Norfolk Sailors - Family & Friends

Thanks, ladies, for the kind words.  I am still on the site, helping in the PIR groups.  I love the ladies on N4Moms--just can't seem to stay away! :-)   They are the best!  My son may be a civilian again, but as he told me:  Mom, I'll always be a sailor and be proud to say that I served my country. 

I know that is the way all of our sailors feel.  Proud of all of our US sailors!

Hi Ladies,My sailor is on the Iwo Jima and I am going to visit her next week.I am looking to see if there are any family members that will be travelling back to NC after we have "seen them off". I will be staying with my older daughter but due to unforseen circumstances she is now not able to pick me up after I have said goodbye to my sailor! I can not make head nor tail of the greyhound bus service in Norfolk so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Have you tried USAA insurance?  It is for military and may be cheaper than your current policy.  If your son is a rider on your insurance, there is no need to change it.  Tags, well, I do not know about that.  A quick call to the VA DMV would answer that for you.  I could not answer that from my own home state.  So I suggest you ask them directly.  As far as his drivers license goes, as long as he is active military, he does not have to change it.  He can, but he does not have to.  I hope this helps. 

Going to Norfolk on the 4th of July....does anyone know if the base does anything?

Momofbp- I hope your son has gotten help by now. His sponsor really dropped the ball! That's awful! By the way, bicycles are very popular in San Diego and on that base. My ex-husband was stationed on that base when we met. Unfortunately, that was 25 years ago and things have probably changed. I know someone who may be able to tell me where the enlisted galley is though. I'll email him now and let you know as soon as I do.

here's a link to an organizatin that might be able to help

http://www.operationhomefront.net/socal/

Rosa-I'm so glad you get regular emails from Ed! He's a good son! :)

momofbp-Here's the webpage for the base. There are some phone numbers you can call.

http://cnic.navy.mil/Coronado/index.htm

I wish you the same for the ones that are out and leaving for deployment.  Safe return!!

Hello Norfolk Family!!! So yesterday was my daughter's 1st day in Norfolk. She had to go take a urine test this morning and her room mate went through her bag while she was downstairs and steals her necklace, make up bag and a whole box of juice out of the fridge. She hadn't even had time to unpack that bag so it was in the drawer under her bed. Who do we report this to???

Oh, the room mate was gone before my daughter got back to the room. I guess she was going to her ship.

Thank you Marcy!!!

momofbp.....When she called me this morning I was ready to get in my car and drive back to Norfolk!!! And I was thinking like you....you are in the Military and you go through your fellow sailor things and take them!!! WHY??? I told her she can't trust anyone and she needs to lock up everything even if you are going to the bathroom!!! Nothing is safe. I don't think she should be defending our country and getting paid when there are good men and women being booted out of the navy everyday for one thing or the other and she is a THIEF!!!! I can't stand a thief!!!!! Makes my BLOOD BOIL!!!!!

Re the theft and trying to find the silver lining...this could be a good heads-up for our new sailor to be mindful of both her things and also of getting taken advantage of.  Thankfully, it was only "stuff" she lost (albeit of value to her whether sentimental or $$), and she wasn't harmed nor lost items of high value (computer etc).  The Navy like anywhere, comprises folks of all types, and she needs to be aware of her surroundings and situation always as she goes along - just like we do.  That said, the good sailors outnumber the bad ones!!  Welcome to her and you, and wishing her the best in Norfolk.  The weather's turning beautiful, everything's in bloom, beach season is around the corner and she'll have a great time I'm sure! :)   

I will keep you posted. My daughter reported it to the Lead Petty Officer of the barracks. 

Thanks Marcy for the warm welcome!!!  Navymom2011....they know who did it so its just a matter of them getting her when she reports to her next command. Hopefully she is still in the states.

I didn't want to sound cold but I do believe that a wake-up can be a pretty valuable experience, and women especially need to up their awareness about life as they make their way into the adult world.  I've been robbed, had my house burglarized etc and it didn't make me cynical (much LOL), just aware, and safer.

Yes this was definetly a wake up call for her...she  has been blessed with good room mates and then this bum does something stupid. But like I told her she needed the make up more than she did....I saw a picture of her on her bed...and she was very unattractive...lol....and we can replace the necklace.....My daughters intials are engraved on the back of the necklace. And as far as the box of caprisun's she stole out the fridge!!! I hopes she get choked!!!! HAHA.......thanks ladies for allowing me to vent!!!!

navymom2011...thats what i'm hoping for!!!! Our house has been burglarized too!!! And its a feeling that I will never forget!!! Took all my valuables we worked hard for!!!!

Please don't gang up on me for calling it "stuff"!  I'm just so grateful she wasn't harmed, that's my #1 concern when I hear about bad things happening.  Stuff can be replaced.  I've lost sentimental items to the bad guys, too.  I did call my son right away when I read this and he's the one who told me who she should report it to  :)  All the best........

Marcy no worries darling!!! I'm just glad it wasn't her lap top!!!! Yall would be reading about me on the news!!!! Navy Mom Snapped!!!! No but real talk....as long as she was not harmed!!!!! It's all good!!!

Good points Jess.  CLAMOM, just sent you a friend request with my son's contact info if she needs anything :)

I'm sorry your daughter was "violated" by this girl.  Many years ago I had my purse stolen at work (not a fellow co-worker) and about 5 years ago my car broken into and both times I felt "violated."  My son is on the Enterprise and he said things are constantly being stolen.  He works in security so he knows all of the reports of theft.  He's had the following items stolen since the ship returned last July (the date when he was stationed on the Big E): one work boot (they left the other boot), a dress whites top (the pants were left), shower flip flops and two pairs of tennis shoes.  He said space is so tight that even when he hides things the thieves/thugs find it and steal it.  As I told my son, "you can take the thug out of the "bad area" but you can't take the "bad area" out of the thug."  I hope the thug that stole from your daughter is disciplined but unfortunately that may not prevent her from stealing again in the future.

Thanks for the info Marcy!!! @Soonergirl...that is so sad....I guess I put the Military on such a high pedestal...i guess the jokes on me:( ....I will make sure when she gets to her ship that she locks up all her stuff!!! She will be on the Abe Lincoln. She should be flying out to meet her ship next week.

clamom,

i'm sorry this happened to your daughter.  it is sad when this happens, especially in the military.  as the others have said it's stuff, yes, it was her stuff but at least it was minimal.

is she living in the barracks?  if so tell her to make sure she locks EVERYTHING up.  my daughter lived in the barracks for a while and she never knew when she'd get new roomies.  she woke up one morning at 3 am to a new girl.

also, a few others said, theft does occur on the ships.  when my daughter was out on deployment last year there was quite a bit of stuff stolen, high dollar stuff at that.  mostly in the men's berthing because the women seemed to be more mindful of locking their stuff up.  one guy was sleeping in his rack, had his cell phone plugged in charging and the phone under his pillow and someone actually stole the phone while he slept on it.

one had stuff stolen while he was in the shower, figured he was right there in the berthing shower so he didn't have to lock his stuff up, nope, gone.

sad part is, usually nothing is done about it.

hope she enjoys the rest of her stay in norfolk.

Carol

Thanks Carol.....We are learning and yes she is staying in the barracks right now. She should be flying out to meet her ship next week.  What ship is your daughter on?

Veronica,

she's attached to the bush but is getting out in june

I posted this a little while back but my grandson reported to Norfolk in Sept. 2011 and he and his wife got there a week or so early to find a house etc. They had contacted a real estate company who would show them what was available etc. Well they got to Norfolk, started looking at houses and everyone in Norfolk was ordered to evacuate because of the Hurricane they were expecting in. So they looked that morning, went ahead and rented one of the homes, was nice and on a main street, they did not have time to check the neighborhood, but then they had to get out of town and he had over a week to check in to base so they came on back home to Georgia for the days, they returned in about a week, furniture arrived from San Diego and they seemed to be all set. But then they realized they were really not in a safe neighborhood but had signed a year lease, but Thanksgiving came and they packed their car and headed home to spend thanksgiving with us, only gone that weekend returned on Sunday to find everything they had of value gone from the house.  Someone had to have been watching them pack up the car coming home and probably went in immeditely and stole all their valuables,  They broke through a side window... houses all around but no one would admit they saw anything.  They did the police report etc and they have checked the pawn shops etc but they lost all the electronics, and lots of new furniture etc.. so you really have to be careful in finding a place to live.  They talked to the landlord and got out of the lease and they moved to an apartment at Virginia Beach where they really feel safe.. he does not have to go through any tunnels getting to work etc so it is better.   It is sad that someone would just go in and steal from a Sailor that has put his heart into protecting our country... so sad.    He is based in Norfolk, attached to the USS Bainbridge ddg-96, My grand-daughter is actually working on the Oceana Naval Air Base but she has assignments to the USS Laboom.  She was off the ship while she was on maturnity leave and after she went back to work they assigned her to the Laboom.  She was previous on the James E Williams ship.  She works on the engines.  My grandson is a Sonar Tech, both are already petty officers but she is ranked a little higher than my grandson.  She has been in a year longer than he has.. She has already experienced being deployed having to fly to meet her ship and she said she was really frightened during the trip to get to the ship but my grandson has not been deployed yet for he was in school until last Sept and the ship he is assigned to is in dry dock now being worked on etc.   All we can tell everyone just be very careful there are mean, bad people out in the world... 

Momofbp- Here is an image of a map of NAS that shows were almost everything is.  Barracks, NEX, Galley, etc are all around Gate 1 and within walking distance of each other.  Hope this helps a little bit.  If you can't read it or download it, send me a private message and I'll email it to you so you can send it to your son. :)

CLAMOM- I'm so sorry this happened to your daughter! It makes my blood boil to think of our sweet, dedicated sailors being victimized by other sailors who do not deserve to wear the uniform!! It's a hard-learned lesson, but not that hard. It's a violation, but ike others have said, "It's stuff." Stuff can be replaced. Thank God she was not hurt or endangered. Hopefully this will be a lesson that keeps her safer in the future.

Wow, Arlene, that's a horrible story! I'm so glad your grandson and his wife are in a safe place now! My niece lives in a wonderful apartment in Virginia Beach. I went out there when I visited my son/sailor in November. It seems like a great area, and the beach is beautiful. :)

Arlene i'm glad that your grandson and his wife are in a safe place now!!!  I do know that there are several sailors waiting to go meet the same ship. Hopefully they will be traveling together. @ Debbie thanks for the words of wisdom!!

marine navymom....but you would think that they wouldn't tolerate such foolishness . If you get in trouble while you are in DEPS that can disqualify you, but it's okay to break the law while serving!!! I just don't understand.

Momofbp- I'm so glad the map helps! The link I sent has phone numbers for personell support, which says they help with transportation. I'm sure they'd have bus and trolley schedules, as well as Navy shuttles and group activites with transportation. Coronado is heaven and a very elite area. It's when you get a couple miles away from the base that you get into some of the worst neighborhoods in San Diego. A little further out gets you into much safer areas. The Hotel Del Coronado is over $400 a night. The Coronado Marriott is also wonderful but still over $300 a night. Your son might be interested in walking through the Marriott to get to a small boat ramp to catch a small ferry across the bay to the convention center/Gaslamp Quarter area for only $4.25 each way. It's a great place to spend a day or evening. Gaslamp has lots of great hotels and restaurants, but you really need to stay close to the water to stay in safe areas, and you should always be careful in touristy areas (this is a big tourist area!). While you're there, you might want to go about a mile down the main thoroughfare to the little hole in the wall BBQ place from the Top Gun movie. It's across the street from Seaport Village (also a beautiful spot to spend some time!). I used to work at Seaport Village and loved their lunch food. Back to hotels, I like hotels.com for good prices and a wide variety and cost of hotels. I'll take a look at what is there for San Diego and get back to you with some suggestions. :)

When my son was in the Marines, he had the same thing happen to him. He had just bought an expensive new cell phone. It was locked in his lock box under his bunk, but he did not know that his was broken and that all you had to do was lift the bunk to get in his box. They caught the kid that did it and he was already in trouble for drugs etc... so he got in a lot of trouble. I hope that they do the same to this girl. My daughter has been lucky that she has had some good room mates so far. A little too messy for her, but none of them have taken what doesn't belong to them. They may just be afraid of my tiny little dynamo. LOL 

My daughter is on the Jason Dunham. It is a destroyer named after a Marine. How fitting since her brother was a Marine. :)

Is there anybody in Norfolk coming to North Carolina this weekend??? My daughter needs a ride home.  We thought she would be able to rent a car on base but they said she had to be 21. I thought Military could rent at the age of 19.

Sorry CLAMOM...my Son just went back to Norfolk last night from NC.  What part of NC are you in?

Burlington....where are you guys from?

Too bad Philip is not coming in this weekend.  We live in N. Durham so we are not very far from Burlington.  He used to have every other weekend off and they changed his schdule to 4 day on 2 days off.  He's an MA and works waterside on base.  He's leaving soon though for a new command.  He's been at Norfolk 2 years...hard to believe it's been that long!!

I'm sorry...I wish we could have helped you!

We are originally from Durham. My mom still lives there.

Small world...sending you a friend request. :)

I know where Fuquay is!!!