Welcome to NavyDads Steve! 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 he 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 is on the second half of a seven-month cruise on the carrier Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and my daughter Kat recently returned from a seven-month cruise on the carrier Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). And Steve this is a great place to brag about your sailor as well! So join in and let us know how James is doing!

As a parent of a sailor currently or soon to be at Great Lakes you'll have many questions about what your son 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 Steve- thank you for your service to our great country! Best Regards- Paul

Steve, Welcome Aboard! 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. I'm new at this and I hope this site will benefit fathers that come behind us. So jump right in share concerns, join groups, share info, and show off your sailor. I'm so glad to find out their are so many proud Navy dads just like myself. I hope this site benefits you and your family throughout your sons journey in the Navy. Thank James for his service for me and yours as well. Thanks again for joining us.
Sincerely, EG

Welcome aboard Steve!

Yes, Steve this sounds normal. The first week they are in boot camp they are know as "Smurfs." Which means they only wear their Navy sweatsuits the first week which makes them stand out like a sore thumb, so it let's everyone know that they are at the bottom of the totem pole. I imagine it would depress anyone. Once James makes it into week two they will keep him so busy he won't have time to be home sick. Half way through he will be looking forward to seeing his family at graduation. James as well as your family will go through ups and downs during boot camp. It is an emotional roller coaster. Some letters and phone calls are good and some not so good. It is normal. Just always mail him positive letters, nothing negative. My son is 10 months in and is stationed on the USS Ronald Reagan in San Diego, Ca. He still gets home sick. It's a tough adjustment for them but they have so many Sailors going through the same thing as them and they are a huge support group for each other. So you have Navy Dads and James has his shipmates. Everyone will be just fine, I promise. Keep me posted on his progress.

Steve,

Nice to "meet" you. I am looking forward to the PIR as well. I'm taking my motorhome there so I have a built in place to stay. I have an old friend about 30 minutes from Great Lakes and I may stay with him for a night as a break.

Have you been getting letters from James regularly? Todd sends them in bunches, which I guess is normal since I read that at this stage they can only mail them on Sunday.

I hope James is well and that you are holding up too.

- Hal

Hey Steve,

Things are good with me and the family, thanks. I'm glad that James is OK at least, it's better than being miserable as I know some are. Todd sounds good. He is counting the days to PIR as I am, but he said that the physical part of BC is not as tough as he thought it would be. He said there are so many great guys with him that it makes things much better.

We are about 750 miles away, so it's not too close but is still a drivable distance. We are leaving from NY on Weds 4-8 and will probably stop for a night on the way unless on of my older boys shares the driving with me.

I hope to spend the rest of the weekend with Todd, his packet said nothing about grad and go. I believe his A school is in Mississippi but I'm not sure when he's headed there.

I am spending most of this weekend getting the motorhome ready after the long winter, but temps are below freezing at night so I can't un-winterize the water tanks yet. I'll be ready to go and I can't wait for PIR, it's less than 3 weeks away!

Have a good weekend and I hope you and the family stay well.

- Hal

Hey Steve,

Todd called yesterday afternoon as well and he sounded great, I'm glad James is good. Todd did not mention anything about battlestations, but I did ask him about grad and go. The graduation packet didn't say anything about it so I figured he wasn't. He believes he's not either and he is looking forward to liberty after the PIR.

I hope the weather is cooperating with your planting schedule, it certainly isn't cooperating here with my motorhome prep plans. Hope all is well.

- Hal

Steve I'm not sure. I don't think you can. What I would do is post that quote somewhere on your own page, so that way before you head off to a group, discussion, etc You could highlight and copy the quote and then paste it at the end of your messages. If I find an easier way I'll let you know. So how is James doing in boot camp?

Steve- what I do is create a simple .txt file in notepad that I leave minimized on my task bar...it is easy to click the icon on the taskbar, highlight my text and copy into the comment window

Hey Steve,

Things here are the same as well. Todd told me when he called last Saturday that he qualified on the range, but only barely. He was disappointed because his brother in the Army is an expert marksman. I hope neither of them ever have to fire a weapon regardless. But, he qualified and that's the important thing.

I think I am just about set with the motorhome, thanks for asking. We are supposed to get some heavy rain later today so that will be a good test of my recent re-sealing job. We are leaving for Great Lakes on Weds 4-08 and taking our time on the drive, plus, that thing is slow.

Stay in touch and hopefully we can meet in a couple of weeks.

- Hal

Steve,

Brett's MOS is 45G. That's a fire control specialist. He was trained to repair the target acquisition systems for Abrams tanks, Bradleys, and other heavy artillery. It was very technical training and his AIT was 6 months long. He is stationed in Ft. Hood, TX and is currently in Balad AFB, AKA Camp Anaconda. He should be back home in late June or July. He's been in the Army almost exactly 3 years and in Iraq for a year. He was promoted to Sgt 1/1/09, 3 months after his 20th birthday.

He loves the Army but not his role in combat support. Despite his MOS and training he hasn't worked on a tank or anything else related to his MOS since AIT. He's had guard duty, worked on small arms repair, worked in the wood shop, and now his squad "escorts" Iraqis who work on the base. He re-upped a few months ago and is going to be airborne infantry and wants to be a Ranger. I am proud of him but I wish he would have chosen a different MOS.

I'll pass on your words, and he'll appreciate them from a soldier, thanks.

Talk to you soon,
- Hal

Hey Steve,

Things are good here, just a little rainy and chilly. I passed on your regards to Brett, thanks.

I haven't heard from Todd since last Saturday, I hope he calls later with info about Battle Stations. I'm in agreement with you on praying, and I'll join you in keeping Todd, James, and the others in my thoughts.

My plans at this point may be changing. I have an old friend who lives in Wilmette, about a half hour from Great Lakes, who invited us to stay with him. He has a big house with plenty of room, and I'm thinking about taking him up on his offer. It would be much cheaper to pay for gas in a car and I can drive a bit faster than the motorhome, but I have a space issue. I don't own a van any more and I can only fit 5 in my truck. There are 6 of us traveling and I need space for Todd too, so I may rent a van, borrow my brother's, or take the motorhome anyway. However we get there I can't wait to see Todd and the PIR.

Stay in touch.

- Hal

Steve,

Todd passed live fire with a 181, which I guess is barely passing. But, he passed, even though Brett gave him some grief in a letter. Brett is an expert marksman, but that was with a rifle.

It seems as if Easter weekend is a big travel weekend and there are no mini vans or 7 passenger SUVs at any of the rental companies. And my brother is going away that weekend so his van is out, so it looks like I'm taking the motorhome after all. We're leaving in 9 days, I can't believe it's so close.

I'm off to bowl a game or two with my 23 year old son, so I'll "talk" to you later.

Take care,
- Hal

Steve,

Congratulations on James and his division getting throuigh Battle Stations. I got a few letters from Todd yesterday and he has Battle Stations on Monday I believe. He sounded great though, very positive about everything and actually enjoying himself.

Meanwhile I'm moving ahead with getting ready for the trip. We're leaving Wednesday so it's only a few days away. I'm leaving today for Long Island (about 250 miles) to visit the family, so it's a lot of driving for me the next week or so.

Talk to you soon.
- Hal

Steve,

You are a biker? Me too, and two of my sons, but not Todd so far. I actually am between bikes for the first time in almost 30 years. My problem is that I can't justify buying a bike that I want to own since I don't ride enough. I've been here befoe and it's a matter of time before I buy something.

Hopfully I'll hear from Todd shortly with the "I'm a sailor" call. I can't wait. I also can't wait to get out of here, it's only 2 more days. As if I needed more reason to want to leave, I live in Binhamton, NY, where the shooting happened Friday. It happened only about 5 miles from here, and as you can imagine the town is reeling and that's all you read about or see on the news. It was a terrible thing but I can use a break from the coverage.

So, let's talk soon and maybe we can meet in person in a few days.

- Hal

Steve,

I got the phone call today, Todd is a US sailor! He sounded great but very tired, which is understandable.

I am jealous, you have the bike I want, well done.

We are leaving tomorrow around 8:00 am and taking it slow. We'll drive until we get tired and stop for the night. Todd said he should have liberty from the PIR until 8:00 PM and then from 8:00 am - 8:00 PM Saturday and Sunday. We will be able to spend quite a bit if time with him thankfully.

I'll talk to you in the next few days and we'll try to get together.

- Hal

Hey Steve,

I got home about an hour ago from the Great Lakes weekend. It was a great weekend but so hectic I didn't call you as I planned. I am sorry about that as I would have liked to meet you in person.

The PIR was great as I'm sure you agree. It was so emotional watching the divisions walk in and trying to find Todd at the same time. I didn't spot him until about half way through, but at least I was able to before the ceremony ended. I have to say that the Navy does ceremony better than the Army. While Brett's graduation was very moving and I loved every second of it, what I saw on Friday had much more to it and was amazingly well done.

How much time did you wind up spending with James? It must have been tough to deal with the whole grad and go thing. I was lucky enough to have essentially all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with Todd.

Todd ships out Weds to Meridian, MS., is that where James is going?

Stay in touch and let's compare notes about A-school. I'll speak to you soon.

- Hal

Outstanding Steve! I appreciate the effort to help spread the word....check out the three slide videos I've posted about the Tiger Cruise I did last week...and the blog I've started as well....pretty awesome experience!

That's cool Steve! I wouldn't turn you down, but EG may be more the one that needs the cards.....I still have a number of them I had printed up that I didn't distribute on the cruise.

And thanks for the kind words about the blog....I know a number of people will never get the chance to do anything like that so I wanted to try to give everyone a feel for what it was like. And yeah....our last night in Norfolk we went down to Schula's Steak house.....had an awesome couple of slabs of beef while looking at a couple of Superbowl trophies...later that night we lit up the cigars....to be brief....I could get used to those pretty easily..................

Hey Steve,

Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been since I had been on. After the PIR weekend Todd went to Meridian, MI for a-school and you were right, it was great to be able to have normal cell phone contact with him again.

Todd is home now, he got home on 5-22 and will be home for 15 days before heading to Norfolk and the USS Enterprise. It's amazing to have him home, I hope James comes home soon and you are able to spend time on the bikes. Has James received his orders yet? If so, where is he heading?

I'm sorry it took me so long to get back online here, I'll make it a point to stay in touch. Keep me informed and send my regards to James and the family. Happy Memorial Day.

- Hal

Steve, I've been meaning to write you. Sorry for the delay. It has been busy around here jumping thru all the hoops in getting this store up and running. It's almost done and will hopefully be open by mid July if not earlier. I did receive the business cards, thank you! they are awesome. I've told my wife almost everyday, don't let me forget to write Steve. I love the front and the Sailors Creed on the back is the best. Did you do these yourself? They are the best I've seen yet. When I run out of them, I'll have to contact you to get more. Next time I'll buy them. Also I'm sure some members would like to have them too.

How has James been doing? Post me an update when you get a chance. Evan is off on his second deployment and doing good. Talk to you soon.
EG

Steve, i'd be more than happy to hand some out at pir the end of June. Yes I am going. Can't wait to see Jimmie. They should be here in time before I leave for Great Lakes.
Thanks Again,
Jamie

Steve thanks for the info. Yes, I'll be happy when the store is up, we're close. I've had two shirts come in and another one being printed as we speak, travel mug, Navy flag, and koozies on their way. A lot of things to get in order, doing something like this.

Evan returned about six months ago from their six month deployment. So this is a quick re-deployment. They will only keep them at sea this trip for five months. He's loving it, working on the flight deck with the arresting gear, catching those birds as they come in. This is his first trip working on the roof. Talk to you soon.

Steve, Jimmies pir is June 26th. We will be down there the 25th.
thanks,
jamie

Hey Steve Eddie is goin to Little Creek in Virgina......He will not be going back to Gulf Port......Straight to Little Creek from the house.......How he knows all this info is beyond me......I guess no Combat traing.....I will let you know more when he finally gets his orders

Steve, I handed out the cards you sent me at Jimmies graduation. I even had Jimmie take some of them back to hand out to his fellow sailors back at the ship.Many of the new dads were really interested because they didnt know there was a site like this for them.Job well done!! Graduation was awesome. Jimmie graduated E-3 and will be a machinist mate. He goes to a-school in South Carolina Wed. It was great seeing him for 3 days. I was also very impressed with the way all the sailors conducted themselves on liberty.Top notch group all the way around! Jimmies in the 233 Division. Thanks again for the cards. Jamie Cline

Steve, received the Cards today,Thank You Very Much.

I have a Aunt that lives in Seattle, when my Uncle was alive the lived NE of Seattle in Snohomish and his office was in Everett. Spelling may be off.

Again thanks for the Cards

Hey Steve, unfortunatly Eddie did not spend much time with us at all......He had something going on with an old girl friend.....Mom was upset, but what can you do....... :(

Maybe we will get a little more of his time when he come's back....But i keep telling her we spent 3 day's with him memorial weekend....

Anyhow he is in Little Creek, waiting to hear from him on what is going on....We met a sailor who is stationed at Norfolk, he said LC is all special OP"S.....Seal's, Ranger, ect....He said it is awesome over there..we will have to see what come's of it!!!!!!!!!

Take care-
Ed

Yo Steve---- thanks for the cards....they look Great!! Now I hafta get my rear in gear and hand them out!

Hello Steve how thing with your son in Gulfport ? Did your son go to Great Lakes for boot camp?
If so did he fly in to Gulfprt Airport or New Orleans? I 'm not going to make grad day because Brandy GnG. I thought I would easy over to Gulfport or New Orleans for short mins. To vist. So if any ones knows please let me know thank you very much

Hello Steve I got a phone call from Brandy (Niki) around 11:30am today after there grad in she going to fly in Gulfport at 9:00pm to night. I be there around 8:00 pm to take a peek in pic or two
of my little sailor girl well maybe three pics. But thank for infor.

Wish it was cooling off down here, but then Tucson is known for having some hot summers....108 last week, but down now to the more usual 102-103 range....cool weather!

Kat is assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln...normally ported in Everett though right now in Bremerton undergoing a maintenance cycle. She is really staying in Everett though as she has an appartment there and a boyfriend. Think she likes the area because there is ton of stuff to do, though as a desert rat she does feel a little waterlogged from all the rain! She gets out in April and has indicated she is staying in the area and wants to go to school there.....I'm hoping to visit before she gets out...we'll see how the schedules mesh and how fat my wallet is................

Hey Steve, sorry for not writing, work has been really busy, and started coaching pee wee football. So been slammed and no sign of end untile October...LOL

Eddie has been doing fine, he is happy..He just got his truck delivered to him this weekend. So you know he is real happy now....and having a blast as he would say....

He has been welding a lot, but it seems every time i talk to him they are getting off work early or cooking out. Must be nice!!!!!!

Other than that, he is settling in nice i suppose.......

I been trying to make time to post some pic's just can't to seem to make it happen!!!!!!!!

Well take care, and hope ypu and your family are going great!!!!!

Ed

Steve glad to hear James is doing good!!!!!!!!!!! and i am sure he is ready to get out of there.........

All has been quite here, except for Eddie having his truck.....Now we never know were he is going to be on the weekend's...LOL

He was in New Jersey this weekend, has his best freind their......So we figured he will be going to Jersey often.......

Hope Jameds don't let that A**hole get the best of him, but it should get him ready for the rest of his life...I think we all still have someone like that, in our everyday life.......

Well take care and talk to you later

Ed-

P.s. like that music you have on your page, ROCKEN OUT TO IT FOR A LITTLE WHILE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Steve, how you doing, sorry have not been in contact much....It's football season, and man coaching these kid's take's alot of my time.....

But yes we talk to Eddie just about every other day, his little sister won't go long without talking to her big brother.....He said he might be able to come home around Christmas, but same as James, just not sure....

He keeps saying he will still be deploying next year March or April...I come to my sense's that you just never know what will happen.......But other than that everything is going good, or as good as we can expect...

So how is James likeing his new base?? And what is he doing in his free time?? Has he been di=oing any welding?????aid here lately they have been doing alot of it.......Well gotta go, at work!!!LOL

Take care Steve-

Merry Christmas Steve ! you have a wonderful family ! love your music too i could stay here all night and ROCK OUT !
Rex

Hey Steve things are pretty calm around here. i need to check out your new play list !
I know it will be great. we have had some warm weather, so far it has been in the low 70 s.
I have been helping my neighbor who has a small construction business, we are remodeling a town house bath room. it will be a bath and a half when its done.
Gives me something to do and beer money LOL talk to you later !
Rex

Hey Steve hope you dont mind just sitting here enjoying some great music ! you have some great photos too ! i wore my parka a lot too, always hated the mickey Mouse boots.
they never would keep my feet warm.
Look me up if you have a garage sale and want to sell the boat LOL
Rex