Norfolk Sailors - Family & Friends

Best of luck to a successful healing...hopefully after recovery and physical therapy, he heals with full recovery..:)

My sailor is driving to Norfolk from Pcola..should be there tomorrow night...:))

Beachbunny our son did that drive in July.  He said it was an easy good drive.  Hope is goes (or went) well for him.  Josh'smom...what is your son's rate?  I know our son has to keep himself busy, as well.  He chose Norfolk because he has a TON of friends there from A school.  He also has cousins that live there but he has not seen them in years, literally since he was in 2nd grade.  

Well..he got there a couple of hours ago...checked into the Navy Lodge for the night before reporting tomorrow...he said the drive wasn't back after getting out of the FL rain storm....took some back roads to for a scenic drive vs being on the highway...pretty adventurous for a 19 year old first "road trip" ...I'm glad he's safe and there on time...:))))

Does anyone know of a good long term storage lot for my son's car when he goes on deployment?  He has used the one that is right by the base but we were not happy with them after the last deployment. 

Joh'smom,

That is one of my biggest surprises with bootcamp. I spent 26 years in the Navy and used the post 911 GI Bill myself and thought I had my son all ready for bootcamp. When he was done he said the same thing that they pushed the Montgomery GI Bill and so he picked that one when he should have picked the Post 911 GI Bill.

To answer your question, he can switch simply by filling out the request online at the VA website. I do think he is going to have to wait until he finishes paying the $100/month for 12 months before he can switch but a call to the VA could get this answered for you.

to Josh'smom,

If your son would like a place to hang out, eat good food and play board games, we would be happy to invite him over to our home. At least he would have a place to go to  one the weekends. :)  Yvonne and John

Tonya,

I have no idea why boot camp is pushing the Montgomery GI Bill as it normally isn't the best choice. You pay $100/month for 12 months for less money. The MGIB will pay the student $1,648.00/month for 36 months while going to school. The student must then pay for books, tuition, living expenses, etc. out of that amount.

The Post 911 GI Bill doesn't cost anything to enroll and pays the tuition directly to the school so the student doesn't have to worry about that. It pays them $1000 per year for books and then pays them a monthly living allowance equal to the BAH level of an E5 with dependents which is $1401/month here.

They can switch from the MGIB to the Post 911 GI Bill by filling out the change form on the VA website. You don't get the $1200 back you paid into the MGIB until you use up all your Post 911 benefits then they will send you back the original $1200 you paid in.

B-Ready - This has the address and contact info for Navy Lodge Norfolk, photos too :) http://www.navyformoms.com/group/norfolksailorsfamilyfriends/forum/...

BEFORE anyone tells their Sailor to switch from one GI Bill to the next your Sailor needs to determine which is best for them. You can use both of them by exhausting all 36 months of the Montgomery GI Bill and then getting an additional 12 months of the Post 911 GI Bill for a total of 48 months of educational benefits. If your Sailor switches to the Post 911 without exhausting their MGIB they will only get 36 months of benefits.

If they determine switching is the best move for them it is done at the following VA website.

http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/

Tonya...NO, she does not lose anything. She needs to use Tuition Assistance (TA) while on active duty to pay for any classes she takes. There is a maximum that TA will cover and some people have to tap their GI Bill while on active duty to cover what TA won't but that is not the best use of your GI Bill as they don't give you the living allowance while you're on active duty. She has 15 years to use the Post 911 GI Bill once she is out of the Navy and there are ways that they can transfer all or part of it to spouses or children if the Sailor isn't going to use it themselves.

I'll PM you on the other matter.

Josh'smom,

They will both pay for flight training but the Post 911 is the only one that will allow it to be transferred to dependents and there are some specific requirements that have to be met before it can be transferred. Here is a website that compares the two...since he is active duty the first two columns are the only two that apply to him.

http://www.gibill.va.gov/resources/benefits_resources/benefit_compa...

Also, the transfer process to dependents has to happen while they are on active duty and eligible (normally at a reenlistment). Transferring it to a dependent can't be started once they are out of the Navy.

Good Morning everyone.  I asked my son about the GI bills and why BC pushes the M-GI bill- here is what he said...

Josh'smom & Proudmom,

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, this thread moves fast.

The Tiger Cruise was awesome . . . getting to meet your sailor a few days before everyone else was special, seeing how they live and work gave me even more respect than I had before. Let me just put it this way, it's not a cruise ship . . . space is at a premium and very functional.

The atmosphere on the ship was contagious . . . hitting their first home port in 7 months and then having us aboard just re-enforced how close they all were to being HOME! There is a small charge per Tiger/per day (I think it was something like $15/day, not sure because my son paid it) and the Navy put it to good use, I had several sailors thank me just for being there because the food was better.

My son was able to get me a mid-bunk right across from him and let's just say it was tight, rolling over from one side to the other my shoulder brushed the bottom of the bunk above. There were no set sleeping hours, the ship is a 24/7 operation (not sure about all jobs but my son worked 6 on, 6 off) so there are people awake and sleeping almost anytime. I stayed up late spending time with my son and awoke early. Honestly I didn't sleep well the first night but by the second I was pretty tired and slept well. Bathroom/shower facilities were dated but adequate, again, no cruise ship.

There were plenty of things to see . . . lots of demonstrations from firing of the "big gun" and Sea Wiz to a drag race between all the ships in the group and an air show from the USS Bush. One evening there was a game night in the mess with prizes from the ship store to bingo game winners.

My son doesn't man the rails because he's needed in the CIC. I was with him but able to poke outside and text family as we made our way in. Finally seeing the hundreds of friends & family was a perfect end to a thoroughly enjoyable trip.

 It's a once in a life time experience that I'm greedy enough to do again if the opportunity presents itself.

Ken-55,

Thanks for that detailed description of your Tiger cruise experience!  Hope our family has the opportunity sometime during my Sailor daughter's enlistment~~

Josh'smom,

I just read that you will be here in Oct. If you have the time we would love to meet you. How long will you be here?

Yvonne

Are there any families that would be willing to open their homes to Sailors on Christmas Day if they are unable to go home and be with their families?  I know a few Sailors that will have 'second' leave and may be alone on Christmas Day. I will pass any information to those that need it. Thanks so much!!! 

I live in NC on the beach, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours south, and my home is always open if anyone needs a place to run away to, get away from the base, etc.  If anyone needs a place to go for Christmas let me know.

Sharon-Deigo's Mom- John and I open our home every weekend and especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. We would love to open our home to those sailors who have 2nd leave. Let us know who they are and how we can get in touch with them.

Yvonne  

Thanks duhhuh and Proudmom!!! It is appreciated!!

Yvonne, I will share let those moms know to get in touch with you here. This is awesome that you do this, I know the Sailors would appreciate a great home cooked meal with great company! 

I live in Ga and would love to open my home. They are welcome any time. 

My son is in Norfolk and has been there for 1 year. I have been very blessed to have not missed a Thanksgiving or Christmas with my son since he left back in Feb 2012. This will be the first Thanksgiving that he won't be with his us, I am hoping he can be with his friends and their families in Norfolk.

Josh'smom,

If you end up staying, you would be welcome to join us for a board game and dinner on Saturday. :) Otherwise maybe when you are here another time we could get together for coffee(or in my case tea) :) John would be the coffee drinker. :)

Yvonne

Thanks Sharon-Diego'smom for being willing to let the other moms know about our invite. We look forward to other moms connecting with us. :)

Sailors mom,

We would be happy to invite your son to our home on Thanksgiving! And also on the weekends if he would like to come over and join us and the other sailors who come over.

Yvonne

Tonya M- We're not Baptist, and we don't know of one near the base off the top of our heads, but we do open our home on the weekends and feed the sailors and play board games with them on Saturday evenings. And on Sunday at 1:00 we sit down for a home cooked meal and afterwards we spend time fellow-shipping or watching a Christian movie or sometimes sharing Scripture and talking about it, or sometimes encouraging each other when one shares about the difficulty they may be having on their ship.

Just thought I'd let you know we're available for your sailor.

Yvonne