Cheryl, welcome to NAVY DAD'S! Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We have plenty of folks here who have already experienced Boot Camp and others going through it. Once you read many of the comments here I am sure you will feel much more relaxed. Your son is in good hands. Please thank Mark for his service to our country, send him many letters and let him know you are there to support him in this new life adventure. Gary T.

Cheryl, Glad you found NavyDads, and hope my son's site helps you in your sons journey. Thank Mark from all of us for keeping us safe and for keeping our freedom. From one Yankee to the other, hello , and if there is anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate. I will pray for Mark along with all our sailors. May God sail with our Sailors.

Welcome to NavyDads Cheryl ! 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 just returned from a seven-month cruise on the carrier Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and my daughter Kat returned last fall from a seven-month cruise on the carrier Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). And Cheryl this is a great place to brag about your sailor as well! So join in and let us know how Mark 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