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son is deploying

Have no advice to give, but sending a hug to your wife. ((hug))
Our son hasn't been deployed - yet -, but a day like yours could come any time for us.

my wife says "thank you" and a hug in return. shes starting to become less anxious. hes a smart boy and we know he will be okay. my son says that his non commissioned officers (NCO's) are the brightest of the bunch. we met them at family night a while back. they give all the new soldiers a hard time during training but they seem to really care for them and assured us that they are under the best supervision.
 
thank you for this. very helpful. i purchased him a booklet of stamps so he can write letters. maybe im too old to keep up with technology :)

Okay....word on mail; depending on his location, mail may arrive several times a week, or just once or twice a week ( Most outlying locations rely on helicopters to deliver mail )....But, outgoing mail, such as at my location, only goes out once a month.

Postal and finance teams travel around to the locations that are too small to maintain thier own post office or finance section....additionally, if he does not already have an "Eagle Cash Card", he needs to get one....they can be had through the military; its like a pre-loaded credit/debit card that he can load from his bank when the finance teams arrive.
 
kindle is a very good idea. he loves to read and i am not sure if he is allowed to bring books with him. this is all very sudden.

He’ll be allowed to bring books. But he will have a weight allowance and books eat that up, which is why e-readers are so good for deploying soldiers.
 
You will probably be surprised of how often he is able to contact you. It isn’t like boot camp. You mentioned he is a bookworm. Does he have a Kindle? If not, get him one and have him load it up before going. That will allow him to fit his whole library right in his side cargo pocket. I personally would bring a laptop with me but I use a laptop all the time anyway. If he doesn’t use one then it might not be an issue for him, and like others have said, he can always buy one there if he changes his mind.

Very true....I like to read, but I hate hauling 50 lbs of books around, and they take up space in an already space limited environment.
 
Okay....word on mail; depending on his location, mail may arrive several times a week, or just once or twice a week ( Most outlying locations rely on helicopters to deliver mail )....But, outgoing mail, such as at my location, only goes out once a month.

Postal and finance teams travel around to the locations that are too small to maintain thier own post office or finance section....additionally, if he does not already have an "Eagle Cash Card", he needs to get one....they can be had through the military; its like a pre-loaded credit/debit card that he can load from his bank when the finance teams arrive.

wow thank you. i didnt know that i wonder if he does. i will ask. your advice is very helpful!
 
He’ll be allowed to bring books. But he will have a weight allowance and books eat that up, which is why e-readers are so good for deploying soldiers.

that makes sense. i will purchase him a kindle so he can read many books rather than having to carry them. thank you for this!
 
wow thank you. i didnt know that i wonder if he does. i will ask. your advice is very helpful!

No problem....I have been working and living here the last decade.....I am a wealth of useless trivia as well. ;)
 
No problem....I have been working and living here the last decade.....I am a wealth of useless trivia as well. ;)

well thank you. if i have any more questions i may send you a message. this is just a lot to process!
 
well thank you. if i have any more questions i may send you a message. this is just a lot to process!

It gets easier.

*Wife did 3.5 years in Iraq and my boy is on month 5 in Afghanistan. I was a family readiness leader for a lot of years as well, often during deployments, including the worse Iraq deployment of all*
 
hello,

didnt want to discuss this too much with my wife. shes terrified enough as it is. looking for advice on how to best be there for a member of your family who is deployed.

my boy is deploying to the middle east. he starts pre mobilization training (might have butchered the name of that training but hopefully someone understands what that is) in the near future.

how often can we make contact with him? should he buy a computer? do you know how often he can call us from his base?

any assistance would be greatly appreciated

Ask yourself why your son enlisted in the Military first. Then ask what the U.S Military will do for him when he is deployed. As far as G.I bills are concerned, The Financial Aid office in every College and University can offer some luring offers also.


Let's look at some numbers:

4 years active duty. G.I Bill.. 4 years of College.. Bachelor's Degree. No repayment. 8 years total
Financial Aid... Financial Assistance.. 4 years of College.. Bachelor's Degree. Payments to be made... 4 years total.


The first earns the Bachelor's degree at 26 years of age...
The second earns the Bachelor's degree at 22 years of age...

Potential earnings in 4 years from ages 22 to 26 with B.A.

Average entry level 'salary' = 20-30-35 thousand/yearly.


Average cost per year for 4 years of college/university = 10 thousand/per year for public, more than 30 thousand/per year for some private.


40 thousand total for public... 120 thousand for private.


That is if ALL of the financial aid/assistance provided requires repayment. NOT ALL require repayments... Some are scholarships based on ethnicity/race/immigration status/first or second, etc member in family to attend College, etc... These are scholarships which often times do not require a repayment.


https://www1.salary.com/Entry-Level-salaries.html
 
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this is a wonderful post. thank you and thank you and your family for your services to this nation.

i havent even begun to think about what to send him. my wife keeps looking at his childhood photographs.

thinking of making him an album. but i personally think his soldier buddies will laugh at him for it :)

thanks for bringing this up. i will need to brainstorm care packages

All the men and women doing the job next to him, were once boys and girls. They won't be laughing at him, they will be smiling with him.
 
I can't give you the solid answers you probably want but I think you'll have more contact then you think. I want to say that I'm proud of your son for serving his country and also proud of you as parents for supporting him.

I whole heartily agree.
Many thanks to your son for choosing to serve.
God speed and may he be safely returned home.
 
Depends on where he is going. Most deployed locations are established and have Morale Welfare and Recreation facilities that will provide computer and phone access.

Breathe. I spent 7 trips to the ME and my son has gone twice. It was far easier to be the person going than to have your son go. But even when the hammer is dropping, you have to remember that this is what we train for. For the deployed servicemember...honestly...its where the job makes the most sense. And there should be adequate support staff to help him out if things get rough for him.

What branch of service is your son in? Active duty? Guard? Reserve? most of the branches of the military have a Family Support Center that can help out the families and especially spouses of deployed service members.

Thank you for your service. And thanks to your son for serving as well.
 
this is a wonderful post. thank you and thank you and your family for your services to this nation.

i havent even begun to think about what to send him. my wife keeps looking at his childhood photographs.

thinking of making him an album. but i personally think his soldier buddies will laugh at him for it :)

thanks for bringing this up. i will need to brainstorm care packages

Trust me when I tell you that no one will laugh....we all have pics or albums from home to help us stay connected; After 23 years in the Army, and now another 10 here teaching, my wife has mastered the "roll out family wall".....I have a felt fold up wall hanging with family pics that comes down when I move, and goes up when I arrive at my next Camp.
 
hello,

didnt want to discuss this too much with my wife. shes terrified enough as it is. looking for advice on how to best be there for a member of your family who is deployed.

my boy is deploying to the middle east. he starts pre mobilization training (might have butchered the name of that training but hopefully someone understands what that is) in the near future.

how often can we make contact with him? should he buy a computer? do you know how often he can call us from his base?

any assistance would be greatly appreciated

That all depends on where he's going and what he's doing. He could be relatively safe, and have as much contact with you as he wishes, including video chat; or you may be limited to sporadic emails and phone calls from somewhere less developed and more dangerous. You'll want to have accounts for all that set up before-hand and tested. I.e. make sure you have skype set up and know how to use it, make sure everyone has everyone's email addresses and phone numbers. He will likely be using a VOIP phone and a community computer. If you guys aren't tech savvy, find someone who is that can help you out if something goes wrong. You don't want him to have to try to troubleshoot your problems in limited time from across the globe.

As for "being there", he's going to have enough on his mind. Don't bring any problems to him when you communicate. Just let him know he's got people that miss him, love him, and think about him. Send him whatever he needs.
 
Ask yourself why your son enlisted in the Military first. Then ask what the U.S Military will do for him when he is deployed. As far as G.I bills are concerned, The Financial Aid office in every College and University can offer some luring offers also.


Let's look at some numbers:

4 years active duty. G.I Bill.. 4 years of College.. Bachelor's Degree. No repayment. 8 years total
Financial Aid... Financial Assistance.. 4 years of College.. Bachelor's Degree. Payments to be made... 4 years total.


The first earns the Bachelor's degree at 26 years of age...
The second earns the Bachelor's degree at 22 years of age...

Potential earnings in 4 years from ages 22 to 26 with B.A.

Average entry level 'salary' = 20-30-35 thousand/yearly.


Average cost per year for 4 years of college/university = 10 thousand/per year for public, more than 30 thousand/per year for some private.


40 thousand total for public... 120 thousand for private.


That is if ALL of the financial aid/assistance provided requires repayment. NOT ALL require repayments... Some are scholarships based on ethnicity/race/immigration status/first or second, etc member in family to attend College, etc... These are scholarships which often times do not require a repayment.


https://www1.salary.com/Entry-Level-salaries.html

The new GI Bill also pays for your room and board during those 4 years of college, and if you don’t use it it is transferable to a spouse or child. I didn’t use my GI bill as I used the Army’s tuition assistance to pay for my college WHILE I was in the Army. I signed it over to my son who has a free ride when he goes to college. The GI Bill will pay his tuition AND rent.
 
The new GI Bill also pays for your room and board during those 4 years of college, and if you don’t use it it is transferable to a spouse or child. I didn’t use my GI bill as I used the Army’s tuition assistance to pay for my college WHILE I was in the Army. I signed it over to my son who has a free ride when he goes to college. The GI Bill will pay his tuition AND rent.

Ditto.....my wife and I finished our degrees while we were on active duty...we signed our GI Bills over to our son and daughter; they both had thier schooling paid for in that manner.
 
Bum already handled what I was going to advise about, namely making big use of Skype and/or Facetime.
You'll get used to the op sec restrictions, your son will know when it's kosher to get in touch and what he can talk about, so just follow his lead.
I know that iPhones are all the rage due to the cool factor but my gut tells me Android is probably a way better option as they're going to be much more common. Plus he can load up with monster amounts of external memory, as others mentioned.

We're all very grateful, and proud.
 
hello,

didnt want to discuss this too much with my wife. shes terrified enough as it is. looking for advice on how to best be there for a member of your family who is deployed.

my boy is deploying to the middle east. he starts pre mobilization training (might have butchered the name of that training but hopefully someone understands what that is) in the near future.

how often can we make contact with him? should he buy a computer? do you know how often he can call us from his base?

any assistance would be greatly appreciated

Which country is he deploying to? When I was in afghanistan we had the mwr run internet for skype and facebook and a phone tent that used satellite phone.Halfway through the deployment we got personal internet which was so darn slow it was barely useable, but it worked fine for stuff like emails. For entertainment if he has a nice laptop do not let him bring it, have him get a cheapo laptop somewhere like best buy and have him scratch his name on the top, thieves are everywhere when you have to live nearby a bunch of other soldiers. Also a playstation or xbox works wonders if it has games that do not require internet, I had a ps3 over there hooked to lan lines since the internet sucked and we would mostly play cod black ops since it allowed split screens and could have more people playing at once.

.
Anywhere in the middle east the time zones are way off, worst is afghanistan since they are the only country to be half an hour off, so if he goes there you need to figure the hours ahead or behind plus a half hour. Mail can be wierd over there but usually gets there, I had a hard time getting mail, but that was because where I was at mail went through bagram and the airforce would often refuse to fly out of there to go north if they though it was too hostile or dangerous. You can send care packages, but do not for any reason send bottles of liquor over to the middle east, the military bans it's use in muslim countries. If for some reason you try to anyways do not send vodka in a scope or a water bottle, they have been on to that for decades, instead send something like dark rum in a coke bottle with a new sealed cap(they sell them on amazon)


You also need to tell him to bring a crapton of extra socks and underwear, I left the us with over 30 pairs of socks, within a week I was down to 6 pairs, simply because other soldiers did not bother to bring extras and robbed my duffle bag. Stuff like socks do not take much room plus if he is in an undeveloped base, it may be a while before he can do laundry, you can stretch out a combat uniform a long time especially with rotating them and letting them air out, socks and underwear not so much. For the rest he should have 4 combat uniforms, ten plus under shirts, an extra pair of boots, obvious pt uniform etc.

They should allow him to take on carry on bag, one duffle bag and one tuff box, with any additional duffle bags or tuff boxes sent in another shipment, sometimes by air but often by sea, anything he sends on an extra shipment needs to be non valuable, because if it is shipped by sea it will likely go through pakistan or kuwait, and the workers there like to either steal your stuff or flat out burn it. In my deployment most of peoples second shipment made it for personal stuff, however multiple military trucks were torched by pakistani workers and the unit had to declare them a loss.
 
Bum already handled what I was going to advise about, namely making big use of Skype and/or Facetime.
You'll get used to the op sec restrictions, your son will know when it's kosher to get in touch and what he can talk about, so just follow his lead.
I know that iPhones are all the rage due to the cool factor but my gut tells me Android is probably a way better option as they're going to be much more common. Plus he can load up with monster amounts of external memory, as others mentioned.

We're all very grateful, and proud.

thank you. i was reading about external hard drives. they say that many soldiers download a bunch of movies and music on them for down time.
 
That all depends on where he's going and what he's doing. He could be relatively safe, and have as much contact with you as he wishes, including video chat; or you may be limited to sporadic emails and phone calls from somewhere less developed and more dangerous. You'll want to have accounts for all that set up before-hand and tested. I.e. make sure you have skype set up and know how to use it, make sure everyone has everyone's email addresses and phone numbers. He will likely be using a VOIP phone and a community computer. If you guys aren't tech savvy, find someone who is that can help you out if something goes wrong. You don't want him to have to try to troubleshoot your problems in limited time from across the globe.

As for "being there", he's going to have enough on his mind. Don't bring any problems to him when you communicate. Just let him know he's got people that miss him, love him, and think about him. Send him whatever he needs.

thank you. you make an excellent point. i would not want to bring family issues to him while hes out there fighting for his country. my wife and i were just going over that.
 
thank you. i was reading about external hard drives. they say that many soldiers download a bunch of movies and music on them for down time.

Don't get "hard drives" unless you opt for SSD units (solid state hard drives) which ARE available in an external configuration.
Spinning hard drives die quickly in field use, and SSD memory is plummeting in price.
(Pro tip: Any ordinary 2.5 inch laptop SSD hard drive can be mounted IN an external hard drive enclosure box)
Also SD cards and thumb drives are getting huge. You can get a USB 2.0 128 GB thumb drive for as little as 25 bucks on Amazon, the price goes up for USB 3.0 speed but for typical music, photo and video archiving, it's probably not necessary to get the higher speed, as 3.0 really only becomes important if you need to access the drive in an active scenario all the time, like if you're using it all the time as a secondary drive.

SSD drives are automatically USB 3.0 speed these days unless specifically listed as USB 2.0, which is doubtful.
 
Don't get "hard drives" unless you opt for SSD units (solid state hard drives) which ARE available in an external configuration.
Spinning hard drives die quickly in field use, and SSD memory is plummeting in price.
(Pro tip: Any ordinary 2.5 inch laptop SSD hard drive can be mounted IN an external hard drive enclosure box)
Also SD cards and thumb drives are getting huge. You can get a USB 2.0 128 GB thumb drive for as little as 25 bucks on Amazon, the price goes up for USB 3.0 speed but for typical music, photo and video archiving, it's probably not necessary to get the higher speed, as 3.0 really only becomes important if you need to access the drive in an active scenario all the time, like if you're using it all the time as a secondary drive.

SSD drives are automatically USB 3.0 speed these days unless specifically listed as USB 2.0, which is doubtful.

thank you for your advice. ill have to google much of this terminology :)

im sure my son will know what all of this means though. thanks again
 
The new GI Bill also pays for your room and board during those 4 years of college, and if you don’t use it it is transferable to a spouse or child. I didn’t use my GI bill as I used the Army’s tuition assistance to pay for my college WHILE I was in the Army. I signed it over to my son who has a free ride when he goes to college. The GI Bill will pay his tuition AND rent.

It was 20+ years ago, so things may have changed (certainly the numbers have, hopefully to scale with the economy) but my situation was:

GI Bill+College Fund (two different things when I was in, only combat arms got the GI Bill part)

I received $1000 per month while in school full time. A semester was 3.5 months and cost about $500 tuition at the community college. That left $3000 per semester for other expenses. That covered rent, food, gas... all my expenses.
 
Ask yourself why your son enlisted in the Military first. Then ask what the U.S Military will do for him when he is deployed. As far as G.I bills are concerned, The Financial Aid office in every College and University can offer some luring offers also.


Let's look at some numbers:

4 years active duty. G.I Bill.. 4 years of College.. Bachelor's Degree. No repayment. 8 years total
Financial Aid... Financial Assistance.. 4 years of College.. Bachelor's Degree. Payments to be made... 4 years total.


The first earns the Bachelor's degree at 26 years of age...
The second earns the Bachelor's degree at 22 years of age...

Potential earnings in 4 years from ages 22 to 26 with B.A.

Average entry level 'salary' = 20-30-35 thousand/yearly.


Average cost per year for 4 years of college/university = 10 thousand/per year for public, more than 30 thousand/per year for some private.


40 thousand total for public... 120 thousand for private.


That is if ALL of the financial aid/assistance provided requires repayment. NOT ALL require repayments... Some are scholarships based on ethnicity/race/immigration status/first or second, etc member in family to attend College, etc... These are scholarships which often times do not require a repayment.


https://www1.salary.com/Entry-Level-salaries.html

You are also overlooking the TA ( tuition assistance) service members recieve to attend college while on active duty that does not even require them to touch thier GI Bill benefits; up to $4500 per year.

In addition, CLEP tests are provided free of charge as a way of getting through pre-reqs, and we have not even touched on AARTS credit assessments that allow for college credit for skills learned in Army MOS producing schools.

DANTES - Military Tuition Assistance
 
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