Girlfriends, Fiances,and Wives of Sailors

Every office and branch can be a little bit different!   What's bad is it is so simple for some, and then you got the shaft on yours.   Glad to know they're letting you use the POA, that must be a huge relief.  

Yeah... I'm holding my breath until its actually done though. haha. He said the POA will specifically say I can enroll myself in DEERs and get my ID without him there though so fingers crossed.

lol Emily it took 3 tries to get me in  DEERs bc they kept sending it back telling him he had spelled my name wrong... lol I kept asking how did you spell it? He would spell it and it was right. but the extra a was throwing the  off! It was such a mess bc we were trying to get me on his DEERs before he got orders. Luckily they finally took it I guess after the third time they assumed he knew how to spell his wife's name better than they did. smh. Hope your issues get worked out soon!!!

Ahhh so overwhelming.  Thanks for all the advice!

ATTENTION PLEASE!!!! :) Hey everyone I just wanted to spread the word about this amazing program that some or most of you may have heard of. Well the website is callsforrecruits.org and I actually tried it myself just yesterday. All you have to do is go on the website and there will be a brief explanation of the whole program as soon as you get on it. There will be an email link that you can click and it`ll take you to Windows Live, I don`t know if it`s different for others but that`s what happened for me since I have Windows Live. Anyways all I had to do is email them my email and then they sent me for FREE, 9 pin numbers for the cards that you can print or write down in a letter. They do suggest that you ask your recruit to share 3 with others who need it aswell. That leaves 6 for your recruit to use. This program is a blessing and I`m very thankful for it cause now my recruit has FREE phone cards and will share the others or maybe all of it with others. But please do go on the website and check it out cause they offer a lot of FREE service for our recruits. It may be in small ways but it makes a BIG impact. Thank you again and God Bless.

Amber you`re welcome I`m glad that you tried it :) & here`s a link that will have discussions on what you`re looking for, please take a look. God Bless. 

http://www.navyformoms.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1971797%3ABlogPost...

hi ladies. my husband left for basic may 28 did any of you girl's loves ones leave around that time? im just curious to see if any of you have heard from them. please let me know thanks soo much 

hello everyone, my fiance is in a school and I am trying to get a few things figured out. I'm wondering the benefits of living off and on base and if I should buy furniture and stuff here. We live in MA and he got his soft copy orders and they say WA. it's a bit of a hike for us ;)

What he needs to find out is if there is a wait list for base housing (which often is not on base at all).  

He can get a shipment of household goods as a single sailor,  but it will be smaller than if he were married. Since he has his orders already, even the verbals/soft copy, you won't be included in the package.  So he needs to check with the personal property office about a packout of his things.

Base housing is often not even on base, it is privatized. Advantages: you're in a community which is secure, and you have military neighbors who can relate to your situation.  Advantage, they take out the BAH automatically so your bills/rent are never late. Disadvantage: they take all the BAH.  And the neighbors can get nosy, and you must keep the place up to cleanliness and health standards.

Housing usually has a wait list, which is why so many people need to rent.  Since you aren't married yet, he can't get on the wait list.  They'll be expecting to check him into government quarters/ship billeting.  

Off base: more freedom, you can save money.  Disadvantage: landlords know the BAH scale so they will jack up their rents.  Community is unknown.  You must be sure to get the military clause in case you need ot breal the lease.

They do everything possible to help them pass. They don't want them to be set back!

Southwest/Alaska Air are often cheap. Use a search engine like skyscanner/Kayak/Opodo or similar to compare dates and prices. Not sure if you would get any kind of military discount, worth a look. If any of your friends or family have unused airmiles they might donate to your cause then its worth checking. I'm not sure what ID you need to fly inside the US...drivers license? Passport? I'm in the process of saving for my flight from London to Seattle to reunite with my sailor...now thats got to be dedication eh?! 

I use Travelocity.com to compare prices from different airlines.  Then go to the individual airline website to book the ticket rather than pay the Travelocity fee.  There are some airlines that don't show up on Travelocity (like Southwest) so check them on their individual websites.

You only need drivers license to travel within the U.S. 

Never bought a ticket, or never flown?  You'll love the TSA rules.   

Military discounts are not the best deals.  Those are limited seats on limited flights.  

Amber - I would think you would have gotten it, but consider they have to buy their uniforms and all their hygiene items out of that first paycheck, too.  That first paycheck I think would have only been for May 8 to May 15, so 7 days.  I would definitely call his recruiter if you don't get one by the 15th.

best time to look for flights is Tuesday at 3 pm EST bc refresh tickets from what I have been told. Also clear your browsing history. and certainly shop around! Military discounts are good if you get them like within a few days from what I was told by an airline rep bc you have less chance of having to cancel them. Also I think there is a certain amount of time you need to look beffore you want to fly not too far in advance and not to close. No closer than 14 days if you can. but too far in advance they dont know how the market will be then (what an airline rep told  me)

Meagan thank you for the information that was very helpful! :)

welcome :)

The travel sizes still have to be in one quart size baggie which has to be taken out of your carry on and placed where they can see it as you go through screening.  But then, we never travel with checked baggage because of the extra fee.  You can have small liquids in your checked bags. 

We take empty water bottles and fill them once we are through security.  No way am I paying for water on a freaking plane, and they never give you enough.  I carry granola bars and fruit leather too, in case we get stuck waiting for a flight.  What they charge for airport food is crazy.  Hawaii was the only place with decent eats.

My boyfriend left Wednesday for boot camp and got to Great Lakes around 1:30 am Thursday. I'm just wondering if anyone would have a general idea about what P-Day he is on...I've been trying to follow the day to day list that was on NavyDEP.com.

Thanks! That's a lot of waiting!

The entire Navy experience is a lot of waiting.   

it doesn't have to actually be in a baggie, but it has to be in something no larger than a quart size ziploc.

LeShelby, mine were all in travel size bottles, 3 oz or less,  all in one zipper top quart size bag.  Not individual baggies?  Not sure how you're reading my post?  

http://www.tsa.gov/311/311-carry-ons.shtm

Angie, you can use regular bottles, but we carry the plastic ones made for hiking.  Buy them on clearance at the big box stores.

hubby deploys very very soon..he is on a sub. he told me when i email him they can't be long, they can only be a certain amount of words per email. he didnt know much more lol can someone explain to me? also is there anything i can give to him in his seabag like little candies or stuff like that before he goes? i need to go shopping today if its possible... any info would be helpful! thanks!!

My nephew is on a sub... the emails can be pretty long in plain text, you just can't send pictures or attachments.  I don't know how many words exactly, but it is plenty.  And they are screened, so no mushy stuff you don't want shared with strangers.

My nephew said he had plenty of "gedunk" (candy and snacks) but do send some gum.  I sent extra socks and assorted individually wrapped tea bags and playing cards.  He has an ereader which he loaded up with books before he left.  They work very long hours, and when he first got there he had to "hot rack" ... three sailors, two beds, they slept in shifts.  Really old sub though, not one of the big new ones.  They don't have much room for anything!  

kay thanks..and yes i know they are tiny!!! i couldnt do it. and i will go to the nex and commissary today then and get him little things to have including frabrize to get rid of the "boat smell" lol can i put everything i got in a ziplock back to him to pack in his sea bag? or else i know he will lose it in everything lol

Jess on the list they sent him home with febreeze was listed so Im thinking it is okay.. im sending a small one. ill double check tho. i dont want him getting introuble lol

Every sub has slightly different rules, so go by what you're told for his boat.

Cake in a jar, depends on where he is.  Lots of people swear by the cake in the jar, but no one ever thinks about where that glass jar goes when it is empty aboard a ship.  They either have to haul it back to a port, or grind it up and dump it in the ocean.  If he's at school, then heck yes.

Aw, that's cute!

Missingmysailor I know like for my husband if I send him an email and it starts getting too big then it will either start a new email on his end by itself or will kick it back to me. I always send mine "plain" text not "rich" My husbands ship is allowed to get pictures but some are not. and never send nude pictures or boudior photos via email. Not only do other people see them but they can get their email shut down. Whether or not people think its a stupid rule its true. I have known a wife that her husband's entire ship got all communication shut down for a short time bc so many wives were sending inapproriate pictures. When email came back up everyone got an email about why it was down and warning them not to do it again or their sailors would get shut off for longer. Just a heads up :) I sell scentsy and I am sending my husband a scent pak to put in his seabag when his deployment is over lol! they also have travel tins that I sent him to put in his locker. haha he wont be stinky in my house ;)

BAS is Basic Allowance for Subsistence.  Sailors receive it if they aren't eating in the galley because they live offbase (approved officially) or there is no galley.  Not for dependents, and not every sailors gets it.  

http://www.military.com/benefits/military-pay/allowances/basic-allo...

haha Meg do women really do that? OMG i am not that dumb to know to do those things over EMAIL! or send prints on the boat with him!! shit happens sometimes, and everyone knows the emails are scanned and what not..smh! i cant send packages of stuff to him, but i am sending him away with a bunch of things that will fit in his sea bag that he will need, and use..and some other things like cards and pics of us. ill write on each envelope when to open and what not..its our first deployment. oh boy! lol and good...you're smart. when we moved in i emptied his sea bag and other bags and just washed everything even tho he said it was clean. it had a funky bag smell..had to wash everything to smell pretty in the house haha i get to do it all over again when he returns!! yayy! :)

I'm laughing because we had one spouse who loved heavily scented detergents and fabric softeners.  Her poor husband smelled like flowers during a major inspection, enough so the CO commented on it.  He took all his uniforms to the dry cleaner after that.  You had to be there to know how funny it was, and "Petty Officer Le Pew" only stuck for a few weeks.   But yes, very familiar with the seabag funk whenever hubby would come home.  The laundry on the ships can be brutal.  And when hubby came back from Thailand, I could smell the jungle damp all over all his stuff.

haha yes they do!!! All the time! lol I have even heard women say I dont care if they post it all over the ship as long as he has his pictures! I have heard of women sending nasty videos. I will just let your mind wander and not say what I have heard specifically but I am sure you will think it all up on your own!! lol I just figure I better put that warniing out there bc some prople realllyyyy dont know! lol I saw one wife was like OMG they look at the pictures!! ahhh lol!

haha I told him not to bring home the underwear, socks, undershirts,etc. We can pay to replace those instead of ruining my washer!!! HAHAHA!!

Anti M thats funny!! I am sending him a "manly" scent my personal favorite lol but still a manly one!! haha! :) I hate the seabag funk lol! luckily I dont really do the laundry haha he does his I do mine... mostly bc I dont fold his clothes right!!! HAHA! Which actually I know how to fold the clothes the way he wants to I would just rather not ;) hehe shh

haha I send regular pictures to my husband's ship email but they are allowed regular pictures on his ship lol. His personal email is my personal email haha! he doesnt know the password bc he is so forgetful!! haha but I know what ya mean I never put sexy pictures in an email haha exactly true you never know where they will end up. once they are on the internet they can be found even if you delete it.