Norfolk Sailors - Family & Friends

Navy Mom Deanna. I just heard about the Fleet Fest for Oct. 18th too! I would love to go but yes, have to wait til I hear back from my Sailor to see if this will be a good time for us to go.

Have you been getting emails from your Sailor? My daughter arrived to Norfolk in May.

Melinda - how about you? any word from your Sailor?

Kathy - yes I agree! N4Ms has been the best source of support for me since the beginning! I think I can say the same for all of us!

Thanks!

Yes, this is the age of texting! John and I have found that when we want to find out who is coming over to our house on the weekends, we have to text them and they respond. Phone calls? Very seldom do they answer and in a lot of cases they haven't set up a voice mail. For those of you that don't know who we are, my husband is a retired Navy Chaplain and we have been in Norfolk/Virginia Beach for 14 years, inviting sailors(and Marines and Soldiers) to come over to our house on the weekends to have a place to hang out, play board games and of course we feed them! :)

I am very lucky to met John and Yvonne Wagner here in the group.  They adopted my son and they were picking him up  from the base every Saturday and Sunday.  Yesterday they celebrated my son's birthday which is 9/11 and Yvonne prepared filipino foods for him.  I really appreciate them reaching out for my son.  Thank you John and Yvonne.  I will definitely see you in January once my daughter arrives VA for her A school.

May our good LORD rain blessings on you John and Yvonne! Thank you for being there for our sailors.  :)

Does anyone have a sailor in Norfolk who is from Michigan or a nearby state? We live in Michigan and my son wants to come home in October for about 10 days. He has his own vehicle and we are trying to see if anyone would be interested in carpooling home with him!  

John and Yvonne, you both are the most fantastic people! I love that my son has a safe place to go off base! Thank you for taking care of my son! We are so blessed to have met you!

@ Juliw I agree with you.  Joh and Yvonne were so wonderful couple.  They were adopting my son too.  Im very lucky to met them here.

Thank you juliw, Malen and Navymom2!  We love inviting your sons (and daughters) into our home. First time they're a guest; second time they're part of the family! :)

Yvonne and John

Navymom2, please let your son know about us. We would love to invite him over to the house on the weekends. If you like I can pm our cell number to you..

Yvonne

Yes that would be great Ms. Yvonne.  Thank you.

Navymom2,

I will private message you our cell #. I sent you a friend request, and when you respond I will be able to do that. :)

Have a blessed day!

Yvonne

Remind your sailors!  TIme is running out to purchase tickets to the Hampton Roads Navy Birthday Ball to be held Saturday, 4 October. Ticket sales end 29 Sepember.  It's an awesome event not to be missed.  To purchase tickets and for more information:  www. hamptonroadsnavyball.com  

Marcy - is this an event for all Sailors?

Leach73 - Yes!  Active, Reserves, veterans, and civilians go.  It's a fun evening with ceremonies, dinner, cake cutting, and dancing to a band, and your sailor will really feel honored and special.  The Waterside Marriott is a beautiful venue and she will LOVE it.  She doesn't need a date, just a friend or friends to go with. I hope you'll encourage her to go, I she'll be glad not to have missed it!  

Hi Marcy!

Thanks for the reply. I love the picture of you and your son! Beautiful mom and son moment! I forwarded the info to my daughter and I encouraged her to go. She didn't know about it so I told her to start making plans with some of her buddies so that they can get put some make-up on and do their hair so that they can enjoy an evening of fun. Hopefully she goes! gosh, I wish I could go! lol!

Welcome to the group jgarza. Did your daughter just arrive to Norfolk? My daughter is in Norfolk too aboard the USS Porter.

My son is headed to Norfolk today.  He reports to his ship Sunday morning.  This is his first duty assignment.  He's excited to be heading to the fleet.  He assigned to the USS Harry S. Truman. 

jgarza and AJ's -Mom,

my husband and I invite the sailors over to our house on the weekends to play board games, go mini golfing, bowling and of course we feed them home cooked meals. We would love to invite your daughter and your son over too. We evan have a sailor from the Truman coming. If you think they would be interested I can pm you our cell phone # so they can get in touch with us. If you go to our page at this sight it will tell you more about us.

Yvonne  

Hi - new to this group and I have a question. I have seen a lot in the threads regarding the long waiting list for barracks or base housing. Does this apply to Sailors who are coming to Norfolk on a Shore Duty assignment or only to those with a Sea Duty? Do Shore Duty assignments have to be a certain rank to receive the BAH? Thanks :)

Hi @CC0727. My son is on shore duty in Norfolk and got housing right away.

Welcome CC0727! HawaiiKat is right. Sailors on shore duty get housing right away. My son is an AD in Norfolk. How about your sailor? 

Thanks for the info! My Sailor had heard through the grapevine previously that you had to be E4 to get BAH there. Are the barracks the only housing options for single sailors? Anyone know how the barracks living is there? PS...Glad to be part of your group :)

My son got deployed, on a moving ship, within 4 hours of landing at the Norfolk airport. He did get assigned his barrack room while still at sea, on his way back to Norfolk.

My son likes his barrack apt. He has a real kitchen. 

The barracks are much better than when I was on active duty! LOL My son's barracks are set up in suites. Two sailors to a bedroom and bathroom. Two beds/baths per suite. The common area includes a small but full size kitchen, dining area, and living area. It's an open floor plan. They also have their own washer and dryer. I don't know if all the barracks buildings are like that though. I don't know how many buildings that house sailors there are either. This info might fall under the OPSEC category so I won't try to find out. (Not as important as ship info but still could be a security breach.) Anyway, they are fairly decent. Hope this helps!

Thanks! They actually sound nicer than my Sailor's last ones, so I am sure that even if he doesn't get BAH, from the sounds of what you describe, this will still be a good change. @juliw do you mean they share a bedroom?

My son does but he's an E-2. The guy in the other bedroom does not because his roommate is actually on a ship so he has a room to himself for the most part.

I stress that he's an E-2 because when I was active duty anyone above an E-4 that lived in the barracks had their own room. I don't know if it makes a difference nowadays or not.

The barracks suites I've seen are two separate bedrooms, each with a separate entrance and one sailor per bedroom, that are connected by a common kitchen and bath.

New market just opened for your sailors to know about if, like mine, they like great produce; Fresh Market is under five miles from base in Norfolk's Ghent area.  Bakery looks pretty amazing too  :)  http://wavy.com/2014/09/23/fresh-market-opens-wednesday-in-ghent/

Coach Shelia, it's great to hear your son's awesome attitude!  Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Hampton Roads is such a great area.  Navy Ball reminder:  tomorrow's the deadline to buy tickets!  

Yvonne, Thank you for the invitation you have extended to my son!  I will pass the information along.  I would love it if he would reach out to you, and will send you a message if he's receptive to the idea.  Thanks for all you and your husband do for the sailors! 

Is anyone planning on going to the Family Fleet Day on Oct. 18th?

I'll be there for the weekend....My son's ship will be on the tour.

How do I find out more information on "Family Fleet Day" on oct 18th?

You're welcome AJ's-Mom!  We hope he will send us a message and come over. :) And we are happy to provide a ride to him or any others who don't have transportation. 

Blessings to you!

Yvonne

Awesome!!! I have made my travel plans already! I am so anxious to see my baby girl! She is on the USS Porter so her ship is not one of the ones on the tour list. Oh well! I'm still excited to see the other ones.