Ship 11 Div 213

[agr8gal62]

Any other mom's out there for this Ship?  My daughter Maricella (San Antonio, TX) is currently housed here and I'm looking for other mom's to share information.  So looking forward to Friday, July 13!

[katysmom]

It looks like were all feeling a bit better then it started to get hard again.  I don't know what happened, but I just can't stop crying today.  I just want to hold my daughter, this really sucks.

[penny-(ship 11 div 213)]

i got my first letter from my daughter!!! yea so has anyone heard about the brownies yet?guess they offered it to our group. whoever took one got what she called a beating but of course they didnt tell them about the beating. from what my sr says a beating is where they work you really hard really fast. dont think my sr will opt to having dessert anymore!

[agr8gal62]

So glad you received your first letter and it gives me some hope that ours should be coming soon.  My daughter Mari did call me last Thursday, May 24th and we were on the phone for about 10 minutes but she was needing additional reference information (addresses and phone numbers) for security clearance so we didn't get to converse much.  I was so SHOCKED that I could hardly speak when I heard, "Hi mom!". She spoke in a different tone and I could tell she was in front of someone and was not at liberty to say much.  She did manage to say with a quiver in her voice, "It's hard mom, really hard".  I thought I was going to loose it but I remained calm and reassured her that we were all right there with her, pulling for her every step of the way and reminding her that she's a leader.  She replied, "I am a leader!". She thanked me for my help and we ended with of course, I love you. I can't wait to read what her heart really wanted to say so definitely anxiously awaiting some mail. 

[salpetty]

I got that same type of call when my daughter was there.  They are exhausted at this point having not had much sleep.  My kid cried and said she hated it.  I told her it was because she's tired and she'd be feeling a lot better very soon.  And sure enough, her letters and phone calls after that were much more light hearted.  At one point she actually said, "I really like it here."  And at the end they will most likely be telling you how easy it was.  Hang in there, your letters will start arriving soon and you will be in heaven :)

[katysmom]

Thank you for posting that, I am hearing horrible things from parents receiving letters, I am so worried about my daughter.  I keep telling myself and telling her through my letters; she is strong, she is a fighter, she is smart, she can do this.

[salpetty]

From my own experience, at the beginning you are so tired and the experience is all so new and unexpected.  What your daughter is feeling is completely normal.  I remember laying in my rack one night, pulling the blanket over my face and just silently crying.  This is the normal human reaction to exaustion (physically and emotionally).  She may have to call you again for security clearance stuff.  If so, just remind her that what she's feeling is normal and you promise her it gets better and easier.  The unknown if very scary.  Once they get used to the routine and the personalities of each RDC (and each other), it will flow very easily.  That is a fact.  At the beginning they are also learning to work as a team, and for some this is hard to do.  Everyone wants to be the leader.  Once they realize there is a chain of command (even among the SRs in the division) and follow it, it is smooth sailing.

[katysmom]

Oh my gosh, my daughter's recruiter warned her about those damn brownies before she left, I really hope she resisted the temptation to take one...that is just mean  :(

[alex0319]

My daugher is on this ship also.  I'm dying to talk to her!  I'm so looking forward to seeing her July 13th.  I also have been pricing tickets for 3 and it looks like it's going to cost us around $400 a ticket from Orange Couny or LAX.  Pretty pricey but worth it!

[salpetty]

Glad you are on here alex0319!!!  Hang in there my friend :)

 

For the rest of you, I am prior Navy and went through bootcamp at Great Lakes.  My daughter graduated GL last September.  Her best friend is in this division.  I'd be happy to answer any questions if know the answers to them.  My best advice:  write letters every day to your SR.  It keeps you busy and they will definitely enjoy getting them.  It's hard at first, but I can guarantee when you see them at PIR, they will say they enjoyed it :)

[penny-(ship 11 div 213)]

daughter talked about having compartment of 80 women and then said when they split up there was 40 women and 40 men how does that work?

[salpetty]

Here's how it works. Her female compartment consists of 80 women. 40 from her division (213) and 40 from thier "brother" division (most likely 214). That means there's a male compartment consisting of all the males from 213 and all the males from 214. So when they are doing class work or other training and it's just their division, there are only 40 females. These two divisions usually do most of their training together though.

In a nutshell, there are usually two divisions sharing one compartment, divided between males and females.

Hope this helps.

[penny-(ship 11 div 213)]

yes it does thank you