Norfolk Sailors - Family & Friends

Great!  Gina and the Ombudsmen Team are awesome and have your back, so ask her/them (and us!) anything anytime :)  

ps the Truman FRG doesn't have a FB page I found out - interesting how every ship is different, isn't it?

I just watched a documentary on Netflix on the Virginia class subs. It was interesting with a good peek at the insides of these.  Good history also.  

Got a call from my son who is deployed on the USS Bainbridge.  He LOVES being at sea.  He is busy most of the time.  He got my package I mailed on 7-10. He got it 7-25. Not bad.  I sent him "My Part of the Task" by Col Stanley McCristal. He really enjoyed it and one day one of Commanding Officers on board came up to him with his book in his hands. He asked my son where he got it and told him that he had served with the Col. in Iraq. They then had a conversation of the officers experiences working with Col. McCristal.  Pretty neat.   

That is neat CO-Twin, glad he is enjoying himself and cool he got to chat with the CO about the book.

The Twins group is very active and now has 10 families!! The latest to join has her twins in BC in the same ship and division. 

Any advice on shipping a mandolin to my son's ship? He wants to order one from Italy. Can they ship it to him or do they have to ship to me and I ship it to him?

Jmae12 - you can also read "Rig Ship for Ultra Quiet" by Andrew Karam.  He was enlisted ELT on USS Plunger so the book is written from the enlisted man's perspective.

CO, some places ship to FPOs, some don't.  It might be safest to have it shipped to you first, so you can at least know it made it that far, then you can track it - well, as much as you can track something to an FPO - and insure it too.

CO-Twin,

I don't think I would have an instrument shipped from overseas to the ship as it will go back to the states, through the FPO system and then back to the ship. That is a lot of traveling for something of value with no tracking. If it isn't an expensive instrument and he want's to chance it then that's ok but I wouldn't do it for anything of value.

He won't be home till end of January.  I was going to do the ship it to me then to him through APO/FPO but the boxes are too small.  I have an Italian friend who I am going to have help me order it.  So did the guitar get there in one piece? 

Jmae,

He needs the ship to shore cards, you can't get regular cards. These cards are hard to come by on base and on the ship as my son can never seem to find them and says there is a long wait for them.

AAFES has them online at https://shop.aafes.com/scs/product.aspx?deptid=42000 but notice there are different ones. There are ones that say "ship to shore" and for use on navy ships. $20 for I think is 40 minutes if I remember correctly.

mik3tn

prayers for your sailor going out!!!  Keep us posted on his safe travels.

You need to make sure your Sailors ship has this service as I don't think they all do.

singingbird...you can order them from that website and have them shipped to him. It is actually even more expensive because there is a surcharge for every completed call so that takes some of the 40 minutes off the top before the talking ever starts.

E was trying to call us while underway and we told him to not worry about it and use his call to call his girl. We get to talk to him daily via email while he is underway. I'm going to send him with some cards when they go on their 9 month deployment so we hear his voice once in awhile.

Prayer for save journey. 

My son has made 4 calls in 6 weeks not sure how?

There is a number on the back of the 'ship to shore' card so you can reload it for your sailor.  The cards are sold at the NEX, so if you have one near you and are eligible to make a purchase, that's another option vs. online.   And be prepared 24/7 to answer every odd-looking numbers that show up on your phone :)   Getting a call from your deployed sailor - priceless!! 

Marcy, thanks my son had not told me there were rechargeable. I wonder why he is always on the hunt for a new card and doesn't just refill his? I'll have to inquire, thanks again.

we have an att card that we can re load by calling a toll free number.  our son has used it several years from everywhere.

Rod, even the ship? I don't think you can use the AT&T Universal Calling Cards from the ship, I think they need a special card and it only works from the ship is my understanding.

The card that my son has is from the ships store, is an AT&T card and it is rechargeable by anyone that has the number from the back of it and calls the toll free number and adds money with their credit/debit card.

http://www.corp.att.com/gov/militaryprepaidcards/navy.html

http://www.marineparents.com/deployment/comm-cards.asp

You can purchase them online:  AT&T Ship to Shore Prepaid Phone Card.  They ship to FPO addresses.  Be sure to give the ship's nine-digit FPO ZIP code so it doesn't get returned :)  

I asked my son if he needs these and he said anytime he has the time to call he just picks up the phone a calls. I guess he has a ship to shore in where he works onboard. Lucky boy. Maybe this is a need on big ships.

GoldnG8r--   I order the cards and just had them sent to me and then i put in a box to send to my sailor. that way i know he got them.

CO-Twin's Sailor is an IT and works in a space that has access to the phone lines that can call off the ship, every ship has them. The problem is they are supposed to be for official business and most Sailors in other rates don't have access to them. IT's that work in the radio division have access because it is their equipment.

No his Cell phone is on Military hold while he is deployed. that way he has no charges while he is gone. His ship has a phone in the Galley for the sailors to use and I think he has one where he works onboard that he can use.

He can only use that phone when he is off duty and it is not in use. But you are right one of the perks for IT's. It is nice they give the newbie IT a perk.

If you click on view comments then you can comment via a smart phone I think. do you have internet access on your phone?

Hi there!  My son is also on the San Antonio!