NUKE moms

A place to come for support and guidance for anyone with a loved one in the nuke program ⚓️.

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  • Chipmunk

    Good Morning everyone!!! 

    B'sNukeMom - what a wonderful family picture!!!

    I have been busy with my sailor family and issues that they have been having with the preemie baby. But hopefully a recent surgery is the answer to all of those issues, and our precious little one will continue to grow and be able to go home soon.  

  • Chipmunk

    FYI - For those of you with sailors getting close to heading to the fleet or are already out in the fleet -- Please, Please stress to them how important it is for them to share your contact information with their ombudsman - to find out the ombudsman's email address and phone number, to make sure you know their Rate, Rank, and Department information (I think I got that all correct) and how important it is for them to get a ship email, to make sure they share that email with you, and to pay attention for notices from the Ombudsmen who might be trying to vet your information. To make sure they keep their ship email cleared of all unnecessary messages so it doesn't fill up the storage and they are not able to receive incoming messages from home. The first priority for their ship email is communication within the ship, outside communication is secondary. 

    When my son reported to his ship and had the contact information for his ombudsman - they were still in the shipyards. But he still reached out to her and gave her all of mine and my husband's contact information (email, phone, address) and let her know that we had his permission to share information with us. He informed her that I did not have a FB account and there were several times when I communicated with her via her ombudsman email or called her. Sometimes it was to help another new mom with a sailor heading to the ship. 

    My point - Your sailor has to know they are the primary link - so that you can stay updated for their benefit as well as for your own. 

  • Chipmunk

    That message was not intended to be harping on anyone. I just know how difficult it is to sometimes get our sons especially to figure out and share information with us. Because of our large family and going so many different directions, with their schedules mostly in my head, my kids and especially my sailor, seemed in tuned to knowing that he had to double check with me and the calendar on everything. 

    Not every child is as inclined to think like my son, so I am just encouraging you to be as proactive as possible, so that you are not scrambling to get information after their ship has left port. Especially if you are not on FB, since most of the private ombudsman groups are handled through FB, it can be difficult to get the contact information you need, even though one of my ombudsmen told me their contact information was public knowledge. It can just be tricky to locate. 

    If any of the other "seasoned" moms can chime in, please do. 

  • B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)

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  • 4kidsforfun

    Thinking of all of you with deployed sailors - mine is still doing sea trials but the time is coming faster than I'd like that they'll be heading out for good. It's good to have this mom's group as most of the facebook stuff seems geared towards families rather than parents of single sailors. It makes perfect sense since they are all adults but it's still nice to have people in the same "boat"! 

  • Chipmunk

    4kidsforfun - There is definitely a different tone on the FB ombudsman pages for the ships. As much as I understand the separation issues with married sailor families and their children, I struggled at times reading the posts by some of the sailor wives. I think part of it, I am older now, I did my days of dealing with little ones when my husband was away for months at a time, not all military related, and living halfway across the country from my family, when internet was not really accessible to the masses. When you had to pay for long distance phone calls - although, those were still cheaper than our cell phone bills or phones are now. When sending pictures of the grandchildren to your parents might have meant loading all of the kids up in the car and driving to the next town where there was a K-mart that offered 2 prints for the price of one, so you could keep a copy and send the other. But then you had to date and put notes on the back of all of them and then load up the kids and drive them to the closest post office, because you did not have any idea how heavy the envelope was and how much postage you needed. 

    It is hard to believe that in just a little over 30 years, so much has changed with our communication and our young ones do not understand what it means to wait for any news, even the nightly TV news. 

    I agree 4kidsforfun, I truly appreciate this site and being among other moms who have different experiences with their single sailors, than most of the families who are represented on the ombudsman page - I will say though, I did appreciate when they would share their pictures of my son's ship coming into port. They could take their families to the beach and watch for the ship, and I got to participate as well. 

  • WearsLargeHats

    Chipmunk, I thought about this when our son was stationed out at Pearl. He would call us about every week. One time he even called from the deck of the submarine when they stopped for a swim call a couple miles west of Oahu and the connection was like he was next door. He even called us from places such as Guam, Singapore, and Tokyo because cellphones work about anywhere now.
    When we visited, we of course went to the Pearl Harbor Memorial and the USS Bowfin. The sub base is across the harbor from the USS Arizona and, when they did a ceremony for the 75th anniversary, I could see the BEQ apartments in the background. For the families with sailors there in the '1940s, phone calls would have been difficult to impossible, and very expensive. All they would have would be mail, and that would take weeks. It is hard to even imagine.
    BTW, the Bowfin is the best-preserved WWII submarine I have ever seen. It looks ready to set sail. It is part of a monument to US submariners on Eternal Patrol, so modern submarine sailors periodically go there and give it a "field day" cleaning.

  • B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)

    Welcome to our newest member - Submersiblemom!  I see your son is an Officer.  Feel free to ask any questions you may have....we have a few officer mom's on here...

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  • B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)

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  • NickSydmom

    I haven’t been on in a while but had to share a couple calls I got. I am a customer service agent for USPS and spend most of my time apologizing and not actually being able to help. So when I can really help my customers it makes my day worth it. I had 3calls the same day from Navy moms who were feeling lost. By the way I have sent them to this site for support. One mom had sent her son who is on the Eisenhower a package and needed help tracking. She was crying and I admit I cried with her and by the end of the call she was laughing and told me how grateful she was she got me to help her. The next call was a boot camp mom also lost sent her to this site another smile on my face. Final call a dad also with a kid deployed and he couldn’t figure out how to format the address. I was able to help it did take awhile but we got it. I feel like sometimes god just wants to make you feel helpful and I did. What a day!

  • MomofJoseph

    NickSydmom - Thank you so much for sharing that!  I love, love, love that!!!

  • B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)

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  • Chipmunk

    NickSydmom - Thank you for sharing!! I have had a few conversations with USPS customer service. I am glad that you were able to help these people, even if there were difficulties with their packages, you could still steer them to N4M. It was a blessing to them to have reached you when they called. It sounds like you were blessed as well! 

  • B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)

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  • Chipmunk

    Good morning everyone!! Life has been busy. I mentioned my son's bicycle at A school elsewhere and thought I should share some things here, especially for those with loved ones either getting ready to head to Nuke school, thinking about a Nuke rating or otherwise. 

    NNPTC where Nuke A and Power school are located is a nicely little wooded area, but there are paths where the sailors are allowed to ride their bicycles. My son did not have a car when he first arrived at GC and so he bought himself a bicycle at the NEX. Sometimes, there are sailors who are ready to sell their bicycles as they keep moving through the pipeline, but he just bought his new, kept his bicycle and eventually bought a bike rack and transported it with him to his duty station. After 6 years, he still has his bicycle. My son was able to ride his bicycle on the paths at NNPTC as well as ride to places like Wal-mart and such in GC. 

    For A school and Power school the sailors are housed in BEQ's (Bachelor Enlisted Quarters) on site, all housing and food is provided for them. For Prototype, however, they will be expected to find their own housing, pay for it out of pocket, and find their own transportation to Prototype which is located farther down the road at the joint base. Your sailor will receive BAH - Basic Allowance for Housing. However, that is a reimbursement and can take a bit to be added to their paycheck. Your sailor may be required to make a 1st and 2nd month deposit, or a deposit fee, a utility deposit, and such expenses that they may not be prepared for (even when they tell them at A school and PS to prepare.) So, as proactive parents, we can also be aware of what their needs are going to be. Many of the sailors will look for roommates and split the expenses, which does allow them to pocket the extra BAH. They will also be expected to cook and provide for their own food. When my son was there, the lunch area at Prototype was undergoing some changes, so he had to pack his own lunch as well, and I do not know if they had access to microwaves or refrigerators. 

    When your sailor is setting up arrangements for Prototype housing and possibly planning to room with other sailors, they all need to keep in mind how they will deal with the rental and utility expenses if someone is left behind, not getting their orders immediately after Prototype. I know this happened when my son was leaving GC, and it has happened to other member's sailors as well. Sometimes one person is left behind and if another sailor is paying the electric bill, another one was the sole person paying the rental (even if others were paying them), there can be issues with breaking the leases, etc. - Your sailors should be able to break their leases with their military orders - if I am recalling correctly. Someone can get left holding the entire bag of expenses, when they were not planning for it. So, there should be an agreement and understanding before the initial rental is planned on. 

    I realize this is a lot, but put it on the back burner, be aware of the housing situation, and especially the need for a vehicle and a driver's license for Prototype. And never hesitate to ask questions. 

  • Chipmunk

    TIME Change reminder!!! 

    Happening this weekend! We FALL back!! 

  • B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)

  • NickSydmom

    B’snukemom so true!! 😂😂

  • B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)

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  • JNMnavymomOH

    Hello everyone!

    My family and I are opening our rental home in Ladson for ANY sailor at NNPTC and NPTU, actively in school or not, for Thanksgiving weekend.  This includes Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  We also have a game room with cornhole, ping-pong, basketball, card and multi-player video games. My son is in the new Prototype class that started 11/7/23.  I hope to meet some of your sailors and give them hugs and fill their bellies with homemade cooking.

  • joe-mom

    JNMnavymomOH - This is incredibly generous of you! My son is in the same Prototype class as yours. Haven't heard from him in a long time, but if we do, I'll mention this and reach out to you for details. Thank you for your kindness to our sailors.

  • Chipmunk

    JNMnavymomOH - Thank you for your generous hospitality to our sailors at NNPTC and NPTU. My son spent both of his Thanksgivings in GC as it was just not practical for him to fly home for such a short time. The first year, he went to dinner at a married friend's house. The next year, during Prototype, they had some of the instructors who hosted a meal and game time, someplace, which he enjoyed. 

  • B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)

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  • MomofJoseph

    NickSydmom - I loved your story about helping the Navy moms with USPS questions!  I remembered it today when I had an issue at USPS :-)

    My son's friend is in the Marines, and I tried to send him a package overseas.  The man at the post office said the system wouldn't let him proceed without having a 4-digit code at the end of the zip code.  Any chance you can help me know how to get that info?  Can't text the Marine to find out (and his mom has the same address that I have).

  • Chipmunk

    MomofJoseph - Hopefully NickSydmom can help you, but I had the same issue with our post office when trying to ship a package last year to my son's ship. Interestingly, not every PO seemed to have the same issue either. 

    If you have the address with the Unit and Box #, I think it is, go to the USPS website, then to their Zip Code look up. With my son's ship there were a range of box numbers for one 4 digit extension. 

    I believe the primary ship address will be Box 1 and so when I did a search of just the FPO it gave me the listing for all possibilities and that is how I saw there were different 4 digit extensions for groups of Box #s on the ship. 

    Our ship just generally had you use Box 1, but I think above the address underneath the Sailor's Name they wanted you to put the Unit # Division or Department name. The Zip code only helps the box get to the delivery point for the Navy and then from there the Navy transports it to the ship and so the Div & Dept #s (if you don't have a box #) help the ship's mail room sort the mail. At least, that is how I understand it to work. 

    The automated process with the USPS seems to need the 4 digit but some of the moms in smaller towns did not have the same issue that I did with the system accepting their address. 

  • B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)

    I can't believe my (not so) little Oliver turned 6 months old yesterday!  He's just over 21 pounds!  Tickets are bought and we are heading to MI 12/29 for a belated Christmas.  It can't get here soon enough.  We facetime often but it's just not the same lol!

  • Gigi

    Happy for you B’sNukeMom, Baby Oliver granny’s excited to see you :)  How are you gonna be called by Baby Oliver?

  • Gigi

    MomofJoseph - with my fresh experience of sending boxes to FPO (my son’s first deployment last month) The last 2 numbers of the unit number and the first 2 numbers of his box numbers are his -4 zip extension numbers. (If you have a unit # and box #). Second option- We can order from Amazon to ship it to Fpo (free shipping and faster than usps) so try to add his address there just add even you’re going to buy anything then Amazon will automatically gives you the last  4 extension numbers. Hope this helps 

  • Gigi

    **even you’re not going send thru Amazon** - was just on celphone 

  • B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)

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  • B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)

    Gigi - They are calling me "Lolli" and my husband is "Pops".  So we are Lolli and Pops!  I love it ;-D

  • Chipmunk

    B'sNukeMom - I am so excited for you!! We took a quick weekend trip to see our older grandchildren who are all turning another year older. Our sailor baby is still in the NICU. We just have to look at pictures for now. 

    Gigi - Great advice on the packages. 

  • Gigi

    Lolli and Pops!! I love that too :)

    Chipmunk- I didn’t know about your baby sailor in NiCU, as we DM back and forth, hope she will be home very soon. And Birthday Blessings to your other grandbaby 

  • B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)

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  • MomofJoseph

    Thank you so much for the package advice, Gigi and Chipmunk!

    This is the best group of women EVER!  

  • B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)

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    Happy Monday!

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  • B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)

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  • Chipmunk

    Happy almost Thanksgiving!

  • B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)

    Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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  • WearsLargeHats

    We had our Sailor home for Thanksgiving, and he will be able to be home for Christmas. He is in the process of doing a PCS back out to Bangor, WA.

    He sang with us in the choir on Sunday, which he used to do before he joined the Navy. We almost drafted him to fill in on handbells (a ringer ringer). It was so nice to sing with him again. I keep telling him to find a choir to join, because I have never heard of a choir that wouldn't welcome a Tenor who can sight-read.

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  • B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)

    WLH - sounds like a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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  • Chipmunk

    WearsLargeHats - What a wonderful time to have your sailor home during the Thanksgiving holiday. I am sure it warmed your heart to have him singing in the choir. I love to hear my husband and kids sign - they were blessed with beautiful voices. I just make a joyful noise!! 

    All the best to him as he prepares for his PCS and another trip home for Christmas. 

  • Chipmunk

    How are our Pipeline families doing? I hope your sailors are going to be able to come home during holiday standdown. When my son was in Prototype, he was not able to fly home and be with us, because of his rotation schedule or something. He was able to go spend a few days away from it all with one of his roommates' family. I was so disappointed, but I knew how difficult it was to travel. I stuffed his stocking with goodies and mailed it to him, all tied up and he could not open it until Christmas morning. We were able to Skype with him and he opened his stocking and his presents so we could see him.

    I have a feeling we are going to have to figure out doing a Skype call again this year. The grandbaby is still in the NICU but hopefully home for Christmas, but flying with a little one at this time of the year is out of the question. 

  • B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)

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