Navy Dads

Michael VanDeMar
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Profile Information

Your Sailor's First Name (Please Do Not Post SEAL Names)
Jameson
What Is Or Will Be Your Sailor's Rating (Job Classification) - ex. ABE, AM, GM, etc
sems
Describe A Little About Yourself (your IP address/location will be checked::
Teacher
What Brought You To This Site:
My son is currently serving
What Were Your Feelings When Your Sailor Joined The Navy:
Pride, excitement, nervous apprehension
What Is Your Relationship With Your Sailor
Dad
Please Share: How Did You Find Us?
searching for navy gear for my son

Michael VanDeMar's Blog

SHIP 09 DIVISION 088

Posted on February 3, 2012 at 3:00pm 1 Comment

Our Son said in his 2nd letter home that he has not rcvd any of our letters, even though they were mailed 10 days ago.....?? Any thoughts on how to resolve or should we be more patient with the post Master :)

SHIP 09 DIVISION 088 RCVD FIRST LETTER!!

Posted on February 3, 2012 at 7:54am 0 Comments

Hello Everyone!! We received our first letter from our son yesterday, It was great to hear from him and know that he is meeting the challenge. He is 1/3 of the way through and I can't wait to see him at P.I.R.

Thank you to all of you who welcomed me to the site and given so much information. My son , Jameson, flew to Great Lakes on Wednesday 1/11/12. We miss him , but know he is in good hands. He will even…

Posted on January 23, 2012 at 10:09am 1 Comment

Thank you to all of you who welcomed me to the site and given so much information. My son , Jameson, flew to Great Lakes on Wednesday 1/11/12. We miss him , but know he is in good hands. He will eventually be doing.SEMS?? on a sub....?? I will be "surfing" the Navydads site to learn as much as I can about his journey.

Hope all is well with your loved one!!

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At 8:05pm on January 20, 2012, NavyDads Admin (Paul) said…

Welcome to NavyDads.com Michael! 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 earlier this 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 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. 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 Michael this is a great place to brag as well! So join in, get active, and be sure to let us know how Jameson 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

At 7:50pm on January 20, 2012, NavyDads Admin, Tim said…

Welcome aboard Michael.
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, PIR, 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 4000 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 Jameson 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 Co-admin Tim

At 2:22pm on January 20, 2012, NavyDads Co-Admin, Calvin said…

Michael, 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, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), Master at Arms. 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 Navy Dads.

If you have problems or questions about the Groups, discussions or navigating our site please let me know. I’ll be happy to help or find someone with more knowledgeable about your issue.

Again Welcome to NavyDads.

At 2:21pm on January 20, 2012, NavyDads Co-Admin, Calvin said…

Michael, Welcome to NavyDads. My Grandson Joined the Navy and went to Boot Camp in February, 2008. When I joined I knew very little about the Military. This site has helped me understand what to expect and relieved some of my worries I had. Please go to the Groups Page and check out all of the different discussions. Join in to learn more and meet others whose guys or girls 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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
 
 

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