Navy Destroyers

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Comment by Chris H. on September 22, 2010 at 10:17am

Thanks, Paige. I think it really was lack of sleep (she spent the weekend with a buddy of mine who is her Godfather) and his family celebrating a couple daughter-in-law birthdays, had a couple long drives in a rental car, rushing around to get her personal stuff like banking squared away, had a watch, slept some weird hours, etc., etc. I think it is just circumstances, but sure they're got the right medications onboard for those who need to adjust. LOL!

Comment by Paige on September 22, 2010 at 10:09am

Chris, I wish your daughter well and hope she has a good deployment. As I mentioned to you in one of my previous postings, I walked right along side the Decatur when I was in San Diego Labor Day weekend. I witnessed a number of workers loading crates full of food onto the ship. I commented to my son that it looked like they were getting ready to head out to sea for awhile.
Billy also got seasick on his first time underway. He also was fine until he ate lunch, lol. He's done alright since then, but takes some seasickness medicine with him just incase. He went on a deep sea fishing trip with some of his sailor buddies last Sunday and said he was sick all day. He blamed it on what he had eaten that morning before the trip. I guess he can't blame it on the Navy cooking, lol.

Comment by Chris H. on September 22, 2010 at 8:44am

Our daughter aboard the USS Decatur (DDG-73) has deployed from San Diego, sent an email saying to send her emails and that they'd just had a wonderful, healthy lunch. Seven hours later another email, "I'm seasick. Crackers and a plastic bag are my new best friends." Apparently not sick enough to stay away from the computer. LOL! Kind of funny because this girl loves rollercoasters has been on many civilian ships (cruises) and some pretty rough airline flights since she was a baby. Maybe Navy cooking isn't "that" good? LOL!

Comment by Mary, Proud Mom on September 16, 2010 at 11:32am

Yes...definitely put that cell phone away when they deploy! They can buy phone cards and call from ports or from the ship's phone.

The ombudsman for their ship is an excellent suggestion and you can reach out to them but your sailor will have to confirm with the ombudsman that it's okay to communicate with you. Generally when they report to the ship, they will complete paperwork and this option is included in the paperwork.

Comment by Chris H. on September 16, 2010 at 8:00am

Hi David - another thing is to check on the ship's webpage (most have them) for the Ombudsman. Or ask your Sailor next time you talk. The Ombudsman can usually give you information about what is available, where and general indications when you can expect something to happen. The one thing to watch is cell phone usage. Unless you've got a special rate/coverage, overseas usage can cost into the hundreds of dollars for a very short amount of time. I would avoid that like crazy.

As Mary said, they do generally have onboard computer access at designated times, so if you were given an email address use it. They will be glad to hear from you when they get the chance. When our lady Sailor leaves port, we've already agreed we're going to suspend her cell service because it will be useless for seven months or so. They have other means to communicate with us.

Comment by Mary, Proud Mom on September 16, 2010 at 6:59am

Hi David, our son is out on his first deployment and I'm happy to say that the communication is much better than we thought it would be. On an average, he has called home from the ship about once a week. They will be assigned an email on the ship for communications but sometimes they turn the email off for small stretches depending on their mission. Another option that alot of families enjoy is skype, the program is free to download but you need speakers and a webcam to see your sailor. They cannot skype on the ship but when they go to port they can use it then. And facebook ...you can communicate with them via facebook, also check facebook for the USS Gridley's facebook page - many ships have set up one and will post photos and updates when they are deployed.

Order free boxes from usps.com. Get the FPO flat rate boxes, he will be assigned an FPO mailbox. Get the "large" ones, they are not that large and normal would cost $14 to ship but the post office discounts the large box to $12. You will need a custom form with each box even if they are sitting in their us homeport.

Communications is so much better today than my days as a Navy wife!

Comment by Chris H. on September 15, 2010 at 8:30pm

How cool. We're not going to see her for about seven months (we think), but did have portions of two weeks when she had leave before reporting to San Diego Aug. 4. Of course, she spent a LOT of time when she was home catching up on Grey's Anatomy we'd recorded for her after she left for boot camp and A School in February. LOL! Now it is all business for a while, and we'll start recording Grey's again next week.

Comment by Paige on September 15, 2010 at 7:52pm

Chris, thank you for joining our Destroyer group. I'm glad you found it! I actuallly got a close up look of the Decatur because it was anchored on the same pier as my son's ship the Howard.

Comment by Chris H. on September 15, 2010 at 10:51am

Well, I can't believe I've just discovered this group. Our daughter is aboard the USS Decatur (DDG-73) in San Diego, and it felt like I was aboard your bay cruise when you said you'd seen her ship. She was lucky to have a bit of leave and able to spend a few days with her Godfather up in Bakersfield after visiting his ex-Navy son, his wife and their two boys in the Orange County area for a few days.

Comment by Paige on September 9, 2010 at 9:35am

Hello All,
I want to welcome all the new members and everyone else who have joined our Destroyer Group. I apologize for the lack of activity of my part. Due to my hectic work schedule, it is difficult finding the time to post messages.

I hope all of your sailors are doing well. I had the opportunity to visit my son in San Diego over the Labor Day weekend. The day after my arrival in SD, priority one for me was to make a visit to Billy's ship the USS Howard. This was my second visit and just a bit more special than the first because I was given a personal tour by my son. It's great to be able to see the place our sailors call work and home and gain even more appreciation for what they are doing in the Navy. There were many destroyers in port that I was able to see from the pier and from the bay while taking one of the bay cruise tours. Along with the Howard, I saw the Decatur, Preble, Higgins, and Kidd just to name a few. I took a number of picutures during the bay tour. It was impressive to see all the ships there.

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