Paul. Thank you so much for the fantastic welcome to your page. I am glad to be here as I know so little about the Navy, Ships and overall hiw the Navy works as my son will be there for years to come. Not really used to not seeing him and that is rough. Or not getting a text for 2 weeks is kind of weird for me. I’m excited for him and his learning and new friends he will get over time. My son is protecting our great country and I love it!!! Looking forward to being a Navy Dad the rest of my life!!  

Paul thanks very much for all the info. Hopefully I can contribute something to this forum. 

Also thanks for sharing about your family. 

my journey is just beginning 

matt

Very happy to be part of this community.  Thanks very much!

HI Paul,

Thank you for all of the information and links.  We are very new to all of this and hopefully we can learn more about the Navy and how our son Robert is contributing.  I really appreciate you sharing some of your family background and as always we are very grateful for their service and commitments.

We are getting ready for our son's graduation, in Coronado in February 2020 and we rally would like to learn more about any of the procedures, requirements, or how events are scheduled.  we have a number of family members that would like to be there with us, however, i'm not sure how to advise them yet.

Any information that you or others may be able to share would be helpful and very appreciated.

Best Regards,

Paul

Hi Paul, thank you for your comment, you have so much experience to share about the Navy life. I found it reassuring that you have two children that are well established in the Navy. My first question would be concerning travel/accommodations to his graduation ceremony. I clicked on the link about it but it was not working. Do you have any suggestions as to websites that I could find out information regarding this? Thank you Tom

Hi Paul,

 My son is on the Abraham Lincoln. This was his first deployment.

I am leaving for Hawaii to see him and go on a six day tiger cruise into San Diego.

A little nervous but extremely excited.

Rob 

Hi Paul, My daughter just shipped out to basic on Tuesday. If all goes well, she will be heading out to Pensacola in early March.

Thank you for the warm welcome!

Thank you very much for allowing me to enter this select group being an honor for my wife and my person to know that our son is in one of the best community in the world as is the great family of the United States Navy I hope to attend his graduation as sailor but if I can't I know he won't be alone since he now has a big family

Hey Paul, looks like I found this site late in life. My son is aboard the Roosevelt. He's the 1st Lt. on the ship. We just got messaged this morning that he is quarantined for 14 days in a hotel. I'm sure it's driving him nutz having to go through this time. He's been on several deployments, but I don't think he's ever been on anything like this. Good to know there's a site where we can talk about our military kids.  

Hi again.  I hope all is well with you.  There is someone asking me to contact them outside of the forum.  Is that normal activity?

thank you Paul- i look forward to exploring the site and learning as much as i can. best- angelo v.

Thank you for the background, Paul!  Although I went Air Force, I'm a Navy brat, so I grew up slinging the lingo.  Even so, I experienced the usual concerns most parents experience when their sons and daughters sign up for military service.  So very proud of him, though!

Thanks so much Paul!

Thanks so much Paul. These links look like they will be very helpful. Initially my son was thinking Marines, but my mission was successful and he gave that up. Together we researched the AF and Navy. Lots of videos (some good, some better, some clickbait), and personal interviews of service men and women.It was a good father-son experience. Excited to see what language he is assigned for DLI, since my plan is to learn it as well. The irony of the quarantine is that they are getting a light intro to military life and time to get some learning taken care of. He's now understanding why I told him to crank out sets of pushups throughout the day. At least he was on his own an early riser 5-6am even during his senior year in HS. -John

Thank you for all the wonderful information and for the add..

Thank you Paul. We really appreciate this group. We are in distress at the moment, because we got the call a couple of days ago that Brendan is on Ship 5 for standing up during Moment of Truth. He called his recruiter, and not us, so we have no idea what he said, but he did tell his recruiter that he made a mistake. He is a clean kid, honor role, no medical or psych history, natural leader,  played sports, started a work out club at school, been in DEP for a year, got his best friend to join the Navy also, and they worked out together during this COVID time getting ready for Boot Camp. We already have one daughter in the Army and one in Air Force. Both did very well through Boot Camp and received honors, so we never questioned that Brendan would do well, because it is like God created him for this. This came as a huge shock to all of us, and even his recruiter. I was able to speak with legal yesterday (thanks to this group where I found the number) and found out what his rights are and that his briefing is today. Still haven't heard from Brendan. Hoping that he can call us with some info soon. In the mean time, we are all praying.

Happy Update!: We received a letter from Brendan reporting that he was sent back to training on Oct 1! He will not lose any bonuses or benefits, and this will not appear on his record. He thanks all who prayed for him because he credits Divine intervention with this quick resolution. His graduation date is 11/67! Thank you to Navy Dads for all of the support through this difficult situation! 

11/6/20 Graduation Not 11/67 LOL

Thank you, Paul.

My son, Alex, is doing great.  (Thanks for asking.)

He graduated 10/8 and now has his orders to A-School, but he is still in THU at RTC (Ship7) waiting for travel.

I do intend to look around the site and I will be sure to check out the getting started information.

Thanks again,

Peter Timewell

Thank you I appreciate you letting me join Thanks for all you do

Hi Paul, thank you for writing.

My daughter arrived at RTC on December 2, I received her 30 second phone call, and have not heard anything since. I have heard several times "no news is good news", but I expected to have received her address by now.

I've been on another Navy site, and today I was told due to Covid and the mail issues, it is taking longer than usual to get the form letter out to parents.

One woman even said she received the letter 3 days before her son graduated, so if that's the case, I might not even be able to write to my daughter before she finishes basic training.

I'll look around the site, and thank you for the links, I'll be checking those out as well.

Thanks again, and Happy New Year!

Marc

Thank you Paul and thank you for all that you do to keep this site up.

Thank you sir.  There's a lot of good information here!  I appreciate this site's effort. 

Paul ... thank you very much for the info and congratulations on your son and daughter!!!

Hi Paul,  My son is currently at OCS class 12-21.  Do you know how accurate the "Survivors Guide to Navy Officer Candidate School' is these days? It has great information but seems 10+ years old in some of the info.  Just checking as have only had 1 letter (do not expect alot) but curious what he is going through each week.  THanks, James  

Thanks Paul,  I lost sight of the first email you sent and was looking at this link that was dated 2012.  The First Week of Navy Officer Candidate School - Navy Dads

I got it now. 

'On Children' by Kalil Gibran-

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, Speak to us of Children.
     And he said:
     Your children are not your children.
     They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
     They come through you but not from you,
     And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

     You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
     For they have their own thoughts.
     You may house their bodies but not their souls,
     For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
     You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
     For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
     You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
     The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
     Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
     For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Thank you, Paul. It was a lot easier to be a Marine, and going to boot camp, than it is to be the father watching your son tackle OCS. Looking forward to learning what he is going through, as well as what others have already learned about the experience.

S/F

Ingo

Thank you very much. 

John

Thanks again for the welcome.  I am looking forward to the great things that will come for my son through the Navy.  He is looking forward to his role as an AE and the education and training that comes with it.  My father was a Marine in WWII and grandfather was in the Navy.  I'm a very proud Dad.  We don't know much about the details of Navy life and are eager to learn all we can.  Thanks for answering basic questions.  Now it time to learn all the acronyms and Navy speak!!

Thank you. I appreciate the insight provided on this site and Facebook. It will be an interesting time watching my son. I'm excited for him. 

Thanks for the welcome. I too had no knowledge of Navy protocols or traditions, but proud of my son and can’t wait for graduation next month. I’ll keep you posted.

Paul, thanks so much for this helpful information! I'm so glad I found this forum! My wife and I are new to this and other than what I've read on line, we know nothing. 

Thanks again!

Jack 

Thanks for the welcome!  My daughter left yesterday for boot camp, so this is all news to me.... I have a lot to learn and with her being my baby (and only child in my house as she wanted to be with me after my divorce) for the last 4 years, it's definitely a hard thing to let her go.  Hoping to be able to attend graduation in 8 weeks (I have to figure out how I know which training group she's in so I know when the graduation is.... hopefully she will communicate that in a letter that I hope to get some day.)
Thanks again for the welcome, and I look forward to learning more about the Navy and being a part of this group.
Ken

Hello Paul, thank you so much and we really appreciate having a site like this.  I'm going to dive into the How to Get Started section as there seems to be so much helpful knowledge and information here.  Terry

Thanks Paul,

I am glad you all are here. Even though I haven't been back after registering, I have been reading though all the information today. 

Smiddy

Thanks Paul, I am glad there is a place like this to go and share our experiences, or knowledge, and our questions too! Look Forward to the Group and the interaction. Alex did surprise us all with his choosing the Navy, but something inside me says its the thing to do for him. We still all live at Ft Bragg, NC and the family runs deep in the Military both in the Air Force, and really deep in the Army. Many Generations of us. Somehow it must have been my wife and myself and our retirement to the Carolina Coast on our boats. Alex was four when e named our first, and we spent 278 days on the boat that year. By the time he was five he had his own skiff, he was diving using a Brownie Lung, doing flips off the pool board and hanging out at the Marina. So WHY in the World would I be surprised he has chosen the Navy.......I simply have no idea! Thanks for the Welcome Aboard! (Bud Morgan)

Thank you Paul.  I'm very proud of my daughter and looking forward to participating in the group.  I will make sure to read the guidelines and security protocols before asking questions as I do have a few.  

Mando

Thanks Paul. Looking forward to learning more about Navy life for my daughter & Navy Dads for myself.

Thanks Paul. We are excited to be part of this community. I'm sure to have lots of questions - Justin heads to RTC July7th. I have to say, the Navy Recruiting Station East Brunswick have been super helpful and informative. Great group of guys.

Thanks so much. I appreciate it.

Thank you for the warm welcome. My son AT1 is currently on deployment and has been in for 11 years now. I’m very proud of him serving our country. I was recently invited to do a tiger cruise this year and so I have looking for current info on the cruise, where to go, what to do, what to pack etc. Can anyone enlighten me???

Thanks Paul. Right now I guess he got moved to Ship 5. He has two medical waivers stemming from a DVT he had in high school from an injured vein. It’s been a year long and arduous process involving many military and civilian doctors to understand the records and get the waivers. Apparently now they want a waiver for a factor 5 gene he tested positive for back in 2018. I’m not sure how much fight he has left in him. He’s been trying for four years to get into the military and finally gets in and now this. I’m praying for him. 

Thank you for the welcome; I was USN myself (ET on USS Anzio CG-68) from 1995-2001 so I'm sure there's quite a few things that Bryson will have in common with me; very odd to be in the same position that I put my own father in ~27yr ago though :-)

Thank you for the links Paul. Very much appreciated. Our son writes us as soon as his yeoman duties are up to date and as frequently as he can highlighting his days and even the not so eventful. He is in the top three for top cadet scoring at the moment. We're extremely proud that he gets "volunteered" to demonstrate skills. Proud at the leader he is becoming. Battle Stations 21 a mere two weeks away. Looking forward to his school time.

HAHA!  Not in history making double overtime they don't!!  Until next year, BEAT NAVY!!

Hi Paul! Thanks for the welcome!  So big question... We just got word that my son-in-law has been put in the RCU, Recruit Convalescent Unit.  Waiting for medical tests.  What can you tell me about this? Is this the infamous Ship 5?