Oh I forgot to mention about graduation - masks were required and they passed them out if you didn't have one. You too can have your very own "tighty-whitey" mask! We always joked those white ones they wear look like they were made out of men's briefs...

Happy Monday!

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday!

Nice! Just what I needed to share with a good friend today.

I haven't posted in awhile, but just wanted to share that I'm so happy to be celebrating my 25th anniversary with hubby today. We did most of our celebrating over the weekend since he had to work today. Unfortunately he had to use up his vacation time while recovering from Covid this summer. So thankful that we didn't end up seriously ill and that we had it at the same time.

helena 2000 Happy 25th anniversary. So happy your both over covid as well.  Hope you had a great time!

helena2000  - Happy Anniversary!!!!  Silver!!! Whoop Whoop!!!

B'sNukeMom - Thanks for sharing!!

helena2000 - I read your post earlier but just now able to reply!! Happy late evening anniversary!! I am so glad that you were able to enjoy some special time together and that you are both healthy and well now!

Happy Anniversary helena2000!

B'sNukeMom - That hot mocha looks yummy!! We have cloudy skies today and that is always hard for me to motivate for my tasks at hand. I wish I could just drink up your picture!

May everyone have a wonderful RED Friday!! 

Do we have any graduations this week? I think we should at least have A school. Anyone have sailors getting close to graduation from one of their schools? 

Happy Monday!

Good Morning and Happy Wednesday!  

Hi ladies! Looking for where I can get my sailor a sleeping bag that is rated for a submarine. They're getting ready for sea trials and I understand these must be flame retardant?  My sailor wants a sleeping bag to sleep on top of his rack. This is his first real underway since they've been in dry dock so it's new to all of us and I'm trying to run some interference so this at least is handled.

CSW - Hopefully some of our sub moms can give you some ideas. Have you checked into places like Cabella's, Bass Pro or other sporting goods chains? Google is my go to with something like this. 

B - I love it!!

Also welcome to any new members that we might have!! I have a busy day so I wanted to say hi and we are glad you are here to join us. My son's ship is back in the shipyards, haven't caught up on all that he is doing but he stays busy regardless.

Good morning everyone! Just a quick question for the seasoned Moms, what do the Nukes do when their ships or boats aren't out to sea? Do the keep the reactors running even when the ships aren't moving? I watch things on you tube but there is nothing about what they are doing when they aren't deployed. Just wondering, it isn't important just something I was interested in knowing. Thanks

Northwoodsmom- so my sailor has been in drydock most of the time he's been with the fleet. Basically they go to work every day Monday-Friday where they go through cleaning, operations training, etc,  and then on a rotation they fill a duty station for 24-36 hours which includes staying on the boat/barge.  His first responsibility once he got to his boat was to get qualified so he could stand his watch/duty station by himself,  and then work to complete his fish card or in other words earn his dolphins.  During dry dock they had some special, unique operations for which they needed to train/execute, but they are continuously practicing/training, testing. 

HI All - My son just started A school, even though he has been n GC for 3+weeks. - So this is the new chapter from him and I. He's been calling and letting me know what he's been doing. He's excited about school and tired and all sorts of other stuff.  I told him - dont worry about calling, but just me know he's ok every know and again.  I think he appreciated that.  I still miss him terribly, but excited for him. Anyhoots - work is busy so am not on much - but do read everything - so thanks!

And BTW - thank you Northwoodsmom - everything worked out great!!!

Northwoodsmom, my son has been in for 11.5 years. He's had a couple underways and a 6 month deployment in that time. He is now on sea duty but has yet to leave port. Nucs always have reactor tests and, if they are in drydock, they must guarantee safe return to and from land power. There are lots of quals and watches because the power plant must always be guarded. So, they are always busy but, if in port, usually have a bit more free time.

NonnaB - wow, my son has been in just at 4 years now. As soon as he joined his command after leaving GC, he started right away doing underways.  He has already been on a deployment that lasted longer than 6 months, and is now on underways again - preparing for another upcoming deployment. Just goes to show how different things can be for our sailors.  

Thank you so much Ladies. It seems even with the end of school they will continue with their education and training. No time for boredom then.  

I was really surprised at how little of time they are actually deployed. Is that the same for boats as well as ships. I am sure there is some difference.

I really appreciate all of you getting back to me so quickly. I want to assure the newcomers that even though this site isn't as active , if you have a question they are definitely reading the post and will get to you and answer your questions. 

Welcome to our newest members ~ Olive U217 and Flying Gramma! 

Please be sure to read the ***NEW MEMBERS*** info at the top of the page.  Lots of good info there.  Also take a look at the Pages (20) to the right under the member profiles - be sure to hit "view all".  And the discussion forum above has some good info too - be sure to read Chipmunks "Nuke A School Daily Schedule".  And of course, feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Hello, everyone! 
It’s been a really long time since I posted. I’ve still been keeping up with you all, though! 
I can say that my son’s experience on the boat has kept him out a lot. He has done 4 or 5 (shorter than 3 months) underways in the past year. He has been out with both crews, so pretty busy with that. They returned a couple of weeks ago, and he’s finished with them for a while. Turning the boat over to the other crew next month. 
His last underway, he got his dolphins. They were surfaced at the time. He got pinned topside, and they followed with a steel beach and a swim call.

MoMom - Bravo Zulu to your son on earning his dolphins!!! Tell him I said congratulations! It is good to hear from you. I think about you all often and don't get PMs sent, my apologies. Steel Beach and swim call how fun!! Mine was suppose to get another one but not sure if that happened, I need to remember to ask. He got his Surface Warfare just before they came back into dock. 

Northwoodsmom - mine was on the ship when they moved it by tugboat from the base to the shipyard. There was a specific term he used for what that watch was but I don't recall. But yes, just standing watch and doing security is another requirement for them while they are in the shipyards.

And as you read, it all depends on the ship or boat (sub) what their experience will actually be. 

KayCee, Nonna B, CSW - Good to hear from you, I hope you had a wonderful day!

Pizanche - Glad your sailor is finally getting his feet wet. The studying can be long and hard. I asked my son what his PT schedule was like and sometimes I could catch him after that on the way to the Galley. Otherwise, we generally caught up somehow on Saturday morning if we could. 

Olive U217 and Flying Gramma! - Welcome Aboard!!

No worries, Chipmunk! I have neglected to keep in contact, as well. Such a crazy time! But I always read the comments so I can keep up with you all. BZ to your son, too! 

NonnaB, my sailor has also been in about 11.5 yrs. I guess I forgot that we were roughly the same time frame. Is your sailor sticking it out for the 20 yrs? My sailor has been on 3 long deployments and I don't even know how many underways. Things are different on carriers than subs. Mine will be out in a couple months.

Congrats on the dolphins, MoMom! Those milestone are important. Well done!

TGIF Everybody!

MoMom - Glad to know you are still reading and following the comments. Yes, life just stays busy even in the midst of everything. I hope things are going well with your work also. 

NancyJo (NNPTC) - Good Morning!! I have been wondering how your sailors prospects have been? I wasn't sure if they had anything set in stone yet or as my youngest would say, "at least carved in wood". 

Lots of interviews but he hasn't settled yet. I hope soon!

NancyJo, at this time, my son says he is planning to stay in for 20. He's waiting to hear if he made chief. He's now on an SSGN, so they rotate but have been in port for maintenance. I don't know if they've had sea trials yet but maybe by is next crew rotation. He is now a lead ELT and seems to like it. And yes, weare the old timers of the group.

NonnaB & NancyJo - I appreciate you two sticking around and sharing your information. I miss some of the others that were on when I first joined but I know people's lives are busy. Mine is. 

the superm72 - My son's ship is in VA also. Currently it is back in the shipyards but from Oct 2019 - mid Aug 2021 they were out to sea for about 2/3 that time from a comment one of his friends made. It was sort of a weird feeling. Part of me was glad to know they were out and about doing what they were suppose to be doing and I was okay with him being on the ship. But also part of me knew that even though they weren't on a deployment, I needed to act like they were. Watch what I said, how I shared things with other family but also praying for them more and just knowing I didn't have the same options for communicating. However, I also had to remember that I could send emails and I am a lot less likely to do that diligently, mostly because I have other children and things going on in life. Sometimes I would forget that being out to sea was sort of like them being in BC, they are cut off from a lot and when there was a lot going on with his ship, I know my son appreciated my words of encouragements and emails. So if you are able to do that, I am sure your daughter would like that also. 

I also wanted to fly the flag the entire time he was out to sea, then we had to be gone in the middle of one of those times and I decided maybe that wasn't such a good idea, as people might notice and realize we were not home if the flag wasn't out. Now I will put it out just at random times when I want to while they are gone. 

Staying busy is just my life, so I don't have much time to dwell on which child is where. I also moved away from my parents when I got married, so just knowing my parents were, or my kids are within calling range has always been easy for me. But when they are out to sea, it did seem more like BC for me, at least. 

Be sure to stay connected with the Ombudsman page as well for the ship. Even if you don't connect with most of what is going on, since it is usually the wives posting, you will still get a sense of what the attitude and issues are with things in the command. 

NancyJo - It is good to hear that your sailor is getting interviews at least. That is promising. When you are able to share, we look forward to following along with their next chapter in life. 

Happy Tuesday!

This information came in an email feed to myself - thought I would pass it along if you haven't heard - 

Happy Wednesday!

Hello, All! It's been a minute--crazy year this one. Took a moment to try and catch up on a few pages of posts, seems like everyone is in the same boat (pun intended, ha ha) and just trying to keep up with life in general! My sailor walked back in my door yesterday--home for his second transition leave! He graduated Prototype back in early May, but they picked him up for weld school in Groton and he had to stay in GC until they had their class of twelve available. Then home for a bit (yay!) and then on to Groton. He reports to Pearl Harbor in a few weeks, so I am going to enjoy every single minute!!!! I think of you often and cannot believe it has been two years since he shipped off to Boot Camp. I still get emotional thinking about his graduation and I'm SO happy to hear they have resumed in-person graduations. All of you newcomers, mine is MMN3/NPPO welder, so if any of you need support or have questions going through this process, do not hesitate to reach out. Blessings to all of you!!!

ShipOfDoodles - thanks for the update!  Sounds like things are going great for your son - I'm sure he'll enjoy Pearl Harbor and hopefully you'll get to visit there!  Enjoy your time with him and be sure to get lots of hugs ;-D

And I approved your picture -  what a wonderful smile on his face!

ShipOfDoodles - So good to hear from you!! Glad to hear that things are going well for your sailor. I believe there are a few who have sailors at Pearl, hopefully you all can connect. 

thesuperm72 - You are welcome!! Just remember that when your daughter is out to sea, she is actually getting to work on the ship in the way she was trained versus just dealing with issues while is is in dry dock, or port. There will also be lots of things for her to work on for her qualifications as well. 

Good Morning Tulip,

The best advice that I can give you is to stay calm, yes, right, I know - hard to do. Are you connected with the ombudsman for his boat?  I don't know if they have a private FB page or anything. I don't know where or how you got the news but that is going to be your first source of reliable information. 

It is my understanding though that any news that our captain sends and shares with the ombudsman to post also has to be vetted and approved, so there can be delays from what we hear directly from the source versus what we might see or hear on the news. 

Prayers for your sailor, his shipmate, and the boat!