Cryptology ~ CTI ~ CTM ~ CTN ~ CTR ~ CTT ~ CWT Corry Station Pensacola Florida and Monterey California

Irene, where were living when you were here? I live in Cranberry Twp. just over the border of Allegheny county in Butler county. This area is growing so fast its hard to keep up with the new stores and restaurants.

We just moved from Murrysville. About 5 miles over the border from Allegheny county into Westmoreland.

My oldest son is a CTN2 stationed in Norfolk. He just bought a townhome down there. My youngest son is a Nuke on the Miami. He's an ET2. My husband is also a Nuke and works for Westinghouse. We're having a PA N4Ms get together in Cranberry this fall. If you'd like to come, I'll keep you posted.

Kristine, Check out the Forum that says CT Rate Descriptions, It has great descriptions of all the CT rates. My son is a CTN2.

Brenda, I'm doing great. I still have this darn cold, but its at the point where its just there. Not bad, just taking its time to go away. We are going to get the kitchen finished by the end of next week. New counter tops and new sink.

Well I learned from my son over the weekend that his school is not going to start till October sometime maybe later. He PIR'd 7/24.

Oh I am not discouraged at all. Someone on here said they wondered how long before school started. And he sounds great. Alot better than those calls from bootcamp(lol). I am just glad he is in and he has started his goal which was to prove his dad and stepmom wrong. She told him he would never amount to anything. I just found this out last week from a friend of his that called. She is lucky I was not there at the time. Her kids are always in trouble with the law. And she takes it out on mine. And their dad does nothing. The only thing my son did that upset me was the day after he got to Pensacola was he went and bought a laptop and it cleaned out his bank account. :( And that was before I could make his loan payment for him. He said he forgot what we had talked about at the airport before he left. Oh well if that is all he does wrong then he is doing good. Atleast now I get emails for now everyday.

The Navy does have classes for them about handling money. You also might want to remind your sailors that money problems can cause them to lose their security clearence. Too much debt can be a red flag when their clearence comes up for renewal. This is especially true in the CT rates.

Yes we have told my son he needs to be careful with his money. And I know that it was important he gets a laptop. He wants to start taking online courses just as soon as he can. And it should keep him out of the bars. His age right now will do that.

We have stressed everything to my son. And he has been pretty good at asking his stepdad for advice.

Good Morning to you to.

Doing OK.

Thanks for the welcome SueS.

My son is a CTN and he says that, as of now, going to the sand box is strickley on a volunteer basis for his rate. As for your son's being E-2s. I would tell them that the CT rates have the fastest advancement in the entire Navy. I won't be long before he makes Petty Officer.

Your son has learned a valuable lesson. In the Navy,as well as life, you have to stand up and fight for yourself. I'm so glad he got his bonus.

Carolyn, You're just the lady I've been looking for! Several years ago I knitted scarfs for a group that sent them to guys in Afganistan for the winter. I had all the requirements, like length, color, etc. but I can't find them anymore. I know it is hot as hell there now but groups (like adopt a sailor) are starting to plan for the fall and winter. So would it be possible to ask your son if they can still get scarfs for gifts and what the requirements would be. Thanks so much.

Carolyn, That is why I always ask these kind of questions months ahead of time. These would not be sent out until winter. Thanks so much for asking him for me. If they are allowed to have them, I would be glad to send one to him. Or to you to send to him for Christmas,

They have more freedom when they report to A School. My son had his cell phone and was able to leave base. He even spent weekends with a friend of ours just over in Wisconsin if he didn't have duty.

My son went and bought a laptop the day after get to P'cola. He got off base priv a week ago. So I hear from him when he is able to use a friends phone. His dad screwed up with his cell phone and supposedly mailed his cell phone to me. But I have never received it. So he is trying to get it replaced. Then I should start getting calls from him.

You were very helpful and I will be definitely checking with others. Thanks again.

If I remember in my cobwebs he bought a cell phone within a week. I think they get more freedom as they reacclimate to the outside world. There are curfews, watches, musters, duty days, etc that they all must adjust to. It's different than bootcamp. They will spend a lot of time at Gurnee Mills Mall

They expect you to drive to your next duty station and I think pay mileage. It cost Me $1.00/mile to have my son's car shipped to him on a transport when he was in Pensacola. He was also of the misconception that the Navy would pay to ship.

Mine went from Pensacola to Norfolk, spent a week there and flew to Naples to catch up with the ship. BUT...his first orders were stateside. So the answer is there is no answer. He'll probably be assigned to sea duty but then again.....

If I could give alittle bit of advice on the insurance part. We have found that USAA has the cheapest auto insurance. I did hear from my son that he won't go off base in P'cola unless he has someone with him because some personnel were attack on the road that is between the base and town.

TWsMom, I would also keep your plans flexable. I have heard so many stories of sailors who were listed as Grad 'n Go and at the last minute it was changed. Their parents were scrambling to change flights to spend the weekend with their sailors. I also come from PA, so we drove to the PIR. We also drove to Pensacola. My son needed his car, so we drove down there to deliver it to him. While you're there, don't miss the air museum. We spent an entire day there and another at the beach.

My son is a CTN2 stationed in Norfolk. According to him, he will never have to be stationed on a ship. I think that was why he was so happy to be a CTN. Considering that he gets sea sick at the dock, I think he chose to be a CTN so he wouldn't have to go to sea. With his luck, they'll change that in the future. LOL

SueS, When I get that sad face thing, I tell them, my son has his college degree with zero debt, he has a great job and he can't lose his job. Most of my friends kids have thousands in student loans and are working at Walmart because they can't find a job in their field. That sad face thing goes away real fast.
clockard, Little Creek is in Virginia Beach. It is, among other things, the east coast home of the SEALs.

clockard, that's great. Honor grads usually get better choices of duty station.

Lisa & Carolyn, I'm also the Mom of two Sailors. One Nuke, One Spook! There is a group for Moms with more than one sailor.

Georgia, Just tell him it's ok to stop starching his shorts. That was one thing that my son go really good at starching, ironing, and folding his cloths. I agree with Susan, they will not contact you.....but they may be checking your background at the same time.

My son has been at P'cola since 7/24 and was told he would not class up till sometime in October. But then he told me this past weekend he was classing up this past Monday 8/24.

Hi everyone, You'll notice a small change in my screen name, but its still me.
Lyn

It means his security clearence came through. So now he has the badge he needs to get into the building where they have their classes.

Your son would probably love to have some comfy clothes to wear in the hotel room.

Congratulations TWMom, Corry Station is in Pensacola. Its just not at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. My son really enjoyed being in FL, especially since he was there in the winter.

Hi everyone, Its raining here in the Burgh. One of those great days to curl up with a good book. They promise us sun for the weekend.

Hi Jill, I'm in the middle of a major remodel of our basement. We're doing the Man Cave thing. It is way more work than I ever thought and we're not doing the work ourselves.

Jill, The house we bought last spring came with a basement that was nothing more than 4 concrete walls and the rough out for a half bath. We are putting in a second kitchen, a full bath, surround sound system, a fireplace and another bedroom. If Alex (our submariner) decides to leave the Navy, then we will turn it into an apartment for him. Until then it will be an entertainment center.

Jill, My CTN is planning on making the Navy his career. It is his younger brother who is an ET nuke that is planning to leave the Navy after his enlistment is up. He is on a fast attack right now. Between the 8 month deployment and the plans to put women on subs, he just doesn't want to continue in the Navy.

Kathy, My son is also stationed in Norfolk. He's a CTN and enjoys being in Norfolk. He just bought his first home in Virginia Beach. He got a great deal on a townhouse. He also drove his beater from Pensacola to Norfolk and made it there just fine.

They do have to pay for food and uniforms. However, they do get a food and uniform allowance from the Navy. So, if he hasn't gotten it already, he will be getting those payments soon. The food allowance is monthly, the uniform allowance comes once a year. Your husband is right about not paying for those things. Officers always paid for food and uniforms, but enlisted only started that when we went to the all volunteer army. The Navy has always been all volunteer of course.

Steph, There is a group you may want to join, December Boot Camp Family http://www.navyformoms.com/group/decemberbootcampfamily
I am not part of that group, but my group, November Boot Camp Family has lively discussion and lots of information, now with almost 300 members.

My sailor was also lucky. His job was to keep office computers (and some Officier's) working and hooking up new ones. So he spent his time in one office or other. He was also lucky because he only had to wait 4 weeks to class up.

Steph, While they are at BC they have no one to vent to or unload their stress on. So, it comes through in phone calls and letters home. When they finally graduate, they usually don't even remember what they wrote or told you. I found that sending all the encouragement cards I could find helped us both. Just don't take things too much to heart.

steph, We will all be here for you when you need us. I can't tell you anything about the CTIs because my son is a CTN and all their jobs are so very different. Good luck to your son and keep us posted.

Steph, Join us in the CTN group. They are very different than the other CTs so we started a group just for us CTN moms.

This message was sent to another of my groups by a person I trust. As CT Moms we need to be especially care of these type of people. Believe me when I tell you that I got a 30 minute lecture from my CTN about being careful.
Navy Friends,
I have been a Navy mom since Dec 2006, a member of Navy For Moms since February 2009 and I am currently the admin for the Northern California Navy Moms Group. Like everyone else who uses the computer as an integral part of her personal and professional world, I am constantly on the lookout for suspicious profiles, emails, attachments. No body wants to get a virus. Four months ago, several of us noticed a member who sent out a mass number “friend” requests to new members. The N4M admin subsequently removed this member. For the past several days, I have noticed a return of a similar situation. Two members have been targeting new members (particularly if she looks young and pretty) and have successfully “friended” a number of our new members (those who joined within the last 25 to 30 days). If you check the profiles of Kayleigh Hall and Gloria Lopez (both with lovely profile photos), you’ll find they have 497 and 520 friends respectively, that is an acquisition of around 120 to 125 friends per week. I pretty sure this is computer generated. You’ll find many comments from new members on their pages. You won’t find any comments from them on other members' pages and you won’t find any real information about either one of them. They have not joined any groups. They have not commented on any blogs or discussions. Kayleigh has not replied to my comment on her profile, requesting clarification. When I invite someone to be my friend, it’s typically because that person and I share a commonality, sometimes even a strong bond. I can go through my friend list and detail the topic of conversation between us or I can recall the blog/discussion where we met.
So, what is the harm in this?
Here is a real scenario. A’s step-mom and I are friends. Austen is also on her friend list. Austen and I are not friends with each other. A’s step-mom sent a Merry Christmas greeting to all her friends. Austen wrote a response and clicked “Reply All” – I got Austen’s message even though she and I are not connected, except through A’s step-mom. If Austen had an attachment containing a virus with her message and I opened her attachment without realizing that she and I are not acquainted, my computer would be infected with a virus, along with the computers for everyone on A’s step-mom’s friend list who opened the attachment.
Am I being unfair to these two young ladies? We have no way of verifying that these photos are actual photos of these two members. Maybe not. Could I be wrong? Possibly. I doubt it. It simply does not pass the smell test. It is probably politically incorrect for me to question their validity. So be it. It doesn’t bother me one bit. Our sons and daughters put their lives on the line everyday. They are in the serious business of protection our country. If these two members have a legitimate reason for building a network, I will sincerely apologize. Maybe they just want to mass email to members to promote retro Cabbage Patch dolls. That would be annoying but not particularly harmful; however, It is still a violation of our Community Guidelines. We simply don’t know what they are up to and cannot afford to be careless. Besides, I am just furious that anyone would even think of taking advantage of another Navy mom.

My recommendation.
1. Do NOT execute a “Reply All” (just “Reply”) in responding to a message.
2. Check the person’s profile page prior to accepting the friend request. Of course, if a member’s profile were set to private, this would not be possible. In my friends request message, I note a group to which I belong. The new member could go to the group’s page and view my comments.
3. Delete these two individuals (Kayleigh & Gloria) from your friend list. Click on “My Page”, scroll down to your friends, click on the profile for these two people, click on Remove as Friend. In addition, Ruthie Appleby, is a self promoter. Not sure what KennethJohn's story is.

http://www.navyformoms.com/profile/KayleighHall

http://www.navyformoms.com/profile/RuthieAppleby

http://www.navyformoms.com/profile/GloriaLopez

http://www.navyformoms.com/profile/KennethjohndaSilva?xg_source=act...

Note: I have notified the N4M admin. They are on the alert; however, I would hate to see any damage done before the plug is pulled on these two.

I am(Lyn) especially concerned about KennethJohndeSilva because he is suppose to be ex-military but is list as being outside the US (the Netherlands) and I see no reason for him to be part of Navy for Moms. As CT Moms we need to be on guard on behalf of out children, spouses, etc.

Terrilynn, Get use to the fact that you know very little about your son's rate. Believe me, my son has been a CTN since 2007 and I know less about his job now than I did then. One invaluable skill for a CT mom is to be able to talk about the weather, his car and about nothing at all. He will never be able to explain his job!

The conversations go pretty much like talling to a high school senior, without the attitude.

TWs Mom, I've got two in the Navy. One has been in since 06 and the other since 07. No, you will never say goodbye to them without crying. I don't think we're suppose to, ever. Its somewhere in the Mom Manual, under Military Moms.