Returning Warrior Workshops

Sailors who have recently returned from a mobilization or deployment as an individual augmentee are invited to attend a Returning Warrior Workshop (RWW) with the guest of their choice.

The goal of the workshops is to give loved ones a chance to reconnect. The guest may include a spouse, significant other, or family member. The definition of family member has been expanded to include: girlfriends, boyfriends, parents, brothers or sisters. The Sailor will attend the RWW on ADT or DTS travel orders.

The events are held at a 4 Star hotel away from military bases and every day distractions. Civilian business attire is required. All lodging, meals, conference fees, and miscellaneous expenses are covered at the RWW and include: dinner Friday night, three meals on Saturday, and breakfast and lunch on Sunday. Travel by personal vehicle is encouraged and mileage will be paid at the current government rate. Ideally, attendees should be within 350 miles of the workshop.

For more inforamtion and a list of upcoming dates and locations, go to

https://www.cnic.navy.mil/navycni/groups/public/@pub/@southe/@corpuschristi/documents/document/cnicp_a176024.pdf

Hard At Work

A few pictures of the Seabees in action!

All Dressed Up...

A New Pet in the Neighborhood

Behind the buildings in which Scott and his shipmates reside, a new tennant has taken up residence.

The Big Race

Scott has participated in two races during this deployment. The first was a 5k up a "mountain" ending with a spectacular view of the ocean. The second was a team triathlon. Scott completed the swimming and running portions and another sailor did the bike component.


These are all sailors from Scott's group who participated in the triathlon.



Almost to the finish line.


"Woo-Hoo!"

Seabee Ball

Scott and his shipmates celebrated the Seabee birthday with a Seabee Ball!


Scott is third from the back on the right.
(Pictures and captions available in the Joint Task Force publication, "The Wire" found at http://www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil/wire/wire/WirePDF/v11/Issue6v11.pdf)

The Sunny Side

There have been lots of long days of long hours in sunny Cuba, but finally after what was quite a week of work, Scott, one of his roommates, and a handful of other sailors were able to enjoy the surf and sun over the weekend. Deep-sea fishing, swimming, and boating were the events of the better part of an afternoon. Once of the chiefs is a dive instructor in the civilian world, so in the weeks that follow, there may be an opportunity for Scott to learn to SCUBA dive. The instruction (rentals, licensing, etc.) is a bit pricey but seeing as other recreational opportunities are limited he has a bit of room to play with the entertainment budget. Once he is trained, he'll only have to pay for a ticket to take a boat out. He's really looking forward to it.

Address TYPO

I accidently inverted two letters in Scott's mailing address. (I listed the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion as NMBC instead of NMCB).

Please note the correct address is

Scott T. Ramsay
NMCB 25 MAIN BODY
FPO, AE 09501-2401

To Sailor With Love

Scott loves connecting with family and friends by phone and email, but there is nothing quite like receiving a letter or package from "home". Don’t fret too much about what to write or send. Just as important as what’s written or sent is that you thought enough to send something, and that connection to home and to you is priceless.

Scott Ramsay
PSC 1005 Box 37
NMCB 25 Main Body
FPO, AE 09593

GTMO Seabees Lend Hands to Operation Unified Response

An article about some of the sailors from Scott's unit who are deployed to GTMO:



GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (Jan. 20, 2010) Construction Mechanic 2nd Class Jacob Seichter, assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 25, operates a bulldozer at the airfield at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. The Seabees are modifying the airfield to accommodate a Boeing 747 that is offloading meals-ready-to-eat to be delivered to Haiti. The additional flight line space is an essential support for Operation Unified Response after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused severe damage near Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12, 2010. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Bill Mesta/Released)

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Leona Mynes, Naval Station Guantanamo Bay Public Affairs

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (NNS) -- Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 25, who are currently deployed to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, graded a hill Jan. 21 on the Guantanamo airfield to allow large aircraft unobstructed movement when navigating the runways.

The project resulted from a 747 airplane being unable to turn around at the end of the flight line before its scheduled take-off. The plane was carrying pallets of Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) that were being delivered to Haiti in support of Operation Unified Response.

When the aircraft attempted to turn, a 180-foot by 200-foot hill blocked its way.

"We're doing this so that inbound and outbound planes are not impeded by any limitations on the runway," said Chief Builder Christopher Grzebieniek, NMCB 25's operations chief petty officer.

Removing the hill prevented the plane's engine from making contact with the ground.

The Seabees were tasked with the project early Jan. 20. The bulk of the project is ongoing, but the area preventing the 747's movement was clear mid-day Jan. 21.


For more news from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, visit www.navy.mil/local/guantanamo/.

HooRah Seabeas!

I've been asked to serve as ombudsman (family liaison) for the additional ten or so sailors in this detachment who are not already part of the Green Bay group and I had the opportunity to meet with them on Tuesday. While I gathered family information from the sailors, Scott gave Gianna a tour of the spaces. She was wearing her Navy cheerleader outfit and kept shouting, "HooRah Seabeas!" She was a big hit!

Their Reputation Precedes Them

Gianna loves that there are sailors everywhere--even at mass. When a man in uniform went to the lectern for the first reading, Gianna exclaimed, "Is that a sailor? In church?" I guess the Navy's salty-sailor-reputation has reached pre-k!

Greetings from Gulfport!

It's been in the 30s and 40s, rainy, and windy--but, as you may have heard him say once or twice, "the sun always shines on Scott Ramsay!" Although we visited Gulfoport twice during his last mobilization, we stayed at a hotel in town. This time, we are on-base which adds another dimension to the trip (i.e. waking at 5:00 a.m. to sailors singing cadence during their PT runs).

Scott's been working long days (12-15 hours) so we've had limited time with him, but I get up with him in the morning and make a quick breakfast. Most days he's been able to come to the room for lunch and dinner. Then, he has an hour or so before bed to play with Gianna. Her new favorite game with Daddy is "tackle". What else would you expect after watching the Saints win the Superbowl from the middle of Who-Dat country.

10 Days and Counting

We weren't sure about timing of financing, but both fell in place and WE'RE GOING TO MISSISSIPPI!

Gianna is thrilled we get to visit Scott before he deploys to the southern hemisphere. She just doesn't quite understand why we can't go today. She has reacted more strongly to the seperation this deployment and I worry about having to say goodbye again, but some concentrated daddy-time will be good for both of us!

My dean was supportive (I have to miss a couple classes) and co-workers are covering as they can. Plus, somehow, ticket prices dropped 40% in the last month and we're both flying for $400 including taxes and fees--how lucky am I?

Militarily Speaking

Throughout my few months as an Ombudsman, I've come to appreciate how much military jargon is thrown around assuming others understand the terms. So, from time to time, I'll try to provide some basic military speak info that might make it easier to understand my posts and might also provide a glimps into the military culture.

For my first post, I've decided to highlihgt three words that are often inappropriately used interchangably: mobilized, deployed, activated.

Mobilized: when a service member leaves home for training
Deployed: when a service member is sent from training to his/her assignment
Activated: when a reservist is called to full-time service (either mobilized or deployed)

He Is Processed

Much like Gianna's favorite cheese, Velveeta (I use the term "cheese" broadly), Scott has been processed and is scheduled to deploy.

The first week of a mobilization is a processing week. Basically, they recheck everything from medical records to service records to make sure the sailor is fit for deployment. Then they interview each to see how they'll fit in the mission. As of Friday afternoon, Scott was officially processed into the deploying unit. We still don't have concrete details on where he'll be or what he'll be doing. Nor do we have a mailing address in Mississippi or beyond, but he does have access to email and this blog so feel free to send messages via either.

Introducing Berkley Ann

Berkley Ann, our beautiful niece and God daughter, arrived Sunday morning around 7:30 a.m. Gianna and I were able to visit for a couple of hours in the afternoon and can't wait to see her again on Tuesday. We miss her already!

Security Surprises

The Green Bay airport security is amazing! After Scott boarded the plane, we were the only ones in the terminal. (Airports give families of deploying military members special escort passes so they can go all the way to the gate.) We were waiting to watch the plane take off when we got the call that our new niece/God daughter arrived. I sent Scott a quick text with the news hoping his cell phone was still on. A few minutes later, the woman at the counter asked if he had responded to the text. When I said no, without hesitation, she asked if we wanted to board the plane so we could let Scott know the news. I felt as if we were in a movie. Gianna and I jogged down the hall and entered the fully-boarded plane and made our way back to Scott--who was visibly quite puzzled! We told him the news and got one more hug and kiss from Daddy!

The Send-Off

Instead of packing, we spent last night having tickle, pillow, and sword fights. We have our work cut out for us today, but Gianna's giggles were worth every moment of frantically cramming gear into seabags.

We are headed to Oshkosh this afternoon. We will likely arrive for dinner. ON Friday, Scott will head up to the reserve center to check-out. He'll play cards with some of the family at Grandma's house that evening. Saturday we'll visit, go to mass, and enjoy the evening as a family. We'll get to the airport around 6:30 a.m. on Sunday.(If anyone wants to see him off, call me for for flight time and location.) We'll watch the plane take off and then head back to the Hilton to check out and have a nice breakfast. (If you come to the airport, feel free to join us for breakfast as well!)

We'll then head to the Sheboygan area for Gianna's cousin Emily's birthday party. From there, we'll head home to wait rather unpatiently for the call saying my niece/nephew has arrived! (Of course, since Sarah is already four days overdue, it is probably a bit much to ask her to wait to go into labor until we see Scott off. So, my well-planned schedule may be altered a bit for a quick trip to a Madison hospital :)