What are some great graduation gifts?

[SailorMom92 (DIV 244)]

I know this discussion was talked about before but since then there's newbies with new ideas an such.  So, any ideas from other vet moms too would be great.  :)

[sam]

I'm not a vet mom, and this may be too practical, but we recently had a long talk with a delightful Marine vet.  He said we should plan on taking our new sailor to the NEX and letting him stock up on socks and underwear!  

[blythe9041]

Went to a Navy for Moms lunch and was show the Challenge coins. Ebay was the best buy and quickest. If you order them elsewhere you can get them personalized but then you run into a time crunch.

[Craig]

Hey ladies...

Have you thought of a graduation present for you freshly minted sailor?  Having been doing this stuff so long, I wanted to give you a couple of idea.  They are the CAC card reader, and a rating coin.  Both are really good (and cheap) gifts. 

 

The CAC card reader:

Let me explain it, so you'll understand it.... 

The Navy limits what civilians can see when they use the internet on the Navy website. They don't want everyone to know everything. So when active duty sailors want to look at future duty stations that are available, or a wide range of other things (ie their medical reconds, dental records, their personnel file, their PFA test scores, dream sheets, evaluations...etc) they can. All they do is hook up the CAC card reader to their personnel computer, insert their CAC (Common Access Card) which civilains call the ID card,  Once the sailor inserts the CAC card, and their own password, then the server knows beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they are talking to the active duty sailor. 

Personnally, I believe a sailor without a CAC card reader is a fool. There is so much info they can find using it. A carpenter is useless without a hammer. A sailor is useless without a CAC card reader. It is an extremely powerful tool that most sailors fail to use.  My nephew is already looking at possible duty stations, and he isn't even in "A" school yet.  They cost ~$20.  Very cheap.  Make sure you don't but the ones at the NEX because they don't work because they don't have the software included.  I bought one at the Microcenter and it worked perfectly.  Personally, I like the one at the Micro Center since it can do 63 different things besides being a "Smart Card Reader", and because it's cheap. Unlike the NEX model, the Microcenter comes with the software and is totally "Plug-n-Play".  It's a no brainer.  I say this everytime, but I will say it again, your sailor will think it's a stupid gift.  However, once they play with it, and see's how powerful it actually is and how he can search for things from the comfort of his own room, he will think it's the best thing since slided bread.  Again, the power it has is awesome..

.http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=...

 

Some of your sailors will have really short "A" schools.  One item in "A"  school is your sailors fill out a dream sheet to put down places that they would like to go.    These dream sheets stay in your record forever and when a new one is submitted, the old one just moves one sheet back in the main computer database.  One thing is you don't want is to look like a fool and put in for some duty station that your rating will never go.  Say you put in for Liberia Africa, the only rating that can go there is the Intelligence Specialist (IS) rating.  So everytime your orders comes up, the detailer will get a laugh and wonder why a Machist Mate (MM) ever put in for something that couldn't have ever been possible.  It doesn't look good, even if the sailor is fresh out of boot camp.  It shows they didn't take the time to see what billets (places) that they could actually go.  Yes, they can use the CAC card readers at their career counselors office  but they have 50 others sailors waiting for the same computer.  So just pay the measly $20 for the reader and do it from the comfort of your own barracks room. 

Some will tell you, when they finally get to their final duty station their command might issue them one, but by then it's too late.  To me, paying $20 for the possiblity of getting an awesome duty station is worth it.  Heck my kid got 3 years of shore duty in Hawaii, but he knew how to play the game (and he has an awesome father ~ha)  

 

If your sailors have problems loading them up (which they shouldn't).   Here is an article that was in the Navy-Times. I guess this guy runs a help desk for those having trouble with their CAC card readers. My nephew said it was so easy to connect up, but what is easy for some, may be hard for others. It's funny, because the guys an Army guy, but I guess the Navy thought it was so good that they wrote about it....

Here's the article, and the website listed is www.militarycac.com

The second thing is a challenge coin....

To me, this is an awesome thing too. 

The challenge coin is just a cool thing.  I actually buy my son these.  Sadly, the only make generic ones for RTC Great Lakes.  Recently a company called PIRGifts ask me if I would help them make a more specific one for thev various ships at Great Lakes.  My my assistance they offered to donate a portion of their profits back to help me maintain my website (NavyDEP.com) that helps young future sailors about ready to enter boot camp.  Knowing that no one else produces these coins, I was kind of hype to do it, as long as I was the one who designed them.  They agreed, but they also wanted me to write the story of why I designed them the way I did.  This was fair.  

So I have already designed two, the USS Triton Ship-12, and the USS John F. Kennedy Ship-9.  The others will be released once I approve the final molding cast plates.  If you really want to learn a bunch about the why the RTC cresent (symbol) looks the way it does, then read this link on the USS Triton:  (this will also go into detail about the USS Triton, so just skip over that part since some of your sailors aren't on the USS Triton.

http://www.navyformoms.com/group/ctratemoms/forum/topics/boot-camp-... 

Lastly, a lot of moms want to get their sailor a rating coin.   To me, as a sailor, I don't think is right that you give them it just yet.   They haven't earned that rating yet.  Once they near graduation, then I would give them the rating challenge coin.  Too many parents buy things like this only to have their sailor drop the course.  It is something that should be earned, not given.  Save that later, and you can give that to them later when it mean something special to them.

I don't sell these coins but PIRGifts does.   I only designed them, and write the story about them  PIRGifts has them on Ebay for sale.  Just type:

"USS Triton" & "Ship 12"

or

"JFK" & "Ship 9"

 

[SailorMom92 (DIV 244)]

The coins are beautiful. I can't wait to see the USS Chicago Ship 7.  

[Craig]

I am hoping to hear about the USS Chicago coin soon.  I have already seen the design and it looks cool....

[SailorMom92 (DIV 244)]

Hi Craig, I just ordered the CAC card and I know he will like it.  Probably at first he won't realize how useful it will be.  but I plan on copying what you wrote up about it too and giving that to him with it.  

thanks again.

[SailorMom92 (DIV 244)]

do you know if there's going to be a ship 14, arizona coin?  

[Craig]

I found this really ironic.  I have been back and forth with PIRGifts about the USS Reuben James Ship-2 and the USS Kearsarge Ship-11 because of the things I want in the coin.  

So, while waiting their, yet again, series of questions, I decided to do something I totally know, the USS Arizona.  Since the Arizona is being used now (after not being used for 2 years), I decided to draw that one up, even though they had no plans to do it.   I wanted to show them that the design was already in my head.  

I have been to Hawaii on ships for over 50 times.  The view that civilians see is totally different than what a sailor see's when on a aircraft carrier sitting 20 stories above the water .  The image of the bright white memorial, with the rolling hill (which civilians can't see) is forever embedded in my head.  

I'm a World War history guy and I love weird things that normal people don't know. So, if you want to know some weird stuff about the USS Arizona, go look at the PIR group for Sept 14 and Sept 21 (since they have 4 division for each PIR group)  I'll post it there....

So.... yes, the coin will be done.  It will be done really quick because these guys (PIRGifts) can't argue with the way I designed it.  I just know too much about the story.  

[lkbmom245]

To Craig...Hi. I like the idea of the chellenge coins. I already have one to give my daughter for her Graduation. I was reading that you are desiging copind for each of the ships. Will you design one for Ship 03, USS Hopper ?

[Craig]

The USS Hopper will be done.  But it's at the bottom of the list for now.  I may ask PIRGifts to move this coin up since they are having a lot of problems with the Kearsarge and the Reuben James and I won't sign off on them.  As schedule now, your daughter will be long gone from the Hopper by the time it gets released.

Just a background,   I design these coins by what they mean in boot camp.  So many parents mess up on what challenge coins they should give their sailors because they don't have the back ground.  Nor should they, they are parents that don't know the Navy.  This is why I wanted to help PiRGifts, so they could get the story straight.  I know how important challenge coins are to a sailor, and I want them to know "their" ship and the true story behind it.

For example, I see parents buy USS Chicago coins for their sailors.  They don't realize that the coins they are buying have no meaning behind them.  Their are 4 Navy vessels named the USS Chicago. Three were cruisers CA-14; CA-29; CA-136 and one submarine - SSN-721.   The ship (barrack) in Great Lakes is name for the Los Angles class fast-attack submarine (SSN-721) which was commissioned in 1986, which was named for the third largest US city Chicago.  The other ships (ie the cruisers) have nothing to do with it.  

You can see how parent mess up now by buying a CA-136 coin  huh?  I don't want these sailors to have the wrong coin in their future collection.  I want them to start off right....

I just received the jpg file of the hand etched coin for the USS Chicago today (about 2 hours ago).  I will receive an example coin in about 2 days.  Once I approve it, then they will mint it.   So PIRGifts should have them on Ebay about 5 August. (just guessing from the past).   I know that doesn't help you with the Hopper, but I'm sure some USS Chicago parents will like this coin.  Here is a sneak preview I can now show since it is now in its final production stage.  It came out really cool.  The "I" in Chicago is the Sears tower.  

So far:

USS Triton (Ship 12)

USS John F. Kennedy (Ship 9)

USS Chicago (Ship 7)  Proposed release August 5th

USS Kearsarge (Ship 11) Proposed release August 15th, but this will not happen.  It has too many design flaws that need to be corrected.

USS Reuben James (Ship 2)  This one is another that has too many design flaws.  It will be delayed.

USS Hopper (Ship 3)

For those that like to read, I wrote the story about the USS Triton.  A lot of the info (ie the RTC flag) is the same for all the ships.  This will give you an idea of why I made the coin the way I made it.   Look at the USS Triton part 1 through 4.  You guys will totally look at the RTC flag in a different meaning when you go to PIR.  You will will know the true story!...

http://www.navyformoms.com/group/ctratemoms/forum/topics/boot-camp-...

[SailorMom92 (DIV 244)]

woo hoo...beautiful!!! can't wait to order it.  

[Donna A (ship-03 div-278)]

Hello! I have been reading the information you posted. I too would like to be notified when you approve the USS Hopper design. That is where my SR is for bootcamp.