Bert P Dowlen's Page

Bert, 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 Bert.
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 6000 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 Matthew 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

Bert, 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 I knew very little about the Military. This site has helped me understand what to expect and relieved some of the worries I had.

Please 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.

Join in to learn more and meet others whose guys or gals are the same Rate as your Loved One. We like to hear about your Sailor; the good times, the concerns, and the questions. I think you will find that our members are just a great big family and everyone wants to help others understand what to expect and hear how your Sailor is doing.

Again Welcome and keep us updated to your Sailor’s Progress.

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

Welcome to NavyDads.com Bert! 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 topics concerning the US 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 carrier 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 carrier Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) as a Mass Communications Specialist and is currently using her GI benefits to go to school. If NavyDads.com were around in those early days, it would have made my first days 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! I hope you take the time to explore the site and make some new friends. Read the discussions and add your comments. Browse through the postings in the various groups or start a new one. If you have any comments, 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 Bert this is a great place to brag as well! So join in, get active, and be sure to let us know how Matthew 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.

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