AECF - FCs and ETs

so, now you will stay up every night on facebook in case............haha, not quite a joke as that is the most frequent "conversations" I get with our son and I enjoy them

Vicky...enjoy your Happy Navy Mom Day!

Happy B-day to Chrissy!

Good morning all, just realized four years ago today - our son left for bootcamp.  

Helen & MarinewifeNavyMom, it appears when the Navy releases that info - its okay but ...not if you or your sailor does.  Personally Helen, I'm just glad that big ole' battle group left Pearl Harbor before I arrived (for selfish reasons!!) 

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

Good Sunday morning, Thanks everyone.

I iagree Helen, sometimes OPSEC is odd, but hey that is the Navy for you. Lol. 

I am getting email from the FRG about Homecoming but nothing form the Obudsman yet. 

Mary, Happy Navy Anniversary to Nick. Have fun in Hawaii with all your handsome men. I stayed on Kaui once, it is very beatiful. Bring us back some pics please.

vicky,

you won't hear anything from the obudsman about homecoming, just the FRG

what is an FRG?

Yeah! What is a FRG?

odi,

is the Family Readiness Group, every ship has one.  talk to your sailor about getting you on the mailing list, they are a wealth of information

Ok, thanks. I thougth the guy didn't like me. Lol

Soo what does the Obudsman do then? Only call if someting bad happens? Her Dad gets that call, then Dad has to call me.  

the only contact i've ever had with the obudsman is when my mother died and i needed to find out how to get jes on emergency leave

Well, we are at least 6 months from being on a ship as C school is coming up. Do I ask him to put me on the FRG list now or wait?

i don't know if they have a FRG for those in school you may have to wait until he's assigned to a ship.  FRG's, as far as i know, are ship specific

Well, I have some good news. My son finaly got orders to his ship. It is the USS Gonzalez, DDG 66.  He won't be reporting for awhile yet. He still has to finish C school.

Congrats Sandy!  When did he PIR? Just wonder how long the jump thru all the schooling took

Odi, his PIR was August 6th, 2010.  He still has about a month or two of school to complete. Seems like he has been attending Navy school since he was born, LoL. I think our Sailors are getting a wonderful education that will serve them well for many years to come.

When my son first joined the US Navy.  I used to count the days and months. Now I am used to it.  Time seems to be passing by fast.   

Sandy...congrats on the good news....I know you've been waiting and looking forward to hearing what your sailor's orders will be after C school!

All our sailors are moving on and growing up!

I don't have dates yet...but our guy told us he will be getting a 1-month leave to come home after C school...before flying out to Japan. Hope you will have time with your boy too!

Sandy, Congrats on your son's orders. They are sure happy when they get orders to the fleet, because school seems almost over then.

I don't have any days to count down yet, I haven't heard the excat date of Homecoming. How can I get my brother and sister-in-law to go if they don't have a date to plan to go on? This is driving me crazy!!!

leaving bright and early in the am to surprise my sailor in GL a day early!  so excited to see her!!!!

Anti M., You were right. Chrissy said she has duty on Homecoming. She doesn't wantt me to invite her Uncle and she doesn't want the lei. Made me cry.

But the Good news is she will be staying three days at a hotel near me when she gets leave. And she wants me to bake her some Christmas treats. Lol Funny cause when I told her before Christmas I could bake when she came home she said No, but now she wants me to.  Gotta love her.

Vicky, she might have a watch where she can't leave her station, she couldn't wear the lei in uniform and I bet she has no place to keep it, so she doesn't want to ruin one.  Betcha!  So a "Leave Lei" would be better!  And then she can make dirty jokes with her shipmates....

Thanks Anit M., that is a good idea, maybe I can find a florist here who does leis. I used to make them myself when I lived in Hawaii.  

I love leis, but here in Utah they are hard to find.  Hawaii, well the land just throws blossoms at you!

Wow, no, but it was in one of those forums.   Can you search by their discussions?  I know it is possbile, but I haven't tried it for quite a while.

Helen, Can hardly wait to see my son in this situation! He is still in A school.  I'll be a mess when the ship pulls in!  Glad you had a wonderful, I mean AMAZING, time!

Helen, also thanks for the pics!

Helen.... WOW!

Hello Ladies...hope you are all having a beautiful Navy Moms Sunday!  I wanted to share a video I just watched. Not what we normally post here....but I think you will all enjoy it. Very touching indeed.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/W86jlvrG54o?rel=0

wow!  thanks for sharing.  So, so moving!  thanks again.

Helen your pics were great! I have a question- did you have to wait long on the pier before your sons ship came in? My son is on his first deployment and returns to SD when they get back. I have booked tickets and wondered how early to get to the pier. Is it similar to when we lined our cars up at PIR and waited FOREVER?

wow Helen, love hearing about it

Helen- lot was lots of great info that has me wanting to ask you more questions! Like how can I find a CO to friend!!! We are going to rent a car and staying at the Clarion Hotel on South Bay. My son is on a Carrier and there is the other ships in the strike group coming in as well. So how will we know where to go to park or which pier? Will our son tell us closer to the time when the ship will pull in or is that kind of undetermined? Also- you mentioned the "first kiss" - I had heard that it's a contest but I can't find any info about it. My son informed me that he has duty the day they come in. I said I hope they will at least let him come off and give me a hug! If you don't mind answer questions I know I'll have more! Thanks a bunch Helen!

lori,

are you a member of the FRG?  that's where you should be getting information on when, where, what time, etc.  if i expected any info from my sailor all she could tell me was the date, lol.

duhhuh- I am on the Vinson's site [ ship son is on] but am not familiar with the FRG. What is that? Son has given me the Homecoming date but says he's not sure of time. Not surprised - it's not like landing a 747! I want to be at the pier as early as possible. The info he has for me is limited cause he just doesn't know. There are friends of his still on base and it's possible I could a better idea of where to park if they know. 

Family Readiness Group.  Every ship has one, or at least every battlegroup.  

If your sailor has duty, there is a good chance they can't leave their watchstation to come hug you.  Some things can't be left unattended, and there's much to do to get a ship docked and buttoned down.   It is organized chaos!

Anti M- noooo! Not even a quick run down the gang plank [ or whatever they call it!] to say hi to me? His girl friend is coming [ a surprise] and I can imagine she will be disappointed. I will be MORE so though!

Thanks for the info about FRG. How do I contact them? Should my son let them know who I am first - why would they give me any info as they don't know who I am? I'm sure after the first deployment many of my questions will be answered and I won't feel so green!

@lori... it is a huge maybe, but there are definitely some jobs/watches where they cannot leave their posts.  Just ask him, he'll know what sort of duty he'll be standing.  He might not have watch, he may be able to come down to see you.   (A sailor can have a duty day without standing a watch).  But in general, there is a percentage of the crew who cannot set foot on the pier for several hours.  Can't leave their posts unmanned, and the other sailors who could cover for them are down hugging their families!  

You can google the FRG for your sailor's ship, and yes, I think they do need your sailor's permission to add you.  I never had a FRG to interact with, they are fairly new, an official replacement for the spouse clubs I think.  

http://www.vinsonfrg.org/homecoming.html

Anti M- thank you so much for the link. I had no idea there was such a thing. I'll be looking throughly at all they have to offer. Wish I lived in SD to do the half way party. I will have to ask my son what kind of duty he has that day. He's in a shop [ I'm one of the lucky ones that get to email him daily]. He did say he will be at the rails so even if he can't come off [ sniff] I'll be there jumping up and down cheering. I think it will be more emotional than PIR in some respects watching that huge ship come in!

Okay Ladies is anybodies husband,son,daughter etc. still on holds? I feel like I've been waiting forever for my ET boyfriend to get his orders for C-School, he is still in GL. Poor guy is just waiting and waiting. I am getting anxious !

HisladyB. How long has your ET been on hold?  When was his PIR?

I saw a lot of good info on there, such a great resource!

If he's on the rails, there's a good chance he won't have a hard watch and may be able to grab a few minutes to come down.  

Just be glad he's not one of the nukes or the deck hands.  

@Sandy's, His PIR was March 16,2011 he graduated from A-school right before holiday stand down.

Helen, thank you for sharing with us. Exciting to think we may be in your shoes some day.  Do you know what is next for Matt?

Helen- those pics are awesome! When Paul first got to SD he went to the beach that has those seals and sent me a photo of one. Of course I thought it was cute and he said they are mean and you don't want to get close to one!

Thanks for the info on location to where the ship pulls in. I know nothing about SD so this is good to plug into the GPS which we will be bringing with us. Renting a car when we get to the airport. Those boxes sound like a lot of fun!

Your son has been in for almost 4 years now! Mine is coming up to his 2nd next month. Four more to go!

Does the FRG arrange the passes to get on base for homecoming?   Are there passes?  I never got to go to hubby's homecomings in Japan, we weren't stationed together; I couldn't take leave to go greet him.

Great pics, Helen... although that's a pelican.   The seals are very cool to look at.  My ET2 got married in La Jolla, in the Bridge Club, right above the water.  

Hubby's last duty station was North Island.  We lived up in Birdland, above MIssion Valley.  There's so much to do in San Diego, it is crazy.  I loved the museums in Balboa Park and the Art Colony, and of course, The Zoo.  And we went on the ships of the Maritime Museum right on the water.  Sea World is fun, but gets expensive very quickly.  Your sailor can get reduced price tickets to lots of attractions at MWR.  

Anti M- had to tell ya- As i was looking at the list of things to do in SD that you wrote I'm taking notes- and what i THOUGHT you wrote was the ANT Colony! I'm thinking-- well that sounds....different. Then i read it again and realized it was ART colony. Ok I LOVE art!

LOL, a human sized ant colony would be fun, yeah?