Jerome, Welcome to NavyDads. My Grandson joined the Navy and went to Boot Camp in February, 2008. He Graduated and received his Trident in Oct. 2009 and is now with his Team. When I joined this site I knew nothing about the Military. It’s really helped me understand what to expect and has relieved some of my worries.

Be sure to check out our Groups. We have several Groups for PIR and Boot Camp, plus Groups for the different Rates like Navy Nukes, Master at Arms and Special Ops. Also Group for different Ships and Bases. Check to see if your State or area has a Group already formed to locate others in your area. There are general interest Groups like: Care Packages,
A School for Dads, NASCAR for NavyDads and the book of acronyms and ranks. We’ve also added a Spanish language Group.

Also check us out on Facebook just search for Navy Dads.

We are a big family here and you can find answers to most any question or concern regarding what’s in store for your recruit. You will find members that are new to the Navy along with those who have Loved Ones who’ve made the Navy a career. We like to hear about your recruit; the good times, the concerns, and we welcome questions. I think you will find our members are a big family and everyone wants to help others understand what to expect and hear about the progress of your recruit.

Please feel free to ask questions.

Again Welcome and keep us updated on your recruit.

HooYah US Navy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to NavyDads.com Jerome! 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 things 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 USS 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 USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) as a Mass Communications Specialist. She is using her GI benefits to go to school. If NavyDads.com were around in those early days, it would have made my journey 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! Take the time to explore the site and make some new friends. Read the discussions and comments. Browse through the postings in the various groups or start a new one. If you have any 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 Jerome 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 About This Site. 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 currently or soon to be at Great Lakes you'll have many questions about what Jerome 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.

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.

Play the following video for a brief introduction to NavyDads.com. We've made some cosmetic changes to the site since this video was made, but navigation remains the same.

Best Regards- Paul

Jerome, Welcome Aboard!

My son served as an ABE aboard the USS Ronald Reagan in San Diego, Ca. and my family and I couldn't have been prouder of him. I created NavyDads when he was in boot camp in hopes that this site would better inform new Navy Dads and Navy Families that followed behind me. I designed, built, and launched NavyDads.com June 18, 2008, two days before his Navy graduation.

NavyDads provides the best community for learning about Navy life for everyone but particularly the parents. We are a place for sharing experiences with others that have gone through and are going through the same thing as you. We give you real-time information from others going through it, the sense that you're not alone and the opportunity to help another along.

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 Sailors journey in the United States Navy and I thank them for their service. I wish them the best in their travels and I'm glad you've found us.

Sincerely,
Elmo Moore

Welcome aboard Jerome.

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, PIR, 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 5000 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 Jerome 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

saw your question....all sailors will either have A-school at Great Lakes in which case they will get most of the weekend as liberty days though they have to muster at the base each night, of they will ship out on Sat. to their A-school

want to agree with Jim...think muster is 21:00, but you better allow an hour for traffic at the gate and getting back to the barracks.....

try this link....I'll try to find the most recent Navy posting: http://www.livestrong.com/article/390616-us-navy-basic-training-swi...

letter maybe week three...call maybe the following week

Hey Jerome, you can check out our link to a discussion about bootcamp pay by clicking here: http://www.navydads.com/forum/topics/being-paid-while-in-boot-camp

so to answer your question- they get paid in bootcamp

he can order a set of recruit photographs towards the end of bootcamp.....check http://www.navydads.com/group/pirtipshintsandhelps/forum/topics/ord...

don't know what his rating is so I'm guessing he is talking about going IA or Individual Augmentee - this is from our IA group:

In contrast to a Sailor that deploys with a ship, squadron or unit, a Sailor who leaves their assigned unit or command to deploy individually or with a small group is known as an Individual Augmentee (IA). Half of the deployed IAs are active duty and half are reservists. Most IAs are concentrated in the 20-nation U.S. Central Command region, which includes Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Bahrain. Many are also serving in the 53-nation U.S. Africa Command, particularly in the Horn of Africa area. The rest are serving elsewhere in the world.

The IA program is going through a revolution. We have started calling them (GSA) Global war on terror Support Assignments, and are becoming part of the detailing process instead of pulling you from a job already required by the fleet. The Navy has discovered that there is more success with these assignments when we take volunteers instead of volun-telling people to play Army in the sandbox. Some of these billets are also taken by reservists looking for an opportunity to earn extra pay, and more experience than they recieve from the reserve program.

Some of these assignments are not much different from a standard deployment; the exception being the length of time you are gone. Not all of these assignments are riding with the Army or Marines; some are infrastructure support billets: administrative assistant, MP on a base or in a prison, computer networking administrator, and so on.
There are many benefits to these assignments for one they are eligible for joint service awards. The Navy has also talked about giving points toward advancement results, as well as your choice of orders after your IA tour.

you have to define what time frame you are talking about.....if you are talking about taking possession of their phone for good, then after they have checked outta RTC and left the base......they cannot have the phone on RTC

as far as I know, all the A-schools allow cell phones