Girlfriends, Fiances,and Wives of Sailors

My dad was one of the first MasterChiefs in his rate.  "Soft" does not describe him. LOL.  Three war vet!

This is a total brag, but I'm so proud of him and excited for him!  I went to my husband's base today to watch him get pinned E-4.  He's worked so hard to get it, he left for bootcamp less than a year ago and he's putting in an officer's package in the next couple weeks.  I was so honored to be invited to do the pinning, which actually just involved sliding a sleeve thing onto a flap thing, which was a little tricky.  :)  All of you that are missing your sailors or recruits right now, hang in there, it's worth the wait!  We're getting ready for a deployment, and maybe (bittersweet hopefully) OCS afterwards.  

Why did no one ever tell me my husband would drive me crazy in the last month of deployment!? I mean, I knew he'd drive me crazy once he got home, but I'm about to pull my hair out and go chasing my mind down the highway just so I can get through these last few weeks. Ahhhhhhh!

Emily-LOL, this is one of the disadvantages of regular communication.  There were times when I missed the old days of submarines and no mail, no email, no communication at all for months on end.  When hubby switched to surface ships and email (when he got more senior he even had ready access to a phone) became available, he drove me nuts!  He would email about six times a day with lists of things he wanted me to do...or just to chat...a LOT!  Then he complained that I stopped writing letters. Who has time to write letters when I am constantly answering email? 

He is beginning to experience "channel fever," which usually starts after the ship's last liberty port when they have left their area of operation. Everyone on the ship goes a bit nuts at this point and it pretty much stays this way until they get home.  Smart commands schedule as many fun, energy-releasing activities as they can during this time. Hang in there! Try to remember why you love the guy (this is a challenge sometimes, lol) and just focus on Homecoming. 

Good luck! And congratulations on successfully completing a deployment! 

Oh man something else to look forward too. I'm just dealing with my husband being in A school and trying to coordinate a move at our expense with NO information. It's been a frustrating transition one week out of boot camp. Ha so many things you don't think about before signing up for this ;-)

ohwhere, I hear you on the things you don't think about before signing up for this lol!  I see lots of nights ending with a glass of wine in my future! ;)

Ha ya my alcohol intake has gone way up. I'm on my second pack of beer this week and I never used to drink beer.

:-)

I can't even buy my own damn wine to deal with this stupidness. Come onnn 21st birthday!

Awweee Emily at least you have friends that's the next best thing. Stay strong. Time will pass and this will be a distant memory.

Oh no. I don't really have friends in the area. With work and school and moving, I haven't had time to meet many girls and the ones I have seem to be awful friends. No worries though, I survived the first 8 months, I'll survive the last few weeks. :)

Aww yeah I don't really have any close friends either and I haven't even moved to a new place yet. But I'm sure you are feeling antsy down to the last few weeks and then things will be way better. You are so much farther along than my husband and I . I can't even think about deployment yet. I'm just trying to deal with A school stuff since he will be gone a year and me moving out there and trying to figure out if they will let him live off base with me eventually or not. Not to sound stalkerish but I did take a look at your page and you appear to be a very strong person. Way more put together than I was at 20 years old. Ha I'm in my thirties and feel like you have it more together than I do at this point. But yeah when you do turn 21 a nice glass of wine does feel pretty good and helps to relax you a bit. Something to look forward to ;-)

Anyone live in Pensacola, FL? I am looking into the Sandalwood Apt near the Naval Hospital. Anyone know information about that area? Is it safe? How is the traffic over there? Driving from there to the Corry Station side? Any apartments you would recommend that aren't too far away? My husband is going to be there a year so I'm moving on my own out there.

Is he taking leave en route?  Then he only pays for the leg home, the rest is covered.  He need to ask NOW if he is eligible for a PPM (used to be called DITY) move of his household goods.  That would get you some money for mileage on the truck/car.  If so, he needs to get that paperwork lined up ASAP>  He can also ask for advance pay to use during his move, but be careful doing that.

I already called and according his address on record not matching mine since I moved in with my mom while he was gone, he used his parent's address. We actually didn't think it was a huge deal, so because of that he is not eligible to have his things moved. Which doesn't matter, I already found a moving company, and auto transport for my car. I was just wondering about plane tickets, since I have no plans of driving anywhere with an infant. 

Will the Navy pay for his plane ticket? 

Oh and yes he is taking leave en route, well helping me move mostly. 

lovemysailor, I don't want to be one of those crazy "opsec" ladies that freak out, but you may want to delete that and rewrite it leaving out his destination. that puts his ship in danger.

the most you can do is talk positive to him . its hard for those guys to be away from everyone they love

thanks urabisswife its gone now..... i wasnt even thinking about that when i posted

lol it happens. I literally had people yelling at me because I had my real name on here. kind of extreme if you ask me.

it is mostly for the ships safety , but also if his ship found out about it,  he could get into a lot of trouble. better safe than sorry ya know .

my husband hasn't been deployed yet, but im dreading that day. :/  do you guys get a lot of communication? 

I think its great they get to see the world, but I sure wish we were allowed to go with :P

HI everyone my husband is currently in Bootcamp and his PIR is 5/24, then he has 3wks of A school at Great Lakes, I am wondering if anyone can get me some info/insight on 1) when will he get his 1st command assigned to him and 2) How does the move actually work, do we move ourselves, does the navy, should I be packing now any info would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks :) 

We are in Naples Fl and he is in Pensacola so I am guessing that wouldn't work for us. It makes no sense to re route a ticket to go into the same state, first to do that he would have to go out of state. It's better for us to stick to him coming home and we pay our own way there. 

Hi nicoleH!  so to get to his command really varies... it depends on his job. some people have t go through multiple schools before they even get to their first command then some like my husband only go through one school (a school) then get sent to their first command.  also it depends on if the school is backed up. or if they have enough people to fill his class. my husband was on hold for a month waiting to class up.   as far as moving, you can do either or, you can move yourself (aka) DITTY move, or you can have the navy move you. We moved ourselves. if you have the navy move you, they will pack everything for you. and they navy pays for it. if you do a DITTY you pack yourself and the navy will reimburse you for the move. people do a DITTY to pocket money from a move, but its a lot more work, also because they don't want other people handling their stuff. if the navy moves you, it usually takes a while to get your things so its best to load up your car with your necessities :)   hope this helped a little

UrabissWife Oh thanks for that it helps a lot! I'm thinking about having the navy move us for this 1st time around since we have 2 small children and I am pregnant so I wouldn't be able to really do much, do you know about how long it would take to get our stuff? LOL just thought I'd ask maybe someone knows and just pack the car w what we really need? 

oh yeah that would be a little hard :P congratulations though :) . we already had our stuff packed in boxes and in a storage unit when my husband left for basic, I went to stay with my sister, so that really helped the whole moving process go fast.  it usually takes about a month from what I hear. but it depends on how far away you will be and if the navy is busy with other people moving also. just one of those things that could go anyway .....welcome to the navy hahaha im pretty sure you'll never get a direct answer from here on out i know i haven't lol

urabisswife- communication has been very limited but he said once he gets internet set up we will be able to tango which is like skype only free. I just found out i will get to join him at the end of next month so i am really excited for that but also nervous.

Angie he is a pact seaman so he was told after a while he would be able to "strike" for a job when it becomes avail and then go back to schooling for that job. is there a site or anything I could read up on about moving and such? Just curious. 

UrabissWife thanks! I just have no clue on what to do! lol 

Angie thanks i will be checking those links out, I know he had talk about not taking the leave just bc he wants to get to his first command and get the house done as soon as we can since were expecting 7/20, so were hoping we can all go right away if that will work! 

Nicole here is another link with steps you can take to get ready for a move. She did a great job of breaking it down....

Navy PCS

Hi ladies! I don't know the last time i posted, but i hope you all are having a great morning!! This week is almost over! Heads up and keep pushing through, you can do it! :)

OMG!!! I thought getting married was suppose to be fun and exciting...the navy knows how to kill that lol. Im about ready to scream. Trying to figure out exactly what to do and who to talk to is a nightmare. I'll def advise getting married before bootcamp to anyone that ever ask for my thoughts!

Just a little heads up, I really need to vent right now. ..... I could really use some advice on how to get used to this whole "lifestyle". How to you get used to the fact that neither you or your husband have ANY control over what goes on in your life no matter how much you "think" you planned things right? 

My husband is currently at A school in Great Lakes and he's been there for the last 7 months (bootcamp and ATT school is included in there) and after a lot of thinking and hearing that hold for C school was supposed to be for a few months we FINALLY decided to move to Chicago to be with him, everything is set, our apartment is ready and we are moving in two weeks. Sounds great right??? ... Well now we find out that things have changed and hold for C school won't be a few months its now as little as two weeks. I'm now 6 months pregnant and he finishes A school in July which means there's a 99% chance he'll be gone before I even give birth (which he'll now miss) and I'll be stuck in a new town that I don't know without any family members and with our 18 month old daughter.

I try so hard to put a smile on and act like everything is ok, I know that none of this is my husband's fault and he's tried so hard to try and come up with ways for our family to be happy together but I can't help but get upset and just break down. I'm tired of explaining to my daughter why daddy can't pick her up when she see's him through webcam, I'm tired of staying up till 1am in hopes of talking to him just to find out that he has to run off to do watch, am I being selfish for wanting him to be there for the birth of our son??? How do you get used to this???? I hear all the proud Navy wives and how much they love the Navy but right now I'm just so angry and HATE them for taking my husband away from our family.  

The Nay is a tough life when things aren't going right.  There's not much you can do except hang in there, and vent when you need to do so.  I'm sorry things aren't going as planned.  During school and training it is tough to second guess when the situation will change dramatically.  

I'm sorry Michelle. Is it possible to back out of the apartment in Chicago? You may lose some money but it would be worth it to not get stuck all alone in a city you don't know with a new baby. That would be even more stressful. I'm so sorry. I have been just as stressed and frustrated. My husband has been on hold to class up in Pensacola, FL for 3 weeks since getting out of Boot camp and I’m planning a move all on my own at our own expense. My husband says that yes his A and C school are defiantly there in the same place and he will be there about a year so it is worth it for me to come but I’m scared some other nonsense will pop up with his C school changing or something like that, your exact situation. It’s tough especially because I don’t know who to call to ask questions about him living with me and all that and he just keeps getting the answer wait until you class up, your instructor will help you. Really NO ONE knows a dam thing, seriously, WTF… Ha so as you can see this is a frustrating process for many. I really do get it and feel even worse for you being pregnant and trying to get this all worked out. I wish you the best and try not to stress over it. I’m really just going to try and do my own thing and not worry about it either. I’m sure I’m going to lose a lot of money in the process but if that means just a little more time with my husband then I will do it in a heartbeat. Good luck.

A school is pretty easy to figure out, but C schools... those change every time the wind blows.  

Thank you ladies.

Ohwhere - We can't really back out of the apartment since we already have all our new furniture ordered and I'm currently living with my family in a small apartment here in NYC so if I was to stay I would still need to find my own apartment before I give birth since there just isn't any room here for me, my daughter and the new baby. 

We have gone back on the fourth on weather to move or not, but my husband just feels so alone over there and really wants us nearby even if he will be leaving again in a few months. We both knew that there was a really BIG chance that he would be gone before I give birth, but now that we're less then two weeks away from the move the reality is really starting to weigh on me. 

Sarah that is amazing you were able to last so long. It kind of makes two weeks seem like a breeze for me lol. Good Luck!

OK so the end of this month will be my boyfriend and i 1year anniversary he is at a school in Pensacola and was wondering on some ideas what to yet him,

What does he like? You can send him anything really through the mail now. So it is all up to you.

Meagan if he likes movies you could send him some. I know a lot of the guys spend their free time watching movies with their building group. I gave my husband the Game of Thrones Season 2 DVD as a present and all the guys are super excited cause right now they only get Red Box movies which are very limited. If he's into cookies or sweets you could make him something and send it. It would mean more to him knowing that you spent the time to bake him something... Don't send flowers they would probably die in the heat sitting there waiting to be picked up. Send him something sentimental to you guys. Make a photo collage or something fun and little he could look at when he misses you.

Jasmin:
My husband is not an AE but he is an AD. ill tell you how it is with him. but keep in mind its not going to be the exact same for him because all commands are different. great thing is your b/f will attached to a squadron and not a ship. I am so glad my husband isn't attached to a ship , to me is seems like those who are, are gone more often than those who are not.
my husband works Monday - Fridays. every  three weeks he has "duty" for his command, he simply calls in to check in with his squadron. and he more times than not has a watch. the shifts are 10 hours long.  and watches are 8 hours long.  squadrons do not go on underways like ships do. they go on DETS (detachments) which they fly to other airforce bases in the US. they are gone from a week to a month or 2.  as far as deployment depends on the type of aircraft they work on, some aircraft can not land on carriers so when they deploy they go on land and not on the ship.  as far as where he will be stationed is any air station here or over seas. we are not near a ship yard here but we are by the ocean. :) I hope that helped a little if you have more questions ask away. as far as what he will do exactly for his job every day im not too sure just the electronics in the aircraft . I can ask my husband when he gets home. he works side by side with AEs