Greetings Steve! 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 your son Will for his service!

We also have a group on here for Deppers...

Welcome Aboard :)

Welcome aboard Steve,

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 Will 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

Good Afternoon Steve!

First, we wish your Sailor Recruit and his family all the very best during his time at Great Lakes.  With respect to your question on lodging, we stayed at the Marriott Courtyard in Waukegan, about 15 minutes from the base.  On graduation/PIR Day they provide a shuttle departing at various times.  The Staff was outstanding at the Marriott (very helpful) and they really looked after us.  Coming in from CA in the dead of winter we were pleased to find they had a nice little cafe/bar which we took advantage of once we settled into our room.  The food was pretty good.  If you plan to go out after PIR for a special meal, the steakhouse nearby to the Marriott was outstanding (you can get the name form the Marriott Staff).  The restaurant took real good care of us!  

PIR is not to be missed and I would suggest getting there as earlier as you can given the stadium bleachers REALLY fill up; we were sitting shoulder to shoulder by the time PIR started.  There are a number of things to do running up to PIR, not the least of which is to talk with other families so you won't be bored.

Navy Dads is a great resource to get info, my only regret is I discovered it AFTER our son graduated from Great Lakes and headed off to A-School (Monterey, CA).  The Web Page and support therein would have relieved a great deal of our anxiety while he was in basic training had we had access to it.

Regardless...All the Best!

Rich Ramirez