NavyDads Admin (Paul)'s Comments

Thank you Paul for the warm welcome. Right now our son is in OCS in Newport - we have gone through PIR, A School, C School, Mini Deployment last year and Deployment this year for seven months and now our DIL is out on her seven month deployment.  OCS is very stressful for the parent and added to that the worry of our DIL but we shall get through this and to say we are proud is an understatement.  Thank you for all the information I have truly got a lot and was able to print off all the weeks of OCS making it easier to understand the steps.

Thanks much for the comments. My sons PIR is 11/6 and we cannot wait to see him. He reports he is doing great and loving it!! We are so proud of him. 

Thank you for the information Paul. My son has been in Sasebo for almost a year now and we are planning a trip to visit him in the spring. I'm sure that I will find plenty of useful info in the posts.

Thanks for the welcome Paul. I am looking forward to exploring the site and I appreciate all the admin effort that goes into keeping a site like this current and operational.

Tracey

Thank you so much for the welcome and the info. I'm having a hard time doing my work because I want to just sit and read up on all that this site has to offer. Even though I'm a female, I've had to be both Mom & Dad to my son. So thank you for letting me join this site. Hooyah!! :)

Paul, Thanks for the warm welcome. Also thanks to whoever did all of the work to get this up and running. I'm glad this website exists. I made my first post this morning. Best regards,  David Keith

Thank you Paul for the welcome and info!  I'm new to this Navy Dad stuff, but looking forward to the adventure (vicariously through my son) I also look forward sharing questions and stories.  Hooyah!

Thanks Paul for the welcome and advise. My son Matt is scheduled to leave in March (2016) which gives him plenty of time to prepare mentally and physically. Fortunately my son is the smartest teenager on the planet - He has to be because he knows everything. Come to think of it almost all our other kids were the smartest kids on the planet. I say that because he and they knew everything. HAHAHA. I spent three years as an Army MP. When I enlisted my older brother, by 15 years, was a Infantry Major at the time and had entered the Army as an enlisted MP in the 82 Airborne in 1963. He taught me how to be a "Troop" before I went in. Advise I followed and which paid off. Matt is in good physical shape playing high school soccer and had earned his Eagle in Scouting which allowed him to start out as an E-3. But my biggest frustration is his "dad, I know that stuff" attitude. Oh well, he has always been the one who learns things the hard way. Example, he made Life Scout at 15 and didn't complete his Eagle until the day before this 18th B-day. I believe that was because I told him the pay difference between an E-1 and and E-3, although isn't much, my it must have been to him. Since he's a "man" now, this mom and I backed off and letting him march on. The military is certainly the right move for Matt. Please don't don't get me wrong, he's a good young man and is simply learning to be a man. Go Navy, best regards, Bill

Thank you Paul for the welcoming e-mail.  I wish I could had found this site earlier before my daughter left for Class 03-16.  My husband and I are Army vets, but never thought our children would continue the military tradition. Okay, maybe a little!  It started with our youngest daughter joining the Army, then my son, and now our oldest daughter is Navy.  When she joined the Navy she told us, 'I won't be the only one without military service in this family!"  I smiled.  She made me very proud!  She was captain of her cross country and track team, and played field hockey in college, and when she started running back again this summer, it was like riding a bike.

Thanks again for having this site!  

Hilda

Thanks very much for the warm welcome! My son will have PIR on 9/11 with Div 818 but unfortunately, I will not be able to attend but will be viewing the streaming broadcast. This site has been very helpful for me to understand many of the aspects about Navy life in general and the specifics regarding what he has been enduring while in Navy Boot Camp. I couldn't me more proud of him!

Thank You for helping us with getting a better understanding. We believe this is a great time in our sons life and could not be more proud of him. I would like to share how Sean decided to join. We were at the gym when Sean found a pamphlet for a Air Rescue Swimmer position in the Navy. He expressed interest and we decided to go and look into it. The Recruiter asked him why he wanted to be a Rescue Swimmer and his reply was a simple "to save people"

Wasn't long afterwards that Sean had a contract and was signed up on the DEP.  considering our son is an Eagle Scout and has went to districts on our high school swim team I think he made a good choice. He just left for Basic on the 2nd so we are still trying to wrap our minds around it finally happening.

Again Thank You for the welcome. It is appreciated.

Thank you Paul, WoW! Did you put this sight together? I could spend hours browsing through all this information.  Thank you for dedicating your time and effort; as they say in the Navy, "Job well done!"

Dean P. 

Thanks for the welcome, Paul.  I'll surely learn as much as I can at navydads.com

Thanks for the add & welcome. My daughter joined the Army in 2000 and left in 2002 on a med discharge, only to enlist in the Navy a couple years later. She made Chief in 2011 after being in only 7 years. While that is not a record, it is rapid and commendable. Currently stationed on the Michael Murphy, she started on the McFaul so she is used to being on a destroyer. At this moment I am puppy sitting her three dogs at her house on Oahu (it's a tough job, but someone has to do it) while she is in a 3 week training program state side. Sam (my kid) is the first one but not the last one of her family generation to be in the Navy. I have a nephew in Norfolk as well.

My history... having graduated an all boys Catholic School in 1976, only one member of my class joined the military. He went into the USMC like his father, his g'father, and all the males in his family throughout time. If you can recall, 1976 was a time of major upheaval in the military. The Viet Nam war had just ended, my age group does not have draft numbers, and Pres Ford started the all volunteer military. They were trying to get rid of their over abundance of personnel at that time. I went to college and afterwards became  a Deputy Sheriff in SW Florida, where I still live with my wife of 27 years. I am retired with 29 years of service and currently work as a driver for a private ambulance company. Cheers

Thank you Paul for the welcome and information. I served myself and have an idea of some of what my daughter will go through, but I served in the Marines and 20 plus years ago at that. I know things have changed; I appreciate any & all good advice and direction!