawn
Mar 28, 2013
JudyM
Mar 30, 2013
Paymaster
All I need to know I learned from the Easter Bunny!
Happy Easter!
Mar 30, 2013
Helomom
Mar 30, 2013
Paymaster
Mar 31, 2013
Helomom
Mar 31, 2013
CheriH
So, I'm exhausted from work, hanging out in front of the tv, surfing the net, when I check facebook. My DS hardly ever posts anything, but what do I see? A pic of him...sitting on his T-6 trainer, having just completed his Aerobatic solo flight! Looking so happy and proud. Makes me a happy mom!
Apr 2, 2013
chopsmom
Apr 2, 2013
CheriH
Thanks chospmom...got a laugh thinking of those tough guys searching for eggs in unison! Sometimes I think they are a different breed!
Apr 3, 2013
gonavymom
JudyM: When will you arrive in Kingsville? I am arriving next Wednesday and can hardly contain my excitement! I am traveling with my DIL's mom. We are going to stay at the Holiday Inn Express. I took wings in to the jeweler today for engraving. They were very dear. They said "oh this is a very important job!" Really looking forward to meeting you and all the other families.
Apr 3, 2013
JudyM
gonavymom, we are arriving Thursday afternoon and also staying at the Holiday Inn Express. Let's message about meeting. I sent you a friend request.
Apr 3, 2013
gonavymom
Judy I see your request. I got rid of my old profile picture since I was in scrubs and you can't really see what I look like. This one is from the September wedding of my DS. I definitely won't look like this but I do clean up alright!
Apr 3, 2013
Rosemarie
Hi All,
My son has to report to Norfolk in May and wants to rent a house. Anyone know of nice neighborhoods near the base and/or a good realtor?
Apr 3, 2013
lou2949
Apr 3, 2013
Rosemarie
lou2949....Thank you so much..I am going house hunting for him next week with his GF and we need some leads.
Apr 3, 2013
lou2949
Apr 3, 2013
lou2949
Apr 3, 2013
Barb
Hello All! We just got back from Kingsville late last night. Thank you everyone for your well wishes. It was so good to see our DS! His schedule was super uncooperative this time around so we didn't really do much but shop at the Walmart for his house and wait for him to get back, but that's okay, it was warm there! The first night he took us to the Sims and was able to turn one on to show us--wow! They are really amazing. Another day we got to go in to the maintenance hangar and look at the T-45s there and then he also took us into the "ready" room and climbed into all his gear for us!
We went to the beach at Corpus on Saturday, but we had his sweet doggie along so we didn't venture too far. It was nice to see the ocean though and put our feet in. Had giant drinks outdoors at Fajitaville's. (And we all got farmer's tans.) I made a turkey for Easter dinner. In Kingsville we ate at the Cherry Blossom Tea Room and it was very cute and then celebrated his birthday dinner (between his brief and his flight) at Butch's, which I think is the nicest restaurant in town. Both are in the cute little downtown area.
Suzie, Enid was small, but Kingsville is about half that! He has a nice little house, super run down, and his neighbors on either side are nice but wow, this is a poor community. I was pretty horrified as we drove into town, but after bopping around a few days I felt better about it. How is Meridian?
Leslie, glad to hear your son is back from SERE and that both of you survived it well. I have to admit that his comment, "it was awful," kept me awake a few nights even though my son's is still off in the future. Sometimes the worry gets to me and it can be overwhelming.
Sorry to go on and on...it was just so good to see him! I love listening to him talk about flying...our SNAs are so smart! Have a good day everyone.
Apr 4, 2013
CheriH
Great to hear the scoop Barb! So glad you had some good time with your DS. Love hearing about the next stages. We too can't get enough of the flying details. And the excitement in their voices!
Apr 5, 2013
JudyM
Just got word that DS finished his last flight in the T-45 at Kingsville. YEAH! I am so happy, and relieved.
Apr 5, 2013
Barb
Leslie, we didn't wing yet...our visit was just an Easter holiday break. Glad we could be there for his bday...AND to talk a little basketball too! Go Blue! We really didn't expect Michigan to do so well. It was very exciting.
Have a nice weekend everyone!
Apr 6, 2013
Barb
Wow, there is never a chance to relax, is there? Thanks for letting me know. He does have his date. We'll just keep providing support and prayer. Thanks!
Apr 6, 2013
Dawn
Apr 7, 2013
JudyM
Apr 7, 2013
Barb
Apr 7, 2013
CheriH
The challenge of communicating in short posts is that you don't get the whole picture, feel the emotion behind the words and understand each situation. But the benefit of this site is finding women all across our country that have this one thing in common. Loved ones in a challenging, dangerous, and often heart-breaking profession. I pray that each of us is able to apply some grace to each other. I know that I so appreciate hearing what each of your aviators is going through...it helps me to know what might be ahead for us. And I hope that my sharing helps those just steps behind. I hope that my DS gets to fulfill his dreams, but surely don't want him there if he doesn't have the makeup to perform in the highly challenging environment. I shall be forever proud of him for following those dreams...however they turn out.
Apr 7, 2013
gonavymom
Barb: Another mom a long time ago posted on here a recommendation to buy your airplane ticket from Southwest Airlines because they will let you reschedule without a fee. As soon as we had a tentative date, I bought cheap airfare from SW. If you have to change they only charge you the difference in the fare price.
All: My heartfelt gratitude goes out to each of our young people & their families for the sacrifices that they have made & continue to make in order that we can have the most skilled air power in the world. I want to share something that is a favorite of DS & mine, the "Man in the Arena" speech by Theodore Roosevelt (and this goes for the woman in the arena also!):
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Apr 7, 2013