6 Days!!!

Comment

Comment by Joseph E McCray on July 23, 2010 at 12:28am

Sleep well to0night fo tomorow night is the longest and hardest day/night you hopefully will ever expierience Battle Stations 21. 12 hours of pure bust ur cheeks This is what tthe seven weeks have been all about so good luck to yo and ur company. Am sure ur family will be thinking of you. joe daniels dad D is also GSM company 254

Comment by NavyDads Admin, Tim on July 9, 2010 at 4:32pm

Corinne,
I agree with Jim let's get you through boot camp first then we can start calling you Sailor. Jim is also correct to the fact that the longer you are in the service the more leave time you accumulate, as with any job. Yoou've started yourself in probably one of the biggest journies that you will encounter in your lifetime. Enjoy the ride and take in all that you can along the way. Like you said about your parents not everyone will have the ability to go and see things that they only dream of. You have the chance to spread your wings across this world and bring things to your parents that they haven't or won't ever get to see. Show them the world and enjoy it while you are there.
Thank you for the compliment Jim it means alot coming from you two.

Comment by NavyDads Admin, Tim on July 8, 2010 at 8:49pm

Trevor was in between his ATT and A-schools and was granted leave to come home for the holidays with his family. I thank you for saying that I give the best advice ever but I am just passing along what I have personally found to be something that was of great help to my family and I while Trevor was on deployment. trevor has been back ashore since February ad we still skype with them 2 times a week just so that we can have the personal feeling as we talk, plus it lets Danika (granddaughter) keep a visual reminder of who we are so that when we do get to see her in person she is not standoffish as you are worried about your nieces and nephews being.
One thing that you might think of when you get out of basic and get into ATT or A school is that you will be able to go to the NEX and be able to buy things pretty cheap. You could at that time or when you are on liberty after graduation take your parents to the NEX and pick them up a webcam and Micand tell them to hook it up to the computer when they get back home and you will be able to talk with the famly members that don't have webcams and possibly get them to go out and purchase webcams so that they can talk. You could install Skype and set up an account for your parents before you leave for basic that way all they have to do is plug in webcam and mic. Just a thought.

Comment by Corinne Leake on July 7, 2010 at 9:14pm

Tim, I swear you give the best advice ever. Haha! I already have Skype on my lap top but nobody else in my family has lap tops so they'll have to go out and get cams and mics. Haha. That is a really good idea though!
Jim, I'll be sure to write a blog once I get to A school. That's going to be at Great Lakes as well so I'm gonna be stuck there for at least 18 weeks. haha. Do either of you guys happen to know if like, say I'm in A school for Thanksgiving and Christmas b/c that's going to be a possibility, do I get to go home or do I have to stay there?

Comment by NavyDads Admin, Tim on July 7, 2010 at 8:32pm

Corinne,
I live in Shawnee, 30 minutes east of Oklahoma City. I can tell you that what you ae experiencing right now is the hardest part. the uneasyness of leaving your family and friends behind and going away to start your own future is a big step in anyones life.
I can assure you that your mom is not mad at you she just doesn't know how to handle the feelings that she is going through. My wife and I were the same way when Trevor signed up for the dep program. one of the biggest points of advice that I can give you about keeping in touch with your family is to load Skype onto a computer at your parents house and any of your siblings that have a computer with a webcam in it or with it. you won't be able to have any contact with your parents while it basic other than letters written back and forth but when you get out of Basic and get into ATT you will be able to get internet service and you can stay up to date with your parents and siblings. Trevor, Sage (daughter-in-law) and I all have it on our laptops. while he was on deployment when he got into port and was able to get an internet connection he made video calls to sage and us. We kept in touch with sage while he was gone and with our Grand daughter.
You are going to be a bigger role model for your siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews than what you can imagine. Follow your dreams and don't hang your head as your family is going to be watching you now more than they ever have before. You will still get the ribbing because you are the baby but you will also gain a new respect from your siblings for your decision. Hang in there and enjoy the ride, it will have its ups and downs but that is all just a part of life.

Comment by Corinne Leake on July 7, 2010 at 8:03pm

Paul, I will for sure be checking out everything I can on boot camp that I can!
Tim, I really enjoyed reading what you had to say! Where in Oklahoma are you from? All of us from Ohio are from your neck of the woods, besides one of my brothers and myself. My other 2 siblings were born there. I have family in Enid and Tulsa. I'm sure you and my dad will get along! Haha. I think my parents knew that I was going to be the one to step out of the norm and put my wings to their full potential. Sometimes when I talk to my mom I almost feel like she's mad at me for making this decision. Neither of my parents really got to do much throughout their lives because they had me and my siblings at young ages, so my first plan is to give each of them a vacation and fly them to where ever I'm stationed. I'd love to go sky diving with my dad in Hawaii or take my mom shopping in California. I'm also really close to my neice and nephew. I'm a little scared that over the years they won't know me much anymore and when I come home they won't run and hug me anymore. My dad has met my recruiter and talked to him maybe twice. My mom has never even spoke to the man. I think it would be good for at least my mom to meet him. I'm excited about my younger cousin for deciding to possibly join the Air Force. I don't know if it's because of my decision with the Navy, but it feels good to be looked at like a roll model. My nephew is excited (he's only 5) because he thinks I'm going to go kill a bunch of pirates. haha! he's so cute. Man...is it going to get easier? I mean, is this the hardest part? Leaving? The weirdest feeling is knowing that after Wednesday, I won't really be comming "home" to Ohio anymore. I've only traveled a few times and most of it was to states to visit family. But I'm ready. I'm more than ready. I'm the most excited I've ever been. Thank you guys. Thank you so much :D

Comment by NavyDads Admin, Tim on July 7, 2010 at 7:27pm

Corinne,
let me be the first to give you a big BRAVO ZULU, and congratulate you on making an informed decision on what you want to do with at least the next 4 years of your life. As I was reading your blog i could relate to the feelings that your parents have for you as my wife and I felt the same way about our son when he told us that he wanted to join the U.S. Navy. We raised our boys to not settle for what life here in Oklahoma had to offer them. There is a great big world out there and your destiny is there for you to take as you will. We always knew that Trevor would not stick around here. He always wanted to go here and go there. We just never knew that the Navy was going to be the vehicle that was going to take him where he wanted to go and places that he had never heard or dreamed of.
Trevor has been in the U.S. Navy now for 2 years and has been through all of his phases of schooling (ATT, A-school, C-school) and is now out into the fleet. He left for his first deployment the week before Thanksgiving and in a 4 month deployment he circled the the Northern Hemisphere of the globe.
I do understand the feelings that your parents are having right now but if you can get them onto this site and let them do some reasearch into what you are getting yourself into I promise it will be alot easier for them and help them understand your decision. I know when trevor told us he wanted us to talk with his recruiter it took us almost 2 months to go talk with her.
After Trevor P.I.R.'d I found this site and I must admit iI have learned a whole lot since coming here and joining groups that Trevor has had something to do with has made it alot easier and has helped me gather more information about the stages that he was in at the time. My wife and I were still up in the ir about Trevors decision until we went to P.I.R. with his wife, daughter and our other son. All I can say is that I only thought that I was proud of my son up to that point but I had not experienced the greatest day of my life.
Now here I am 2 yrs down the road and Ethan my other son has joined the Navy DEP and has gotten a ship date for basic for next summer after he graduates high school. I do know what to expect at P.I.R. this time around and I have already joined a group that will heklp me understand what Ethan is going to be getting into.
So to say that I am one proud father is an understatement. I would like to, if you get your parents to join NavyDads.com, chat with them and tell them what I have learned and share with them the experiences that I have had so far in my sons Naval career. You have chosen to take a big step that no one in your family has taken and I applaud you for that and would gladly stand behind you in your endeavours. I would also like to thank you in advance for making this decision to serve your country and stand up for my rights, privilages and freedoms that I and all the rest of the Americans have. Congratulations, good luck and god bless you and your family.

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on July 7, 2010 at 7:04pm

Congratulations! You are about to start a great journey of learning and adventure. If yu read the past posts in the Bootcamp group you'll have a great understanding of what you are about to experience. You will face many challenges at Great lakes and your greatest barrier will be your state of mind. Do what you are told...PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL...and realize that you can do far more than you think you can! You will succeed if you have the state of mind to succeed!