I got the first letter from my son. He wrote it on his first sunday and I got it on thursday. He said he spent the first week in processing, and he is now in PT. He is having a hard time keeping up because he is small but he is keeping up so far.I sent him a return letter the same day because I work right next to a post office, and I included a phone card. I hope they will let him keep it. The post office lady knows me so she said she would send it out express and he would get the letter in 2 days. I hope that does not get him in any kind of trouble. You never know. Every instructor is different.He said that his graduation date is Sept 3rd. I can't wait. I am going to go buy a camcorder and record the whole thing. I am so proud of him.~Anthony
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How many of you are going to NORFOLK then to MAYPORT cruise to NORFOLK .If you are as excited as I you can hardly wait.We as parents,spouses girl friends and everyone else who has anyone returning to the U.S.A. should be overwhelmed with joy and PRIDE . Welcome them home with tears of JOY and LOVE, they are my and your HEROS.
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We received a three letters on Wednesday 7/8, and Karen says she's doing fine. She likes it more every day and has adjusted to the routine: marching, training, standing watch, etc. She did say it was exhausting. She loves getting mail; she mentions it in every letter. Thanks to all who have written, because it really helps her. She wanted us to thank everyone, because although she doesn't have time to write back to everybody, the letters mean a lot to her.They didn't do anything special on the 4th of July, but they did get apple pie with lunch, which she enjoyed very much! She was also been issued the rest of her uniforms, which made her happy. She specifically mentioned how much she liked her wool pea coat. From everything I've read on the internet, the last few weeks are very busy with hands-on training. Some recruits find that they don't have as much time to write, so we're prepared for a possible drop-off in letters. Otherwise, everything seems to be going according to plan, and we're looking forward to July 31!
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We have been waiting word from Kyle if he passed "Battle Stations".We learned late yesterday afternoon that he did indeed pass, by way of "facebook and girlfriend".Here we have been waiting on that important phone call. And who does he call, his girlfriend.You talk about a let-down. To top it off, my wife was reading her facebook page, she saw where Heather had posted Kyle's passing on it! My wife had to call Heather, to find out all the details.All in all, we are still very excited about him passing.We are leaving Georgia on Wednesday for the drive up to Illinois.We are wondering how much Kyle has changed since leaving our small town, back in May.WE ARE VERY PROUD OF OUR "SAILOR"Mike
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When my Daughter Lynette came home on leave she visited the nursing home I work at, there she met Ivis Clay, a 21 year Navy vet, they became fast friends, she came in often to visit with Ivis, they chatted about Navy life, swapped a few stories, and of course he gave her advice. Sadly Ivis passed away about a month after this photo was taken. Lynette, Myself, and our family would like to respectivly thank Ivis for his 21 years of Navy service, rest in peace my friend.
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Hello all. My son Daniel is an IT on the Vella Gulf cruiser, stationed in Norfolk Virginia. He is an awesome, funny young man and i love him very much. He is very inteligent and i can't wait to see what the Navy has in store for him.
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Okay, all you dads. I have a question that only you, as males, can answer. I have this 20 yr old, who will be 21 at the end of the month, acting like his knee will just take care of itself without any help.My question to you is: What is in the male brain, at that age, that makes you think that way? He can do some knee strengthening exercises that will help him running, and hiking, and eventually repelling down a rope from a helicopter. He can do these exercises, in his room, after working at the BAS and it wouldn't take him that long.Any help into the psyque of a young man would be greatly appreciated.
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Our son Kyle is graduating from boot camp on July 17th. He is not scheduled to leave for "A" school until the 25th of July. In his last letter, he has requested that we bring his cell phone with us for him to have.He is being assigned to ship 5 until he leaves for "A" school.I read that as long as they are assigned to RTC, they are not allowed cell phones. Is this still true for Ship 5 rules?When can he receive his cell phone after he goes to "A" school?Does anyone know? I do not want to leave the phone for him and get him in trouble.Mike
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Hello all,Even though I haven't posted since I joined this site, I still check in every few days to see what is going on. I have learned a lot of information from this site.It has been very helpful and comforting to know that I am not the only parent who has concerns.we are scheduled to leave for the Great Lakes on the 15th of July for PIR on the 17th.We are looking forward to seeing Kyle. In the last letter we received, he said he had gotten his Navy whites. He said they were awesome.Every letter we have gotten, Kyle is always very up beat about the school and what he is learning.He said his A school may be moved closer to home (rumor mill) but is not for sure.We will post again before we leave and upon returning from RTC.Mike
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Rejoice in America's Birthday, and consider the thoughts below, so very appropriate to this day.Bud Link"Happy, thrice happy shall they be pronounced hereafter, who have contributed any thing, who have performed the meanest office in erecting this stupendous fabrick of Freedom and Empire on the broad basis of Independency; who have assisted in protecting the rights of humane nature and establishing an Asylum for the poor and oppressed of all nations and religions."~~ George Washington, General Orders, April 18, 1783"Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment."~~ George Washington, Farewell Address, September 19, 1796"Our own Country's Honor, all call upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world. Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the Cause, and the aid of the supreme Being, in whose hands Victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble Actions — The Eyes of all our Countrymen are now upon us, and we shall have their blessings, and praises, if happily we are the instruments of saving them from the Tyranny mediated against them. Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and shew the whole world, that a Freeman contending for Liberty on his own ground is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth."~~ George Washington, General Orders, July 2, 1776
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The mission of Let's Say Thanks is to provide a way for individuals across the country to recognize U.S. troops stationed overseas. By submitting a message through this site you have the opportunity to send a free personalized postcard greeting to deployed servicemen and women.The postcards, depicting patriotic scenes and hometown images, were selected from a pool of entries from children across the country.All you have to do is click on your favorite design and either select the message that best expresses your sentiment or draft a personal note. The postcards are then printed on the Xerox iGen3® Digital Production Press and mailed in care packages by military support organization Give2TheTroops®.Each of us have so much to be Thankful for due to the effort of our Fine Young Men and Women of the U. S. Armed Services. The least we can to is say Thank You for what you do.Please check out this Web Site and use it often.http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1280.htmlHooYah U. S. Armed Services.
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I can't decide who enjoys the mail more, Karen or Liz and I. Since her mail goes out on Sunday, Wednesdays seem to be incoming mail day, although we got a late one today. Karen says she is VERY busy, but doing VERY well.Here's a sampling from her latest letters:- She loves getting mail! She loves getting mail! She loves getting mail!- She gets mail Monday through Friday, but can only send letters out on Sunday.- She has a very limited amount of free time during which to write, catch up on sleep, or socialize, and she can't send out all the letters she would like to. (I've read where they get busier the last couple of weeks of BC, and the letters become fewer. We'll see...)- She wants everyone to know how grateful she is for their support!- She's passing all of her fitness tests, will get to carry a flag during her graduation, and she is her Division's PFC, whatever that means. (I'm trying to find out, but to no avail so far.)- She says the food is terrific - a variety of menu items and it's all good.- She had her first inspection and was one of two or three women who passed the inspection without losing any points. The inspection consisted of standing at attention for two hours while getting quizzed on a variety of topics, having all of her things and her bunk inspected, etc.- She said it's getting easier to handle BC every day. This week is the beginning of weapons training - the computer simulated weapons. (Check out "New Navy Boot Camp Video 2".)- She said her Division is starting to really perform like a team, and that makes everything better.- She got her dress whites uniform issued, and it's being tailored. (I'll bet she thought that was cool!)- She's made a few good friends among the girls in her Division. They're from various parts of the US.When I find out what the Division PFC is, I'll post the answer!
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I'm a little behind on the blog. I worked a lot of hours last week, and then Joy and I went on a weekend mission trip to Indiana. So here's the latest news on Karen:We received two letters from Karen last week, and today she got to call home for about 20 minutes. She was able to talk to Liz on her cell phone, but I was driving home from Braidwood and was in a cell phone dead spot. She said she's doing great in her physical fitness and gets to carry a flag in the front of the group as they march. She said she'll get to carry it during her PIR also, which should make her a lot easier to pick out amongst all the other sailors. She said she's only gotten singled out for a yelling once - for having a piece of pineapple on her fork! She tried to explain the "why" of that to Liz today on the phone, but I'm still not sure I understand it. In any case, she seems to be adapting well to her BC environment and is liking it more every day. She said she's just REALLY busy, hustling all day long from morning until bed time. She may only get one more lengthy call, so I've got to keep that cell phone close by!She said she loves getting mail, so write often. If you don't already have it, here's her address.SR EVETT, KAREN, ASHIP 13, DIVISION 267RECRUIT TRAINING COMMAND3420 SAILOR DRIVEGREAT LAKES, IL 60088-3520(The "SR" stands for "Sailor Recruit", because she's not really a Sailor until she passes her Battle Stations test in her 7th or 8th week of BC. It's the BIG deal of BC, because that's when they really become official Navy sailors.)She can receive photos with your letters, too, as long as they fit into a regular envelope. One of the other Navy dads here suggested not writing silly stuff on the envelopes, though, since their leaders get to see the envelopes and it's better not to potentially embarrass them.
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Michael's been in Sasebo Japan for about a Week now and loving every minute of it, Just like you said Lee.The excitement he expressed in his emails was pretty awesome.He purchased one of those cell phones you were talking about it's going to be nice just to hear his voice. His ship, The Essex was at another port and isn't returning till August so i think he thought "cool" I'll get time to really check out sasebo (NOT) they broke his bubble Yesterday and told him there going to Fly him to the Ship ha ha. He'll have plenty of time for exploring.Since arriving there they've been going out every day he said.He's loving the sushi, he's a big sea food freak like my self.How's Kevin doing Lee, have you herd from him?
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