AECF - FCs and ETs

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?

Hi all, I heard from Chrissy. Lori, she said when she has duty on Homecoming, she can't leave the ship but her Uncle could come on board. Maybe your son could get you on his ship? And she has the day after off.    

I had a great weekend with my grandson Aidan. My new profile pic is of me and him on Sunday. He is almost 5 years old and very smart.  

Helen, you'll have to forgive me, dad made us play "name that thing" on roadtrips (also know as cross-country moves with the Navy).  Plus we have a huge bird refuge just north of us, we're on a major migratory path; I see pelicans here in Utah all the time around the Great Salt Lake.

Yeah, we took guests to Seaworld twice while we were stationed there, MWR ticket is $65 now.  The Zoo has gotten expensive too, but sailors in uniform get in free.  Since we lived there, I got annual passes.   Best bet if there is an "attraction" to see, check the MWR site for tickets, they're usually a bit cheaper.   La Jolla is marvelous, but there's no place to park. I like Point Loma and Old Town.  

BR549, awesome picture. Thanks for sharing.  I found one of R doing push-ups on the TSC page.  Made my day.  Actually made my week. 

BR549- that is a cool pic. I look on the Vinson FB page every time they put up new photos just hoping to see one of my son. I did when they had their first Morale Day and that made it more real to me that he was actually ON a ship. 

Vickyrun- I just got a call from my son and other than the sound delay I could hear him fine. I forgot to ask him about whether we will get to see him at all on the day of Homecoming. I would be so bummed if I have to wait a whole day later. Was Chrissy's Uncle allowed on board because he's military? Love the pic of your grandson- so cute!

BR549- that is funny! So you made quite a name for yourself! I haven't commented on the Vinson FB as we were kind of warned on the ships site that we could be traced back through comments and our real names and all our info found out and it might put our sailor in jeopardy. So that scared me from saying anything. Is your ship's site moms friendly?

Thanks everyone. No Lori, Chrissy's Uncle is not miltary. He lives in Virginia, and I am not able to go to Virgina, so I asked him to go in my place. But I don't know if he will. I have not haerd back from him yet.

 This is my sailor on the CIWS...No wonder they refer to it as R2D2. He posted, "oh yeah for got to say got 100% on the practical and finish in 5 min, the next fastest group in class took 35 min and the first group took over an hour. so we got to play with the gun for a bit."

Deb...just checking in before bed...and saw your sailor's totally awesome photo!!!

How cool is that! You must be smiling from ear to ear!

Here is my pic; Chrissy's ESWS pinning ceremony;

Vicyrun- what a great pic of your daughter! She looks very happy.

Deb- the R2D2! Congrats to your son!

My son emailed me to say he got through the 200 question advancement test yesterday. Won't hear how he did for several months. Also the ship had "secured" the washers as they had run low on water. Can you imagine being surrounded by water but being "low" on it! Once they open the washers back up there is going to be a mad rush of over 5,000 sailors trying to get in. My son said he was down to 2 days of clothes! 

Thank you. She is happy. She has wanted that pin for along time, since she was in GL.

Vickyrun...congrats to Chrissy....what a great smile!

Here's the latest...our sailor graduated C school in San Diego on March 6. Was told he would be flying to Norfolk on March 7 for post grad class in Norfolk, Va that starts on March 18.  Guess what? He's still in San Diego.  But hey...he's having fun "sweeping" leaves with a big push broom!  yes, a broom, not a rake! I told him that would make a great pic..."sailor sweeps leaves." LOL.

Thanks everyone for the comments on Logan with R2D2.

Congratulations to Chrissy! She is one beautiful strong woman.

Poor Logan posted last night that his day had begun at 1130 (night classes) and didn't end until after 2400 because his roommate had bed bugs & he had to clean all his stuff too!  Totally creeped me out.

ProudGMBarb - sweeping leaves? doesnt seem too efficient to me but then it is CA & the Navy...bawhahaha

Deb....bed bugs....yes creepy. Poor guys. Well, they did say they would have lots of experiences in the Navy!

navyblumom, does he want to be an officer?   It is pretty much yes or no, and definitely not for the money.  

ProudGMBarb- ahh yes the old "sweep the leaves with a broom" duty! My son was on hold for awhile in SD doing the same thing! But then he got to do other things that he enjoyed after a bit of leaves sweeping. So hopefully yours won't have too much of that. Maybe it's a "rite of passage" after C school?

what is STA21?

Lori and Maddie..... ha!  Sharing the broom...now ain't that special !!!

Wouldn't even give any hold time a second thought...that's the norm...except his little post grad class in Norfolk starts on the 18th.  We'll see what tomorrow brings!

Talk to you all then....it's time for sweet dreams now!

navyblumom, I am very biased toward being enlisted.  I was an ET1, as was my husband.  But more than that, my dad was a Masterchief, one of the very first in his rate. He was in the Navy for 29 years... took a break after WWII and joined again for Korea, stayed in for a good part of Vietnam.    So all my life, what did I hear about officers?  "I'd rather work for a living".

Officers are seen as having more prestige and privileges, and they certainly do pull more pay. They are in charge, but they don't get down and dirty hands on.  They have a lot of paperwork and are ultimately responsible for their troops.  The protocol alone would drive me mad.  Being an officer is seen by many as the ultimate goal of any sailor, but I have never thought so.   And then there's Knife and Fork school... ha!

That said, the very best EMO (Electronic's Department Head) we ever had was a mustang LT who had been an ET just like us.  He had worked on the gear, he knew what we did and what it was like.  (Mustangs are prior enlisted officers).

The Navy is effectively run daily by the chiefs.  You have no idea how disappointed I was choosing to separate after nine years....  if I had made chief, and I would have, my dad would have been beyond thrilled.

So ask your son if he's rather be an Ensign or a chief.  Both require leadership and dedication.  For me, it comes down to that choice.

what is knife & fork school?

Officers must learn impeccable manners.  They actually get trained on which fork to use in social situations, greetings, who sits down first at a dinner party.  There is far more to it that that, including formal military protocol.   

OOps...that would be CIWS.  Spelling it like it sounded on the phone. Close-In Weapons System.  Got a lot to learn and I thank each of you for all of your help and support.

 R's proud mom how long was your sons wait time before he got his orders to San Diego? My son recently graduated from A school he's a FC. My son wants San Diego too but knows it can be Virginia also. I would love SD it would be closer to where we live. Congrats to your son.

Hi Dorina, R graduated A school a few month's ago.  Actually it was the first week of Dec. Some in his graduating class got orders about a month ago. Holds are getting shorter.  He PIR'ed 4/29/11.  A total of 13 1/2 month's in GL. We live in Va.   So for me, it would have been nice for him to come here.  But, Va. wasn't in God's glorious plan for him.  Hopefully your Sailor will get orders quickly too. Hang in there.