Bill Hopkins's Groups
-
Navy Destroyers
85 members
-
Illinois Navy Dads
36 members
-
DEP
89 members
-
NAVY BOOT CAMP
1843 members
Bill Hopkins's Page
Profile Information
- Your Sailor's First Name (Please Do Not Post SEAL Names)
- Chris
- What Is Or Will Be Your Sailor's Rating (Job Classification) - ex. ABE, AM, GM, etc
- Seaman Apprentice
- Describe A Little About Yourself (your IP address/location will be checked::
- 50 yrs. old and Army Vet. 1981-91 ( including being Army Drill Sergeant for 2 years).
Married ( to Army and Marine Brat) - MY wives natural dad- Career Army and Vietnam Vet. Her step father was Marine Corps fighter pilot in Viet Nam. So we do have military back ground in the Family.
My son Chris is first one in Navy.
- Prior Military Experience
- Proud Army Veteran
- What Brought You To This Site:
- My son is recently enlisted (before PIR)
- What Were Your Feelings When Your Sailor Joined The Navy:
- First and most- Proud, that he chose to become one of the 1%- serving the country.
He Is in DEP - and will be going to Basic abt. March 12, unless called earlier.
Im kind of Weary of this Seaman Apprentice program, but understand its place and purpose.
As A Drill Sergeant Dad- I have no Doubt in his Physical abilities, have been coaching him on the psychological side of Basic training and serving in General.
- What Is Your Relationship With Your Sailor
- Dad
- Please Share: How Did You Find Us?
- Saw Navy Moms first , and got my wife hooked up there, and just did Navy dad search- and found here.
MISSION STATEMENT:
NavyDads mission is to Provide Support, Encouragement, and Knowledge to Sailors and their Families throughout their Journey together in the United States Navy.
NavyDads can only succeed with your help. We receive no outside funding and every dollar you donate helps us cover operating costs and helps keep this site running.
KEY INFORMATION
Community Guidelines
How To Get Started
Boot Camp Group
Navy Enlisted Rates & Non-Commissioned Officers Rates
Navy Lingo & Slang
Navy Links
U.S. Navy Ships
Delayed Entry Program
Red Cross Services for Military Families
Google-Based NavyDads Search
Events
-
• Event: Sarge's Meet & Greet
December 18, 2024 from 4pm to 8pm – Lakehurst Event Center
0 Comments 0 Likes -
• Event: Sarge's Meet & Greet
January 8, 2025 from 4pm to 8pm – Lakehurst Event Center
0 Comments 0 Likes -
• Event: Sarge's Meet & Greet
January 8, 2025 from 4pm to 8pm – Lakehurst Event Center
0 Comments 0 Likes -
• Event: Sarge's Meet & Greet
January 15, 2025 from 4pm to 8pm – Lakehurst Event Center
0 Comments 0 Likes -
• Event: Sarge's Meet & Greet
January 15, 2025 from 4pm to 8pm – Lakehurst Event Center
0 Comments 0 Likes
Blog Posts
Question about communication....
Posted by Scott Shiley on June 21, 2024 at 8:44am 5 Comments 0 Likes
Phishing for Info
Posted by Michael J Conway on April 18, 2023 at 4:08pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
USPS MILITARYKIT - **FREE**
Posted by Joseph Hernandez on January 28, 2023 at 11:54am 1 Comment 1 Like
Before A School
Posted by Philip Steinert on January 2, 2023 at 2:10pm 2 Comments 0 Likes
My little sailor
Posted by william joseph wolfcale on December 3, 2022 at 4:08pm 2 Comments 2 Likes
my dad skII Wolfcale
Posted by william joseph wolfcale on December 3, 2022 at 4:00pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
Off to A School
Posted by Michael J Conway on November 13, 2022 at 9:55pm 1 Comment 0 Likes
Son leaves for San Diego
Posted by Jeff J Sperekas on June 25, 2022 at 7:33pm 1 Comment 0 Likes
Requesting a re-assignment
Posted by Wesley Scott Phillips on January 5, 2022 at 11:37am 3 Comments 0 Likes
CHIEF PETTY OFFICER
Posted by John W Hensman on October 9, 2021 at 4:21pm 0 Comments 1 Like
Form letter
Posted by John D O'Rourke on September 16, 2021 at 5:58am 2 Comments 1 Like
Boot Camp
Posted by Mark F Durovka on March 22, 2021 at 8:46pm 2 Comments 2 Likes
RTC
Posted by Thomas ODonnell on January 10, 2021 at 3:00pm 7 Comments 0 Likes
Bittersweet Happiness
Posted by Jim Lisi on December 13, 2020 at 1:21pm 3 Comments 1 Like
Pride and Honor
Posted by Elliott Peigen on September 7, 2020 at 9:56am 2 Comments 0 Likes
Introducing Myself
Posted by John Lillyblad on March 18, 2020 at 4:38pm 5 Comments 0 Likes
Mail problems
Posted by Fernando Bolano on March 17, 2020 at 2:36pm 3 Comments 0 Likes
SHIP 06 DIV 100
Posted by Chris Koning on February 9, 2020 at 3:54pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
Ship 10 Div 114
Posted by Mike Cunningham on February 3, 2020 at 2:15pm 1 Comment 0 Likes
Day ONE
Posted by Mike Cunningham on January 15, 2020 at 1:23pm 2 Comments 0 Likes
© 2024 Created by E.G. - ND's Creator/Admin.
Powered by
Comment Wall (3 comments)
You need to be a member of Navy Dads to add comments!
Join Navy Dads
Greetings Bill! When my son joined the Navy I really had no idea nor a clue on what he’s about to partake in besides what I’ve seen on tv and some stories I've heard from friends and relatives who have served in the military.
However, I'm so honored and very proud of his decision to serve our great country.
From the start, I’ve perused Navy and recruiter information online and beyond but I felt that I needed more peace of mind to help keep me from worrying too much. I also wanted to hear from real people who've been around the block and others to share knowledge and experience throughout this entire journey.
That's when I found this website while searching for answers...
We're all in this together and I hope you too will find NavyDads.Com useful with lots of real shared information.
Don't forget to check out our Groups section and join a group that shares your interest. Please keep us posted on your sailor's progress via status updates, discussion forums, blogs and photos...
A Warm "Thank You" from our family to you and your son Chris for his service! Thanks to the rest of the family who have served as well.
Welcome Aboard :)
Welcome aboard Bill,
I would like to take this time to point you in some of the right directions. For starters if you haven't had the time take a look at the right side of any page you click on. There you will find some useful information for you. The links under the about this site will help you with how this site got started, navigation, P.I.R., About us, community guidelines and some links to some of the groups that beginners with a lot of questions will find very useful. There is also a link called Navy Enlisted Ratings, this link will take you to a brief description of the rates (jobs) in the Navy that you can find your sailors rate and find out some information about the rate that they are in.
First and foremost though we are all here for the same reason. We are curious about what our young sailors are getting into and for more information about the rate or job that they will be doing for the next 4-6 yrs. of their lives. I know when I first got here I had lots of questions and there was not a lot of people on this site but they all were either going through the same thing or had been through it and had sailors out in the fleet. Now this site has grown to over 7000 members, Dads, Moms, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, sisters, brothers, girlfriends and boyfriends. Don't be afraid to ask questions of members in here because somewhere along the way we have all had the same questions and asked. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on this site with various years of experience in the NAVY either on their own account or through their Sailors.
Again welcome aboard and BRAVO ZULU to you and your son Chris on his enlistment and please thank him for me for making the choice to defend the freedoms that my family, this country and I have and enjoy.
Navy dads Admin Tim
Welcome to NavyDads.com Bill! When my daughter enlisted in 2005 and left for RTC, I had virtually no knowledge of Navy life or how the Navy did things. By the time her PIR rolled around, I was starting to get the hang of things and understand some of the language and abbreviations, but still felt like a fish out of water when dealing with most topics concerning the US Navy. When my son enlisted and left for Great Lakes in 2007, I got serious about trying to learn as much as possible about the Navy. Now, several years into my journey, I’m blessed to say I have two sailors in the family - my son Eric (AM2) was on the carrier Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and recently reported to Helicopter Squadron Light-37 (HSL-37) in Hawaii after re-enlisting last year. My daughter Kat is now a Navy veteran and was stationed on the carrier Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) as a Mass Communications Specialist(MC3) and is currently using her GI benefits to go to school. If NavyDads.com were around in those early days, it would have made my first days as a Navy parent much easier!
I'm sure you'll find NavyDads.com as useful, educational and informative as I have over the past few years. Click How To Get Started for a guide on getting going in your NavyDads.com experience! I hope you take the time to explore the site and make some new friends. Read the discussions and add your comments. Browse through the postings in the various groups or start a new one. If you have any comments, questions or concerns about your sailor and what he is going through...be sure to post them! In my experience someone here can answer your questions or concerns or can point you in the direction to find out. And Bill this is a great place to brag as well! So join in, get active, and be sure to let us know how your son is doing! Please remember that we talk about the Navy here and we must keep the security and safety of our sailors and the fleet in mind. On the right or starboard side of every NavyDads page is an area we call Key Information. Please take a minute and read through the Operations Security (OPSEC) link for some guidelines as to what we should not talk about in a public forum like NavyDads.com.
As a parent of a sailor soon to be at Great Lakes you'll have many questions about what Chris is going through. In the Navy Bootcamp group is a discussion called A MUST READ for all New Navy Parents. Read through this post as it will do a lot to give you some understanding about what your sailor is learning and why. And be sure to check out the videos available in the Bootcamp Group as well and as PIR nears be sure to spend time in the PIR group for hints and helps!
Best Regards- Paul