NUKE moms

NonnaB - congratulations on your retirement. I hope that you are enjoying it and getting lots of rest. I too retired the early part of December. 

Happy Monday and Welcome 2022!

Hey folks! As you may remember, my son just deployed. It was a change of plans for him, as he was planning to deploy on a different ship in a couple of months. He's not sure the mail system knows he's on the Gridley now. Does anyone here know how I go about sending him letters and care packages?

The USS Lincoln made history today as it leaves on deployment with the first ever woman to lead a nuclear carrier in US Navy history.  BZ to Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt.

Fair Winds and Following Seas!

PacNWmom - I don't know if your son's ship / sub ? has an ombudsman or not. But getting in touch with the ombudsman would be your best option for finding out what the mailing address is for FPO, I think it is. 

More great news for women in the Navy announced today!

Cmdr. Billie J. Farrell is scheduled to take over as the commanding officer of the USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, on Jan. 21.  This will be the first woman commander in the warship's 224-year history.

USS Constitution - 1st woman commander

PacNWMom, sounds like your son is sub.  my SIL was sub. Packages for mid deployment had to be submitted by a certain date as there were not regular mail drops like a carrier would have.

Definitely get in touch with the Ombudsman to see what your options are. Good luck! 

He's actually on a destroyer, as Nuke officers don't necessarily go straight to aircraft carriers or subs). He was switched from one destroyer to another the last minute and when he deployed he wasn't sure the mail system had caught up with him yet. I'll see if I can find out info about an ombudsman. Thanks!

PacNWmom - I am sending you some information that should help you. My apologies for the delay. 

I don't recall now if it was on this group or one of my other groups, but someone posted that they were going to be a grandmother soon! I am so excited for you!  We were able to have our granddaughter visit us for a bit, and it was so much fun to have her at "Ga Ga's" house, instead of only being at her house.  We had a very busy holiday with a lot of extra family things and happenings going on with all of our kids and their significant others + extended family & friends. I was very blessed.

I know that one of the biggest struggles with military life is not being able to always have our loved ones with us during the holidays, I cherish what time I do have because I know that in the days moving forward, I may not be able to see my sailor for a while. My heart goes out to each of you who are also separated from your loved ones, not knowing when you might see them next. 

theSuperm72 - Congratulations!! Sorry, I just read through my emails again. I hope that you are able to visit and spend as much time with your grandbaby as possible. Mine just turned 2 and I was not able to see her for 6 months during the shutdown - that was harder than not seeing my sailor. My daughter has an app for the FamilyAlbum which allows her to post pictures and < 3 min videos to share privately with the family. It can be set up to view on a smartphone or via computer. It is not as wonderful as seeing them in person, especially as they are learning to talk, but it has been great to feel like we are still a part of her life and watching her grow up when we live a distance from them. 

LOL!! I love the Snoopy post - makes me think of my sailor doing push-ups or my husband when our girls were little, and they wanted a ride!

Chipmunk - I've started planking and this is how I feel - like I have a weight on my back lol!

B'sNukeMom - I should probably start planking as well! Not sure how much I can do, but a little is better than none.

Happy RED FRIDAY everyone!

I know we have a PIR today, do we have any graduations at NNPTC or is it too soon after holiday standdown? 

Hi all! I wanted to share an exciting thing that happened Sunday.  The Nixon Library was having free admission because was Nixon's birthday so hubby and I decided to visit.  They had a guest speaker - Rear Admiral Robert Nowakowski.  He was talking about the Navy and he mentioned that as one of his assignments he was the Deputy Commander of the Navy Recruiting Command from October '19 to September '21.  After he spoke my husband and I were able to talk with him.  I mentioned that I'm an admin on the N4M site and we discussed boot camp and training and just all sorts of things - we actually spoke for almost an hour. But the exciting part was he gave me a Challenge Coin!  I almost cried lol.  He did the old put it in his hand and shake my hand to pass it to me.  He actually thanked me for my helping out on here - gave me his card and his cell # and told me to reach out to him anytime I have questions or need info.  I still can't believe it.....it was quite an exciting day.  If I would have known I was going to meet a Rear Admiral I would have dressed up lol!

B'sNukeMom that's incredible!  What an amazing experience. 

JayDee - I gotta admit, it was pretty amazing!

Wow. How amazing and what a great connection. Maybe you can talk to him about how great it would be if recruiters told recruits about this site. I was soooo lucky my SIL knew of it. This site saved my sanity and helped so very much before and during boot camp, and beyond! 

B'sNukeMom - Congratulations!

B’sNukeMom, an unexpected experience for sure.  I’m sure it was an interesting conversation    Thank you for sharing with us

B'sMukeMom - that's awesome!!! 

Happy New Year all! Just got back from a visit to Hawaii and got to see my sailor! Finally after a year! It was a great trip and I would encourage anyone who has a sailor in Pearl to make the visit if you can. It's awesome.

CSW - That is such wonderful news!!! I am so glad that you finally got a chance to see your sailor!

OMG B'sNuke, that's fantastic! What a great story! And a challenge coin! Now you have a contact on the inside. I'm so excited for you!

B'sNukeMom-WOW! Thank you for all you do for all of us.

You are a special person, now confirmed by the Rear Admiral!

BZ!

Hi all - Happy Monday! 

DsMom - I did mention to him about getting word out about the N4M site to recruits - that's one of our toughest things right now.  The "word of mouth" isn't quite enough lol!

CSW - yay!  I'm so glad you finally got your trip to Hawaii to see your sailor!  We've been a few times but have never made it to Pearl Harbor.  That's on our bucket list for sure.

B'sNukeMom, wowzer !! What a fabulous day !! Congratulations !

Canuka, 

Even being a part of the private Ombudsman FB group for my son's ship, I have noticed that the needs of the spouses are much different than what we have as parents. It took me awhile to be able to even read many of the comments - but that is one nice thing about having other moms to converse with. 

One of the reasons I started the Beyond BC group was so that any of our members with enlisted sailors could stay connected after BC, no matter which direction they went. 

Being able to be close for homecomings and such will be nice though!

Good thing I read this. I thought it was Wednesday! LOL

Good morning all and Happy Thursday! My sailor received orders for Hawaii !! does anyone have any recommendations of where to stay when I eventually go visit? I've never been to Hawaii and I hear it can be quite expensive.

Nautical Mom,

I have some suggestions for packing/shipping items if you want to PM me. We had a few concerns with his vehicle getting the paperwork organized and I could help you with what I learned. Also help you with some expectations about how his transfer will go. If he's an E4 or a frocked E5 he will have to live on base when he arrives.  If he's a Nuke he'll be assigned a sea dad who will help him when he arrives. I suggest you go to Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam and search the site for new arrivals to work through some expectations and they talk there about lodging.

Nautical Mom, I highly recommend the Hale Koa in Waikiki. It is a military resort run by the Army MWR. We stayed there and had a wonderful time. It is right next to a park, and there is a small military museum on the other side of the park. The cost is similar to other resort hotels there, maybe a little less, but there is no resort fee.
The catch is that, unless someone in your party is a veteran, your sailor will need to check you in. Call the Hale Koa for details on how to work that out.
Driving between Pearl Harbor and Honolulu isn't one of the high points. Traffic can be pretty bad.

Nautical Mom I too recommend the Hale Koa in Waikiki when you get to go visit. My son and I stayed there when his boat made a stop in Hawaii. It is an older hotel but you can not beat the price. While there you are given a card that allows you to shop at the small shop they have there. ( it is a very small mini nex) I enjoy also enjoy the onsite restaurant and luau. My son did have to make the reservation and stay  and pay for the room. I believe since your  sailor will be station there he can make the reservation and will not have stay there  with you. I so enjoyed staying there with the beach a very short walk and also being able to walk to downtown Honolulu. Yes traffic is a pain.

Nautical Mom - I hope you will get to enjoy the pleasure of visiting Hawaii at some point during your sailor's time there.