NavyDads CoAdmin Jim Gramza's Comments

Thank you very, Jim. Our son shipped to RTC just yesterday. I've gleaned so much from this site already, and hope to learn much more from all of you during his experience.

Thanks Jim  It was a mature decision he made and came up with it all on his own.  Mom and I were certainly surprised when he came home from school one day and said he was going to join the Navy and needed parental concent.  We assumed he was going to go to college and  having served 23 years in the Army....I was like Navy...where did that come from...lol

Thank you for the welcome.  Have a great day!

Thanks Jim. The military has been a part of my life (USAF, USMC and USN) for many years. I took my son to see the Blue Angels when he was in 2nd grade. He's wanted to fly ever since. It really is awesome to see get the opportunity to live out his dream. I'm excited and so is he. Thanks again, Paul

Thank you Jim for your comments. He states in his letters he is doing well. From his reports on the physical tests he is doing great. Graduation is in 2 1/2 weeks so that exciting. It will be great to have others mentor me in how this all works. I feel more confident now that we have heard from him and that making it through the pipeline will be something he can achieve. Thanks to everyone's warm welcome. 

thanks jim for being so welcoming and for all the info

Thanks for the warm welcome.  Our family has a rich history of both military and civil service.  We are looking forward to the maturity and growth our son will experience after finally getting started as he has been awaiting boot camp since last Fall.  In high school, his favorite class was the four years he spent in AFJROTC.

Thank you for the warm welcome.

Thanks for the welcome, it has been a hectic first few weeks for our son, James.  He is doing quite well at OCS in Rhode Island.  Passed his first RLP, was listed second in his class for the fitness (first test), maxed out on the points and finished the run first (second test) so he is hoping to be rated first in fitness now.  Had a perfect score on his Engineering/weapons test and loved the fire suppression and sinking ship drills.  He is pushing himself to limits he didn't know he could reach and we couldn't be prouder of him.  This was probably the best decision he made in his life.  We are looking foward to his graduation in late July and his future training in Florida. 

I have been exploring this site and learned a great deal that will help me understand what he is doing and how to best support him.  One really great idea we had to help him through OCS (and it would work in basic training too) was to have as many friends and relatives write notes to him on cards I bought at the dollar store (8 for $1, can't go wrong) as I could and give them back to me for mailing, I collected about 40 notes.  Everyone who wrote loved the idea too.  I have been sending him 3 each week and he wrote back to us that these note got him through some of his most difficult days early on.  I made address labels for all the envelopes.  For under $25 it was a tremendous support for him.  These notes are in addition to the weekly note we send from home and his twin sends him from Mass.

Thanks Jim.  My son is at OCS in Newport. Scheduled to graduate July 8.  We're proud of him, excited for the opportunity, and a little nervous. He interned with the Navy's chief historian while at George Washington University and he was a re-enactor as a War of 1812 marine. Got to ride the USS Constitution on July 4th a couple of times.  Looking forward to being a part of the community.

Ed

Hello Jim,

We appreciate your comments and advice, of course we are very new at NAVYDADS and will be asking a lot of question. Are we able to communicate with her while training?

What is SHIP 5 is this a location were she is staying???

Once again very new and still learning to navigate around this site most of you folks sound like pro's. please bear with use again appreciate your assistances.

Bill & Robin

Turnersville, NJ