Welcome to NavyDads Wayne! 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 tail end 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 Wayne this is a great place to brag about your sailor as well! So join in and let us know how Nathaniel 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. Best Regards- Paul

Wayne, welcome to NAVY DAD'S. This is a great group of people to help start you on your sons Naval journey. Please feel free to ask questions and inform yourself to the experiences your son Nathaniel will participate in as he works his way through basic training. The time will fly by very fast and before you know it P.I.R.. Please give Nathaniel my thanks for his service to this great country of ours and thank you for raising such a son as you have. GARY F.

The best to you and yours Wayne. If I can give you any advice it would be to write Nathaniel often. Let him know you support him and are there for him. Send him a calling card, but don't expect a call for the first 4 weeks. When he writes you can expect one letter a week. Keep him informed, if you have questions send him a question sheet which he can fill in the answers. Remember he won't have much time, but time will fly and when he graduates and you are sitting watching him your pride will be just as it was the day he was born. Your friend Gary T.