Norfolk Sailors - Family & Friends

I put both my twins phones on military suspend during BC and now one again who is out on deployment. they suspend service until you reactivate it up to three years.  There are no fees during that time. 

My son leaves for Norfolk tomorrow. He will be looking for housing for himself and his wife. I have heard from others to avoid Portsmouth and Norfolk. What areas should he look at? What are come complexes that are mostly military?

My son is also in the hunt for accommodations. He liked Hampton but the commute through the tunnel is brutal so he ruled it out. He liked Virginia Beach but it was expensive. He's now looking at a gated complex in Norfolk that is a bit spendy but cheaper than VB and the commute is easy. 

Virgina Beach and Hampton are supposed to be the nicer areas to live from what I've read.

I know Great Lakes has military housing, doesn't Norfolk? The area in Great Lakes is very nice and open with parks and lots of green and a NEX right there.

The commute from Hampton is pretty awful, but from what I hear it is worth it because of how nice it is to live there. The other areas we have been told to look in are Virginia Beach, Chesapeake (near Greenbrier), and Old Town Portsmouth-which is different than Portsmouth! We have been told the further away from base you are the nicer it is, and I can definitely vouch for that! I haven't moved there yet but have visited enough times to know that I don't feel safe anywhere near base. No matter where you live the commute is going to be awful, whether it is Hampton with the tunnel or not so honestly I would tell them not to let that be the deciding factor. Our friends who live in Chesapeake, usually a 20 minute drive to base, it takes him 45 minutes to an hour in the morning. There are 80,000 Sailors on that base after all- with the majority commuting in at the same time, it's going to suck no matter what!

The guys that live in Hampton that work with my son say the commute is often times 1.5 hours each way. I would hate for him to spend 3 hours of his already limited time on the road commuting. He did really like it up there though so we'll see, he may end up there after all.

Thanks everyone for the information. It will help tremendously in his search for housing. From what I have heard, there is a waiting list for housing on the base.

Area of Norfolk are nice.  My future son-in-law lived in an apartment in Ghent, 15 min. to base.  VB is more like half an hour to base.  My daughter rented an apartment close to the Norfolk Zoo, in an old victorain house.  She also rented a house along Granby Street.  All were nice and a safe place to live.  My son is in Yorktown as he is on Enterprise and it is being dismantled in Newport News.

Colleen, I too like the Ghent area, and no tunnels or bridges between it and the base.  One way to search for rentals - go to http://www.forrentuniversity.com and search "Old Dominion University."  Another area to search in Norfolk is around Virginia Wesleyan University. 

Hi,my daughter just went to Virginia on her first assigment (OS)on sea duty(destroyer).her ship is going to b deployed nov 2014.Can anyone tell me what she should expect....

singingbird,

Yes, there is PPV (Private Public Venture) housing for single Sailors but there is a long waiting list. My son was told it could be up to two years before he can get a room. I've asked him about it several times and he's not interested in waiting that long and is looking for accommodations now.

I don't know what determines the length of time you have to wait, maybe the smaller ships have a shorter waiting list?

So my son has been assigned on a destroyer for sea duty (his first assignment).  He will live and work on this ship,  can anyone tell me what this experience may be like?   Will he be able to have some type of housing on base or off base at any given point?  This is all new to us,  so any bit of info will be helpful. 

kim,

Hi and welcome to the group. Yes, your son will live on the ship if he is single. He will have the opportunity to get a room off the ship once he is qualified and waits for a room to become available which can take a long time, my son was told up to two years. That will only be were he sleeps in port as he'll go to work on the ship everyday and of course be on the ship 24/7 while they are underway.

Dad of a Sailor..Thank you for the information.   Around how many Sailor's work and live on a destoyer while in port?  Just curious to see how many other Sailors will be living on the ship with him..I guess I can assume many, since the housing situation on base is difficult to get.

Abuon18~ Hello...My son is assigned to the (DDG95) James E. Williams.  Are we on the same ship? 

Will Hello again Kim, our sons were in BC together. I have twins, the one that had PIR with yours in in A School in S. Carolina, however his twin in deployed on the USS Bainbridge (DDG96) He got deployed IMMEDIATELY He was at Norfolk airport 4 hours before his ship left!! He will be back in January.  He loves being at sea. He would love to stay at sea for the entire commitment if he could. 

Kim. What will your son be doing on board?

Co-TwinsSalorsmom~  Hello again....yes, I do remember our boys being in the same PIR group.   My son willl be one of the two or three PS's on board.  It's great to hear you son loves being at sea...I'm sure this will be a huge adjustment for most of them first time around being in small living quaters and working-living on the ship.  My son is excited to begin and ready to get back to it.  It was so nice to have him home for two weeks,  but now I have to return him.  HA  Great hearing from you..

Kim,

Arleigh-Burke Class Destroyers have a crew of 276, however, a lot of them are married so they will not be staying on the ship while in port unless they have duty. Some of the single Sailors will have places off the ship as well.  They will all be there during the day to work but after work those with places off the ship will leave until the following morning. The ship is like a ghost town after working hours as it will only be the duty section and the few that sleep on the ship.

Kim our sons were in the same ship and div. Sam is in Nuke school, his twin is stationed out of Norfolk on a destroyer. 

Twin 1 on the Destroyer Loves being on a smaller ship. It was his 2nd choice on his dream sheet. He does not get sea sick. He also did not react in Gas Chamber. His description was hilarious on how everyone was a buggery, spit, vomit mess and he kept looking at his cupped hands and nothin'. Lucky boy. He has experienced 20 ft swells and it did not bother him.  He has seen lots of the world in two months. 

Twin 2 was in Div with yours, says Nuke school is very challenging. He said when all done he has something that he can be proud of himself for.  He is hoping for sub duty. He goes to the beach every weekend. He has also discovered he likes to run, he has a goal to beat the record for the schools 1.5 mile.

I have not gotten the Keel yet.

Help me out, what is PS?

Hello,

My Sailor daughter is home on leave now and will report to Norfolk shore duty as an IT later this month.  Is there a link that describes what happens when they arrive, where the barracks are, any meal plans or can they just buy their own groceries?  I've learned a large flat amount of money was deducted from their paycheck whether they ate at the chow hall or not in A school.  With the classes all getting out at the same time, the Sailors had to stand in long lines or not eat, or spend their own separate money getting food from the commissary.  It seems there should be some sort of card that they can scan that will deduct a certain amount when they do eat at the chow hall.  If they want to spend their food money getting groceries from the commissary and scanning the same card, shouldn't this be possible?  This is the reasonable way for our Sailors to spend their hard-earned funds on their food~~

I just would like to learn what I can because it's hard to get detailed info from my daughter on just what her day will be like at base.  If someone already provided an explanation, you can just tell me about what page it is at.  Thanks!!

Well, my son is home on leave and I found out that since he is between commands he is homeless and they are not giving him extra money to live, he needs to stay in a hotel on his dime, I am very upset, I will be writing to congress, not that it will do any good.

Morning all,

A couple of points that you may be unaware...

First, in regards to the chow hall in A School and being charged when they don't eat. The Navy has to provide a chow hall for them to eat for those that want to eat there, the problem with giving everyone money and letting them decide how to spend it is that the chow hall would not be supported enough to keep it open as many would skip the chow hall and use the money elsewhere. This would make planning for the amount of people at each meal impossible and would result in the chow hall being opened and not supporting enough people to make it worth while. The same thing for those stationed on ships, they won't get their BAS (money for food) as they are expected to eat on the ship. If they gave everyone their BAS and no one ate on the ship the galley would cook everyday because they have to for those who do want to eat on the ship and very few would eat there. The Navy is providing three meals a day, at the chow hall or galley, if they chose not to eat there that is their choice but the Navy (taxpayers) should not be on the hook for preparing a meal at the chow hall for them and still paying them to eat elsewhere if they decide not to eat at the chow hall. Does that make sense?

Proudmom, you son will file a travel claim and the travel costs associated with his PCS will be paid back to him upon completion of his travel/leave. He will draw partial BAH (basic allowance for housing) and BAS (Basic Allowance for Sustenance) for his PCS time. This is paid to him after his travel is complete and he files a travel claim. He could have requested "advance travel" prior to his leaving his last command if he didn't have the money to cover these costs until his travel claim is paid afterwards.  They would have given him money prior to his transfer that would have been deducted from his travel claim he will file upon completion of his travel.

Also, he's never "homeless" and if he didn't have a place to stay while he was ON LEAVE he could have skipped his leave and reported directly to his next command and they would have provided him a barracks room or shipboard accommodations to live in. It was his choice to take leave and go home, the Navy has no idea if a Sailor has a place to stay when they take leave, that's the Sailors responsibility. They do get money afterwards to offset these costs.

I hope this helps with some of the concerns. Please let me know if what I posted didn't make sense. 

Oh, sorry...that should have been to Avonbymyna instead of Proudmom.

Proudmom,

I'm not really understanding your question, can you clarify a bit for me?

If you are asking if he will have a place to live once his ship pulls into port until the next time they go out to sea the answer is YES. He will live on the ship while he is in port just as he is while he is underway. The ship is his home and that is where he will live unless he gets a place to stay off the ship which can happen if he is married, if he gets single Sailor housing (some specific requirements he has to meet like qualifications) or gets an apartment out in town either paying out of his pocket or drawing BAH if he's eligible.

The housing the Navy provides for junior single Sailors who are attached to a ship is the ship itself. Again, depending on their paygrade, marital status, qualifications, etc. there may be ways to get a place off the ship but the Navy will always provide him a place to live and he will never be "high and dry" or homeless.

Is that what you were asking?

My son is on the USS George H.W. Bush and he lives on the ship all the time both in port and while out to sea. He doesn't have a different place to live when he pulls into port as the ship is his home.

Living on the ship while in port isn't much fun and a lot of Sailors try and find other places to sleep when the ship is in port just to get away for a while and get some personal space. Often times this will be out of their own pocket as they don't' qualify for assistance due to their paygrade, qualification level, etc.

Dad of Sailor,

I was saying that the Sailors should be allowed to used their BAS on base only at the commissary to buy their groceries or eat at the Chow Hall.  Why would the Sailors choose not to eat at the Chow Hall unless the food is not tasty or healthy?  They should be allowed the choice to spend their food money on groceries purchased from the base's comissary or eating at the Chow Hall.  They shouldn't be paying for food that they are not eating.  The one's who eat there are apparently supporting the Chow Hall being open. 

It's like if we who are home having to eat out all the time--regardless whether the food is healthy or yummy--and still paying for that meal out when we have bought our own groceries and are preparing our own meals.  The Navy would still get the benefit of the BAS funds being poured back into the system when groceries are purchased at the commissary.

There's just got to be a more efficient  way of handling everything is how I feel.  Same thing with advanced booking of airfare for duty stations instead of paying the highest airfare at the last moment all the time.

I know nothing will change.  Just felt like airing my frustrations with the way our Sailors' pay is deducted before they get to use/save it for themselves.

Just a note about living on the ship.  My son is on the Bush and had been there 6 months before he thought to tell me that the pillows the navy give them are not what they are used to at home.  So on our visit last month I took his nice pillow from his bed and his Dolphins football blanket.  He showed us his bunk and all around the Bush - very impressive.  But the guys in the bunks surrounding my son's all have their football/baseball blankets on their beds and their own pillow.  My son said they sleep on top of their made bunk and cover themselves up with their own blankets - that way they don't have to make their beds every morning lol!!!

Just thought I share this for any new moms out there wondering about their sailor's sleeping arrangements. 

CatMom,

I understand your concern but the Commissary and Chow Hall's are not the same pot of money. The Commissary is a civilian ran grocery store that provides sometimes subsidized groceries for military members, their dependents, retired military members, etc. The Chow Hall operates on a totally different pot of money and is to feed military members who are not drawing BAS. If they didn't force junior Sailors in A School to eat there by taking their BAS and providing three meals for them at the Chow Hall it would have to close because very few would support it and then there would be no hot meal option for your Sailors and all us concerned parents would be complaining about that. 

I was in the Navy for 26 years and can assure you that the Chow Hall is much more healthy than what most Sailors are buying for themselves at the Commissary. I did barracks inspections as a Senior Chief on junior Sailors rooms and most of the "food" was ramen noodles, TV dinners, canned junk and chips and cookies, leftover pizza or McDonald's, etc.. I NEVER seen fruit or vegetables like is available at every meal in the Chow Hall. Every Chow Hall I've been in had an unlimited salad bar along with the hot items they could get going through the line.

These junior Sailors are not provided kitchens to be able to cook meals so they have to be offered hot cooked meals someplace (Chow Hall) and if the Navy didn't force them to use it it could not stay open which as I've said isn't an option.