NS Mayport Florida

Add a Comment

Comment by Alyse 21 hours ago

One other quick thing about the mail. It needs a customs form. You fill it out and give it to the clerk. Technically it is US mail but it is still going out of the country.

Comment by Alyse 21 hours ago

Also, as far as phone calls go, they need a phone card. No cell phones allowed. Period. You have to use the phones on the ship. As far as being in a port, you would have to have a cell phone that has international access but depending where the port is, they advise you not to bring electronics with you off the ship as they may get stolen. I buy my son phone cards that are for international use but I'm not sure that you have to have that for the ship. Depending on where they are, the phones may not be available so you may not hear from them for a few days. Also, when they work, if there are other people waiting there is a 15 minute time limit. There is a like a 3 second delay when you talk to them. The first couple of times we spoke, we kept talking over each other.

Mail is spotty depending on where they are also, The first pkg took 5 weeks. Two weeks later he got 2 boxes a couple of days apart. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as "overnight", etc. It just gets there when it gets there. By the way, the prepaid boxes are a godsend. I just stuff them to death. The medium and the large boxes get a $2 discount for military mail.

Email is not bad at all. My son does write a few times a week but there have been times when I didn't hear for a while. Sometimes they are just really busy but they can't tell you what they are doing. Don't take anything personally. It's for their safety. You never know who is listening by satellite.

Comment by Alyse 21 hours ago

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I thought I would throw in my 2 cents about deployment. My son is not married so my husband and I each have POA. This is a must!!!! One other really big thing is to get all passwords, access codes, etc for bank accounts, car payments, etc. Some of these thing are a little confusing to navigate and I have had to make several phone calls for help. The first time I called these people, I had to fax over a copy of the POA before they would talk to me. You may want to do it in advance. In one case, with the USAA car insurance, although they are very nice and helpful on the phone, it turned out that they have a POA dept and until your POA is looked at and approved they will not talk to you. It took about 4-6 days to be done. My son just very quickly went over stuff before he left and I had to figure stuff out myself.
Make sure the sailor actually shows you how the websites work, how to pay bills, transfer money, etc. If anyone needs phone numbers for these places, I have them.

Comment by Sarah*ProudFCWife*68OMB on November 26, 2009 at 8:28am

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I myself am making a HUGE feast for a bunch of Sailors who aren't able to be with their families this year. :) Be safe & be sure to eat bunches of yummy food! :)

Comment by peg on November 12, 2009 at 12:29pm

Thanks so much all you gals! It is such a fabulous support group. And, yes, my DIL-to-be has been on the web site, but she hasn't posted anything yet. I guess she just reads some of the comments. I really appreciate all your help.

Comment by Southngal on November 12, 2009 at 11:42am

Peg--no problem! :) I'm very happy to be of some help.

The gals on here will probably offer up more advice & tell ya something I've forgot. It is so helpful to be on this kind of site where we all can come together & share advice & things we've learned.

Tell your future DIL to sign up on here & ask her own questions---she'll love it! And it will be an invaluable resource when he is gone. :)

Comment by Debbie Heard on November 12, 2009 at 11:37am

Peg, Not all the sailors get deployed, my son has been on base at Mayoort since the first of the year. He thought he was going out b/c someone else got ranked up in Aug. but they made them go with the ship anyway. His squardon has just moved to Jax base. He is with the helo squardon also. I think, it is based on their job positions, he is AE so they do alot of their work on the base while the ships are in port. He is not assigned to a ship at this point, but keep in mind this is the Navy and that could change today,lol. Enjoy your sailor while he is home for leave, and Good Luck with the Navy life!

Comment by peg on November 12, 2009 at 11:16am

Hi Southngal, Thank you for all YOUR info. Anything I can tell my future daughter-in-law is gratefully accepted. I understand that my son knows about DEERS (although I don't have a clue), but the POA is excellent advice! I'm so appreciative of you for mentioning it. I will be seeing my future DIL tonight with her mom and want to relay some of this to her. Again, thanks so very much. Any information is super!

Comment by Southngal on November 12, 2009 at 10:18am

Hi Peg. I know you & Robin are communicating, but I thought since I just went through a deployment with my hubby over the summer, I might could help you too. :) My hubby was able to receive emails on a limited basis. I think it depends on the satellite connection & also, how busy at work they are. You can go for days if not a week or so before you hear from them. After a little while though, I was hearing from him everyday. It might be short & to the point, but it made my day!

You are not allowed to know where their port stops will be. After they have left a port stop, then they can mention it. Most of the time , though, if you get signed up with the Ombudsman of that ship, they will let you know all they can within reason as to what is going on & they are THE best way to find out correct info. That was a big help to me.

I didn't hear my hubby's voice for over a month before he was able to call me. I think everyone's experience is different depening upon the sailors job/position and where they are headed . Some people hear from their sailors more than others, it just can't be helped. Don't take it personal.

If your son & his girlfriend do get married, make sure before he leaves that she gets a Power of Attorney signed. She will absolutely need this for anything that has to do with him, i.e., do they have a home? bills together, insurance questions, the list goes on. If she needs info & he is not there to answer, she will have to prove POA in order to be able to even ask a question on their accounts. And make sure he signs he up for DEERS (that is her being put on insurance). All this can be a hassle, but if they plan right & make the time before he leaves, he can help her by going with her to the base & taking her to get her I.D., sign up for DEERS, get stickers for the car & the POA right there on the base. This will be a BIG help to her if he can do it with her. I do hope he has the time, if not, she can still get it done, but I know she will feel better if he could be at her side. It can be very confusing & when you don't know the lingo, you can feel out of place.

Hope this helps a little. I hope nothing but the best for them. Good luck! :)

Comment by peg on November 12, 2009 at 9:40am

Thank you Robin. I am actually trying to get info because my son and girlfriend are still planning on getting married while he is on leave. I thought I'd be able to let her know what could be in their immediate future. Will he be able to get e-mails while on deployment? I guess the cell phone service is out of the question!! Yes, he is on helicopters. I guess I can't ask where some of the places are that they may go? I'm excited for him, but I don't think his G. F. will be happy. Again, thanks for all your great help!

• First
• Previous
• Next
• Last