May 8, 2009
I'm proud to announce my son has graduated! On to A School at Great Lakes. Here are pictures of both of MY sailors.
Showing posts with label Navy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Navy. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Navy Bootcamp Graduation
May 8, 2009
I'm proud to announce my son has graduated! On to A School at Great Lakes. Here are pictures of both of MY sailors.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Be All That You Can Be
This is an open letter to my son who called me from Navy bootcamp yesterday.
Ryan,
Another typed letter, sorry. At least you can read it. I was so happy to be able to talk to you. You had me a bit worried when I answered the phone. I know bootcamp is hard, but I want to tell you some things. I want you to re-read this letter when you are feeling like you are alone.
I am the mom and I am confident that my son is in good hands. You are warm and fed and you are working your butt off and when you come out of bootcamp you will be a very proud sailor, like many, many, many before you. You will be special. Even more special than you were when we brought you home from the hospital. You will have joined the ranks of the men and women who protect our country. And even though we sometimes feel like our family is the most important. Try to remember, that before our families can be safe, we must have a safe place to live. There are people all over this world who are not safe because of the country they live in. You are one of the men who will make sure that your wife and child, I, dad and all of our family can go to sleep at night safely.
All of the things that you are doing right now are for a reason. Thinking about your day…
Get up early every morning. Shower, shave and get ready for inspection by making your bed, straightening your locker, and cleaning the barracks. Marching with your company to breakfast, drilling, physical training, going to classes, taking tests. All those things are to see where YOU will be best in the United States Navy. Don’t think for a moment that leaders are just pulled off of some farm in Ohio, Illinois. They are groomed into leaders. As parents, (as your mom) I gave you the basic knowledge of the world. I tried really hard to show you what was right and what was wrong. I taught you how to love and be loved and be a strong person. I hopefully taught you that you are loved by not only me and your family but by God also. There is a greater purpose in life than to “just be”. Everyone has their destiny. Destiny is a big word that is hard to understand. But everything you are doing right this moment/minute is, well, to be, it’s meant to be. You have to do what you are doing right now to be the person that you will be until the day you die.
By doing the PT and going to classes and all the other things, you are learning that you may not be the strongest, or fastest or the smartest, but you are part of a team that IS! Together as a team you become a force to be reckoned with. Of course you are military. So one day you may need to depend on one of those other team members. They won’t be those same guys that you went to bootcamp with but they will be one of the guys who went through the same bootcamp that you went through. It is about a team. Just like being part of a family is like being part of a team. Think about it. In our family everyone has their roles. Some of us are good at some things and some of us are better at other things. You are learning about team work in bootcamp. You’ve always been a part of a team, now you are just learning to understand how a team works.
You are learning that there are rules and regulations that govern the military and the Navy…in particular at this moment. BUT, in life there are also rules and regulations. To have a happy family life and happy country, there are rules. You are learning all of them. You will also be able to take this information and apply it to your family and to your whole way of life. By LEARNING all this stuff, you will be able to PROUDLY represent your family and your country. YOU will also be able to DEFEND your family, your relationships and your country. Every thing you are learning in boot camp is applicable for ALL OF LIFE!
Don’t worry about not being able to call home. That’s also is for a reason. Several reasons I am sure. When you first get to bootcamp, it's the worst thing that could possibly happen to a human being! You said that yourself. It’s MEANT to be that way. You’re thinking…there is no way a civilized human being can survive such treatment!!! You’re thinking you will never….ever complete this!
Everyone is mean, remember everyone has orders to follow from someone, they aren’t just being mean to be mean! The food is terrible! Ha, ha you thought Steph didn’t cook very well…Where do you think the saying comes from that, “No one cooks like mama!” comes from? The hours are terrible, but remember you LIKE being up late!!!! You may be thinking that there is no way they're going to be a sailor for the rest of your life. But, sure enough in just a couple more weeks, you’re going to forget all those things. Just like having a baby. Women say all the time 10 minutes after birth, “I’m never doing that again”, and ha ha, there they are doing it again in no time. So the Navy doesn’t want you calling home and getting a “Oh poor Ryan” from mom or anyone else from that matter! I am a proud, proud, proud Navy mom. I’ve given both my sons to the Navy. I believe in all the values they teach you. I believe in being tough, I believe my sons can be great leaders! Don’t worry that you can’t call. Because I know you are growing and changing and it’s just like before you’re born. You need time to grow, give it time. Those waiting for you know that you are getting ready to come out. And when you march across that room on May 8th it’s going to be just like a birth! You just have no idea how proud you and your family will be!
When you are done with bootcamp you will be a trained Navyman! You will be like hundreds of thousands before you! You will be our future leader and YOU will then have to teach those young boys (and girls) who joined the Navy, just what the Navy is all about. You will be well prepared. You will have skills that make YOUR family, and Navy family strong!
I am really proud of you. KNOW that YOU are doing your family and your country proud.
Yep, I sound like a Navy commercial don’t I? Well, it’s because I believe in YOU and our military. Truly, there is a reason the Navy says, BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE!
Ryan,
Another typed letter, sorry. At least you can read it. I was so happy to be able to talk to you. You had me a bit worried when I answered the phone. I know bootcamp is hard, but I want to tell you some things. I want you to re-read this letter when you are feeling like you are alone.
I am the mom and I am confident that my son is in good hands. You are warm and fed and you are working your butt off and when you come out of bootcamp you will be a very proud sailor, like many, many, many before you. You will be special. Even more special than you were when we brought you home from the hospital. You will have joined the ranks of the men and women who protect our country. And even though we sometimes feel like our family is the most important. Try to remember, that before our families can be safe, we must have a safe place to live. There are people all over this world who are not safe because of the country they live in. You are one of the men who will make sure that your wife and child, I, dad and all of our family can go to sleep at night safely.
All of the things that you are doing right now are for a reason. Thinking about your day…
Get up early every morning. Shower, shave and get ready for inspection by making your bed, straightening your locker, and cleaning the barracks. Marching with your company to breakfast, drilling, physical training, going to classes, taking tests. All those things are to see where YOU will be best in the United States Navy. Don’t think for a moment that leaders are just pulled off of some farm in Ohio, Illinois. They are groomed into leaders. As parents, (as your mom) I gave you the basic knowledge of the world. I tried really hard to show you what was right and what was wrong. I taught you how to love and be loved and be a strong person. I hopefully taught you that you are loved by not only me and your family but by God also. There is a greater purpose in life than to “just be”. Everyone has their destiny. Destiny is a big word that is hard to understand. But everything you are doing right this moment/minute is, well, to be, it’s meant to be. You have to do what you are doing right now to be the person that you will be until the day you die.
By doing the PT and going to classes and all the other things, you are learning that you may not be the strongest, or fastest or the smartest, but you are part of a team that IS! Together as a team you become a force to be reckoned with. Of course you are military. So one day you may need to depend on one of those other team members. They won’t be those same guys that you went to bootcamp with but they will be one of the guys who went through the same bootcamp that you went through. It is about a team. Just like being part of a family is like being part of a team. Think about it. In our family everyone has their roles. Some of us are good at some things and some of us are better at other things. You are learning about team work in bootcamp. You’ve always been a part of a team, now you are just learning to understand how a team works.
You are learning that there are rules and regulations that govern the military and the Navy…in particular at this moment. BUT, in life there are also rules and regulations. To have a happy family life and happy country, there are rules. You are learning all of them. You will also be able to take this information and apply it to your family and to your whole way of life. By LEARNING all this stuff, you will be able to PROUDLY represent your family and your country. YOU will also be able to DEFEND your family, your relationships and your country. Every thing you are learning in boot camp is applicable for ALL OF LIFE!
Don’t worry about not being able to call home. That’s also is for a reason. Several reasons I am sure. When you first get to bootcamp, it's the worst thing that could possibly happen to a human being! You said that yourself. It’s MEANT to be that way. You’re thinking…there is no way a civilized human being can survive such treatment!!! You’re thinking you will never….ever complete this!
Everyone is mean, remember everyone has orders to follow from someone, they aren’t just being mean to be mean! The food is terrible! Ha, ha you thought Steph didn’t cook very well…Where do you think the saying comes from that, “No one cooks like mama!” comes from? The hours are terrible, but remember you LIKE being up late!!!! You may be thinking that there is no way they're going to be a sailor for the rest of your life. But, sure enough in just a couple more weeks, you’re going to forget all those things. Just like having a baby. Women say all the time 10 minutes after birth, “I’m never doing that again”, and ha ha, there they are doing it again in no time. So the Navy doesn’t want you calling home and getting a “Oh poor Ryan” from mom or anyone else from that matter! I am a proud, proud, proud Navy mom. I’ve given both my sons to the Navy. I believe in all the values they teach you. I believe in being tough, I believe my sons can be great leaders! Don’t worry that you can’t call. Because I know you are growing and changing and it’s just like before you’re born. You need time to grow, give it time. Those waiting for you know that you are getting ready to come out. And when you march across that room on May 8th it’s going to be just like a birth! You just have no idea how proud you and your family will be!
When you are done with bootcamp you will be a trained Navyman! You will be like hundreds of thousands before you! You will be our future leader and YOU will then have to teach those young boys (and girls) who joined the Navy, just what the Navy is all about. You will be well prepared. You will have skills that make YOUR family, and Navy family strong!
I am really proud of you. KNOW that YOU are doing your family and your country proud.
Yep, I sound like a Navy commercial don’t I? Well, it’s because I believe in YOU and our military. Truly, there is a reason the Navy says, BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Go Navy!
Go United States of America!Go Navy!
Go Capt. Fernandez "Frank" Ponds!
Go men and women of the USS Kearsarge (LHD 3)
Captain Ponds stated there are "boots on the ground" in Haiti.
I personally would like to thank the United States government, the United States Navy, Captian Ponds and all of the men and women on the ground.
This is Continuing Promise 2008!
We don't read about the good things very often so I'd just like to point out that men and women from the USS Kearsarge were on the ground in Port au Prince, Morase, Calase, Bainet, Trois Ponts, Grand Saline and Belle Anse and I am sure many others cities, towns and villages.They were delivering the 1,130 metric tons of relief supplies, including 29,550 gallons of water to devastated communities isolated by damaged roads and bridges.
The areas needing the most immediate assistance have been in support of and prioritized by U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). Medical teams from Kearsarge, including embarked personnel from Canada and the United States Public Health Service, continue to work with other agencies working in the country - including the Center for Disease Control, Doctors Without Borders, the Pan American Health Organization, the United Nations and others - to provide limited medical services.
Air Force engineers and Navy Seabees continue to conduct assessments in some of the more heavily damaged areas where roads, bridges and critical infrastructures were destroyed by heavy rains and flooding from the storms.Kearsarge embarked personnel include service members from the Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard, along with medical personnel from the U.S. Public Health Service, Canadian Army and Air Force, Brazil, Project Hope and International Aid.
Any U.S. military assistance to a foreign nation must be requested by the host nation through the U.S. ambassador. Then, as the lead federal agent, USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance fields the request and asks the Department of Defense for military assistance, if needed.
Why do I write about such things? Because the people of the world are good and I want to say thank you.
V
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