Question for Navy Moms

The NAvy is wonderful. My son is Navy, my hubby is Marine.

She has to see a recruiter.
She takes the ASVAB
She'll pick a rate, job, according to her ASVAB score.
She'll go to MEPS which is where she is processed, her physical, etc.
She cannot be on any medicatin for mental issues, ADHD for 12 months. I believe things like Allegra, allergy meds are OK.

She will go to bootcamp in Chicago. In winter it is cold. If she goes during the winter tell her to eat the oranges and use the sanitizer. My sons whole division had strep, it was an epidemic, ok not really, but out of 88 kids 75 of them had strep.
Take her to the dentist now and have him look at her wisdom teeth. My sons were yanked out in boot and it was very painful. Here's your Tylenol, be back to work on Monday, he had it done Friday afternoon.
Boot is as much head game control as it is physical.
It is 8-9 weeks.
She will be awaken in the middle of the night to iron clothes, so have her practice. M son knew how to iron and thanked hubby in a letter because it only took him 5 minutes where the other kids had to do it over, alot.
Go to her graduation after boot. She will have grown so much, she will be sooooo happy to see you and soooo appreciative of her life in GA after those 8 weeks.
Bootcamp allows three phone calls. One when they get there, Number one went like this. Hi M., I'm here, I'm OK, I love you. Bye
Number two was longer and in the middle, after his teeth were taken. He was in some serious pain.
NUmber three comes after the end test.
ON the house phone when she is in boot, set the phone to ring to the cell if you are out. You do not want to miss her phone calls. On ours it was *72 to turn it on to my cell then *73 to turn it off.
THey can write every Sunday. Do not send cookies, or anything. She will get in trouble. Ask before you send those cards that sing. Sometimes those get the kids in trouble. The last thing you want to do is cause her undo attention in bootcamp.

After graduation she will go to her A school for training in her job. IT kids go to Pensacola. Corpsmen stay at Great Lakes in Chicago, some go to Mississippi. She will then get a ship or a duty station.
Mine went to Missawa, Japan.
They do deploy but the military takes care of their own, They will train her and she willl know her job. It is so hard when it is your baby, though.

Find some of the NAvy mom sites. I used to be part of a few. Google Navy mom sites and they will come up. Navy4families, I think, Navymoms.com another.

The Navy will teach her a trade and pay her well to learn it. THey wll give her housing and feed her three meals a day. It' hard, but so rewarding.

It will be OK. Let her make this choice. Let her go, let the Navy do their thing. She will come home a young woman, poised, confident. You wont' even know her.
I cried for two weeks. I ate nothing but cookies and m&m's. I was a mess. But it was the best decision my son ever made. He is a fine sailor with medals and honors, something he never had in HS. He has gotten in trouble for procrastination, lateness, and messy rooms, but the NAvy takes care of it. Plus he makes a decent paycheck for a single guy. Health insurance, life insurance, housing, job security, at 22 my son has it made. And he is happy, what more can a M. ask than the happiness of her children.

((((HUGS)))) M.. This is a big decision, support her. I would want my girls in the Navy or AF, even though hubby is a Marine.

Couple more things:
Navy Federal--by far the best bank in AMerica. When the gov't threatened to shut down, NFCU committed to pay all active duty pay until the gov't was back up and running.
USAA and GEICO, best insurance companies, USAA replaced two conversion vans for us. GEICO is cheaper for us in VA, car ins. But USAA is cheaper on house insurance, go figure.
GI Bill, college tuition paid for!!! My hubby used his to get his batchelor's.

I joined the Navy at 19 years old, much to my parents dismay. I studied language in Monterey, CA, lived in Japan for 2 years, and traveled to several other countries. After a five year enlistment, I got out, went back to college with my GI bill and became a veterinarian. I then served 3 years in the Army, and only got put because my husband is active duty and we now have 3 young children.
Locking back, the Navy was the best choice, albeit impulsive, decision, I had made at 19. I was working 50 hours at a fast food restaurant and going to community college. I had traveled out of state a handful of times and knew little about the world around me. It opened so many doors for me, exposed me to different cultures, races, experiences, even ones I never imagined. One of my closest friends and several people I knew joined because they didn't want to go to college-most of them have successful navy careers now. But your daughter should know that sailors are expected to take college courses as they move up the ranks so at some point, she may find herself taking a class or two along the way. There are several programs in place to make this easy and achievable.
Don't get me wrong-the navy is not a cake walk. Boot camp will probably be the toughest thing she does. Not everyone is cut out for the military, especially if they don't take orders well or are not motivated or lazy. There were days I was so lonely, especially in the beginning-holidays, birthdays, away from family and friends were tough. But you make friends, and those friends become like a second family. I llove the military community-but there are sacrifices too. If your daughter wants to do well and works hard, takes advantage of the education, travel, professional development, social opportunities-she will enjoy it and love it. Go to her boot camp graduation- you will be proud of how much she has grown up in 9 weeks. Make sure she has a good recruiter and everything is written in her contract so there are no surprises! If you or her have any questions, I would love to answer them fit you!

Have faith in her. If you don't have faith in her, how can she have faith in herself? It sounds like she has not been challenged, and choosing the Navy is a way to challenge herself. She will learn, grow, mature and maybe just find out what she truly values in herself and her life. Encourage her and admire her ambition.

My husband is Air Force and because of his career field, has worked joint with the Navy for the majority of his career (14 years now). The Navy is a great choice! Yes, it often means sea duty for 6 months at a time but it's a great job and Navy has a great family culture. Plus, while in the Navy she may decide she wants to go onto college and will have the advantage of the GI Bill. Some people (and I have a great example with my BIL) just need the structure the military provides in order to flourish and reach their full potential.

I have been active duty Navy for the past 8 years. If she doesen't want to go to college then the Navy is a great choice. They will give her money to go to school if she chooses to at a later date. Even if she just does 4 years and gets out, she can get the GI Bill and go to school when she gets out. There are many benefits to joining the military, that just aren't available in other jobs, and with this bad economy at least her job will be secure. I don't find it physically hard at all. The hardest part was boot camp, and even that was not too bad. I find the Navy hard emotionally at times. I have a family and had to deploy for six months and leave them behind, and it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. You take the good with the bad I guess. Now I'm in the medical field, and am pretty much shore based so it has gotten a lot easier. I believe the keys to being successful in the military are being on time, working hard, and doing what your told. That's it, if she does these things then she will be fine, and no she does not have to be in combat unless she chooses that role. A lot of people believe that all military people carry a gun, and are on the front lines, and that is not true. I wish her the best of luck with her decision.

I can't add too much beyond what Margie & Jackie said. I was married to a 20 yr Navy Submariner. We hosted a few Thanksgiving dinners for young kids who couldn't go home for the holiday as it was the only day they had off from school. It was great!!! We formed a bond with one of the guys who came back the next year from 1000 miles away!
It will be tough, no kidding there! She will learn things that you told her and told her and now she'll understand them. She will become a stronger person and you will be so amazed. She can go to school, travel to places she never dreamed of going and just learn so many things. It really is worth it, even if she only stays for a 4 yr stint. Take advantage of the college education, too. She could come out with a degree.
Hard part is that you won't hear from her much. I didn't think I'd survive the long separation of OCS that my husband (then boyfriend) was at. He couldn't call for quite a while once there. We could write but that wasn't the same! I flew back for his graduation-my first flight!-from CA to RI and it was amazing to watch him and finally see him. He was so 'military' and it made me more proud.
Take a deep breath and let her go. They say the toughest job in the Navy is a navy wife. I think the second toughest job is a Navy parent! Wishing you strength as you watch her go and her strength and perserverence as she joins the best of the best! Bless you all!