Comments

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  Franklin Farrell Mansell April 6, 2026 at 2:56pm

  Thank you for the warm welcome, all.I'm looking forward to the information and support. Right now, however, I'm disappointed and aprehensive. We were looking forward to seeing our sailor between ATT and A schools. But his approved leave was retracted and A School break period is maybe a weekend..
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  NavyDads Admin (Paul) April 6, 2026 at 1:37pm

  Welcome to NavyDads Franklin! 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. Currently he is in Norfolk and was attached to a new squadron VRM-40) being formed. Currently he is attached to VRC-40 in Norfolk. 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 Franklin this is a great place to brag as well! So join in, get active, and be sure to let us know how your son Benjamin is doing! 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.
  
  
  Best Regards- Paul
  
  
  

  
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  NavyDads CoAdmin Jim Gramza April 5, 2026 at 10:27pm

  Welcome aboard to NavyDads.com Franklin! When my son first enlisted, I was a very scared and worried for him. Not coming from a military family at all, I had no idea what to expect. I had soon discovered that he had made the most mature decision of his life! I had lots of questions like I'm sure you do. We will be able to answer most, if not all, of you're questions. Please feel free to ask us anything.

   

  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 will feel that same pride for you're son or daughter! 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