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.
You could also try his ship for a FB page. My son's shop has a marvelous FB page. there are two actually. one is families one is the official ship one and the Captain posts pictures when they are deployed or get promoted. It is wonderful.
Yasminie5, this is a pretty active group, plus there is a lot of information permanently stored in the Discussions.
Often, questions you'll have won't be ship-specific; rather they will be about things like owning a car, activities for sailors, where to stay for visits to Norfolk, things like that, so yes, I think this is the best group overall. Know that ship groups on NavyforMoms tend to go rather quiet when the ship isn't deployed. And I personally prefer NavyforMoms to Facebook because the focus is on sharing information here and the drama is kept to a minimum LOL
Be sure to get on the official lists for the ship's Ombudsman Team, and the Family Readiness Group. The Ombudsman is a volunteer with a spouse on the ship, and acts as the official liaison between the command and its families. The FRG is headed by elected volunteers with relatives assigned to the ship, and organizes events around and during deployment. Your sailor should put you on the lists. You can also contact the Bataan ombudsman yourself by going to this link and scrolling down to the ship name - https://www.ombudsmanregistry.org/?m=contactombudsman
Here is a great three-minute, time-lapse video of a day in the life onboard USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), which is one of the eight total Wasp-class amphibious assault ships that are virtually identical to USS Bataan (LHD-5). It's called "Reveille to Taps." Fun to watch!
Yasminie5 my son is on the Bataan. He arrived in Norfolk in June, but they flew him out within a few days to meet the ship already on deployment. From that point we did not have contact, so I couldnt answer many questions about the first few days. With the ship going into dry dock in a couple of weeks I would guess there will be alot of hustle right now. Let me know if you would like me to hook your son up with mine. I WOULD friend you so we could PM, but I am on an ipad and for some reason PMing doesnt work on ipad
B'sNukeMom, I just messaged the admin of the Navy Familiies FB page and told her who you are. I actually had a son in Nuke school Jan-June of last year, so I'm already familiar with you, even though I mostly just kept quiet and read everything I could from the Nuke Moms group.
Could anyone tell me if this sounds normal for Norfolk area? My son got an oil change yesterday but we didn't get the name of where he went. He is driving a 2002 Dodge Ram truck. My husband told him it would probably be best to take it to the Dodge dealership for his oil changes. But he pulled in to some oil change place he found instead. With giving him a $15.00 (military) discount, his bill was like $86.00. Now we think this seems really high. My husband only paid $5.00 for his oil change back here when he had it. But that was a deal he got along time ago. Around here, they do not charge that much. Any opinions on if he got suckered?
I just got my oil changed last month. They charged me $40 no discounts. And they were a tire place not even an oil change place. They weren't going to do it because they said they don't do oil changes but I had to wait for a tire to be delivered so they said they would do it. I thought that was high lol because where I'm from its like $20. I hope for the price they charged him they did a lot more than an oil change!!!
Seems a little high, especially if they gave him a "discount." My son was paying $60 for a high-mileage oil change on a 2002 SUV at Pep Boys on Military Ave and JiffyLube is the same. Does a truck use more oil? Wonder if they did an air filter change for your son too? I tell my son to download the coupons on his phone :)
HuffyMom sounds like a rip off. I saved a conversation about this very subject. I'll dig it up and repost. and tell him to let his command know where it was. The Navy can put businesses on a list of places to avoid. I don't know if the list is mandatory or just recommended.
Hi forever proud mom of Bataan sailor. My guy is CS and just arrived on Saturday. I believe he's on the ship for now. And will then move to barge living. It would be great for them to meet up if possible.
This is an excerpt from a post Marcy made back last fall. It was in answer to someone asking where to get brakes done. Original post was from even earlier, so hope the info is still accurate.
Accurate-Tune Plus 757-226-8863, JT is the gentleman to talk to. My son had several things done there and I talked to him personally. They also have great reviews and we were referred to them. http://accuratetuneplus.com/
My son also had work done by JT at Accurate-Tune. I would recommend them also.
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Yasminie5 my son is MM and just got housing in PPV so he is on the ship only during duty. I will put in a friend request for you. You can PM me any info you are comfortable with to let my son know how to find your sailor. I just won't be able to respond. Sometimes I really want to throw this ipad across the room!
Boy I want to take my car in where you go. I never paid that little for an oil change even when I did it myself in college. My car costs about $85. so I bet that is correct.
B'sNukeMom, I just heard back from the FB page admin and she said that she had just approved 2 nuke moms on the site today, so if you try to log in now, you should be able to get in. Let me know if you can't.
Also you can have him check...if he is mechanical prone like mine the base in Charleston has an auto bay where he goes and uses it to change his own oil. Then just costs filters and oil cost.
Holly - I'm not sure if I'm in it or not. I did not get a request for any info. I think I can see the page now but when I look at my FB groups it doesn't show it listed in my groups. (I'm still learning how to navigate FB!). I'll keep checking and see if things change. If it doesn't maybe I'll PM you so I can figure it out!
Does anyone here have a sailor on HST? I'm looking for whatever info you might have.
Can anyone tell me how to get hold of a sailor on the Bainbridge, currently underway. The sailor's grandmother is dying but this is not his command, he's on shore duty he's on this ship to qualify it. His family does not even know the name of the Obudsman of the ship.
Hi all - Happy Tuesday! I posted a discussion above that has the info for emergency messages. TwoForTheNavy, glad to hear that they were able to make contact with the sailor.
We live in CA. Sailor just finished nuke school in NY & bought a car there & registered it there (previous car was registered in CA). Now he's heading to VA. Do you think he can register his car back in CA when he's home on leave or do you think he should he keep it registered in NY? I've heard that it's a pain to register in VA.
Thanks pschip - However I just realized, sailor won't be bringing his car home from NY - he'll be flying, so it won't be possible for him to register it in CA. I guess he'll keep it registered in NY for the time being. Oh well....
Got a kick out of seeing this on TV last night! This latest Geico ad is filmed on the battleship USS Wisconsin, permanently moored at Norfolk's Nauticus museum at Waterside. What a beautiful view of the downtown Norfolk skyline on the Elizabeth River, and it's only seven miles from the base!
It's also the view that Naval Medical Center Portsmouth has from directly across the river - lucky corpsmen living and working there :)
Thanks for sharing Marcy. Can't wait until hubby & I can plan our first visit to Norfolk! Sailor arrives there on 2/26..... I guess we better start saving ;-)
(Hubby was born in WI so he will definitely want to see this battleship.)
I need to ask about apartment applications. My son's application number is 900+ and he's discouraged that he'll never get an apartment. Does this mean there are currently 900 sailors in front of him waiting for apartments in Norfolk? Or, could it mean that they are now "serving #800"? He's really discouraged. He's sleeping on the ship with maybe 5 other sailors, with no cell service or wi fi so he spends a lot of time in his car on his phone. Thanks for the advice.
Thank you, LeeAnnNavyMom. My son's application number is 921. I'm thinking his number will not change as apartments are assigned. Rather, they probably are working on assigning application number 875 right now (just for an example). I hope there are not 920 applications ahead of his! Does anyone else know how the apartment application process works?
He finally went to John & Yvonne's a couple weekends ago and had a great time. If he continues to do things like that it will keep him out of his car more often and not make him feel so displaced. Thank you!
You should be able to use the FPO whether they're deployed or in their home port. If you google the ship you can get the FPO address. I would add the department your sailor is in, if you know it otherwise make sure you have his/her rate on it.
Michelle my son joined his ship mid deployment straight out of A school and when they got back to Norfolk at the end of October, i'd say it was only three weeks or so before he got PPV housing. He said he made himself a PITA at the housing office and that seemed to work in his favor. Check in often, especially right around the time ships deploy as housing comes open by the bushels when they head out.
Just finished helping our son pack up his apartment in Ballston Spa. He's headed to Norfolk to start his Navy career. It's been a very long hard road getting to this point but he's excited to finally get to his ship. Looking forward to visiting him there
CO-TwinSalorsMom
You could also try his ship for a FB page. My son's shop has a marvelous FB page. there are two actually. one is families one is the official ship one and the Captain posts pictures when they are deployed or get promoted. It is wonderful.
Jan 10, 2015
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
Yasminie5, this is a pretty active group, plus there is a lot of information permanently stored in the Discussions.
Often, questions you'll have won't be ship-specific; rather they will be about things like owning a car, activities for sailors, where to stay for visits to Norfolk, things like that, so yes, I think this is the best group overall. Know that ship groups on NavyforMoms tend to go rather quiet when the ship isn't deployed. And I personally prefer NavyforMoms to Facebook because the focus is on sharing information here and the drama is kept to a minimum LOL
Be sure to get on the official lists for the ship's Ombudsman Team, and the Family Readiness Group. The Ombudsman is a volunteer with a spouse on the ship, and acts as the official liaison between the command and its families. The FRG is headed by elected volunteers with relatives assigned to the ship, and organizes events around and during deployment. Your sailor should put you on the lists. You can also contact the Bataan ombudsman yourself by going to this link and scrolling down to the ship name - https://www.ombudsmanregistry.org/?m=contactombudsman
Here is a great three-minute, time-lapse video of a day in the life onboard USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), which is one of the eight total Wasp-class amphibious assault ships that are virtually identical to USS Bataan (LHD-5). It's called "Reveille to Taps." Fun to watch!
Jan 10, 2015
Forever proud
Jan 11, 2015
1Bodyprof
Jan 11, 2015
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Jan 11, 2015
Holly MA Mom
B'sNukeMom, I just messaged the admin of the Navy Familiies FB page and told her who you are. I actually had a son in Nuke school Jan-June of last year, so I'm already familiar with you, even though I mostly just kept quiet and read everything I could from the Nuke Moms group.
Jan 11, 2015
HuffyMom23
Could anyone tell me if this sounds normal for Norfolk area? My son got an oil change yesterday but we didn't get the name of where he went. He is driving a 2002 Dodge Ram truck. My husband told him it would probably be best to take it to the Dodge dealership for his oil changes. But he pulled in to some oil change place he found instead. With giving him a $15.00 (military) discount, his bill was like $86.00. Now we think this seems really high. My husband only paid $5.00 for his oil change back here when he had it. But that was a deal he got along time ago. Around here, they do not charge that much. Any opinions on if he got suckered?
Jan 11, 2015
Amanda&LC+2
Jan 11, 2015
Forever proud
Jan 11, 2015
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
Seems a little high, especially if they gave him a "discount." My son was paying $60 for a high-mileage oil change on a 2002 SUV at Pep Boys on Military Ave and JiffyLube is the same. Does a truck use more oil? Wonder if they did an air filter change for your son too? I tell my son to download the coupons on his phone :)
Jan 11, 2015
Forever proud
Jan 11, 2015
Yasminie5
Jan 11, 2015
Forever proud
Accurate-Tune Plus 757-226-8863, JT is the gentleman to talk to. My son had several things done there and I talked to him personally. They also have great reviews and we were referred to them. http://accuratetuneplus.com/
My son also had work done by JT at Accurate-Tune. I would recommend them also.
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Jan 11, 2015
Forever proud
Jan 11, 2015
Forever proud
Jan 11, 2015
1Bodyprof
Jan 11, 2015
Forever proud
Jan 11, 2015
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Jan 11, 2015
CO-TwinSalorsMom
Boy I want to take my car in where you go. I never paid that little for an oil change even when I did it myself in college. My car costs about $85. so I bet that is correct.
Jan 11, 2015
Holly MA Mom
B'sNukeMom, I just heard back from the FB page admin and she said that she had just approved 2 nuke moms on the site today, so if you try to log in now, you should be able to get in. Let me know if you can't.
Jan 11, 2015
CO-TwinSalorsMom
Also you can have him check...if he is mechanical prone like mine the base in Charleston has an auto bay where he goes and uses it to change his own oil. Then just costs filters and oil cost.
Jan 11, 2015
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Jan 11, 2015
Holly MA Mom
There may be a post on there asking you to tell a little about yourself.
Jan 11, 2015
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Holly - I'm not sure if I'm in it or not. I did not get a request for any info. I think I can see the page now but when I look at my FB groups it doesn't show it listed in my groups. (I'm still learning how to navigate FB!). I'll keep checking and see if things change. If it doesn't maybe I'll PM you so I can figure it out!
Does anyone here have a sailor on HST? I'm looking for whatever info you might have.
Hope everyone has a great Monday!
Jan 12, 2015
TwoForTheNavy
Jan 12, 2015
Lizb
Jan 12, 2015
Lizb
Jan 12, 2015
MrsSwo
Agree, call the Red Cross and they will find him. I found this name from a long time ago. But hopefully the number is the same or she can help you.
Tricia Jones
Ombudsman DDG96
757.284.8316
Jan 12, 2015
MrsSwo
https://ombudsmanregistry.org/?m=contactombudsman&r=12&rcc=...
Jan 12, 2015
TwoForTheNavy
Jan 13, 2015
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Hope everyone has a good day!
Jan 13, 2015
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Jan 16, 2015
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Jan 18, 2015
pschip
B'sNukeMoM My son has his truck register here in Ga and he is in VA.
Jan 19, 2015
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Counting down the days until we see our sailor!
Happy Monday all!
Jan 19, 2015
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Jan 19, 2015
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
My son bought and registered his car in Virginia, no problem plus the annual registration fee is waived by providing a current LES statement.
Jan 19, 2015
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
Thanks Marcy - maybe he'll switch the registration to VA then. I'll pass that on to him! And nice to know they waive the fee for them too ;-)
Jan 19, 2015
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom
Got a kick out of seeing this on TV last night! This latest Geico ad is filmed on the battleship USS Wisconsin, permanently moored at Norfolk's Nauticus museum at Waterside. What a beautiful view of the downtown Norfolk skyline on the Elizabeth River, and it's only seven miles from the base!
It's also the view that Naval Medical Center Portsmouth has from directly across the river - lucky corpsmen living and working there :)
Jan 20, 2015
B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)
(Hubby was born in WI so he will definitely want to see this battleship.)
Jan 20, 2015
Michelle
Jan 23, 2015
Michelle
He finally went to John & Yvonne's a couple weekends ago and had a great time. If he continues to do things like that it will keep him out of his car more often and not make him feel so displaced. Thank you!
Jan 23, 2015
Yasminie5
Jan 24, 2015
Forever proud
Jan 24, 2015
kim222
Jan 24, 2015
CO-TwinSalorsMom
I once heard of a sailor who rented a storage unit and hung out in it, had a stereo and chairs in there, they have electricity
Jan 24, 2015
Forever proud
Jan 24, 2015
Yasminie5
Jan 25, 2015
Mommamac MM(CVN77)
Jan 25, 2015
TLC72
What is PPV housing? Is it similar to the barracks? When I hear housing, I think of base housing and I thought you had to be married to get that.
Jan 26, 2015