Steve's Page

Welcome to NavyDads.com Steve! 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 USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), was attached to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 37 (HSM-37) in Hawaii, and is now attached to VAW-125 ("The Tigertails") and is stationed at Iwakuni, Japan. My daughter Kat is now a Navy veteran and was stationed on the carrier Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) as a Mass Communications Specialist(MC3). 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 Steve this is a great place to brag as well! So join in, get active, and be sure to let us know how your son 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 Key Information. 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 Quentin 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 and as PIR nears be sure to spend time in the PIR group for hints and helps!

Best Regards- Paul

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"To raise a child, who is comfortable enough to leave you, means you've done your job. They are not ours to keep, but to teach them to soar on their own"

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Sarge’s meet and greet is held the night before each PIR. All are welcome. There is food and information about what to expect the next morning as you make your way to the graduation.

WELCOME ABOARD

Please RSVP to this right here on NavyDads. Please keep a watch for the events listed on the starboard side of any of the pages here. Please provide your sailors division number, your first and last name, and the number of people attending. This event is open to all ages and is proudly sponsored by Sarge and his wife. There is no charge to attend the Meet and Greet. Recruits will not be present for this event. Sarge and his wife are the ones who purchase the food for you. They do this every week, for each P.I.R. group. The Lakehurst Event Center does not charge  to rent the space, that is their gift to the Navy families. Sarge doesn’t charge you for this food either, it is a free meal; however, if you wish to make a contribution to help defray the costs since this is out of pocket for him, that would be greatly appreciated. There is a contribution box at the Meet and Greet buffet table. This is strictly voluntary on your part and not a requirement to eat or attend.  During 2015 Sarge and his wife served 21,932 meals to our new Navy family. It could not have been done without your support.    Thank you in advance and we hope you are looking forward to meeting for a fun and informational night. Your email address will be kept private and will not be shared with anyone.   PARTY AGENDA   5:00 PM Guests arrive - Meet and Greet - Cash Bar - Dancing  6:30 PM Invocation and Buffet line is opened. We serve - Pasta, Fried Chicken, Teriyaki Chicken, Orange Chicken, Oriental Noodles, Sausage and Peppers, Meatballs, Veggies, Olive Garden Bread Sticks, salad, fruit trays, and my wife's world famous brownies. During dinner there will be a film on Boot Camp, Battle Stations 21, and the continuous slide show on what to expect this weekend. 7:30 PM - Pledge of Allegiance and Flag Tribute 7:45 PM - Tribute to Veterans and National Anthem 8:00 PM Overview of slides that were shown during dinner including shortcuts to graduation hall which will save you an hour of waiting on line at Buckley road.  8:30 PM - Basket raffles NOTE ** Please double check your e-mail address. If it is incorrect you will not receive a confirmation. When you receive your RSVP confirmation, the event address will be included and there will be an internal link to the  "must have" PDF.  Please check your junk mail and spam mail folders for your confirmation. The c