Aboun18 thank you so much very helpful

Hi all - Happy Monday!

Oh Tabitha - how scary!  Thank goodness he and the other driver weren't hurt.  I'm sorry to hear his car is totaled but at least that can be replaced.  Boy that is not a call you want to receive.  Again, I'm so thankful everyone is ok!

B'SNukeMom, I agree totally. Thank goodness everyone walked away okay. It was definitely a scary phone call and I knew it wasn't good at 1am  in the morning. We told him before this happened to stop driving at night. He said he liked traveling at night because of less traffic. But today he said, "Ma, I'm not driving at night anymore." :) Thank goodness he learned a few lessons out of this. Hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday. FYI, don't know If the mamas are here but I have some packages that were sent to my home from other sailors mamas. I'm delivering them this weekend. MANY BLESSINGS TO EVERYONE!

Hello, my son will soon be stationed at Oceania NAS. Does anyone else here have family members stationed at Oceania?

BetsyJune,

We saw that your son will soon be stationed at Oceana NAS. My husband and I open our home on the weekends and invite sailors over to give them a place to hang out. We feed them :), and play board games, watch movies and do outdoor activities as well. We would be happy to invite you son over to join us! There is a sailor who comes over who is also stationed at Oceana. Check out our page on this site to find out more about us.

John and Yvonne

Class or ship name?

Our Nuke sailor finally got a call from his sponcer today

he reports to naval ship yard October 8 or 9th

will be with the USS Montana sub until the New Jersey is finished

2 AM phone call this morning from off the coast of Panama.  sure was awesome to hear from our Sailor.  Anyone else have sailor HM aboard USNS Comfort?

Hi I’m new to the group. I have a daughter stationed on The Harry S Truman. And another daughter getting ready for her PIR ON 2/8/19. Thanks for letting me join the group 

Welcome Proud Navy mom of 2 daughters!

Proud Navy mom of 1 daughters,

I just read that you have a daughter stationed on the Truman. So I thought I'd let you know that my husband and I are in Virginia Beach/Norfolk, VA and we have been opening our home on the weekends and inviting Sailors over for the last 18 years. We get together on Saturday evenings at 5:00 for dinner and board games, minigolf , bowling, and other activities. On Sunday we get together at 1:00 for a family style meal . We would like to invite your daughter to join us/ Please check out out page on this site to find out more about us.

Yvonne and John

Hello all. Just wanted to thank all of you for listening when I needed you. Our son is home for good now and has a great job using what he learned in the NAVY. We are proud of his service and very happy he is back home. I will continue to pray for all who serve our country.  God Bless ~Allie

allie - good luck to your son in his next adventure ~ and please thank him for his service!

My son is getting ready to be sent to his ship on his first deployment. He will be gone at least 4-5 months.   He is nervous but excited.  I am nervous and excited for him, but I also I am having a hard time not being able to hear from him on a limited basis.  Does any experienced Moms have any advice?

Missy, I sent you a friend request just now. We have had many sailors who come over to our home on the weekends go on deployment and the best way to stay in touch is through email. Except when they pull into a port. Then they can call or text.

Sending care packages and cards and letters are a great way for you to stay in touch with your sailor. There is a group on this site called Care packages.. Check it out. It will help you get ideas of what to include in the care packages you send. Be sure to get his mailing address on the ship. :)

Enjoy this new adventure!

Yvonne and John

Hello, I just joined as my son has his "soft" orders and will be headed to Norfolk from GC, SC. He is finishing Prototype. We are trying to figure out how to navigate moving his vehicle from Goose Creek to Norfolk, before he actually has to report there for duty. It is a shorter trip from GC to VA, than to our home in the Midwest and back to the East coast. Any suggestions?

He did hear from his sponsor this evening, but was actually headed out to another 12 hour shift, so that will have to wait. This may just be a question for them.

John & Yvonne - maybe my son will have a chance to come visit you on a weekend off if he is in port.

I drove my sailor’s car to Norfolk and flew home via Southwest Airlines.  I’m not sure if there are other methods. 

Wiffer peanut - Thanks! 

That would be great Chipmunk!  We can pm you our cell number if he would like to get in touch with us. :)

Yvonne and John

John and Yvonne - Thank you very much! I will pm you, when we are closer to that possibility. Currently, I have "boots in the house" while we enjoy some leave time with our sailor. Yesterday was my birthday and he was able to arrive home in time to celebrate with us last night.

Wiffer peanut - thank you again for your suggestion with the transport. As it turned out we had some other friends in the nearby area that I reached out to and they were able to assist us. It is wonderful when we can call on our friends and loved ones to be extended family to our sailors. 

Chipmunk,

What wonderful news! How great to spend your birthday with your Sailor! Enjoy your time with him. :)

We look forward to hopefully meet him when he gets here.

Yvonne and John

By the way, Happy Belated Birthday Chipmunk!

Yvonne and John

Thank you!

Hi All,

My son, who is a Prev. Med. Corpsman, was recently assigned to the Comfort and will be going on his first deployment in 10 days. I am not a new Navy Mom as my son has been in for almost 6 years now, but I am new to the deployment part. Looking for others who have loved ones assigned to the Comfort as well.

louielou - there is a group for the Comfort - here's the link:  

USNS Comfort

It doesn't appear to be active but sometimes if you post in a group you can get some activity going - good luck!

Hi AnnieKay - try not to worry. He is most likely getting picked up by his sponsor who will take him to his ship or barracks. Once he gets settled he will be able to text you. My sailor was sent to Norfolk after A school on Labor Day Weekend on Sunday evening and he finally texted me late and said he was exhausted but fine. He just completed his service - you'll see, it will go by so fast you won't believe it. I worried a lot too but praying helped and being on this site talking with other moms.

AnnieKay - I 2nd what Larenw said.  He's probably trying to get so much stuff done right now - his head is probably spinning lol!  Hopefully he'll text you later tonight - maybe just send him a text saying "hey, I know you landed, just let me know you are ok!".

Hang in there!

AnnieKay,

Welcome to Norfolk Sailors! 

I sent you a friend request and sent a short message. My husband and I, for the last 19 years have been inviting Sailors over to our home on the weekends to give them a place to hang out. We feed them, play board games, watch movies, go mini golfing, and go to special events in the area. My husband retired from the Navy so we have a special place in our hearts for the Sailors. :)  We would love to invite your son over. If he is interested, we could pm you our cell # so he can get in touch with us. :)

Anyway, we hope to hear from you.

John and Yvonne

AnnieKay - glad to hear you finally had a message from your sailor. Mine has been in the Norfolk area for only a short bit himself. He is past the first week of INDOC, but now he is working on his online training, I think.

AnnieKay my son is on the USS FORD. Feel free to send me a friend request. I will reply when back home later and on my computer vs the phone.

Thanks AnnieKay!

You're welcome for the invitation. :) We really enjoy having the Sailors over. 

What ship is your son on?

Well, hope you have a great day!

 Yvonne and John

AnnieKay - My son has been able to call me in the late afternoon or early evening, but that is because he hasn't started his long shifts yet. Also, he has been more of a communicator than most of the sailors I hear about. 

AnnieKay - I haven't done FaceTime yet, but we have skype set up on our computers and utilize that a lot. When he is out on the ship, that will be different not to be able to see him occasionally. My son is still doing ship training and INDOC items because he said he hasn't started duty days yet. For him that means he has his weekends available for the time being.

I accepted your friend request and I was going to send you a pm, but it is getting late my time so I will try to send you a note soon.

Chipmunk,

If your son is free on the weekends, maybe he could come over next weekend or any weekend he is free. :)

Yvonne and John

John & Yvonne - thanks, I had not really thought about it. Yesterday was a rather busy day for us, and today as well. He did skype with his younger brother most of the day.

Chipmunk,

I'm sure his younger brother really was stoked to be able to skype with his 'big Navy brother'!

That's ok. I know you're busy. Maybe in the coming weeks you can let him know about us and we can pm you our cell number. :)

Have a blessed day!

Yvonne

AnnieKay - I did some searching on here and found the info I posted below.  Unfortunately it is from 2014! 

It might not be good info anymore since it's so old but you might luck out and get someone that can help/refer you to a current contact.  I'll keep looking.

And here's the link to the Bataan group on here:

USS Bataan

It hasn't been active in a while but sometimes when you start posting in a group you can get it going again.  Worth a try.  And you might find some helpful info in their discussion pages.  ;-D

AnnieKay: I found this page on navy.mil with some contacts listed: https://www.public.navy.mil/surflant/lhd5/Pages/ombudsmen.aspx

Hi AnnieKay,

My son is currently deployed and he was allowed to tell us.  I don't know if it depends on where and the situation but hopefully you will also be privy to that information from your son.

The Sailors who come over to our home on the weekends usually tell us. And they post pictures of the different ports they go to.

We don't say anything on our texts though. Hope that helps. 

Yvonne

AnnieKay - yes, your son can tell you in private.  You might also want to come up with some sort of "code" so when he deploys and wants to give you dates you can email without divulging anything.  For example he might say "we are expected back in 45 days after mom's birthday" or the dog's birthday - just something that you agree on before hand.  That way he doesn't say the exact date.  Homecomings/communication can be changed due to loose lips.

Does anyone know if there is a fireworks show on base? I was wanting to share the information with my sailor if I found out anything. Thanks!

Chipmunk,

None of the bases have fireworks, but there are many places that do. Fort Monroe is one of those places. We've been there and it's really a great show. Williamsburg has them also. Many of the cities here have them. Some on the night before.

Yvonne and John

Thank you for the suggestions!

Thankful to whoever stopped by to help my sailor with changing his tire after a blowout!!

That's awesome Chipmunk!

Yvonne