USS George Washington Sailors

I am so happy for ALL of us.  It is funny how we get excited over a phone call, letter, email, smoke signals, etc. :)

Luke's mom...yes I know the firing questions.  Mine loves a game, I told him I had a game, 20 questions... so I too fired away.  Mine finally skyped before he had to return to the ship.  His bro, sister in law and 2 yr old niece were here waiting.  Finally after 45 min, they had to get lil one home.  Don't you know he skyped 25 min later...his relief on duty was 1.5 hrs late.  Darn.  His only niece was born 4 mo. before he enlisted and is now 2, so wanted him to see her.  Oh well, next time.  But we had a nice chat.

Creative Vi~ No Problem! Waiting for you to join the pool party too! I will have a special boy here with LOTS of lotion parked out at your cabana! 

luke's mom- I figure when the niece finally sees him in person, it will like meeting Elmo or Big Bird, she will only have known him from the computer screen.  lol.

I did get some pics of my sailor on FB from a buddy of his that tagged him in  a few pics....told the buddy I was going to adopt him.  :)

katlanta, well he better get a little more chatty.  I really was excited to see it and know there will be something else... hopefully soon.  You had a nice call, maybe your sailor should show my sailor where those phones are, LOL.  I do feel better.

gamagnolia, he will understand when he's a Dad, wanting to hear from his brat, LOL.  I'm hoping the next email will have an address.  His bday is coming up and I want to send him a cookie... just one, LOL.  See how he likes it, LOL.  I also got him a singing card.  I didn't send one to bc, so figure he's due.  He should have learned by now, don't ruffle mamas feathers.

CArol, congrats on the photo... seeing is good too, plus he's keeping himself healthy.

Imnadelady, niece will be old enough to call him uncle sailor in a box, LOL.  It will be their special name.  I still call my uncle by his special name.

Mary (Chris' mom) I'm on my way... just kidding.  But you are tempting.

OK Moms, it's been a good day. Off to relax and read before bed.  Talk to you all tomorrow.  Could we start calling each other by our first name?  I'm Vi

Cyn-d  

ah there I am...  but I think I need a pic of my sailor and I

hmmm....Mary? lol   How about Mb for me? I already get called that by people who are close friends. And btw, it's NOT me in the pic. That's Chris on the glider, but I took my turns too!

I am Linda.  My son has a birthday Sept 19th so I am glad to have an address now to hopefully get a box out tomorrow and perhaps he will receive it in time for his birthday.

this is me, silly day at the Legion got this pic. It's nice to meet you girls.

Linda, my sailors bday is the 10th of Sept and still no address.

However I did get another email this morning and he's really down.  He says there's a lot of young guys telling him the want to kick his butt for no reason, he says the food is bad, the bathrooms are worse with no toilet paper.  I know my son is picky, but does make me worry a little.  I pray he finds his footing soon, he wants to count down to getting out ALREADY!  OH may the adjustment period be short as possible.

How is everyone else doing?  Vi

Vi-Nice to meet you also! I am so sorry to hear about the upset of your son aboard. That makes my heart break for any child of ours having to go thru that while they are sacrificing themselves for our country.  I hope things get better for him soon.

Mine did tell me, the day he arrived, that the bathrooms were horrible.  Seems to me that from the number of them on board that cleaning the bathrooms would be part of someone's daily responsibilities.  Not sure I understand why this is happening   

GW Facebook page just posted the format for email for the sailors.  So, I am sure fine to post here.

Ship's crew: first name.last name@cvn73.navy.mil
Air wing: first name.last name@cvw5.navy.mil

Vi and Linda, the situation in the heads is fleetwide. My son was stationed briefly on the newest in the fleet and had issues. He says there are some who sabotage the ships mechanical systems like they think it gets even with someone. He almost dreaded having family aboard for a Tiger cruise for fear the smart-alecks would be on bad behavior. There is also an unspoken rule to take 1-2 rolls of your own tp in case it all gets used (wasted) before the next port. Unfortunately, it does not seem to get better but they do learn to adjust and look out for themselves. New sailors arriving late will always have to "fight" their way into the brotherhood and earn respect. It will happen quickly.

Tell your sailors thank you for their service and hope they have some fun too while at ports. Support is all we can give them now.

and TP :)

It is nice to have names and faces to go with them.  How about what our sailors do? Mine is an aviation electronics technician with the Shadowhawk Squadron.  He has been in since Dec 2010.

Haha Linda, and TP! :-) 

Go Shadowhawks!!

Way to go John!

Ok...me and my "littlest" baby.

Kat,  My Gerad is an aviation electronics technician.  He enlisted the day before his 28th birthday.  He made sailor of the quarter when he first joined the Squadron.  He wanted the structure, he likes to know what is expected of one.  He is a fine young man and I miss him.  But he is happy and he likes the deploy too.  What more can I want?  Gramma was here when he skyped the other day, she asked him if he had 2 or 3 yrs.  "Well there are incentives" he said, I knew that was coming.  :)

Vi I'll pray your sailor finds a couple good buds.  

Linda I love packing packages.  My sailor got Chex mix one time and someone in his shop interpretted his "no don't eat that" as "sure go ahead".  He had hoped to   save them.  Well he like fruit strips and eats one every night, so apparently they were not a hit with everyone.  So next pack, I sent two boxes of fruit strips all dumped out loose in the package, then we put chex mix in ziploc bags into the fruit strip boxes.  He was pleasantly surprised. :)

Mb good for you with the glider, I like my feet on the ground.  I wanted to post a pic of me and my sailor, but the only one I had was when he took me to dinner on his motorcycle, that was adventurous for me. But motorcycle helmets don't make for good pics. I;m going to be making a solo trip to 'Japan, that will be adventurous for me.

I'm sending this quick, type it once and it disappeared.

Kat-  yeah I saw your sailor.  This name and face recognition has paid off already.  You have a great day!

Good morning all!

My sailor is Paul, Paulie to close family and friends.  He is actually my son-in-law.  He just recently married my only child, Victoria.  I love him as my own and therefore call him my son. His mother keeps updated with our postings & is well aware that I call him my son. She gives me her blessings.  She has raised a fine man and I couldn't have hand picked a better partner for my child.  His mother is a devout Christian and has instilled morals and ethics in him to make him the man he is today. He will be a fabulous husband and father.  I look forward to grand-babies!

This is his first duty station and it came as a bit of a surprise to us.  We really thought he was going to Jacksonville.  It, of course, changed a lot of plans that they had.  They have grown up in the same town with mutual friends.  They began dating exclusively 2 years ago and he proposed the week he was leaving for basic.  They got married the weekend before he left for Japan.  This was the best move for them, all the way around.  We are still planning to have the dream wedding some time next year. They have had a lot of obstacles and are flying thru them with colors.  Their relationship is solid. He will be 23 next month.

He is currently working on the flight deck.  His first phone call to her expressed how much he enjoyed it.  For that I am very thankful.  He plans to become an AIRR (rescue swimmer) and I hope this plan goes well for him. He is currently undesignated.   He is not sure at this point if this will be a career or not.  He decided to join the Navy to establish some structure in his life and obtain other personal goals .He has the total support of his family, friends and church family. We are all extremely proud of him!

let's see. Chris has been in since Nov of 2008. He is an IS with the Shadowhawks. He and his wife live at Atsugi when the ship is pierside. He enjoys his job and so far and has thought seriously about reenlisting but also wants to get a teaching degree in English or History. He has a passion for swords from all over the world, at most times in history. Eventually, (after he retires or wins the lottery) he wants to open an import shop that specializes in ancient weapons. He also enjoys cooking, and after he grows up (in 40 or 50 years) he wants to become a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

I enjoy eating, if the house is clean I enjoy cooking and entertaining. I have a bulldog who is anything but a bully. I had a major heart attack 21 mos ago which threw a big wrench in my academic plans and turned my entire life upside down. I was enjoying taking American Sign Language classes and had decided to transfer to UNC at Greensboro for their Advocacy for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing program. My heart attack has prevented me from carrying even a half-load at school and cannot commute that distance now anyway. Now I am awaiting my next surgery in a few mos for a mechanical pump (LVAD), and then they will begin the process of looking for a new heart for me. I am totally blessed as I have out lived my prognosis a few times.

Glad to know a bit more about each of you and your sailors!

Hi! It's been great reading your stories! I've been with N4Ms on and off, but never really introduced myself - and since everyone is making introductions, maybe I should too. Because this site isn't secure, i'm a little squeamish about putting my name in with everything online being so public, but anyway it's Jan. My son is MM1 - like Luke's Mom's. He has been in Japan almost 2 years, but has been in the Navy for some time - since 2001. He has never actually said that he likes it, but he keeps re-enlisting so he must be finding fulfillment of some kind! Actually, he hasn't said very much at all lately...well, maybe he thinks he's too old to talk to me now. I did go to Japan to see him, although he was very busy and I didn't see a great of him. He has his own place which I felt compelled to clean while I was there, and I highly recommend visiting if there is any way you can and haven't already - or even if you have! All the best to each of you. P.S. loved Vi's idea of sending her son one cookie! I hope the bullies on the ship have settled down. 

I am so bummed.  I mailed my sailor two packages A MONTH AGO and they still haven't gotten to him.  ANNOYING for both of us.  USPS should be ashamed.

I'm Kimberly and my son is a MM3, he has been in the navy for a year, but this is his first station since school. He left for Japan in July so this is all new to me, but he is 4th generation navy, so my husband and my dad think they know it all. ha ha My son didn't have an e-mail before he left, so I am just waiting to see if he remembers me. I am sending him a package this weekend, so maybe if he ever gets it he will remember us. I know he is really busy and I'm good with it.

Vi, I don't hate you for loving to clean, I just wish you lived closer so you could come to my house! I'm the crafty person who loves to create, but hates to clean up the mess.

HELP!  My sailor is leaving Jacksonville at 4:00 today.....going to Chicago and then going to Seattle....and then he is suppose to take AMC flight from there to Japan....but there is no time in his orders or where to go once he gets to Seattle.....it also says he needs to check in 24 hours prior for the AMC flight.....once he gets to Seattle, what does he do??  Does he need to go to a different airport?  Does his baggage that he checked in in Jacksonville go to Japan or does he need to get it at Seattle airport?  Once he gets to Japan where does he go?  Sorry he should have thought about these things before the day he was leaving....Please help if you can...Thanks....I'm freaking out....

Vi - my son experienced some problems with people posting demeaning things on his facebook page. I contacted the ombudsman about it and it stopped, but my son was not happy about it because the ombudsman contacted his commanding officer. I hope i didn't make things worse for him. He is tall like your son and on his first deployment, he complained about headaches from banging his head going through entryways. His bunk was so short he had to sleep in the fetal position and didn't rest very well. Apparently he has gotten used these things. He's also moved up so maybe his quarters are a little bit better. I wonder if your son could speak with him about these things and maybe provide some support? 

THANK YOU!

CreativeVi.....oh no....how tall is he....my sailor is 6' 2"......Now I'm even more freaking out......I cannot believe they are doing that to your son....

@navymomfromCT-I was in your same exact position a few weeks ago. My sailor was flying out of Jacksonville but when he arrived in Atltanta, the planes couldn't go out because of weather so he missed his flight to Seattle and in turn then missed the scheduled one to Japan.  

First off, rest assured that if he will go the ticket counter in each airport, they will help him to get to Seattle.  Once he gets to Seattle, like everyone else said, he needs to go to the USO office, with his luggage, and also the AMC office which is right behind it.  They will get him on the next flight to Japan.  I promise.  

Once he arrives in Japan and goes thru customs, there will be a bus waiting for him outside to take him to base.  There is also American speaking counters in Japan to help him.  Regardless of what his orders state, they realize that there are sometimes delay in flights.  He will not be in trouble.  My sailor arrived 2 days late and it was all good.

 You can even make contact with the ombudsman  at cvn73ombudsman@yahoo.com and notify them of the information that you have and they will let his commanding officer know what is going on with him.

 You can also track each flight he is on, to include the one to Japan, on this website http://flightaware.com/ 

You can also go to this website and download the Welcome packet to read.  It has a vast amount of information in there. http://www.gw.navy.mil/core/welcome/welcome.html and last but not least, the fine women here are full of information, support, etc.  

I received an email this morning and his mother received a phone call.  All seems well and he enjoys his job.  I am ecstatic to hear that!

Hi everyone, I enjoyed reading all your posts specifically the introduction part. My name is Vanessa, my sailor is an ABF, 23 years old, he just arrived Yokosuka a week ago and currently finishing the 3 week INDOC. On his first few days, I was very worried for him being so far away from home, terribly missing him. If I were to decide, I would have wanted him to choose San Diego, it's 2 hours away from our place but he preferred Japan.He is my oldest son, so proud of him very determined in achieving his life's goals. He graduated at the top of his class during A school. Recently, I'm not that worried anymore because we keep in touch everyday through facebook and he said he will try his best to call me at least once every weekend during his free time. He made a lot of great friends though I know he can easily jell along with people from all walks of life yet it still dreads me knowing that our son can still be bullied by others despite of. I always remind my sailor to pray for guidance and safety daily. And he never forgets to remind me to always stay healthy. My sailor helps me out in raising his younger brother. I can really count on him. I raised them alone by the way. And I'm so proud and glad to have raised a fine young man.I will always be praying for him and to all the sailors for safety, good health and happiness in the career path that they have chosen. And most of all for those sailors who want to test the newbies in the ship to enlighten their minds and not make the newbies' life in the ship miserable. Hooyah!

I too have enjoyed everyone's introductions! My son is 23, and an Airman with one of the squadrons. He seems to be adjusting to life in Japan and on the ship. He's been in Japan since April. On the last cruise he had temporary galley duty, or 'cranking'. I know he's glad to be done with that!

We've had phone messages the past two days, so I know he's trying but we haven't connected! Still great to hear his voice on the answering machine. New moms, if your sailor doesn't have a 'Ship to Shore' calling card it is possible to order one online and have it sent to him/her, then I just added more $$ to the card yesterday. (He gave me the card# and phone # to call.)

Hope all your sailors who are new to the GW are able to work through the rough spots.

Carol

CArol, Where do you order the ship to shore card?  Maybe that is why I have not heard from my son.  I know he was kind of nervous about if he got everything he needed because he had no idea what he needed.  I kidded him that you mean this is not like summer camp and they didn't give you a packing list.  I am known for my packing lists..lol We make them for every trip we take. I told him that anything he really needed the Navy already made him get and hopefully anything else really needed was in the ship store. 

Thanks everybody......so he is in seattle and his plan leaves at 7:30 seattle time......so once he flies into Yokota base he should go thru customs and then he should look for a bus to Yokosota air base?  nobody will be there to greet him???? 

Kat, you may be right about the airlift from base to ship. If, as you say it is a military flight he is taking then there is a chance he might get off the plane, board another and go straight to the ship. He might wait there until the ship is ready to port somewhere also and meet up with them pierside. That's all given on a "need to know" basis. Navy standards...we don't need to know (OPSEC)

He is taking the AMC flight to Yokota base and then he has no idea what to do......I told him to take the bus to Yoksoka base.....If he goes on another plane to the ship I'm hoping there will be someone to tell him what to do and not get on the bus to Yokosoka base.  I was hoping he would have a couple of days of INDOC so that he could get a phone, etc.....

kat Oh my curiousity would be driving me crazy.  lol  At least we know we have a bit of wait for port call.  Where will it be, hmmm how exciting.  My sailor is enjoying his deploy.

Carol, which Squadron?  My sailor Gerad has  a friend that tags him in  a lot of pics, I told the sailor I was going to adopt him.  My sailor we have always teased him that he has played where's Waldo all his life, he was always behind a tree or something.  Before he went to bootcamp,he was working in a Halloween store.  On Halloween all had to dress up and he was Waldo.  He joined his dad and I at a local Pub for dinner and when he walked in voiced piped up, " I found him".  Anyway small world maybe our sailors known each other.

navymomfromCT_ I think once our sailors make this move from US to Japan, they've become well versed travelers.  They have good assistance.  

last night was a Girls Dress Up Night out for me, my sis, niece and dil.  We went to a restaurant that serves tapas.

These first names and pics have certainly helped me connect who I'm talking with.  Have a good day ladies!  

Thanks again guys...he is on the plane as we speak.....He will be fine....He will be fine...just keep telling myself that....