Son just left for Atsugi today

[Angie]

Hello my son just left for Atsugi this morning, and of course all of his family members are already asking about shipping care packages to him.  Any assistance on shipping packages would be greatly appreciated.

[Elane]

once you get his ship address    it will be something like this.  
rate/rank last name, first name
unit/division or box #
ship name
FPO, AP    12345-1234   must have 9 digits zip code. 

then you can start sending him things. 
go to your post office and get the "large flat rate boxes". 

FILL them full of goodies...I can't stress the full enough.   If there is room for shifting there there room for breakage inside or to the outside of the box as there is nothing to keep in from getting squashed.    
I send mine his favorite micro meals,  treats, NON perishable foods, baked goods (wrapped in plastic containers or vacuum sealed works better) 
If he has a favorite magazine, sports team, etc, send him articles or issues of the magazine. others have sent small games, etc. 
you will have to fill out customs form at post office.. I don't get real specific, I usually use..# packaged processed foods, no matter what I send. I don't go into details..there are some rules about things they don't want shipped, liquids, etc.  
I know I have sent some pie in a jar, etc that are in glass jars..packaged very well.
any more questions, please feel free to ask.   Mine's been in Japan for 1 year but the Navy for 6, (3 deployments) 

[Mary (Chris' mom)]

The wait....ugh. :-) I always think it will be forever before my son gets his new address. They are so busy when they first arrive getting all their orders and records etc to all the proper buildings and/or offices, plus their indoc for that country, base, command...AND being expected to report for work almost immediately. I feel lucky when my son gives me his address within the first week, lol but he lags so much on things of that nature. He is all about getting his job done.

Atsugi is a small to medium sized base. He will learn his way around quickly. I don't know what the barracks are like there. My son and his wife and baby have an apartment on base. Their biggest complaints are that the apartment is always hot, even in winter...and the jets taking off and landing. Overall they enjoy being there. Unfortunately having a baby (and Liz constantly sick during the entire 9 mos of pregnancy) has left them with little time and money the past year for going out, and exploring far and wide. They do enjoy an occasional trip to Tokyo, or pediatric appointments at Yokosuka for a larger selection of food and shopping. 

Best of luck to your sailor! Once he gets a cell phone over there and downloads Skype for it, then you and he should at least be able to text often while they are on shore. Some of the other texting programs work just as well from things I've heard. Have fun with him on this new journey and let us know how he is doing from time to time.

[Angie]

Thank you so much ladies for the info, patients is one thing I better learn quickly, you think I would have gotten use to it when he was at boot camp (lol)...   

[Mary (Chris' mom)]

lol...Angie, shore duty is not so bad. Depending on your sailor's rating, their hours are pretty acceptable and communication between the two of you is more often hampered by the time difference (they are 14 hours ahead of EST, 18 hours ahead of PST) than anything else. To me...sea duty is worse than BC. Communication is sporadic and there is a lot more uncertainty. At least in BC, I could rationalize that he was on US soil, protected on a base, and I knew if anything happened I was in the air and on my way to N Chicago. It's different when they go overseas for sure.

My son's first overseas assignment was in Korea and I could only imagine this young, 6 ft,, blonde kid with no street sense, trying to make it in a foreign country full of dark haired, shorter than average people. I cried so much those first few weeks and he was almost to that point too. Then he was able to take a weekend cultural tour and he saw a lot of the beauty and treasures of the country he was living in. He LOVED his 2 years there, and wants to take his wife and son there sometime. 

If your sailor is not married, you can ask him to get with his command's OMBUDSMAN who is a volunteer, usually a wife of one of the enlisted and have your name added to the OMBUDSMAN list. This person may act as a liaison between the ship and families who have questions. They of course do not have access to classified information but it can make you feel better knowing there is a person on the base you can email if needed. There is a group that I followed a few years ago at N4M called, "What's an OMBUDSMAN?" Check it out.

[Mary (Chris' mom)]

My son wanted Slim Jims for awhile but then he says if it takes to long to get to him, they get really greasy and makes a mess of his uniform when he opens them. As typical for the military, the food is often bland so he liked hot sauces until I sent too many of them. lol He likes the Mio water flavorings and kool-aid mixes for bottled water on ship (they get really dried out in the salty air).

[ima]

Is there anyone who has a child at Camp Hansen in Okinawa.  My son is now 3 weeks in Japan. Yes I agree things can be very slow and they are not told much in advance. Does the address for living in the barracks come in the same format like being on a ship?

I also would like to send him some stuff and his birthday is coming up in March and I want also to give him a surprise. Any ideas how to go about it?

Also in times of emergence what contact should we have? Since they are not told much when I get some ideas on this forum I ask him to look into and that is how sometimes I get some sort of information.

[ima]

 

Is there anyone who has a child at Camp Hansen in Okinawa.  My son is now 3 weeks in Japan. Yes I agree things can be very slow and they are not told much in advance. Does the address for living in the barracks come in the same format like being on a ship?

I also would like to send him some stuff and his birthday is coming up in March and I want also to give him a surprise. Any ideas how to go about it?

Also in times of emergence what contact should we have? Since they are not told much when I get some ideas on this forum I ask him to look into and that is how sometimes I get some sort of information

[Mary (Chris' mom)]

Look up the OMBUDSMAN program or the FRG (Family Readiness Group). They are folks who work with the families as liaisons. They can give some limited information. Just as in Boot camp...if there is an emergency have the hospital/police/doctor's office etc to call the Red Cross. Your sailor's command will determine if the emergency requires the sailor's attention right then, or if it can wait until a break or end of shift. When I had my heart attack, it only took minutes for them to begin to get my son. Know his/her full name, rating, command name (ship name, squadron number, division number, etc). The Red Cross folks are awesome in emergencies!