Comments

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  John Hanson April 27, 2022 at 4:58pm

  Hi everyone!

   

  Thanks for the warm welcome.  Strictly speaking, I’m not a Navy Dad – yet.  My son graduates from college next month and is applying for OCS.  Based on his grades and other credentials, his recruiter told him he should be a shoe-in.  I certainly hope so since he hasn’t applied for a civilian job if he doesn’t make it. 
  Back in his middle school days, he wanted to be a Marine pilot after his Boy Scout troop visited a Marine fighter base.  That boyhood dream faded as he entered high school and college where he studied finance in order to be a rich banker.  The covid months of taking classes by Zoom led him to believe he didn’t want a desk job staring at a computer all day.  He set his sights on Naval Aviation and although he had good test scores, the Navy told him they weren’t taking any pilot candidates into OCS for the next year.  (Because of covid, military pilot weren’t being hired by airlines so fewer were getting out…)  The Air Force told him basically the same thing so he decided on Navy SWO with the hopes of transferring to aviation down the road.  The OCS board meets in Aug and he’ll find out in Sep if he gets selected.    

  I tried try to give him advice on military life since it was big part of mine.  My dad was a career Air Force pilot and I was in an AF Reserve officer for 21 years.  One brother was Navy and another a Marine so together, my family has a wealth of knowledge to pass on to him.  My roll now is to step back and let him make his own way, letting him know I’ll always be there for him.

  -John
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  NavyDads Admin (Paul) April 27, 2022 at 12:19am

  Welcome to NavyDads John! 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 daughter Kat is now a Veteran and was stationed on the carrier Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) as a Mass Communications Specialist (MC3). My son Eric (AM1) did two cruises on the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), was attached to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 37 (HSM-37) in Hawaii, was attached to VAW-125 ("The Tigertails") stationed at Iwakuni, Japan, and was stationed at NAS Pensacola where he was an instructor (LPO) in A-School. Currenlty he is is San Diego and is attached to a new squadron VRM-40) being formed. If NavyDads 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 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 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 John 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.
  
  As a parent of a sailor currently or soon to be at Great Lakes you'll have many questions about what Aidan 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! To better understand how the Navy creates sailors, watch this video Making A Sailor to see what life is like at Great Lakes RTC.
  
  
  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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  NavyDads CoAdmin Jim Gramza April 20, 2022 at 7:34pm

  I like that..."WTF!" We are and Air Force family. Made me laugh out loud! Just remember, one team one fight!
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  NavyDads CoAdmin Jim Gramza April 20, 2022 at 7:33pm

  Welcome aboard to NavyDads.com John! When my son first enlisted, I was a little scared and worried for him. Not coming from a military family at all, I had no idea what to expect. What I found, was that he had made the most mature decision of his life! I found lots of answers to my questions right here on NavyDads.com.

  My son Stephen was an AWO2 in the P-3 community. However, after 6 years of service, he was medically discharged in July of 2014. We are so proud of our son and his service to our country. I'm sure you feel that same pride for you child. This is the place to brag!

  Join us on Facebook as well!

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/66599528175/

  Once again, welcome to our site and I hope you enjoy your stay here. GO NAVY! HOOYAH!

  Best Regards- Jim