Bob Blair's Page

Nom problem,, and you will adjust to this site as he will to boot camp.

Bob, 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 to NavyDads.com Bob! 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 things 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 USS 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 USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) as a Mass Communications Specialist. She is using her GI benefits to go to school. If NavyDads.com were around in those early days, it would have made my journey 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! Take the time to explore the site and make some new friends. Read the discussions and comments. Browse through the postings in the various groups or start a new one. If you have any 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 Bob this is a great place to brag as well! So join in, get active, and be sure to let us know how Cameron 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.

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. In the Navy Bootcamp group is a discussion called A MUST READ for all New Navy Parents. Read through this post as it will do a lot to give you some understanding about what your sailor is learning and why. And be sure to check out the videos available in the Bootcamp Group as well.

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.

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

Welcome aboard Bob.
I would like to take this time to point you in some of the right directions. For starters ifyou haven'thad thetime take a lookat theright side ofanypage you click on.There you will find some useful information for you.The links under theabout this site willhelp you with howthis site got started, navigation,PIR,About us,community guidelines and some links to some of the groups that beginnerswith a lot ofquestions willfindveryuseful. There is also a link called Navy Enlisted Ratings,this link will take you to a brief description of therates (jobs) in theNavythat you can find yoursailors rate and findoutsome information about therate that they are in. First and foremost though we are allhere forthesame reason. We are curious about whatouryoungsailors are getting into and formore information about therate orjob that they willbe doingforthenext4-6 yrs oftheirlives. I know when I first got here I had lots ofquestions and there was nota lot ofpeopleon this site butthey allwere either going throughthesame thingorhad been throughitand had sailors outin thefleet. Now this site has growntoover 5000 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 theway we have all had thesame questions and asked. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on this site with various years of experience in theNAVY either on their own account orthroughtheirSailors. Again welcome aboard and BRAVO ZULUto you and your son Cameron on his enlistment and please thank himforme for making thechoice todefend thefreedomsthat myfamily, this countryand I have and enjoy. Navy dads Admin Tim

Bob, 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 this site I knew nothing about the Military. It’s really helped me understand what to expect and has relieved some of my worries.

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.

We are a big family here and you can find answers to most any question or concern regarding what’s in store for your recruit. You will find members that are new to the Navy along with those who have Loved Ones who’ve made the Navy a career. We like to hear about your recruit; the good times, the concerns, and we welcome questions. I think you will find our members are a big family and everyone wants to help others understand what to expect and hear about the progress of your recruit.

Please feel free to ask questions.

Again Welcome and keep us updated on your recruit.

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

Hey Bob in addition to Discussion Forums and Chat there's also a lot of Groups here that may interest you as well and to share more info with other folks in that group. Here's the one for MT: Missile Technician

Again Welcome Aboard NavyDads.Com! :)