Is communication with family sporadic while at sea?

SGT Robert McCuistion — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 11:43:47 -0400

A friend of mine has a guy in the Navy. He's on a surface ship, not sure what class. She says his ability to contact her is rather sporadic due to being at sea. I've heard the usual horror stories of people pulling a Jody on their Girl/Boyfriend while on sea duty. Is communication with family really that sporadic?

Response by PO1 H Gene Lawrence made Apr 4 at 2021 11:48 AM

PO1 H Gene Lawrence — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 11:48:03 -0400

Not anymore.

Response by SSgt Christophe Murphy made Apr 4 at 2021 11:51 AM

SSgt Christophe Murphy — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 11:51:32 -0400

I think you’re not using the term Jody correctly.

Jody is the guy sleeping with a SMs girl while they are gone.

But with that set aside,
Depending on the ship and depending on their comm situation it could be limited. But they could also be ghosting their girlfriend because they are super busy. It just depends

Response by PO1 Richard Cormier made Apr 4 at 2021 12:12 PM

PO1 Richard Cormier — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 12:12:59 -0400

"Sporadic" may be the term he is using for his "access" to external comms. The ship ALWAYS has available comms for the mission.

Not saying he is/or is not ghosting her but there are many possible reasons for his lack of comms (mission, duty schedule, NJP, ...)

Just my $0.02 for what it is worth.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Apr 4 at 2021 12:46 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 12:46:33 -0400

SGT Robert McCuistion It Can be. Many times We Practice Our Smoke and Mirrors Tricks by the Battle Group going RF Silent while One Unit will throw out a Crap Load of RF Energy while steering away from the Fleet Making Potential Opponents this the Unit is in One Location (Where that Single Ship) is. I Used to Teach "Mode Bravo" which is a Back-Up Telecommunications Procedure for when You lose Satellite Comms and Revert back to Ancient HF Comms. Lots of Factors.

Response by LT Brad McInnis made Apr 4 at 2021 1:04 PM

LT Brad McInnis — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 13:04:18 -0400

My experience is from 10 years ago... There is always internet connection, unless they are doing a specific mission where OPSEC is necessary. The other part of the equation is what job they are doing. Some jobs work ridiculous hours and watches and sometimes sleep takes a priority to contacting family (I myself was guilty of this).

My advice is to have her keep sending emails to them, but don't harp on getting nothing back. Don't make it into a problem until they have evidence it is. The sailor is in a very dangerous position where their head needs to be in the game.

Response by PO1 Sanford Snyder made Apr 4 at 2021 3:33 PM

PO1 Sanford Snyder — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 15:33:20 -0400

25 years ago it was by snail mail only, unless you could manage a MARS connection. Nowadays, I hear they do have more real time communications. Anything is better than waiting 2 week for a letter. As for the girl/boy friend while at sea, communication would have nothing to do with that, except that it would be against regs of course.

Response by PO1 Bill Willis made Apr 4 at 2021 8:16 PM

PO1 Bill Willis — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 20:16:50 -0400

Could be that his unit is on a mission that involves a no outside communication requirement, but more likey the member has a altier motive, from lazzyness to cheating.
Recommend sending Him/Her a letter requiring an explaition an explanation especially if others in the unit is able to send mail.

Response by SFC Melvin Brandenburg made Apr 5 at 2021 11:53 AM

SFC Melvin Brandenburg — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 11:53:08 -0400

Having been separated three times (6 months, 15 months, and 8 months) from my wife and family, I can tell you worrying about them at home will do you no good. Focus on the task at hand, write as many letters/emails and make as many phone calls as you have the opportunity. It will be a stressful situation. Interestingly enough, it will be more stressful for those at home than it will be for you. You know what you have to deal with, those at home have their imaginations to deal with.

Response by PO1 Todd Walters made Apr 11 at 2021 7:54 PM

PO1 Todd Walters — Sun, 11 Apr 2021 19:54:33 -0400

Yes it can. Depends on what ops are. Im sure its better than when I retried, however mission always comes first.

Response by CPO Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 13 at 2021 10:34 PM

CPO Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 22:34:20 -0400

No calls to ship are relatively doable due to satellites

Response by PO1 Larry Sirmans made Apr 17 at 2021 12:27 AM

PO1 Larry Sirmans — Sat, 17 Apr 2021 00:27:01 -0400

In my day there was NO comms at all while at sea.

Response by PO1 Rakiyah Cook made Apr 25 at 2021 4:15 AM

PO1 Rakiyah Cook — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 04:15:50 -0400

It is and many marriages end because of it. You don't have to cheat because you are on a ship. Those boat goggles people talk about don't always fit.

Response by CPO Larry Cowden made May 3 at 2021 11:51 PM

CPO Larry Cowden — Mon, 03 May 2021 23:51:27 -0400

I served on both submarines and surface ships. On subs we could get an occasional "family gram" from home when we came up to copy messages. Those were screened by the RMs first and if it contained notices of a family death, the CO made the choice on whether we received it or not. Mission requirements came first. Shortly upon mooring the individual would then be briefed. I do remember one extreme exception for a chief and his son that got bad news. We rondevoused with a carrier and did a helo transfer of the two to them. They were then flown home. We couldn't send though. On the surface ship, I never received any communication from family. I had to wait until port call. Same on subs. I understand now that surface ships are providing new communication services with family.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made May 7 at 2021 5:54 AM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 07 May 2021 05:54:26 -0400

Communication at sea can be hard. Ship will go into information blackout if in certain areas to protect the ship from detection.

Response by LT Private RallyPoint Member made May 11 at 2021 8:33 AM

LT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 11 May 2021 08:33:35 -0400

Yes, comms at sea can be very hard. There aren't enough computers to go around, the internet is s l. O. W. If EMCOM pops at the right time, there goes your ability to communicate outside the ship. The carrier throttled bandwidth by pay grade, so the more junior, the less ability one has to actually use internet email or Facebook. One of my Sailors used his navy email to send text messages to his wife. Just figure out what your friend's cell carrier is and you can find the way to email a text message just fine. My last deployment on a ship was 2017, and it was and still is fairly typical to have limited comms at sea. Tell your friend not to worry too much, it could be normal depending on work / watch schedule.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made May 12 at 2021 3:07 AM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 12 May 2021 03:07:51 -0400

Sporadic is a excellent term. Bandwidth is prioritized to mission essential equipment, Navy equipment breaks down a lot, there maybe certain hours they have access, and they also may restrict communications off the ship for a period of time. Heck if the ship is facing a certain direction the signal may be blocked. Personally there have been times that i go weeks without being able to call or email my family, other times i can talk daily. Usually when sailors hit port they are able to make up for missed conversations. But there maybe times like my last deployment where we went over 200 days without pulling into port. The important thing is that this is communicated with friends and family prior and during deployment. If the expectation is the type of communication on has stateside the expectation will never be met. However, if the expectation is communication could be weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly than expectations will be met more often. For emergencies the ship's Ombudsman and a message from the American Red Cross to the ship are the best if unable to contact the sailor. These will also be used as supporting documentation for plans the ship and the sailor make in support of those emergencies.

Response by PO1 Roland Hoffer made May 18 at 2021 11:38 PM

PO1 Roland Hoffer — Tue, 18 May 2021 23:38:45 -0400

It can be. 40 years ago when I was on a carrier, letters was how you communicated and at sea it might take a few weeks between letters. He/she might be busy depending on what area they’re operating in.

Response by PO1 Randy Cunningham made Jun 1 at 2021 7:10 AM

PO1 Randy Cunningham — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 07:10:37 -0400

I was in the Navy before email was a thing. I don't know how they handle the civilian communication now. There are no cell towers on the ocean. The military has a lot of satellites but I don't know how much civilian communication they allow. My guess it that it is pretty restrictive.
Civilian satellites cover land/people. There aren't enough people on the ocean to warrant a chain of satellites. Satellite time is expensive. I don't see the Navy allowing 24/7 access to civilian satellites.
You don't want to advertise the position of the ship. Any radio/satellite communication will pinpoint the exact location of the ship. About half of the time we were not allowed to turn TVs on because they might be detected. Even below the waterline and through several layers of steel walls/ceilings.
The ship I was on could land helicopters but we didn't actually carry one. If we were with a carrier we got snail mail fairly regularly. Otherwise we didn't get mail until we reached port. Port visits often get changed and sometimes the mail doesn't catch up in time. Port visits are random. Sometimes 2 weeks apart. Sometimes 2 months apart.
The Navy is sensitive to family concerns. One of the first things I was told in boot was, "You will write your family at least once per week." If she contacts the base they might put some pressure on the ship to increase comms. The more people that contact them the more likely it is to happen. This can also have a negative effect on him. Not from the command but from his shipmates. Imagine all the variations of, "Your mommy wants you to call home."

Response by PO3 Rick Lewis made Jun 7 at 2021 11:55 AM

PO3 Rick Lewis — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 11:55:22 -0400

It was for me when I was in.. That was 57 years ago though. Our mail delivery was pretty good though.

Response by PO1 Darrin Max made Jun 17 at 2021 8:58 PM

PO1 Darrin Max — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 20:58:15 -0400

communication with family depends on the ship! on carriers the mail go's out often small ships not that often, now the Jody? never heard that term!! but lots of stuff go's on at sea! and in ports lol

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Jun 17 at 2021 9:24 PM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 21:24:51 -0400

Yes, especially when the ship goes into "River city".

Response by AN Dallin Shroyer made Aug 17 at 2021 6:34 AM

AN Dallin Shroyer — Tue, 17 Aug 2021 06:34:17 -0400

I never got much of any phone service at sea but email was always an option unless in certain Opsec conditions.

Response by PO1 Don Hand made Sep 19 at 2021 11:16 PM

PO1 Don Hand — Sun, 19 Sep 2021 23:16:40 -0400

Yes. Even with modern tech it still is. Especially if he doesn't want to.

Response by Cpl Douglas Wuenschel made Sep 20 at 2021 5:45 PM

Cpl Douglas Wuenschel — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 17:45:50 -0400

Yes