AECF - FCs and ETs

Oh, and Vickyrun, Tequila gives me a headache. But I could do wine! :-)

Jacqueline, Feel free to ask this group anything. Every Mom here has felt exactly what you are feeling now. Once your son has left for GL and has a PIR date a PIR group will be established on N4M. Join that group also. It will get you through the 8 weeks of BC. When we dropped Chris off at the recruiting station the day he left, I cried all the way to the Mexican restaurant. When I got there my husband ordered me a very large margarita. The waiter kept coming by to see if we were ready to order. My husband just told him " We just sent our son off to the Navy let her drink for a bit" He will be fine. The Navy see to that. Chris told me that while they were in BC that if they were not suppose to be doing something else they better have their nose in a book.They basically teach them how to study.They also learn about Navy Pride.I think this instills in them the desire to excel.  It is like Anti M said everything is a stage. They must learn this to be prepared to learn that and so on so when they make it to the ship they are prepared. BC is to learn the basics and A school and C school do the fine tuning.Enjoy your summer with him Nov will be here before you know it. Who knows we may be doing the PIR thing together. My youngest, Jon, should get his date this coming week. Then I will have two in the Navy.

Vicki, your hubby sounds like a great guy. 

Sandy, six step troubleshooting?   Yikes, let me wake my brain up!

I could do it the technical way, but as it applies to life:

1. Recognize there is a problem.

2. Define the problem, is it something you can fix/control?  If not, relax, smile, and be flexible.

3. Eliminate what would not fix the problem, or what is not really a part of the problem.

4. Narrow solutions down by making specific lists of what options you can choose from.

5. Test your solutions, or choose a solution.  

6. Analysis, what worked, what dd not? What will prevent similar problems in the future?  What changes must YOU make to solve YOUR problems?

 

Okay, that last little bit of step six is mine.

Jacqueline,

As Vickymed said, Please feel free to ask us anything.

No question is too stupid for us for sure, LoL

I was a bit nuts myself when my son first joined the Navy. I was wondering if I would make it through boot camp. (I know my son was doing all the work but still) 

My son had been in college since he was 15. I think he was a little burnt out from going to College. He said he wanted a short break from school, so he joined the Navy and voila!! He finds himself back in school. Anyway, everything has worked out great for him. I think all our sons/daughters go through the same thing.

When your son is in (A)school, you will be able to communicate with him by cell phone or Skype. Sure, I miss my kid but I know he is happy and loves the Navy.

 

Anti M. Thanks for the 6 step troubleshooting. I think it is useful no matter whether or it is used at home or at work.

Well. I'm all jazzed up! Just had a great chat with our sailor. He was just awarded "best of best" !!! Woo Hoo! We are so proud of him.
Jacqueline...this is what we've been talking about...these young men and women who seemed to sail through High School without much effort or lack of focus...will astound you!
Oh..he also got moved to the Franklin...guess they moved all the night students over there. He did say it's not as nice as the Porter.. and yes, his air conditioner is leaking!!! yuk.
Also, wondering if this description sounds familiar to any of you: He said his buddy is from Colorado, but has lived many other places...Japan, Michigan, and his father was also Military.
Forgive me, but I'm so excited about his award, so you'll probably see this same post on the Great Lakes School forum as well !

Forgot to mention...that during his questioning, he was told that he was the only one who gave the answer they were looking for regarding the core values of the Navy. I guess after they are "nominated" for best of best, they go through some review and questioning, and they are selected according to their grades, their records (whether they've gotten into any trouble), and personal inspections, etc.

I think it is great that they give the sailors the opportunity to receive these kinds of awards...helps create incentive, and instills pride of achievement. Very cool.

My husband is in ATT and is on hold for A school.

Thank you Connie...yes I am not only proud of my sailor...but all of them. They all are doing so well, and becoming such mature and responsible men. I know we are all happy for each other when we hear good news!

Maddie...Connie is correct..no formal graduation ceremony from ATT.

Congrats Barb

Barb, a big Bravo Zulu to your sailor. I like hearing about success stories from our Sailors. It makes me proud of our AECF Sailors because they are smart and hard working kids.

Helen, How exciting!! I bet Matt is looking forward to being at sea. I hope his ship has a FB page or some way to communicate.

Helen...Matt must be so happy and excited! I wish him a safe journey...with fun and adventure of course! I can imagine your happiness for him as well. He's waited a long time for this. I'll keep my fingers crossed that you hear from him before they pull out. Please keep us posted!
I sure wish we all lived closer...we are not related by blood, but it sure feels like family!

Sandy, Helen,Vicky,....thanks. Yes, we all look forward to hearing success stories. What is so great about this forum is that I know and I can feel that each of us is equally happy and proud for every sailor, not just our own. They work hard, study hard, put their lives on hold, and on the line if needed, and I can't imagine feeling any other way about any of them. Bless them all!

Good morning!

We just came back from the Enterprise Homecoming. Doug was only with the ship for a few months (they flew him out after he graduated c school). It was one of the best experiences!! And, we got a visitor pass to see the ship. I am amazed at everything these guys (and girl) know! We got to shadow him for the day and see what he does. We met his supervisor and all his co-workers and how they live on the ship. It was truly an experience i will never forget!

Now that the ship's home, he and a fellow sailor got an apartment together. At first we were kind of hesitant, til we saw their living conditions on the ship. After we realized  what small space he really has, we went with him to look at apartments. It was interesting to see how well these guys talked to the apartment managers to make sure they got everything they needed in writing! They really have matured!!

Joann, My son is an ET on tne Big E also. He just started working on it when it got into port. Is yours an ET or FC?

Watching the ships leave.... that really depends on the base, the ship and the job your sailors does.  Some bases dont' allow more than to drop them off, they don't want civilians on the area.  Sometimes your sailor must be onboard hours and hours beforehand to work.  Homecoming, oh yes, a thousand times yes, but departing?  You'll need to find out from the ombudsman whether or not it will be authorized.  There are situations when it is not.

Debbie, I am glad you got the opportunity to see your son's ship sail off into the wild blue yonder. I know that you already miss him but are happy for him at the same time. He is starting a new adventure.

My son is only shipping out to (C)school in September. I will have six more months of my son being a student. I am going to have mixed feeling when my son goes on his first deployment. I am going to be really happy and excited for him, but then I know I wont hear from him much. I have gotten spoiled with Skype and the Cell phone. 

 

Anti M...thanks for the heads up regarding not all ships allowing civilians when ship is departing. Not something some of us newbies would think of.

Just a note...I saw a news article about the Stennis leaving Bremerton today. It also went on to state exactly what time it was pulling out and where the ship was headed...which I won't repeat here....because I thought the Navy did not want to broadcast locations of where their ships are. I know it's a big ocean out there, but the information they gave sure seems to be enough if someone wanted to go looking! I know we are not supposed to give out locations on this forum either, so shouldn't it also apply to the news media?! Or am I being anal? lol.

Debbie....holy cow...sure hope I'm as fortunate as you were...that friends and family cruise day sounds great, and being able to board the ship for final goodbyes would be such a joy! Guess it just all depends...like Anti M said. But like Sandy, I still have a bit of time to wait before I have to worry about all that. Our sailor is also still in school. What an adventure...it's good to hear stories and experiences from those who have already been through it! Thanks!

If anyone is interested, you can order a Free Blue Star flag here:
http://www.mybluestarflag.com/

Becky, he is an FC. But his apartment roommate, who spent a lot of time with us, is an ET.

The way I look at announcements for departures is the Navy has a team who asses the information they release. We don't!  

The big carriers going on long deployments do make the effort to have a family day.  But the smaller ships are less likely to be able to pull it off.  Costs a lot of money for those cruises too, any we know how budgets are going!  Hill AFB has cancelled the big family day and air show on base two years running now due to budget cuts.   Sad, the military loves to show off.  What is weird is the individual sailors often complain about family days, because it means a LOT of work for them.  But they love it too.  Face it, fleet sailors aren't happy unless they're complaining (you won't hear it the same way, moms never do).  It is like bragging.

LOL *assess*

Anti M, I am choking on my coffee!!  That was the best miss-spell ever.

Anti M has funny fingers!!!!

Maddie...if you go to the following page, and scroll down a bit, there is a paragraph, "Proper Display of Blue Star Flag"

http://www.mybluestarflag.com/about-2

by the way, what your son-in-law said sounds correct according to the guidelines..

Anti M...or Chief Angie....what ye say?

Maddie... yes, I may be wrong but I read it to say that flag can be displayed if you are an immediate family member of someone serving in the Armed Forces during a time when the US. is engaged in war OR hostilities. It does NOT include grandparents; however since it says foster parents who stand or stood in loco parentis, I would think grandparents who served as "parents" would be included, otherwise the service person wouldn't have had a parent! duh.

What is also unclear is that it does not state that the serviceperson has to be stationed in the location of the war or hostility...just that it be a time when U.S. is engaged in war or hostility. A little fuzzy there to me.

quote >>The Service flag may be displayed, in a window of the place of residence of persons who are members of the immediate family of Service members serving in the Armed Forces of the United States during any period of war or hostilities in which the Armed Forces of the United States may be engaged, for the duration of such period of war or hostilities.

“Immediate family member” is defined as: wife, husband, mother, father, foster parents who stand or stood in loco parentis,stepmother, stepfather, parent through adoption, children, stepchildren, children through adoption, brothers, sisters, half brothers, and half sisters of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States. Unfortunately, the definition does not include grandparents. unquote

Let's see if Anti M or Chief Angie can educate us.

Sammy - my son just started A school yesterday. Did anyone else's ET start?

 

Is the Franklin BEQ 834?

Odi... yes BEQ-834 is the Franklin. I also answered your post on the ET/FC page with the address. All the best to your son!

Angie...Maddie...YIPEE! Thanks!
(that website should change their wording to include grandparents!)

Angie...so true! Gotta keep up with the changes. What's that saying? "The only thing certain is change"

Helen... more ((((((NMhugs)))))). Will keep your hubby, dog, and of course YOU in my prayers. Sorry you are going through such stress, and hope your hubby feels better very soon. Hugz and blessings coming your way....

Helen;

Helen,

My thoughts are with you.  You're in a difficult place right now but you're not alone.

Keep us posted.

Helen, I hope your hubby feels better soon.

It is really hard when things go wrong all at once. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Helen - it is SO hard to always have to be the tough one! Sending hugs and prayers your way

 

Helen, I am so happy that the docs found out what was wrong. Let us know how he is doing.

Helen,

I just checked in to see if you'd posted anything else.  I'm so glad I did.  What a relief for you. I'm sure that you wish you were with him but how great to know that he has such caring people with him.

((hugs to you))

 

Helen, Glad all went well. Where in Michigan is he? (I live in MI)

Helen...so glad to hear your hubby is being taken care of. May he have a very speedy recovery and back in your arms soon! Now...take care of yourself!

Luv1031, I read a brief paragraph in the Navy Times about the situation of the missing Sailor.  My heart goes out to that Sailor, his family and the crew of the ship. I am praying that he is found safe. There is still a very good chance that he will be ok.

Luv and Sandy...I also was just reading an article at the same time you both posted. Here it is:
http://www.stripes.com/news/navy/search-under-way-for-missing-sailo...

I too pray he is safe.

Before anyone asks me, River City is a new to me term.  But it comes from "Reduced Communications", RC, River City.  Means no personal communcations.

Helen,

Yeeks, what an experience for your husband (and his doctor!).  I'll bet he wishes you were with him.  Wishes for a speedy recovery.

I hope your pup's health stays stable for the time being. You have plenty going on right now.  Take strength in your N4M support.

Wearing your anchor necklace during your son's deployment sounds like the perfect way to keep him close to your heart. 

Karla W. Congrats on the new addition to your family. A future sailor in the making..lol

Karla, congratulations to you on the birth of your new Grandson.

Helen, I am glad everything turned out well with your hubby's surgery. Appendicitis is nothing to fool with. Sounds like he had good doctors to help him.