Sub Moms

Heebsmom- thank you for your reply and for the explaination.

- I did try the search window that is provided at the right but, to no avail. So, your detailed explaination was wonderful to receive. Thanks again.

Lol ...Yvette, your sailor pumpkin-o-lantern is still cute, even if its sideways. =)

Gaileann, that's so wonderful!  Three years!  OK, now I feel like my son last being home nearly a year ago was peanuts.  Enjoy your time together.

Gaileann, Looks like you might be able to keep your son for an extra day or two. I keep getting these updates from the Pasadena Ombudsman and all the schools are closed for tomorrow already.

An extra day or two, wouldn't that be a shame???? NOT!!

It's my boys' birthday.. they are 20 today.. one local ..one overseas...the younger twin messaged his brother and told him he got to celebrate his birthday first. the other told him, I'll still be a minute older always! Love those boys!! Have a great week everyone :)

Danagagirl- I had a good laugh when I read you post. I'm wishing both your boys a  Happy Birthday! And best wishes too!

Danagirl, yes, love it.  All these birthdays!  My boy will turn 21 on Saturday, two days after he arrives in Hawaii.  Yup, 21st birthday in Honolulu.  Not bad at all.

Mine turned 21 in boot camp.  Lol.

Looks like I a good way to start my comments for today is " Happy Birthday"!  to all the young men having their birthdays this week.  My son left early this morning at 3am to drive to St Louis where he is checking his car in to be shipped to Hawaii, then he catches a plane tomorrow to head to Hawaii for 3 years!  He will be servicing on the USS Cheyenne. 

Thanks Lisbeth for sharing your photo. Was this taken during the hurricane approaching the mid-atlantic now? We are bracing. My husband & I moved to Georgia last year, but we still have a house up here in NJ that our daughter & her family still live in. We are up here with them today helping them through the storm.

snj1959 my son took care of it but as soon as I talk to him I will ask.  He drove all night from central Ohio to St Louis on 1 hr of sleep so he is in a hotel now sleeping

snj1959, I can also check with my son.  He was going to ship his car, also from St. Louis, but his friend is buying his car instead.  Saves the drive to St. Louis!

Ohiomom, my son leaves Thursday for Hawaii.  Since it's windy here and feels like 34 degrees (at least we're not on the east coast!), I think he's counting the minutes until warmer weather. 

The Marines guard the Tomb Of the Unknown Soldier. Special duty. Only on an hour at a time.It is awesome to watch the changing of the guard.They are there 24/7 unless their safety is in danger.

Hoping and praying for the return of the missing crew members.

Praying for the missing members of the HMS Bounty!

I awakened to a surprise call from my deployed sailor this morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Was a great way to start the week.  He is excited at the work they have been doing (of course we can never know what that is or was!) and sounded great.  He is loving this deployment.

My apologies....Yes it is the Old Guard of the Army. Every 30 minutes rain or shine,day or night the guard changes.

I read up on it as obviously my memory had failed me.....)<:

Snj1959- in regards to shipping your son's vehicles. I found this Site on google called Navy.mil at ;

http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=31805. Plus, maybe your Ombudsman will be able to answer some of your questions about the move and how to do it...or maybe she/he will be able to stear you to the right people for answers you need.   I hope I was able to help out a little. =)

thanks Rebecca.. felt strange not being able to call and tell him Happy Birthday 

scmom26, Hi, my sailor is on the Pasadena too. Join us in the "USS Pasadena" group although I must admit, it has been kind of quiet since they have been in drydock!

My son shipped his car from California to Hawaii. There is not a huge choice of cars to buy on the island of Hawaii compared to the mainlands. Not sure what this means, only telling by hearsay. 

Yvette - If its a ticket for your son call the airlines and ask for the military discount. they do not offer these online.  I have used Delta.  Best to get tickets now. might me cheaper... Good luck.

Danagirl-I can sympathize. My son is deployed on a sub. He's will not be here for Christmas or  for his up coming birthday. I can totally understand not being able to be with, or at least communicate with your son on special days. It is not easy at all! Thank goodnes for this site. We (Moms of the Navy) are find help and support each other.

This site has been a blessing Rebecca.. I hope all that are in the northeast are safe.. Happy Halloween everyone.. stay safe as well!

Hotels offer discounted military rates for members of the military and their family.

Airfare Watchdog has connections to all airlines. They send you updates for the flight you want. Also Hotwire is good. Same deal.

My son spent his last birthday on a sub. I sent him greetings but most likely he did not get them on the day of but it made me feel better!

Also try cheapoair.com, then call the airline with the best fare and ask for the military discount!

Re: missing the birthdays and holidays...

My kid's bday is mid-December, so we have the "celebrate" season of Tksgiving, his bday, and Christmas.  He left my house for the Navy in Sept '06, and he wasn't home to celebrate ANYTHING for the next five years!  Needless to say, I was ready to write nasty letters to the SECNAV (Sec'y of the Navy)!

When your guy will be underwater for his bday, plan ahead - send him his wrapped present before departure, so he'll have something nice on his day.  And think outside the box... one year, our crew moved departure UP a few days and I didn't have time to send a package.  I called The Candy Shoppe in Port Orchard and asked if they delivered to the base.  His favorite candy is Sour Patch Kids.  I bought all they had (7 lbs), they put it in a platic box with a bow, and delivered it to the ship's office - he used it to "persuade" folks to test him on quals & got a bunch done that trip!

Navy sailors and family with government clearance can fly with the Air Force.  However, this is a hit and miss.  You may have to wait days for flight, that includes being there very early AM, ready to go, and then finding a hotel room if a seat is not open.  When you do get a flight, its usually not to the port where you are going, it is somewhere in between, then you have to wait till the next flight with an open seat is going towards the port of your choice.   Then the same on the way back.  If you are trying to meet up with your sailor at a port, it is very chancy as there schedule might change.  My son and daughter-in-law were very lucky to have two days.  She has will of steel, iron to the core. I love them, their love.  And they got to have lunch together. Then the way home, plane had landing and fueling issues.  Wait for repairs and grateful that she was on land. She has a good attitude, no unreasonable complaining about the wait. Smart enough to know to be grateful and patient.  Neither one of them knew I was worried as a loon.   

Welp, after a 2 week visit home, I just dropped my son off at the airport where he is on his way to Bangor, Wa...It just never gets any easier does it??  I thought knowing he at least will be in the same time zone again would make things better...but watching him walk thru those doors into the airport loaded down w 5 heavy bags...I still cried the whole way home!  And walking into his "room" I just wanted to hold his pillow and wish I never had to let him go...I already miss him so much!!

Your right Alohagirl it never gets easier to say good bye. Susank is right..  at least you can find comfort and support here, with other Navy moms. If you need to talk I'm here to listen....and I'm sure many of the moms here(if not all of them)feel the same way. =)

Try to stay strong...and know that help is here..if and when you need it.

hello all!!

i too still find it hard to see my son leave or me leaving him (when we visit him).   he doesnt have his room at home anymore.  his brother took over when he left.  i dont have any of his clothes here either.  this site is like my lifeline.   it helps me to feel closer to him.  i feel like i am in the navy too!!  

I have a question about the sea dad. Is that a person from the same rating as the sailor? For example my son will be joining the USS Mississippi in Groton as a nuke ET, does that mean his sea dad will also be a nuke? Thanks.

Hi everyone. I was hoping you all could help me out with some information. My son is on a sub and has been on deployment for awhile.My questions to all of you is this; *How do you know when to send care packages? Does the Ombudsman tell you when is the opportune time to send them? How do you know,if at all, when approximately the boat may get the packages? I would appreciate any help anyone is able to offer.

William, my son's sea dad is the same rate as him(also, higher rank) so my guess is that is how the match is made. Hey, didn't know the newbies were called "sea pups'. Like that: ) Privately, my son calls his, his "sea papa". Hope he will never finds out I shared that: }
Rebecca K, I believe you are correct in how you will receive halfway box information. It comes via the ombudsman and she will provide specific information re size allowed, date/place it needs to delivered, etc. What an individual boat allows can be quite different from others, even in the same command or even same boat but a different cruise. I have read on here that sometimes you only have a few days notification before the box needs to be received, so some moms try to keep one box ahead. They have sent one to the ombudsman to be ready to go, then send the next one when the first one goes out. I don't know if that's something that all ombudsman are willing to do though.

On a different note.. Does anyone here have someone stationed at (and is living there presently) the Navy Submarine Base in New London, Groton? I was hoping to get some info on how the Navy Base held up after hurricane Sandy. My son is worried his new car may have been damaged in some way or is under water, because of the storm.

In no means, do I wish to sound callous. I do wish that everyone that was in the storms path came out of it safely.  * I was just hoping I would be able to ease my son's worries.

my son is in groton he said that they didnt have much damage which im surprise because we live in ri and are shore line got crushed

Wow and congratulations to all the sailors(and MOMS!) who have "made" those long, and sometimes multiple, cross country trips. I can imagine you were w your sons every mile of the way. So happy to read about all the happy outcomes: ) And, Rebecca K, how fabulous you have a "mom" on the ground in Groton! I bet that good news is very reassuring to your son, too: )

Missin'mybrowneyedboy- thank for the information regarding sending care packages.

Seahorse-I'm so thankful for the detailed information you gave me on the deployed parking lot. I'll let my son know what you have told me. Hopefully, he will not worry so much, and he'll be able to enjoy any liberty time he may recieve. 

My thanks and gratitude goes out to everyone here. You all have been a wealth of knowledge that I can tap into. Plus, a wonderful support group. =)

It was very interesting to read all the stories of the many cross country trips these guys have made. We purposely did not make arrangements to get our son's car to him while he was going to school in Groton since we had no idea where he was going next.  Guess it was a good thing as he ended going all the way across the country to Bangor. So after A school he flew home and drove the 1500 miles to Bangor.

Happy to hear that the damage in Groton was not too bad.

Just curious has anyone done a tiger cruise? my son put our names in for one, I guess there are 27 spots open. My Dil said they would take us out on a boat to meet the sub. 

Rebecca I have a grandson living on base in Groton and he has a car he parks on base.  All was OK with his car.  In fact he said he has seen a monsoon storm here is Arizona worse than what they got there.

Thank you Nana Donna.  My son, Charley, will be relieved to hear that everything is ok on the Naval Base after hurricane Sandy. Against my advice my son bought a brand new car right before he left for deployment. Needless to say he has been worried something bad has happen to his "Baby."

With the helpfulness of you ladies, I will be able to ease my son's worries about his car. I'm so grateful for all of you and for all the help you have given me. God Bless you all and your families.

Thanks Jeanne 778:

My son had asked his wife for all our SS #'s so I have the impression that it will be a few hour cruise, but IDK for sure. I would jump at the chance to do it. 

My son Jacob is on the blue crew

Mary(MMnukesmom) I was thinking the same thing!

Gaileann: yes, I think that is what we will be doing. & congratulations to your son.

So if we only ride into port it is not a tiger cruise? maybe just a ride along?