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Contact with deployed sailors

Posted by Toby Burrell on July 20, 2012 at 12:30pm

Hello Everyone -
I have not logged in for a while. My sailor has finished training and is now an EM3 on the USS Enterprise. Mom and Dad and the rest of the family are very proud!

Big E left Norfolk in March and is currently in the Persian Gulf. This is my sailor's (Alex) first deployment and he is pretty excited about being a part of a famous ship's last deployment. I have a question for the seasoned Dads on this site. When Alex first left port we could email, Facebook even talk to him pretty easily. Over time (it has now been 4 months or so) the contact has been less and less frequent to the point that it is just a quick email every couple of weeks or so. Is that part of the "weaning" process the Navy uses to get the crew focused? Even his girl friend has called us to inquire.

As always, thanks for the input!

Contact, Facebook, email

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Comments

Toby Burrell July 25, 2012 at 7:42am

We'll give it a try - thanks for sharing!
ShaBar July 24, 2012 at 10:28pm

Also if you find out your phone's email address, an example is (XXXxxxXXXX@tmomail.net) the email will come to your phone as a text message and that allows you to basically text them as long as their checking their emails. I email my husband from my phone and some nights when he stays near the conputers for a while we have full text convos and it puts me more at ease than just a standard email
Toby Burrell July 20, 2012 at 12:57pm

Will do -thanks again.
NavyDads Admin (Paul) July 20, 2012 at 12:46pm

I know it's tough Toby...after having two sailors on deployment I can relate to what you are experiencing as I've gone through all these trials! Keep the faith....keep positive and all will be good!!
Toby Burrell July 20, 2012 at 12:41pm

Thanks Paul - I knew I could count on you. And my wife thanks you as well!
NavyDads Admin (Paul) July 20, 2012 at 12:36pm

combat ops can mean 18-hour days for some ratings....this leaves little time for for sleep, laundry, and things like access to a computer. Also...all e-mail takes takes bandwidth that the ship needs for official military business as all comms go through the satellite system.....that can vary a lot. The Navy doesn't wean your sailors from contact....they are focused on their jobs as they need to be.....patience. And Facebook is not permitted while at sea