NUKE moms

My son left for BC on the 14th. Does anyone know about when he will be calling home?  I got his first call letting me know he was there but I don’t want to miss his next call. If I’m at work I can’t answer the phone. Will he get a chance to call back or call his dad?

ARenee - Welcome!! As I recall my son's first BC call came on a Sat afternoon about 3 weeks after his first Sat there. The calls are not guaranteed, but both calls he made were on a Sat afternoon around 3 pm. If he misses reaching you, he may call someone else. Is there a number that he can call and at least leave a message. We always recommend keeping your phone close to you or forward calls to another phone that can take the call. 

Thanks Chipmunk. My Saturdays are voluntary so that helps me out a lot. Thank you. 

JayDee659 - My sailor is the one who introduced us to Lindsey Sterling and her music. When he heard she was to be in town, he was the one that encouraged me to get tickets for the family, even if he couldn't be there.

ARenee - The different Divisions may call on different days. Sat, was just when ours called. Also, I think they make calls on Sun afternoon. 

Sad news - RIP George H. W. Bush #41. You will be missed. Fair winds and following seas.

My Sailor arrived in GC yesterday!!! Just skyped with him and he showed us his room! He said the food is amazing with Old Bay seasoning on every table. (My son loves food. Half his letters from BC was him describing what he ate.) 

My son hates the food

Pandalvr, mine does too.  I tell him he’s just spoiled.

daisysdca - Glad your son has arrived in GC and is enjoying the food!! 

B'sNukeMom - I hope you enjoyed TSO as much as we did Lindsey Sterling. They will be in our town on Wed, but we won't be there this year as we have other church obligations.

Watching the funeral procession of George H.W. Bush on CBS live if anyone is interested. 

Hi all Happy Monday and welcome December!  Let the countdown to Christmas begin!

I remember B loving the food in boot camp but not as much when he got to GC lol! daisysdca - I'm glad your son is enjoying it so far!

We had a fantastic time seeing the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO).  I highly recommend it if you have the chance.  They put on quite the show!

My daughter also hated the food at GC but said BC was just fine.  Guess she was more hungry at BC :).

B'sNukeMom, glad you liked TSO!  I'm looking forward to seeing it again when they change their show up a bit.

Chipmunk, if you haven't seen The Piano Guys they are fabulous also, they and Lindsey Stirling are a tie for 1st place in my concert book.

JayDee659 - We have not seen the Piano Guys in concert, but they are favorites of my youngest, so we will have to keep a look out for them to come to town.

For those who will be missing their sailors this holiday - remember this is most likely harder on them than it is on us. So keep your chins up, and hugs to all. Mine made the hard decision to not come home, between both having to meet qualifications but also deal with long flight times and a shorter leave time, but misses other family he did not see briefly a month ago. Trying to figure out how to Skype and play some rounds of Spades and a few other games with him!

So, we received the invitation for graduation from power school for December 21st.  My son is in class 1805-11 and if any of you are going to be there, and want to meet up, please PM me.....  I’d love to connect with other nuke moms!

OMG JayDee - we saw the Piano Guys on CBS Sunday Morning a few years ago and they were amazing.  I would love to see them in concert.  Gonna have to check out their tour schedule now ;-D

Wanted to share - this was my sunrise as I left for work this morning.  Beautiful start to the day ;-D

B'sNukeMom, maybe they'll play Vegas, meet you there with the usual suspects... :)

Chipmunk, our Nuke was home her first year but not her second.  We did a White Elephant game and my oldest daughter did a video call with our Nuke so she could play too. It ended up being the funniest thing watching college daughter walk around with the phone showing her the gifts and Nuke daughter trying to hold the camera so we couldn't see what she was (or wasn't) wearing.  Last year we went to our Nuke and this year she will not be here but I'm sure we'll talk and make the most of it.  It's not about the day, my MIL would NEVER have understood that.

Most likely you've seen this but I just couldn't help sharing.  It's President George H.W.Bush's service dog Sully laying in front of his casket.

B’snuke mom that is quite something, picture is worth a thousand words. For those of you who don’t get to see your sailor at Christmas, my heart goes out to you. I am very thankful and fortunate that both my sailors will be home. I can’t wait to see them I will probably get all creepy and stare at them when there sleeping.

Hi all - Happy Tuesday!

NickSydmom - nothing wrong with watching them sleep lol!  

Welcome to our newest members ~ EricsMom and peacheszzz!  Please be sure to read the ***NEW MEMBERS*** info at the top of the page.  The Rating Information Card for NF is especially helpful.  Also take a look at the Pages (17) to the right - lots of good info there too (just take it one page at a time!).

And of course, feel free to ask any questions you may have!

The Navy has posted their deadlines for shipping holiday mail:

http://navylive.dodlive.mil/2018/11/29/make-a-list-check-it-twice-a...

Welcome to the new moms. Feel free to ask questions!

JayDee659 - I agree, it is not about the day. I am just happy we got to see him in Oct. The game sounds funny. I need to get my packages sent. 

Well finally got the confirmation that our sailor will be home for Christmas before leaving for Pearl. Lots to do over this time, but he'll be here!  Hugs to those of you who's sailors are not going to be home over the holidays, but remember, that you can have the holidays whenever they are home!

CSW - woohoo - Merry Christmas to you!  Enjoy the time with your sailor - and just think - maybe a visit to Hawaii in the near future?!  (I'm guessing the medical situation got straightened out?)

B'sNukeMom-we didn't have medical situation we were waiting for zinc school to be finished and they held zinc school until all ELT's had graduated because they only wanted one class.

Oh well, it's all good now! 

Just booked flight for my son to fly home for Christmas. Does anyone know how they get from the base to the airport in Charlotte?? Are the Ubers, shuttles, or taxis??? Any insight?

YES! Ubers, taxis and friends are the best way to get from the base to the airport and/or airport to base.

ProudofK!  Woohoo - tomorrow can't come soon enough ;-D  Remember I'm not too far from San Diego so when you visit be sure to let me know so we can meet up again.

CSW - I guess I was confusing your son with someone else.  Sometimes I can't keep everyone straight lol!

:) For those booking flights sometimes you can get a military discount by speaking direct with the airlines instead of booking yourself.

Sometimes around the holidays those discounts are very helpful especially if you're looking for a particular schedule instead of best rate.

We used that service last year, which was a blessing because we could fly our sailor to an airport closer to us for less than it would have cost to drive to Chicago AND by flying from a more local airport we beat some bad weather.

And in addition to speaking directly with the airlines don't forget about the Sandboxx app to book flights for military.  I remember someone on here mentioned using it....

B'sNukeMom...I booked through Sandbox. It was about $30 more than my normal site but they had better flights. Mine was worried he wasn't going to get back on time if he cut it too close. Also, anyone with sailors in San Diego...I live in North San Diego near Pendleton, if any of you need anything or need something delivered to your Sailor, let me know! I am in downtown and Coronado A LOT :-) 

daisysdca - and what about changes?  Do they allow you to change without a fee?

B's Nukemom- I purchased the insurance for $20. It allows changes and full refunds up to 24 hours prior to the flight. The normal website I use is non refundable and even with their insurance- its not full refundable for all reasons. And according to Sanboxx, no change fees. Its on their travel site at the bottom. 

For $20 it's definitely worth it.  We usually fly Southwest and they don't have change fees but sometimes you gotta go with someone else!

If you are booking flights on behalf of your sailor, put their 10 digit DOD ID number in as a Known Traveler Number (KTN). The DOD number is on the back of their CAC card. (You may be able to add a Known Traveller Number to the reservation as long as it is more than 72 hours in advance.)
The KTN should get them TSA-Pre security.
It is always best for the full traveler name to match what is on documents (DL, CAC, Passport, etc.).

How long after my son gets to A school can I bring him his car?

I don’t think there are any restrictions as to when you take the car, but he will have to phase up before he can drive it. Check with your sailor on what that time frame is.

ARenee - he will need to be in Phase 2 before he can drive his vehicle (but yes, you can take it earlier) - be sure to read "Your Sailor's Schedule Upon Arrival to GC" on the right.  It gives you the time frame of when they can do things.

I must be a horrible cook. My son keeps telling me how awesome the food is! When I asked him if he wanted me to cook anything specific when he comes home, he said "Oh have dad make Stroganoff. We can just eat out the rest of the time". 

daisysdca - ok I lol'd at your comment!  To me that would be a win-win - I wouldn't have to cook AND we'd get to eat out. Enjoy!

If anyone is interested ABC13.com is showing the train that is taking George H. W. Bush to College Station for his final resting place at the family plot.  - This is the local Houston station. You may have to refresh but look for their live feed.

We've been watching it here at work Chipmunk - beautiful tribute!