general navy life info needed

Ok ladies so here it is, I just want to know everything you know about the Navy life lol. What are your best/ worst experiences? Where has everyone been stationed, where do you dream of being stationed? how often are your so's gone? How often does everyone move? how helpful is the military finding jobs, especially for anyone with experience in elem teaching? How are the health benefits, is it as hard to be seen as I've heard? Is it better (as a wife) to live on or off base and why? How is the community within the navy for the wives do they come together a lot? Is there a lot of support for families or does everyone pretty much stick to themselves? Basically your overall experiences, thoughts, opinions, well anything I am like dying for as much info and stories as I can get lol. So answer everything or one thing, whatever you like and thanks ahead of time and sorry for those on the sister site reading this twice, but you know how it is lol. :?:

mjrose514 wrote:

Ok ladies so here it is, I just want to know everything you know about the Navy life lol.

What are your best/ worst experiences? ]Um...I would say when they refused to pay us our BAH for 3 months and personel told us keeping their office clean was more important than paying people.It caused a lot of stress and fighting in our marriage.We ended up having to use my FIL's high ranking connections to get it paid to us.We were almost to the point of calling JAG on the Navy.

Where has everyone been stationed, where do you dream of being stationed?
We are stationed at Norfolk but reside in Va Beach.We would like to be stationed overseas or in Alaska

How often are your so's gone? It depends.When he is preparing for deployment they go on underways.Underways consist of anywhere from 7-29 days gone to sea,and then they return for anywhere from 4 days to a month.They do this cycle until deployment.Then once deployment ends they do workdowns,and go to the shipyards

How often does everyone move?
My husband is up for reenlistment in August 2009.We are leaving the Navy so I dont know where we could be stationed next but we'd up for orders.It is usually every 3 years we would move give or take

how helpful is the military finding jobs, especially for anyone with experience in elem teaching?
The Navy provides Fleet and Family Support Center to give you tons of job postings.I used them for help with my resume.They are pretty much there to bend over backwards for you.They have a whole team of people who have job postings,resume help and TONS of seminars for job help.They pretty much leave it up to you to search them out.But their help was so great esp. if you dont know the area or where to look

How are the health benefits, is it as hard to be seen as I've heard?
Honestly,Ive only gone to the Naval Hospital ER twice and had FABULOUS experiences but Ive heard otherwise.I know friends who are on Prime get stuck in these vortexes of waiting 4+hours in the clinic to see the doctor for a med refill appointment.I also know from personal experience that you can wait weeks for a follow up.But we could be seen at different bases.I like having control of my medical care so I'm on standard.My copay for the gyno is $12.50.So dont be led that it will cost you THOUSANDS of dollars on standard.

Is it better (as a wife) to live on or off base and why?
I have no personal experience living on base.Im sure you are more in the loop on base,and get more of the gossip.We make more money living off of base as opposed to living on

How is the community within the navy for the wives do they come together a lot?
Eh...Ive had horrible experience with the FRG that meets once a month.So I stay with the Ordie wives,and thats it.I have a few friends from myspace.My husband is also on a carrier which is 5,000+ people.So I know Submariner wives are different because there is only a hundred or so people on them.I do find that the whole rank bs does exist and exists everywhere.Sad but true dont expect much if you're an enlisted wife and low ranking.

Is there a lot of support for families or does everyone pretty much stick to themselves?
Ordies on carriers are known to solely stick to themselves.We do...we do poker nights,cook outs,and look after each other kids.We dont hang out with any other rates or divisions on the carrier.I think that is how carriers are.Dont know much else of other ships or boats.

Basically your overall experiences, thoughts, opinions, well anything I am like dying for as much info and stories as I can get lol. So answer everything or one thing, whatever you like and thanks ahead of time and sorry for those on the sister site reading this twice, but you know how it is lol. :?:

Hope this helped! PM me with anymore questions!

[quote="mjrose514"]Ok ladies so here it is, I just want to know everything you know about the Navy life lol. What are your best/ worst experiences?
Best or worst I am not sure, I love moving around but hate that the Navy never seems to know what the other hand is doing..

Where has everyone been stationed, where do you dream of being stationed?
We have been stationed in Beaufort,SC at the Marine Corps Air Station and now in Oxnard, CA at Port Hueneme
how often are your so's gone?
Usually for 6 months at a time save the couple of dets he has gone on for 3 weeks at a time, once we actually get settled in to this battalions schedule it will be 6 months out 12 months home
How often does everyone move?
every couple of years we were in Sc for 2 years, we should be here for 3 years
how helpful is the military finding jobs, especially for anyone with experience in elem teaching?
I have never had the assistance from the military for finding a job, however I had a friend back at SC that was able to get substitute teaching at the on base schools
How are the health benefits, is it as hard to be seen as I've heard?
It is definately difficult to get seen by the doc, in fact I am thinking of changing my primary to a civilian doc
Is it better (as a wife) to live on or off base and why?
I prefer living off base but I am not real active in the group things
How is the community within the navy for the wives do they come together a lot? Is there a lot of support for families or does everyone pretty much stick to themselves?
Depends on the duty station, I usually stick to myself.
Basically your overall experiences, thoughts, opinions, well anything I am like dying for as much info and stories as I can get lol. So answer everything or one thing, whatever you like and thanks ahead of time and sorry for those on the sister site reading this twice, but you know how it is lol. :?:[strike]
Hope any of that helped :)

Thanks ladies it does help to read everyone's opinions and experiences, so keep them coming and if any newbies have other questions I forgot lets add them, maybe it can become kinda like a info packet for us lol

Lol anytime just ask away we will try to help anyway we can and I am sure if i can't answer it there are a bunch out there that can, how are you liking N. Charleston? I lived in Beaufort bout and hour away for about 2 years and am sorry to say i did not like it much lol

i like charleston, maybe not as much as dh, people seem nice, and it's nice to live in an area of N. Chas that's not over crowded like the rest of it, but still be really close to everything. lot better than greenwood, sc lol. I live like right across from the afb. so better area of n. chas.

Maybe just bc I am not from the south..... lol I could not stand it! The weather, the people the whole 9 yards. I do miss boating on the rivers though that was a lot of fun, and I miss the rain lol

I'm not from the south either, which let me tell you is a huge source of contention between mil and me, or rather just her. she blames that everytime I disagree with her attitude and controlling nature, she's just like well your from up north and I'm like I was raised witht he same moral and values you were, I was just also taught to actually respect people and not pretend! worse she's put the same ideas into her kids so my dh does the same things sometimes and blames our difference on n vs s instead of the real problems. DRIVES ME NUTS!!! anyway I get along great with anyone but the immediate in laws so no prob there. lol

What are your best/ worst experiences? my worst would be when me and dh got married and it took them so long to give us the bahthen they told us they needed his name on our lease then they said they did not then they said they did. the best would have to be the medical insurance he was able to put my son (his step son ) on his medical. and they have been great

Where has everyone been stationed, where do you dream of being stationed?
DH is staioned in Norfolk Va and i am here in cali. we are getting stationed at Pt. Mugu in cali by the end of the year.

How often are your so's gone? he is gone six to seven months at a time. we only see each other on leave which is like 10 days every six or seven months.

How often does everyone move?
this will be our first move.

how helpful is the military finding jobs, especially for anyone with experience in elem teaching?
i have not used anything like that yet

How are the health benefits, is it as hard to be seen as I've heard?
i love the medical i dont have to pay no co pay or anything. i am, alos able to get my son pproper help for his speech.

Is it better (as a wife) to live on or off base and why?
i have lived off base only. but i have hear that living on base can be good and bad. goes both ways

How is the community within the navy for the wives do they come together a lot?
i have not been around a lot of navy wives. i hear a lot of things but have not experienced any of it yet.

Is there a lot of support for families or does everyone pretty much stick to themselves?
i dont know

The higher up in rank the better it gets. We have been in the Navy for 12 years. We have moved every 3 years which I like. I will never ever live on base again. It is worse than Wisteria Lane. When the husbands are gone some of the spouses will play. It was always interesting to see which spouse had which husband sneaking in her back door. Or for that matter, in one case which wife was sleeping with another wife. We have been at good stations and bad stations. Basically what I have learned is to be very independent because you will need to make it through anything on your own whether it be moving across country by yourself or preparing and evacuating for a hurricane by yourself. If you get a good command you will have alot of support. If you get a bad command you may never hear from another person at the command. I have a friend that had a miscarriage at 10 weeks in her pregnancy and her husbands ship helicopted him in to be with her. Another friend lost a baby at 7 months and her husbands command wouldn't let him come home.

So in other words the navy can be awsome but it can be a big pain too. My husband swore that he would get out after his first 4 years. He was miserable but once he reinlisted that first time and got transferred he has loved it since. And I like it too. I get pretty anxious and ready to move if we stay anywhere too long.

I forgot to say where we have been. We have been in Norfolk on the Estocin, in Chesapeake at Northwest, In Williamsburg and Cheatam Annex (twice) and in Fort Worth Texas at the Joint Reserve Base. We are transferring in November to Buffalo New York Naval Command Center.

wow, you have been all over, momof2. my husband HATES his job and wants to get out asap! i will answer these questions later though...i have to get some homework done!

Yep!

Mine is going to the Army b/c of how his command has treated him.

We're not chancing it...the Navy has proven why they have such a shitty retention rate.

:( makes me so sad that your hubby's hate their jobs...

Hi - Ok where to start- we are Subs so that narrows things down and we are also Nukes so it narrows it down even more!
Been married and in the Navy almost 18 years-
Hardest part is of course the deployments- he is the first one on the boat before it leaves and the last one off when it gets home!
He is gone for days, weeks and months- longest being 6 mths.. The deployments are a little harder on Subs because we have VERY limited if ANY communication-
My girlfriends talk to their husbands (who are on Surface Ships) daily via email like it is internet chatting!
We have been stationed at.....Orlando, FL- Charleston, SC- Honolulu, HI- Bangor, WA- Ballston Spa, NY- Bangor, WA- San Diego, CA.
My fav- I would have to say other than the weather because I am a SOUTHERN girl and need SUN but it would have to be Washington State.
We lived out in the country and have a great circle of friends and community.
We will be going back at some point next year after 7 years of SEA duty!
Typically you move and or change duty stations every 3-5 years. Depends on what your DH does.
We have lived both on and off base-There is drama EVERYWHERE and with EVERYONE! On or off base!

All in all the Navy is just like civilian world in the fact that things can suck anywhere- the grass isn't greener and everything is relative!
The thing that keeps us going is the RETIREMENT- A Master Chief at 24-26 years is 4-5000$ a month and at 30 years it is 6000$ a month- we can truly RETIRE at that time and live in Arkansas!