Moms of Officers

PA Mom.  You certainly should be very proud of him.  Top Hook is an amazing honor.  

Congrats PA  Navy Mom!  Brag all you want!  We "get it" here :)

Thank you !! 

My son just got a text today from his recruiter that he has been accepted for a Naval Aviator slot. He is very excited, I am excited for him but also nervous, understandably. No official OCS date yet but they are shooting for July 1... I am sure I will be on this site more once he gets an official date... 

Congrat rousse54. I am sure he was excited to receive that text. As time gets closer OCS graduate mom is another good page to join.  If you are on fb look at officer training command newport they will post pictures there of the classes. You can spend a while searching out for your LO there. There will usually have a family and friends of class# page too.  

topdog1p: thanks for your suggestions. I will definitely join those groups when the time comes! Looking forward to getting to know you and the other moms on this site! 

Welcome rousse54 and congrats to your son,

As topdog1p wrote, join the group "OCS Graduate Moms" here on Navy for Moms.  That is specific to OCS.  In this group, some of the Moms' officers were commissioned through ROTC, and some went to the Naval Academy.

Once he gets to OCS or even before, read back as far as you can on the OCS Graduate Moms group postings and discussion forums.  We have probably answered many of your questions already, since we have had some recent new members with LO's (Loved Ones) currently at OCS.

Topdog1p,

Congratulations on your sons’s Acceptance as an aviator!

Hello.  New to this group, but not Navy for Moms.  All of our boys are military.  1st one an AF enlisted reservist / full time guard.  2nd is AF enlisted reservist, going to Officer training soon.  3rd is active Navy officer at school in CT.  

 to MaineGrammy.  Welcome to the group and thank you to your sons for all serving. and congrats to rousse54 and your son.  

Welcome MaineGrammy,

(My daughter-in-law is from Maine!)

Is your Navy officer son in submarine school at Groton CT?

Thanks TriciaM.  We are proud of our military service (I was AF and Hubby was AF and is NR chaplain)

Thanks M's mom!  Where in Maine?  Our son is at Groton for advanced training I think. Department head school.  Not sure of the official name.  He has orders for the Indiana.  

A moment to brag. My son graduated from OCS and is now an officer. More schooling and training to come. We are very proud of him. 

Congrats PKM! Always a proud mama event!

MaineGrammy,

My daughter-in-law is from Orient/Danforth, ME.  She says it is close enough to spit across the Canadian border!  haha

We're from Indiana, so excited to hear that your son will be on the new sub USS Indiana!

Congrats PKM!  OCS is an accomplishment!  

Thanks for the congratulations. I don't deserve them, but I know that my son does, also my daughter-in-law. She joined the Navy through love. I have him close to home for a few weeks till they are off. Excited and sad at the same time.

PKM,

Will your son be at Dam Neck, VA?

Yes, for a bit and then off to another location for more schooling. 

Hi:  Anyone know of a group for Informational Professionasl?  I know that the Navy is a family, but I keep getting subtle warnings that family of  enlisted will not be  friendly/accepting of family of Officers. Has anyone had any problems?

PKM,

The only group I know of here on Navy for Moms is "Moms of Intelligence Specialists," which is made up mostly of Moms of enlisted sailors in intel.  The enlisted experience is different than officers, so those moms can't answer many questions about the officer's experience with school, etc. 

 Then there is the fraternization thing.  Officers and enlisted are not supposed to socialize with each other off-duty, especially within their chain of command, and that applies to the families also. So there are usually different enlisted and officers groups here for the same specialty.  I haven't really been made to feel unwelcome in the enlisteds'   I.S. group, but they can't answer any of my questions about school, etc. since their experience is different. 

 I have not found a group for intel officers here or anywhere else; probably due to lack of numbers.   You could start one!

PKM,

Yes to what M's Mom said.  It's not that officer families and enlisted families don't accept each other, it's just that because of that fraternizing thing, they don't mix socially.  If you are asking about the Intelligence community, like M said, there is a group that is mostly enlisted people.  If there is more information you are looking for, please don't hesitate to ask!!  That's what we are here for!!!!!

Hi Moms! SECNAV released the FY-19 Active Duty Line Officer Captain (O-6) Selections this morning. Our DS is on the list! I knew he would make it but it is really nice to see it actually in print! 

I am new to this. My son is in OCS due to graduate in July. is there a group to join for that and I don't know how to find the FB paige. any help would be appreciated

Congratulations, Helomom (and to your son) - that's fantastic!

Lisarenee,

Are you a member of OCS Graduate Moms?  That's a good place for good info on your immediate situation.

Hi, new to this group,

although not new to being mom of an officer. Son has 9 years in and commissioned in from NROTC when graduated college.  I am active on 2 other groups, moderator of Pre-BUD/S BUD/S and member of SEAL Moms.  Just wondering if there are any other moms here that are in the same "boat" as I am, (sorry couldn't resist the pun.)

Congratulations to your son Helomom!!!!!

Helomom,

Congratulations to you and the new Captain!  All of us here know how difficult is to make Captain in the Navy, so your son obviously has the right stuff.   Just curious, how many years now has he been in the Navy?

It now seems like a long time ago that your son and mine were both deployed on the USS Carl Vinson during that long tour in the Persian Gulf!  My son and his wife have been in Japan for 2 1/2 years, and will thankfully be coming back stateside in January to probably Ft. Meade, MD (Baltimore.)  All DS can/will say is, "It's a cyber unit."  He at first thought he would be at The Pentagon, but now says he has verbal orders to nearby Ft. Meade.   That will be MUCH closer to us here in Indiana than Japan.  ---Good, because they say they will try to start a family once they get back to the U.S.!!!!!!

Welcome Lisarenee,

Search Facebook for "Navy OCS Class XX-XX Friends & Families"  or similar wording, using your son's class number for XX-XX.  They are usually closed groups and you have to ask to join.  Also search FB for the "OTCNewport" page, because they post pictures of the current classes in training.

As someone else pointed out, join the "OCS Graduate Moms" group here on N4M's, and read back on the posts as far back as you can.  We have answered many questions recently for moms with LO's (Loved Ones) currently at OCS, so you may find the info you need there.   That group is specific to OCS, whereas some of the officers of the moms in this group were commissioned out of ROTC and some graduated from the Naval Academy.

Ok ladies, got it. Thanks anyway.

Thanks, ITgal, Anna, and M's mom! We knew he had a lock on it but you just never know. Now we can breathe, I have been checking that ALNAV site for almost a month. 

M's mom - 21 years this month since he grabbed the brass ring.  He was commissioned into the Navy Nurse Corps in 1997 after 4 years NROTC, then got his wings as an unrestricted line officer in 2001. He was laughing today saying he now knows when he can retire, Sept 1, 2022. 

It will be great for you having your DS and DIL back stateside. Our DS and DIL are contemplating options on the next set of orders. GD is starting high school this Fall, that makes moving trickier. We hope they finish out here on the west coast. Only the Navy knows the future. 

Hi everyone I have my only child heading to OCS very very soon and found this site quite by accident.  I am reading as much information as I can to absorb the information for his new journey.  Not totally new to military as my family has lots of military personnel from all branches and I was once a Marine wife.  The Officer side is new.  Never thought I would have to know this type of information again but here I am in the thick of it with my child.  Doing my best to be as supportive and knowledgeable as I can be.  Wishing you all a very Happy Mother's Day! :)

Welcome, Jenna07

You also might want to join the group here on Navy for Moms called "OCS Graduate Moms."  That group is specific to OCS, whereas some of the officers of the Moms in this group were commissioned through NROTC, and some went to the Naval Academy.  

We have several moms in the OCS group whose LO's (Loved Ones) were recently at OCS, so we have answered many questions for them.  Read back on that forum as far back as you can, and we may have already answered yours.

If you do Facebook, you also may want to check for a group of families and friends of your son's OCS class as soon as it starts.  Once you know your son's OCS class number, such as 16-18 for example, search Facebook for "Navy OCS Class XX-XX Friends and Families"  or similar wording, where XX-XX is the class number.  They are closed groups and you usually have to ask to join, but it was wonderful when my son was at OCS to connect with the families of his classmates, and share what we all knew of the goings-on.

Hi Jenna07,

The FB group was especially helpful to us.  Some local parents actually went on base and were able to (discretely) take pics and captured our DS's group.  They posted the pics, so we actually 'saw' him the second week in which was a massive comfort.

Additionally, sleep is at a premium so if you get one letter in the first few weeks, they've given up sleep to send it to you.  By going on the FB site, as parents received letters, they could share with the group what was going on.  And because you are communicating regularly with the group of you in the same situation, you can help prop each other up as they go through the process. 

Take care.

congrats Helomom!

Thanks NOAM, I have found the facebook page for the class he will be in it looks like there are others who are helpful also on the site.  I was a marine wife and come from a very large family of military people so the process is not new but it is very different when it is your child.  I truly appreciate the support I have already found with those on this site.  Thanks again. 

Jenna07,

Also look on facebook for the group OTC Newport!!!  (Officer Training Command)  They will post pics of the classes and you may be lucky to pick out your loved one!!!!!

Thank you all! It’s been a long time since I snapped those Ensign bars on his shoulders at graduation. For those who don’t know, he was commissioned into the Navy Nurse Corps. Then when his commitment was nearly done he tested, applied, and was accepted to flight school. This meant he had to resign his commission, accept an Unrestricted Line Officer commission and hope he would make it as an aviator or they would send him home. All worked out and he’s living the dream. He and his family love their Navy life. As they used to say...”It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure!” (USN ad campaign from the early 90's, I believe)

Thank you Anna:  I did find OTC Newport page and have added it to my favorites.  Appreciate all of you helping us newbies through this. :)

Helomom,

That's right about it being an adventure!  They also say, "Join the Navy, and see the world."   Since my son left Newport as an Ensign in 2012, he has seen Virginia Beach, Whidbey Island WA, Singapore, Bahrain, Dubai, Qatar, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, Guam, Hawaii, and Monterey,CA !!!   Not bad for a small town Indiana farm boy!

It’s a really exceptional opportunity, M's mom. 

Helomom, My son just finished his 4th class Midshipman year at Auburn in the NROTC unit there. He really wants to be an aviator. However, they are putting a lot of pressure on him to be a Nuke. He feels like CORTRAMID this summer will help him with his decision. But one concern about aviation is that he has been told most aviators are not able to stay in long term, and he is really thinking he wants this to be a career. Your son has been in as an aviator for many years, it appears. What is your take on the longevity of aviators in general?

Edited-

Hi Glenni!  If your son really wants to be an aviator then that’s what he should try to do. But he really needs a passion for it. As far as predicting a career, that is hard to do. The fact is the older you get and the higher rank you achieve, the less you fly. Flying is done primarily by O-4 and below and the lucky O-5 on command tours. Our son hasn’t flown in almost two years and he flew then because he was the Skipper and the Skipper gets to fly. Now it will adminstrative work until he retires in 2022. He will have 25 yrs in at that point. Most of the jet pilots he has known leave the Navy at about the 12 year mark to go fly for an airline or fly corporate if they really want to keep flying. He’s a helo guy and the airlines are even after them right now.

From my perspective trying to plan a career in the Navy is a crazy game. You work hard and advance regularly through the Junior Officer ranks (O1-O3). Then you hit the first big bottle neck at O-4. If you don’t get the right break, boom you’re done. O-5 was determined by how you placed as an O-4. So you spend your middle years trying to position yourself for the next cut and the cut to O-6 is brutal. Out of our son's graduating class from NROTC I think 2 people made the O-6 list. One of his friends who had gone to the Naval Academy and had done all the right stuff but didn’t get the lucky break 7 years ago between O-3 and O-4, did not get selected. All the work he did to reposition himself didn’t work. So it all depends on an individual's desire to play the game. 

You have all the support of the Navy Moms and their families.

Thank you!