For families and friends of Sailors who are stationed at Norfolk; for either Sea Duty or Shore Duty Sailors. Just make sure to keep OPSEC issues in mind and not disclose ship movements in advance.
They have to wear uniforms at all times while deployed on a ship. They will wear civies when they pull into liberty ports and go on liberty. They can take them but their space is very limited. My son only took a few civies and he still says he "brought way too much" because he's so limited on space.
Well Dad Of A Sailor I appear to be following you. Twin 1 just got orders today for Norfolk on a destroyer. He wanted Italy but two others in his class got that. He was hopeful as he finishes third in his class.
Congrats to your son and welcome to the Norfolk group. My son also wanted Naples Italy but they gave that to a girl in his class. He got the Bush in Norfolk.
As far as being at sea, it varies depending on what they are doing. Work ups (underway periods prior to a deployment) are normally 2-4 weeks at a time then in port a couple weeks and back out. Deployments last 6-10 months. Your son being on a Destroyer may be shorter periods as it is easier for a Destroyer to get in and out of port than it is a Carrier.
Please let me know if you have any questions, I've been doing a lot of searching for my son as they don't get a lot of information when they arrive in Norfolk. Also, the base isn't setup very well for Sailors who live on the ship and don't have transportation. My son wasn't planning on getting a car but he found in short order that he couldn't make it in Norfolk without a car so I shipped his car to him.
I know my son will be happiest to not be in port. He will be happiest seeing other countries and having a mission. Will this be his assignment for his whole 4 years.
Yes, there is a sea shore rotation for every rate in the Navy and an IT's first sea assignment is 42 months and the first shore assignment is 36 months. He has probably been in the navy about 9 months already so he would not even have 42 months left on his enlistment so he doesn't even have 42 months left in the Navy so he will be at this command for his entire enlistment. He will have to reenlist to get shore duty orders and he won't leave this ship until he's done 42 months onboard.
Here is the current sea/shore flow message that tells how long they have to stay at sea and be on shore duty. Scan down and find the IT
One good thing...your son being on a Destroyer he'll get to do computers and radio stuff. On an Aircraft Carrier they are in different divisions and do one or the other and never get experience on the other side of their job. Your son will get to do both.
Thank you so much for the answers, sounds like my son should be happy with this assignment. His intention is to reup at the end of this first 4years. I am hoping for positive experience for him so he will continue on his chosen career path.
Lots of question for this new phase. What are the opportunities for maintaining spiritual practices? My son goes to church more than once a week and enjoyed volunteer service work with his chaplain. Opportunities here?
While in port, the Naval Station chapel has services that I have seen younger sailors attend. On my daughter's destroyer, she and another person took turns conducting Sunday services, which was more of a Bible study and prayer time than a formal service. Your son may have an opportunity to become involved there. Hampton Roads has a lot of wonderful churches, so your son should be able to find a church home nearby if the base chapel is not to his liking.
@Singingbird-you have it right. Sailors are assigned to a ship for a period of time (in this case, up to 42 months); what the ship does during this time is another story. There may be one or more deployments (defined as being away more than 90 days, anything less is an "underway"). There may be a shipyard period, there will likely be preparation for deployment (known as "workups") and then there are other underway periods. A lot depends on the ship's maintenance cycle and what is happening in the world. These days, budget concerns can play a huge role in how much time a ship spends at sea. It is pretty safe to say your sailor should experience at least one deployment and a fair amount of sea time. Keep in mind, being at sea doesn't necessarily mean visits to foreign ports. My husband's last deployment he was at sea for nine months and he only had two days off the ship. My daughter, on the other hand, had a six month deployment and had lots of opportunities to see foreign countries. It is anybody's guess!
Lol, yeah reading that again I can see the confusion ..my post was kind of a mess. beachmom is exactly right, that post was talking about their rotation from from their current duty assignment (sea duty) to their next duty assignment (shore duty somewhere where they don't go to sea). It isn't talking about the amount of time they will be at sea or in port during their current sea duty assignment.beachmom summed it up perfectly.
Hope A got his application figured out and you're having some communication with him.
Wow thank you for all the information, that is very helpful to understand what my son's future assignment will be like. I will pass the "church" info on. Does that mean that most ships do not have a chaplain? Hope he can connect with other Christian sailors groups. I am sure he will search out a church he feels connected with.
The large ships (carriers) have chaplains, I've never been on a small ship but I wouldn't think smaller ships would have an actual Chaplain. More than likely they have a crew-member that volunteers to run services for their faith. Hopefully others here can verify that.
Smaller ships such as frigates, destroyers, and carriers do not typically have a chaplain assigned to them permanently so while they are in port or on a short trip, there is not one on board. However they do *try* to bring one along for deployments or sometimes very long underways. My husband did his first tour on a cruiser and now is assigned to a destroyer squadron staff.. He did two deployments with the cruiser and both times they had a chaplain. His squadron has a combination of 10 destroyers and frigates and he has spent time on many of them while at sea. So far, they have always been able to secure a chaplain for each of those destroyers and frigates for deployments but of course it depends on the availability of chaplains. All of the ships he has gone to sea with have always had groups of various faiths on the ships so the sailors can support one another and lead different services regardless of whether a chaplain is available or not. Hope that helps :)
My son was rear ended on 64 on his way to his apartment :( He is okay and so is the lady that hit him. His car didn't get too much damage but you never know. Body work is so expensive. It is a 99 Firebird so hopefully the book value is more than the cost to repair it and it won't be "totalled"! He loves that car, it was my husband's and we gave it to Nathan after he graduated Power School. He said it helps him feel connected to us.
My second son who will be in South Carolina in a month for A school would love that car. I have twins one who will be here in a month and his twin in BC now. The one in BC has always loved cars. When He arrived at GL he said he got to talking cars with the guy drawing his blood and the guy only halfway filled the vials so he had to do it again. My son wrote that he took about a cup and a half. LOL Hope all works out well and he can get it fixed.
Hi Tonya, well...they either have really nice parents who keep it for them ...or there's a car storage place run by the NEX that will store and start up once. Month. If I recall, it's $40-60 a month? Knot sure since we are the "keeper" parents here in Atlanta :)
What is your daughters rate on the Bush, my son arrived on the Bush a month and a half ago?
As far as the car goes, my son parked his in the ships parking lot for underway periods less than 14 days. Longer than that the NEX has long term parking for $60/month with $5 more if you want it started each month. You much pay half the total fee up front.
My son is also an IT, they may be working together.
I'm not understanding when you say "she would be on the Bush 6-9 months at least twice". If she has orders to the Bush she's going to be on it every day for the next 42 months. She may only do two deployments of 6-9 months during that time but she'll spend every day on the ship and they are out to sea A LOT in between deployments.
Someone isn't telling her the whole story if she thinks she is only going to be on the bush for 6-9 months.
She'll still need her car...when she is in port and off work she'll need to get around the base and get off the base to relax for awhile. It will be SO MUCH easier on her if she drives and can carry her belongings in her car and doesn't have to pack her sea bag, garment bag, etc. on her back all at the same time.
I assume she isn't married and will be living on the ship? If she's single she's going to be forced to live on the ship until she gets her quals and gets on a long waiting list for a barracks room (waiting list is over a year long) Her car will also allow her to have a place to store some stuff that she won't be able to fit on the ship because she is going to be so limited for space.
She WILL NOT be happy if she flys to Norfolk and leaves her car in Tampa. She'll make you drive it to her shortly after she arrives as Norfolk isn't setup conviently for those without transportation. There is next to nothing near the ships except a McDonald's Pizza Hut, Athletic Center and a mini mart. Everything else is a ways away.
My son attempted to make it without a car but I could tell it was really affecting him being stuck at the ship all the time so I shipped his car to him from Phoenix.
My daughter is also on the Bush, she does have a car there. My daughter went to the Bush right after thanksgiving and just moved to a apt as she didn't like having no alone time as they live in racks on the ship and there are always people around.
The base is pretty big and if she doesn't have a car she will have to get others to get her around.
Yes, I should have mentioned...she can find a place (rent) to live off the ship but the cost will be completely out of her pocket and the Navy will not reimburse her for anything as she's expected to live on the ship.
After they get all their quals they can get on a waiting list for a Navy provided barracks room so they don't have to live on the ship in port and that is paid for completely by the Navy. She'll still be working on the ship every day regardless where she sleeps at night.
My son thought about the apartment route but he felt it would eat up too much of his paycheck each month, around $400 with a room mate, so he is toughing it out on the ship FOR NOW.
Being an IT is nice for communicating...IT's on the computer side have access to email 24/7 and can email all the time. IT's on the radio side have access to phone lines so they can call once in awhile.
We communicate daily via email while he is underway. There are pay phones on the ship that are expensive $20 for a 40 minute card that my son calls us on once in awhile.
They can live off ship once they get there quals. After you reach E5 you get housing allowance until then you pay it yourself, my daughter share a apt with another female sailor from the Bush.
Regarding communication while there on underways they have to do some quals to get set up with a ship email from there chief. It does take a while as my daughter just got hers last week. But her friends would let her email us thru them
No, there are MANY Sailors living off the ship/base that are not E5. It's not actually living off base, it's just sleeping off base as they are on the ship during the day working while in port and they live on it while underway.
My son likes having his car because it gives him a small place that he can be alone, talk on the phone, listen to music, etc. He sits in the parking lot in his car with the music on and talks to his girlfriend and us. Before he got his car he really didn't have anyplace to sit alone and relax and talk on the phone as every place is SO crowded. They don't get cell coverage on the ship (except for one small location in the hanger bay) so they have to be off the ship for decent cell coverage.
He hasn't said so yet but I think he actually slept in his car one night just so he didn't have to go back on the ship.
That is so common among junior Sailors, they join the Navy but don't want to go on a ship. I was in the Navy for 26 years and my son grew up in the lifestyle and he still acted like he was surprised when he got orders to a ship.
It will be tough on her at first but she'll get used to it and accept it once she is onboard and gets things figured out.
My sailor son is very excited to be on this ship in particular. I am hoping he has many great adventures and bonds with his chosen path. He is such a go getter, I think it is his red hair.
Good for your son, I hope he continues to like once he arrives on board. My son loves the job he's doing and the people he's working with. He does not like the fact that he has no privacy and no room to get away from people ever. He also doesn't like the fact that his cell phone and laptop don't work on the ship.
Dad you said they can call sometimes on ship phonesDo you know the case for destroyers? Can they get packages while out to sea or deployment? How does that happen?
Destroyers have the same capability with ship phones. And in regards to shipping packages, you can send to the ships address and it goes to a sorting center and then shipped to the ship itself. On average it has been taking 3-4 weeks for my Sailor to receive packages. The cost to send a USPS first class large box not matter the weight is $14.85.
That is great he gets to have his guitar, where the heck does he store it? My son is so limited on space that he doesn't have room for his uniforms. I don't remember it being so tight back when I was a junior Sailor but maybe it was.
My son said he was up watching flight ops the other day and there was a large school of dolphins (he said he thought there were around 30) jumping and playing in the wake behind the ship. He was excited about that.
diannep
Marcy, thanks so much for this info!
May 6, 2013
TaylorsMOM
May 6, 2013
TaylorsMOM
May 6, 2013
Dad of Sailor
They have to wear uniforms at all times while deployed on a ship. They will wear civies when they pull into liberty ports and go on liberty. They can take them but their space is very limited. My son only took a few civies and he still says he "brought way too much" because he's so limited on space.
May 6, 2013
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
May 12, 2013
ckmom
That is so neat, love it!!
May 12, 2013
Dad of Sailor
Hope they didn't make them come in to work today just to take that picture. Hope their Chain of Command was smart enough to do this during the week.
Neat picture...
May 12, 2013
CO-TwinSalorsMom
Well Dad Of A Sailor I appear to be following you. Twin 1 just got orders today for Norfolk on a destroyer. He wanted Italy but two others in his class got that. He was hopeful as he finishes third in his class.
May 16, 2013
CO-TwinSalorsMom
May 16, 2013
Dad of Sailor
CO-TwinSalorsMom,
Congrats to your son and welcome to the Norfolk group. My son also wanted Naples Italy but they gave that to a girl in his class. He got the Bush in Norfolk.
As far as being at sea, it varies depending on what they are doing. Work ups (underway periods prior to a deployment) are normally 2-4 weeks at a time then in port a couple weeks and back out. Deployments last 6-10 months. Your son being on a Destroyer may be shorter periods as it is easier for a Destroyer to get in and out of port than it is a Carrier.
Please let me know if you have any questions, I've been doing a lot of searching for my son as they don't get a lot of information when they arrive in Norfolk. Also, the base isn't setup very well for Sailors who live on the ship and don't have transportation. My son wasn't planning on getting a car but he found in short order that he couldn't make it in Norfolk without a car so I shipped his car to him.
May 17, 2013
CO-TwinSalorsMom
May 17, 2013
Dad of Sailor
Yes, there is a sea shore rotation for every rate in the Navy and an IT's first sea assignment is 42 months and the first shore assignment is 36 months. He has probably been in the navy about 9 months already so he would not even have 42 months left on his enlistment so he doesn't even have 42 months left in the Navy so he will be at this command for his entire enlistment. He will have to reenlist to get shore duty orders and he won't leave this ship until he's done 42 months onboard.
Here is the current sea/shore flow message that tells how long they have to stay at sea and be on shore duty. Scan down and find the IT
SEA SHORE FLOW ENLISTED CAREER PATHS
May 17, 2013
Dad of Sailor
CO-Twin,
One good thing...your son being on a Destroyer he'll get to do computers and radio stuff. On an Aircraft Carrier they are in different divisions and do one or the other and never get experience on the other side of their job. Your son will get to do both.
May 17, 2013
CO-TwinSalorsMom
May 17, 2013
CO-TwinSalorsMom
May 17, 2013
beachmom76
While in port, the Naval Station chapel has services that I have seen younger sailors attend. On my daughter's destroyer, she and another person took turns conducting Sunday services, which was more of a Bible study and prayer time than a formal service. Your son may have an opportunity to become involved there. Hampton Roads has a lot of wonderful churches, so your son should be able to find a church home nearby if the base chapel is not to his liking.
May 17, 2013
abuon18
May 17, 2013
beachmom76
@Singingbird-you have it right. Sailors are assigned to a ship for a period of time (in this case, up to 42 months); what the ship does during this time is another story. There may be one or more deployments (defined as being away more than 90 days, anything less is an "underway"). There may be a shipyard period, there will likely be preparation for deployment (known as "workups") and then there are other underway periods. A lot depends on the ship's maintenance cycle and what is happening in the world. These days, budget concerns can play a huge role in how much time a ship spends at sea. It is pretty safe to say your sailor should experience at least one deployment and a fair amount of sea time. Keep in mind, being at sea doesn't necessarily mean visits to foreign ports. My husband's last deployment he was at sea for nine months and he only had two days off the ship. My daughter, on the other hand, had a six month deployment and had lots of opportunities to see foreign countries. It is anybody's guess!
May 17, 2013
Dad of Sailor
singingbird,
Lol, yeah reading that again I can see the confusion ..my post was kind of a mess. beachmom is exactly right, that post was talking about their rotation from from their current duty assignment (sea duty) to their next duty assignment (shore duty somewhere where they don't go to sea). It isn't talking about the amount of time they will be at sea or in port during their current sea duty assignment.beachmom summed it up perfectly.
Hope A got his application figured out and you're having some communication with him.
May 17, 2013
CO-TwinSalorsMom
May 17, 2013
Dad of Sailor
The large ships (carriers) have chaplains, I've never been on a small ship but I wouldn't think smaller ships would have an actual Chaplain. More than likely they have a crew-member that volunteers to run services for their faith. Hopefully others here can verify that.
May 17, 2013
Fur&FeathersDVM
Smaller ships such as frigates, destroyers, and carriers do not typically have a chaplain assigned to them permanently so while they are in port or on a short trip, there is not one on board. However they do *try* to bring one along for deployments or sometimes very long underways. My husband did his first tour on a cruiser and now is assigned to a destroyer squadron staff.. He did two deployments with the cruiser and both times they had a chaplain. His squadron has a combination of 10 destroyers and frigates and he has spent time on many of them while at sea. So far, they have always been able to secure a chaplain for each of those destroyers and frigates for deployments but of course it depends on the availability of chaplains. All of the ships he has gone to sea with have always had groups of various faiths on the ships so the sailors can support one another and lead different services regardless of whether a chaplain is available or not. Hope that helps :)
May 17, 2013
Colleen in PA
My son was rear ended on 64 on his way to his apartment :( He is okay and so is the lady that hit him. His car didn't get too much damage but you never know. Body work is so expensive. It is a 99 Firebird so hopefully the book value is more than the cost to repair it and it won't be "totalled"! He loves that car, it was my husband's and we gave it to Nathan after he graduated Power School. He said it helps him feel connected to us.
May 17, 2013
Proudkmom
Colleen,
So sorry to hear about your son getting in an accident. I hope it all turns out OK.
May 17, 2013
CO-TwinSalorsMom
My second son who will be in South Carolina in a month for A school would love that car. I have twins one who will be here in a month and his twin in BC now. The one in BC has always loved cars. When He arrived at GL he said he got to talking cars with the guy drawing his blood and the guy only halfway filled the vials so he had to do it again. My son wrote that he took about a cup and a half. LOL Hope all works out well and he can get it fixed.
May 17, 2013
Lauriekay1
May 18, 2013
Lauriekay1
May 20, 2013
Lauriekay1
May 20, 2013
Lauriekay1
May 20, 2013
Dad of Sailor
Tonya,
What is your daughters rate on the Bush, my son arrived on the Bush a month and a half ago?
As far as the car goes, my son parked his in the ships parking lot for underway periods less than 14 days. Longer than that the NEX has long term parking for $60/month with $5 more if you want it started each month. You much pay half the total fee up front.
Any questions let me know.
May 20, 2013
Dad of Sailor
Tonya,
My son is also an IT, they may be working together.
I'm not understanding when you say "she would be on the Bush 6-9 months at least twice". If she has orders to the Bush she's going to be on it every day for the next 42 months. She may only do two deployments of 6-9 months during that time but she'll spend every day on the ship and they are out to sea A LOT in between deployments.
Someone isn't telling her the whole story if she thinks she is only going to be on the bush for 6-9 months.
Does that make sense or did I confuse you more?
May 20, 2013
Dad of Sailor
She'll still need her car...when she is in port and off work she'll need to get around the base and get off the base to relax for awhile. It will be SO MUCH easier on her if she drives and can carry her belongings in her car and doesn't have to pack her sea bag, garment bag, etc. on her back all at the same time.
I assume she isn't married and will be living on the ship? If she's single she's going to be forced to live on the ship until she gets her quals and gets on a long waiting list for a barracks room (waiting list is over a year long) Her car will also allow her to have a place to store some stuff that she won't be able to fit on the ship because she is going to be so limited for space.
She WILL NOT be happy if she flys to Norfolk and leaves her car in Tampa. She'll make you drive it to her shortly after she arrives as Norfolk isn't setup conviently for those without transportation. There is next to nothing near the ships except a McDonald's Pizza Hut, Athletic Center and a mini mart. Everything else is a ways away.
My son attempted to make it without a car but I could tell it was really affecting him being stuck at the ship all the time so I shipped his car to him from Phoenix.
May 20, 2013
Soccer Mom of 3
The base is pretty big and if she doesn't have a car she will have to get others to get her around.
May 20, 2013
Dad of Sailor
Yes, I should have mentioned...she can find a place (rent) to live off the ship but the cost will be completely out of her pocket and the Navy will not reimburse her for anything as she's expected to live on the ship.
After they get all their quals they can get on a waiting list for a Navy provided barracks room so they don't have to live on the ship in port and that is paid for completely by the Navy. She'll still be working on the ship every day regardless where she sleeps at night.
My son thought about the apartment route but he felt it would eat up too much of his paycheck each month, around $400 with a room mate, so he is toughing it out on the ship FOR NOW.
May 20, 2013
Dad of Sailor
Being an IT is nice for communicating...IT's on the computer side have access to email 24/7 and can email all the time. IT's on the radio side have access to phone lines so they can call once in awhile.
We communicate daily via email while he is underway. There are pay phones on the ship that are expensive $20 for a 40 minute card that my son calls us on once in awhile.
May 20, 2013
Soccer Mom of 3
Regarding communication while there on underways they have to do some quals to get set up with a ship email from there chief. It does take a while as my daughter just got hers last week. But her friends would let her email us thru them
May 20, 2013
abuon18
May 20, 2013
Dad of Sailor
No, there are MANY Sailors living off the ship/base that are not E5. It's not actually living off base, it's just sleeping off base as they are on the ship during the day working while in port and they live on it while underway.
My son likes having his car because it gives him a small place that he can be alone, talk on the phone, listen to music, etc. He sits in the parking lot in his car with the music on and talks to his girlfriend and us. Before he got his car he really didn't have anyplace to sit alone and relax and talk on the phone as every place is SO crowded. They don't get cell coverage on the ship (except for one small location in the hanger bay) so they have to be off the ship for decent cell coverage.
He hasn't said so yet but I think he actually slept in his car one night just so he didn't have to go back on the ship.
May 20, 2013
CO-TwinSalorsMom
My son is an IT but will be on the USS Brisbane.
May 20, 2013
CO-TwinSalorsMom
May 20, 2013
CO-TwinSalorsMom
May 20, 2013
Dad of Sailor
Tonya,
That is so common among junior Sailors, they join the Navy but don't want to go on a ship. I was in the Navy for 26 years and my son grew up in the lifestyle and he still acted like he was surprised when he got orders to a ship.
It will be tough on her at first but she'll get used to it and accept it once she is onboard and gets things figured out.
May 21, 2013
Dad of Sailor
CO-Twin,
Now that is pull if you're renaming ships already...good for you. :)
May 21, 2013
CO-TwinSalorsMom
May 21, 2013
Dad of Sailor
Good for your son, I hope he continues to like once he arrives on board. My son loves the job he's doing and the people he's working with. He does not like the fact that he has no privacy and no room to get away from people ever. He also doesn't like the fact that his cell phone and laptop don't work on the ship.
May 21, 2013
CO-TwinSalorsMom
I could see the things your son doesn't like being thing my son won't like either, he tends to be a rather private person.
May 21, 2013
CO-TwinSalorsMom
Dad you said they can call sometimes on ship phonesDo you know the case for destroyers? Can they get packages while out to sea or deployment? How does that happen?
May 21, 2013
Trevor's mom
Destroyers have the same capability with ship phones. And in regards to shipping packages, you can send to the ships address and it goes to a sorting center and then shipped to the ship itself. On average it has been taking 3-4 weeks for my Sailor to receive packages. The cost to send a USPS first class large box not matter the weight is $14.85.
May 21, 2013
Dad of Sailor
singingbird,
That is great he gets to have his guitar, where the heck does he store it? My son is so limited on space that he doesn't have room for his uniforms. I don't remember it being so tight back when I was a junior Sailor but maybe it was.
May 21, 2013
Dad of Sailor
My son said he was up watching flight ops the other day and there was a large school of dolphins (he said he thought there were around 30) jumping and playing in the wake behind the ship. He was excited about that.
May 21, 2013