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I am looking for other Dads who have SR's in DIV 310 USS Arizona, all male push division slated for PIR on Sept. 18.  My wife is one Navy for Moms and seems to get info faster, which is OK, but I would like to get a "heads-up" when my son's DIV gets time for phone calls.  Any of you Dad's can help.  Thanks.

My son will be returning from his first deployment soon and my wife and I would like to be on the dock with his only grandmother. Does anyone have any info that will help me to see if this is possible and how/who to contact???

I have a beautiful son and a loving husband who help keep me going day to day. I am truly blessed to have something innocent back into my life and so very afraid at the same time.

Growing up parents want to protect their children, help kind of conceal the real terror and horror that is out there in the world. Help give them guidance along the way in any type of situation they may face. Some parents may be the opposite expose them to the cold hard truth and help make them strong from a young age.

Here is where it is gray , how do we know what we are doing is going to shape your child into who we want them to be?

Let them watch the news learn about catastrophic events like weather, people losing their homes , cars , and most importantly how quick we can lose a loved one.

Let them play war games to desensitize them from learning to complete a mission and task an order despite who gets hurt along the way.

Add women into the game so its even more natural to encourage violence against women soldiers its just another causality to war and our mission and our goal.

Hey we did vote to be equal right? To be treated the same as a fellow man . This is all great and all but what about the weak women the small ones who can not protect themselves without immediately going for their weapon.

My son is six and I worry that if I raise him to protect a woman it can get him into trouble because lets face it not all women are honest everyday citizens . However not all men are either.

How can I train him to recognize the dog s*** sandwich before he takes a bite? Also to be aware of a females demeanor when something is not right and she may need someone in her corner to help protect her from todays cold society, from the fake congress and sensate who pretend they give a crap about victims ???

Truth is we have created to much of a gray line.

Well today definitely falls under the special events category! I had the pleasure of watching my son take his final swearing-in at the Nashville M.E.P.S. center and start his Navy career..  
I am very proud of his decision in choosing to serve our great country and it's very exciting seeing him take his first steps to truly becoming a man and standing on his own two feet. Coming from a family of people who have served it's nice to know he will continue that tradition... 

I had enlisted twice but unfortunately was not able to serve due to a few medical issues that I guess they didn't feel like dealing with lol... I just accepted that military service was not in my future... 

Now I am a proud #navydad and I am excited to watch him grow in his new career!

What a difference six years makes...

Every year on Father's Day, I think back to Father's Day 2009.  My daughter, Audrey, left for Officer Development School the day before Father's Day that year (see the post several below this one to read about her history).  Every year I think about posting an update here... but then time slips away and it doesn't happen.  Well, perhaps this one will be different - at least I've started it.

At my last update, Audrey was one year into her professional development.  She joined the Navy to serve but in a specific capacity - as a physician.  She applied to, and was accepted to, the military's medical school at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD.  She left that day before Father's day in 2009 so she could report for duty the next day in Newport, RI.  ODS is an abbreviated version for officers with specific professional skills of the Great Lakes experience that many of your sons and daughters experience as they begin their service in the US Navy.  

In the intervening years, Audrey completed her first two years of study at USUHS in Bethesda (along with special medical triage training during the summers), and then finished two additional years on clinical rotations both in Bethesda and around the country - with rotations of about 4 - 6 weeks each in San Antonio, TX, San Diego, CA, West Point, NY, Bremerton, WA, Camp LeJeune, NC (not necessarily in that order, and possibly not an exhaustive list).  We traveled back to see her in Bethesda several times (once for her "white coat" ceremony - a tradition in medical professions, as well as for holidays).  We also visited her while on rotations in San Antonio (over one Thanksgiving holiday) and in San Diego (closer to our home in California's central valley).  

She completed her M.D. degree (and promoted from ENS to LT)  in May, 2013, graduating with about 165 of her peers in Constitution Hall across the street from the White House.  She was assigned to NAS Jacksonville for internship beginning in June, 2013.  The one-year internship also had one-month long rotations covering everything from pediatrics to surgery and OB/Gyn (she's focused on Family Medicine, which in the military means utilization throughout the range of medical care, from pediatrics for dependents, to geriatrics for retirees).  In the fall of her internship, she decided to take a break from training and she signed up for a two-year deployment in the fleet, accepting a posting to a ship which is home-ported in Sasebo, Japan.

In July, 2014, I helped her drive across country from Jacksonville, FL to San Diego, CA.  After a 3-week training at SWMIOC in San Diego, she reported for duty aboard the USS Green Bay (LPD20), which was just coming out of dry dock at the shipyards adjacent to Naval Base San Diego.  Through the fall, the Green Bay engaged in field trials of its new systems, testing and fixing myriad elements of its components that had been upgraded, replaced or repaired while in port.  Testing and certifications that would normally take 12-18 months were completed in just over 7 months with numerous 1-2 week trips to sail in circles off the California coast while testing.  At the end of January this year, the ship left San Diego to transit the Pacific, stopping at (though not going into) Pearl Harbor to take on more inspectors to complete their certifications before arrival on station in Japan.

A two month "spring patrol" included joint exercises (that's her on the left) with sailors and marines from S. Korea and the Philippines.  They are now somewhere in the vicinity of the Makassar Strait (Indonesia), as this news report on the navy.mil web site says: Green Bay Recovers Distressed Mariners in Makassar Strait.  Audrey says the mariners they assisted were a father and two late-teen sons whose (fishing?) boat sank; she did the medical evaluations and they were in good shape.

Thank goodness for Facebook messenger... we get to have a bit of (texting-like) contact with her a few times a week.  We (anonymously) hear about interesting cases (her mother and I are both in medicine) and sometimes provide information back about medical literature pertinent to a case.  It's interesting to hear about life aboard ship and her experiences (always keeping operational security in mind).  She recently agreed to a one-year extension of her originally two-year forward deployment to allow staggering of medical department leadership (she's been department head this year and will step down so the dental officer can assume that role next year; by extending her service aboard the Green Bay, she will remain and resume the department head role when a new dental officer rotates in next year).  We're hoping to visit when the Green Bay is in port sometime next winter... 

I've not posted here since 2010, but I appreciate the site being here (I sometimes look in on pictures/videos that you talented people post) and I appreciate the Facebook group and read postings there.  I want to wish all Navy Dads a very happy Fathers' Day and thank your sons and daughters for their service to our great country.

John

PS: I'll leave you with a picture of Audrey on Graduation Day...

What is the traffic going to be like when we are trying to get on to the base?  We have a rental car and I am planning on getting there as close to 6:30 as we can.  We are staying north of GL about 10 miles. Are some routs better than others? 

I was informed that guests attending PIR need to bring two forms of ID to get on to the base due to the heighten security risk (Bravo) that has been put into place. Besides a drivers license, what would be a second acceptable form of ID?

Thanks for the welcome all - great to be here.  My son Matt is in is second week of OCS - he's slotted for pilot training.  If that pans out he'll be in the service 10 years (2 years flight training and then an 8 year commitment.)  I'll be around awhile. :-).

             Much to our pleasant surprise my wife and i received our sons 2nd.call on april 19th. two days before his 2nd week. Wow! He sounds like he is having a blast.

What is ready 6 & basic in terms of a DDG? These are phases of training & prep. I'm not exactly sure what is meant. Our sailor has been on a DDG 4 mo. They continue to ramp up with more training. Thanks!

My son left on April 7th and his mother and I have been writing every day since. We are compiling the letters waiting for his address so we can mail them to him. We have quite a few pages between the two of us and we were wondering if we can put them all together in a large 8x11 envelope so he gets the first batch all at once? From there on in we would mail the letters in a standard envelope as we write them.

BTW. This site is amazing. Tons of great information that brings me through all different emotions.