Norfolk Sailors - Family & Friends

Navymomnow, you can also contact the ship's Ombudsman Team for your son's ship and get the info for getting on their list and the FRG.  Include his name, rate, rating, and your relationship in your email.  Here's how - http://navyformoms.com/group/whatsanombudsmanandhowtocontactthem/fo...   And yes, you can be there for for homecoming.  The Ombudsmen and the FRG will have the information, which gets more detailed as the date nears.  Just remember, no discussion of actual dates here on NavyforMoms.com or anywhere else, per Naval operations security  (OPSEC)  :)

Alyce, my son says that your son's command has to call the duty van to have it dispatched.  Does your son have a sponsor at his new command?  That person should know - and may even arrange to pick him up personally.

hi all,

in preparation for deployment my sailor has decided to get married!!!??? ack! :) so, do any of you wise folks have info on that - do you need to get 'permission' - sailor is E4 - or do you just go to the Justice of the Peace? As much as we would prefer to get one deployment finished first, they have other plans. :(

I anticipate it will be a 'spur of the moment' thing as there is no telling when there is a day off, or duty, and sadly we won't be flying across the county to be there for it. very $$$$ to do that when it's planned let alone last minute.

To Laurenw and Alyce,

The sailors do need a car, but a lot of times friends will be willing to transport them. 

We wanted you two and any other moms that we(my husband and I) open our home on the weekends and invite sailors to come over for food and board games and movies. we also go mini golfing, civil war re-enactments, Williamsburg on Vet. Day(free for all military). We've been here in Virginia Beach for 15 years doing this. We like to provide a 'home away from home' for them and give them a place to hang out. :) My husband spent 20 years in the Navy, both enlisted and as a Navy Chaplain. If you think your sons...or any daughters too...would be interested in coming over we can pm you our cell number so they can get a hold of us. We can contact them too if they are okay with that.

John and Yvonne

oops....'to know'

Singingbird - Read your comments regarding Alyce's question of whether to get a bike or a car. How does one decide? if you are assigned to a ship and don't know when you will deploy, what happens if you get the car and then have to store it, etc. Is it really worth it or are they better off trying to get a ride from friends? This is driving me crazy!

Alyce,

Do you mean a motorcycle or a bicycle?  I think motorcycles are not as safe as a car, especially in this traffic!  If your son wants to come over to the house, we would be happy to give him a ride.

Yvonne

Hi John and Yvonne, 

I was thinking a bike would help him get around, but from what I'm being told, it would only be good for going around the base, and that traffic around the base would make bike riding dangerous.  

Alyce and laurenw - singingbird is right.  Getting around the base isn't the whole story; they need cars for mobility and independence for a host of reasons that singingbird described well.  To add a few more points...do you really want your sailor to have to depend on other drivers who may have more than a few drinks when they go out?  Is it really fair to rely on other sailors who go ahead and buy a car, insure and maintain it?  Regarding a bicycle...this is not a college campus, this is real life on the largest U.S. Navy base, adjacent to the largest city in the state.  Would you live and work in a major city and just have a bicycle where you have to negotiate freeways to get anywhere?  Don't forget the weather - rain, snow, and effects from hurricanes.  The Car FAQ discussion above has info about buying, insurance, storage during deployment etc http://navyformoms.com/group/norfolksailorsfamilyfriends/forum/topi...

Also - I got a copy of the four-page form for the Navy Exchange Long Term Parking facility last month, here it is and I'm adding it the Car FAQ right now too  :)  Norfolk%20Navy%20Exchange%20Long%20Term%20Parking.pdf

Happy Tuesday!

Thank you!  You too!  It's actually under 100 degrees here in AZ today LOL

Am new to the navy world. My son  is expected back from his first underway. Any idea on what to expect? I would think the return after a longer deployment  would warrant special welcome home activity, but i dont know if that extends to the shorter underway. 

My daughter is in little creek, my son is in Norfolk. If he would have the same weird sense of humor as me and my daughter I would have had him and a group of friends go and welcome her home from her first underway. Just as a joke type of thing. She said she would have fallen over laughing if he would have done that. We do silly things in our family.

Hi all - Happy Friday!  Got my RED on today ;-)

Marcy - we must be getting your warm weather here in SoCal.  Supposed to be 102* in my area today - ugh!  Definitely not fall weather lol!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

He said in March he will be going to San Diego.  He is young and not a very experienced driver and from what I understand the winters in VA are snowy and icy so it kinda of worries me for him to be driving. 

Calimom,

I just saw that your son will be coming here to Norfolk and we wanted to let you know that we open our home on the weekends and invite the sailors over for food, board games, more food, movies and of course football games. :)

And if they don't have a vehicle, we are always happy to provide them with a ride in our car or one of the other sailors who come over have also provided rides.

Let me know if you think he is interested and I will pm you our cell number.

Yvonne and John

Thank you so much John and Yvonne I will certainly let my son know about your generous offer. 

Calimom,  My son is stationed in Norfolk (though currently deployed) and he survived his first year there without a car. He walked, a fellow sailor gave him a ride, or he contacted his squadron's on duty vehicle driver. He was able to get around pretty good. I know he plans to buy a car once he returns from deployment but if he could go a whole year without a car, I'm thinking your sailor can do the same for C school. Good luck!!!!!!!

Anyone know of any good places close to Hampton to buy meat (steaks)? 

Good Afternoon-

My daughter will be arriving on the USS GW, any idea how I find out when the actual arrival date will be?  I need to make travel arrangements.

singingbird - it can really flood in the area (Hampton Blvd by Gate 5 is notorious) but the parking lots on base seem to do ok.  I recall that the storm surge following Hurricane Sandy in 2012 caused a lot of similar concern about the parking lots near the piers but the water didn't top the piers and the lots were ok, water of course from the storm but no flooding.  Hope that helps allay your concerns :)  Fingers crossed for your sailor!

Margie - here's how to find your ombudsman and FRG.  Specific info about ship movements and dates can't be discussed on social media due to OPSEC (operations security) guidelines.

Hi all - Happy Wednesday!

I sent another email to sailor last night asking how the weather is affecting them while on the underway. Woke up this morning to a response from him: "Ya we are rocking real hard on the ship!  Have been for the last couple days.  Makes working out a little harder haha."  Hopefully they all stay safe.

My son is on the Truman!

You can follow the hurricane/storm updates from WAVY-TV 10 at http://wavy.com/category/weather/hurricane/  and on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/wavytv10?fref=ts.  This is from a few hours ago... "Here's the 5 PM update from the National Hurricane Center:

Hurricane Joaquin is expected to strengthen into a Category 2 hurricane by tomorrow, then a major Category 3 storm by Saturday. The latest track takes Hurricane Joaquin directly into Hampton Roads by Sunday. PLEASE NOTE: The European Model (which did very well with Hurricane Sandy) takes Joaquin out to sea! The track is still VERY UNCERTAIN, however, if you want to prepare, buy an extra case of water, batteries, flashlights, and maybe fill your car with gas."  

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — All Navy ships in Hampton Roads have been ordered to Sortie Condition Charlie due to Hurricane Joaquin.

The order was issued Wednesday as precaution due to the hurricane’s possible approach to the area this weekend. Sortie Condition Charlie means all ships must be prepared to get underway within 48 hours if deemed necessary.

Navy officials also ordered all installations in the area to set Tropical Cyclone Condition Four, meaning the trend indicates possible destructive winds within 72 hours. The hurricane is expected to bring high winds and rain to the Mid-Atlantic coast.

Navy families can get more information at: https://navyfamily.navy.mil

Hi all - Happy Thursday!

Saw on the Truman FB page a post from the Captain.  Said they were pulling in to restock supplies & then heading right back out to sea.  Trying to stay ahead of the storm. I have faith the Navy knows what they are doing - they've been doing this a long time lol!

Thanks for the update Marcy! 

Stay safe everyone!

My son has gone from the desert of Bahrain to the flooding of Norfolk. Where's the happy medium??

BTW, my son still hasn't found a place to live so is living on the ship. Will they move the sailors somewhere inland if it gets bad enough? His ship is in drydock I believe.

All ships have been put on 48 hour Sortie notice.

what the heck does that mean? Never heard that term