After earlier letter stating he will be getting leave after graduation, I received another letter today casting some doubt on leave. Hope not, already purchased round trip airfare for him to come home. To soon to panic yet. Graduation still 4 weeks away. On positive note he said he made section leader due to excellent inspection reports. He sounds very positive and dedicated.
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Hello all. Im happy to be here and proud to say Im a sailor dad. Im going to see my son in yokosuka soon and am wondering if anyone can let me know of affordable places to stay.
I guess I am not stating anything new for the Senior Navy Dads but PIR last Friday was simply an inspirational experience. When my son's division paraded into the hall past us I did not even recognize him as he walked 20 yds in front of me. What a change 8 weeks of bootcamp can make in a young man. My wife and other sons were saying "there he is" while I am saying "where? where?". I finally saw him and was struck by the thought that I did not recognize my own son. Crazy! We are very proud of him and I thought the entire event was moving. I loved it when they all sang Anchors Aweigh. We got to spend 8 hours with him. His division got two extra hours of leave till 9:00pm. I recommend the Lone Star Steak House next to Gurnee Mills Mall. Excellent steaks and service. He wanted a steak so of course we got him one. Three different people, (strangers), came up to him and congratulated him and thanked him for his service. This had an impact on him that people are watching him and he should never do anything to disgrace the uniform. Now he is in "A" school in Meridian, MS. It is nice to be able to speak to him every day now. Our initial Navy experience at Great Lakes will never be forgotten. Thanks to all of you who made it an easy trip with all the advice blogs posted here. We stayed at The Springhill Suites in Waukegan. Very nice and only 7-8 minutes from RTC. I guess I need to join a Logistics Specialist group now. So long for now.
Rod Keefe
Port.JPG. To get to Mayport the Big E had to go south of the hurricane. Heath said some of the waves came over the flight deck. Big E did loose part of the netting at the bow.
BOw Damgae.JPG. We head down get some breakfast. We continue to tour the ship. Head up the bridge & Pri-Fly. I did not realize that the Big E is a movie star. It was in "Top Gun" & "The Hunt for Red October." Deck planes.JPG Screwtops on deck. We just keep touring. We head back to his office & the phone rings, his 1st assignement for the day - a re-inlistment ceremony. It was held in the Enterprise Room - a small museum of sorts. That sailor's mom was there it was a nice little ceremony. We get done there back down to the photo lab. This was the story all Cruise. They wanted us to experience what our sailor did on a normal day. Get the call, go do the assignment anywhere they need him, go back tothe photo lab, download the pictures, add captions, print the pictures out if requested, burn to a cd, give to MC1, then repeat. I should have done some workouts prior to the cruise. Stairmaster was a must. I think I climbed as many stairs that would get me to the to of the Washinton Monument or the top of the Sear's Tower. But that did not slow me down, I was with my son, watching him be in his world, no greater joy than that, I had no soreness all weekend, Monday was my sore day. We continue to do various assignments then it was time to depart, up to an observation deck off the bridge to say by to the peir.Observ1.JPG
We get under way, Heath had me some flight deck pants, a green shirt to match his & boots. I change clothes. We were twinkies. We grab some lunch. Food was not bad, full breakfast-eggs, oatmeal, pancakes or waffels, fresh fruit, milk juice, lunch was BBq beef or pork sandwiches, dinner was baked chicken, grilled pork, vegetables. Heath said they saved the good stuff for the Tigers, so I told he was welcome for this oppertunity to get a little better food. The air show started in little while. He gives me a camera we go out with all the tigers, up the elevator, it held about 200 people at a time at least. David1.JPG. We go out to take photos. The air show was amazing. The FA18 brokethe sound barrier. That was amazing. After the air show down to download photos. Lab1.JPG. We go to dinner. Back to the lab to work on items for the next day. The Media Department is the Public Affairs for the ship. It is marketing for the Ship. They spend the rest of the evening working on the daily newspaper they put out called "The Shuttle". The newspaper is short only a few pages but just as good & well laid out as your local hometown paper. Night gets late it is midnight, we have to muster (check-in for duty) at 7:15 am on Saturday. What a day!
Forgot to mention the most important part of the air show. Captain William C. Hamilton, Jr., USN
Commanding Officer of the USS Enterprise (also a pilot) made the very last trap (landed the last plane) ever on the Enterprise. It was really special time to see he come in. Nailed the number two wire for a safe recovery. Still What A Day!!
Sorry for delay in getting to this, but my sailor's only internet after we returned was his phone & not good typing on it.
Awake at 4:15 am to get packed up breakfast & try to catch the 1st shuttle out. 5:15 am the 1st shuttle filled up fast missed it, but got the second one about 5 minutes later. The people organizing this did an excellent job. For future Tigers, have you sailor get you the list of hotels on their list to be able to take advantage of the free shuttle service, it was a 15 passenger van, but you go right through security straight to the ship. Great job from those Sailors. This is what we drive up to:
Big E in the morning.JPG. Get through security check. Now on the tent to wait on my sailor. After a text message, he comes out to get me. Words cannot explain the happiness I had getting a bear hug from my sailor, Heath. It has been a year since we had seen each other. We stood there for a while then off to registration. Met his DVO - Ms. Olsen. Everything in tact got my lanyard and name badge then off to the Big E. We go straight to his berthing to put my luggage up then off to the photo lab. Heath at Desk.JPG
Heath is a Mass Communication Specialist PO3. I have a new respect for his work. More on this later, but what these sailors do is just as important as a plane mechanic, or engine guys. They document the history & activites during the deployment. They are pretty much are allowed to go almost to all locations & get to see alot of the ship. I get introduced to some the sailors in the lab then off to start exploring the ship. We were not planned to depart until 12:45 pm, so we had about 7 hours to kill. I got there early just to be with my sailor.
We go back up to the hanger bay to see more tigers checking in:Tiger check-in.JPG
We go up two levels to take this photo, looking towards the bow of the ship: Hanger bay1.JPG. Pictures are encouraged, bring it & keep it on you at all times. The size of this ship is just unbelievable. I know it is the largest ship in the Navy, but still it is huge, especially walking so much of it. After this, my son just starts walking, I just follow like a puppy, 1st place he takes me is here:Chapel.JPG. Very nice stained glass, notice the carrier in the glass.
We go out to the flight deck, sun is starting to come up:Deck1.JPG We walk the whole flight deck looking at planes, it was not fully loaded, the Prowlers had already left, the carrier just had about 15-20 airplanes & Helicopters on board. Heath got a call, I think from his mom back home:Heath on Deck.JPG. Plenty to see on the flight deck, morning weather was perfect. We continue to walk around and taking pictures of the other ships in port. I was just awe struck being there taking the pictures. Two of the other ships were going out the same time on there Tiger Cruise - USS James E. Williams & the USS Nitze. We spent some time together with them on Friday & Saturday. But we all had our own schedule of events.
My Daughter Angela just call ed to say that she been in P hold for 2 weeks. and should start processing Monday. she also said that she was in the 900 division for being in the band. She seems really happy Is this common to be on hold for 2 weeks.
GREETINGS ..ATTENDED PIR FOR GREG JR. TODAY.. I'M STILL SKY HIGH. THE
SAILORS WERE SHARP AS TACKS IN BOTH THEIR DRESS AND DRILL SKILLS.
NAVY BAND WAS FANTASTICK AS WELL AS THE SILENT DRILL TEAM. SHARP,
REAL SHARP, THEY MUST HAVE BEEN COACHED BY THE USMC SILENT DRILL
TEAM (LOL) REALLY, THEY WERE ON POINT. MY SON LOOKED GREAT. I CAN'T
BEGIN TO DESCRIBE THE FLOOD OF EMOTIONS I WAS FEELING. AWESOME.
THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER? WHAT CAN I SAY OTHER THAN I USED UP A
BOX OF TISSUES BEFORE THE SONG WAS OVER. THE FEMALE SAILOR WHO
SANG IT, LET'S JUST SAY I HAVEN'T HEARD IT SUNG WITH MORE PATRIOTISM
AND PRIDE IN A LONG TIME...I LOVED IT !!!.. TO THOSE GETTING READY TO
ATTEND, THINK OF WHAT YOU THINK IT'S GOING TO BE LIKE, THEN MULTIPLY
THAT BY 10...YOU'LL STILL FALL SHORT..I DID
SO ANCHORS WEIGH TO ALL THE NEW SAILORS AND ALL OUR ARMED FORCES
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU SAFE. THERE IS A NATION OF PEOPLE
WHO SLEEP WELL, KNOWING THE NAVY AND THE REST OF OUR ARMED SERVICES
ARE STANDING WATCH
GOD BLESS AMERICA.........................GREGORY FINLEY SR.
I just found this site, and I am so glad I can get answers from a trusted source for all my questions. My son's joining of the Navy is not just a journey for himself, but for us, his parents also. We hold our breath when he is facing a new challenge to his endeavors and rejoice with him when he reaches his goal. May God bless him and his fellow recruits as they overcome all odds and obstacles in their training.
