Suzanne, Welcome Aboard!

I'm so glad to have the Navy Moms on here to keep us men in line. My son is an ABE aboard the USS Ronald Reagan in San Diego, Ca. and my family and I couldn't be prouder of him. When he first enlisted I found NavyForMoms in searching for answers to my son's future. I just knew their had to be a site for dads like n4m's but I was wrong. So I started this site so us dads would also have a place to call home. We have many moms on the site and benefit greatly from their point of views and we are willing to help the moms in any way we can. So jump right in share concerns, join groups, share info, and show off your sailor. I hope this site benefits you and your family throughout your daughters journey in the Navy. Thank Sierra for her service for me and thanks again for joining us.

Sincerely, EG

Welcome to NavyDads Suzanne! I'm sure you'll find the site as fun and useful as I have. Explore and make some friends, add your comments to a discussion or two, read the postings in the various groups-- even start one or two. I have! If you have any questions or concerns about your sailor and what she is going through...ask! I'm sure someone here will have the answer or can point you in the right direction to find out. I'm lucky enough to have two sailors- my son Eric just returned from a seven-month cruise on the carrier Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and my daughter Kat returned last fall from a seven-month cruise on the carrier Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). And Suzanne this is a great place to brag about your sailor as well! So join in and let us know how Sierra is doing!

As a parent of a sailor currently or soon to be at Great Lakes you'll have many questions about what your daughter is going through. Thanks to one of our members we have two excellent videos that you can access from the Video area on the NavyDads.com main page: New Bootcamp 1 of 2 and New Bootcamp 2 of 2. These videos will answer many of your questions and concerns and will give you a better understanding of how the United States Navy transforms our children into sailors!

Be sure to spend some time in the Bootcamp group- there are many questions and answers available to help you understand what your sailor is going through. And as PIR draws closer, be sure to spend some time going through the PIR-Tips, Hints and Helps group- we’ve tried to assemble some tips and suggestions to make your sailor's PIR more enjoyable. And stop by the NavyDads offical store- Navyoutfitters.com. Show your support for NavyDads by wearing the latest in NavyDads attire. Best Regards- Paul

Glad to somebody else from the great state of Alabama! My daughter grad today and going to Gulfport how lucky.

Hi Suzanne - At first we thought that 'hell week' was Battle Stations, too, but it turned out that Battle Stations for my daughter's division (267, PIR 7/31) didn't happen until the last week - in fact hers ended at 8:30 am the day before PIR. Karen's division was the last of the nine divisions in her group to do BS. (Her group was 260 - 267 and 937.) We asked her about hell week after PIR and she said it must refer to a week (week 5, maybe?) when they had a lot of inspections and tests, etc. For my wife and I, the hardest thing about BC was having no information, late information, or confusing information! She never seemed to know more than a day or two in advance what was coming up, and by the time the newest letters came, the information in the last letters was 10 days old. We didn't get any calls from her after June 29 until she called to say she passed PIR. On top of that, each division seems to have a little bit different experience, so it's hard to know what's going on. You kind of just have to go with the flow and write lots of encouraging letters. Our daughter said our letters really helped her get through the tough spots. For us, the first four week seemed like eternity, while the last four weeks seemed to fly by. Hope that helps a little bit, and good like to your recruit!

Hi Suzanne , How things going with your sailor girl ? Hope she pass all of classes n doing great !!! Brandy got about three more weeks in A school in she start ECS school. She got her orders in her homeport will be Gulfport how long who known . Went she finish ESC school she will be sign to 1st Batt. in Gulfport in be depoly went they do. She say the base pertty full right now. But for now after A school she have two week liberty pass in that will be real nice. She got weekend pass but it was hard to see her with mama and her friends & party with her friends I took back to the base it was a short time
but nice to have seen her