Looking for a Christmas gift for my son.  He joined the Navy in March, still stuck in Great lakes.  Electronics Technician/Fire Controlman.

Budget is max $500.

He's still got quite a lot of school in front of him (AEGIS/SPY).

Given the general tendency of stuff to walk off/get stolen, and the fact that he's going to want to travel light, I'm at a bit of a loss on ideas.

Fifth of some Captain Morgan for starters. But seriously something electronic, perhaps a Chromebook. Low maintenance, they just work. Real Laptops, Tablets etc will probably exceed your budget. Budget might be a tad on the low side but I understand

Lock your stuff up.  Don't share the keys or combos.  Assuming it's the same barracks I used back when I was in ET "A" school, you have a lockable closet.

But still, if you want to keep stuff light for travel etc, some ideas.

1) A nice watch.  Maybe a regular one for now though.  Hold off on any smart watches until you know what kind of command / location he's getting orders to.  (Some may have restrictions on radio devices etc)

2) Strike Force Energy.   Nothing like trying to get through class when you're running on 4 hours of sleep.

3) Hot chocolate.  It's freakin' cold there in the winter.  Not as much snow as say upstate NY, but it's pretty bitter.  I remember one winter when it was so cold they relaxed uniform standards and said, "just keep warm".

4) Heck warm stuff could be good too - hats, gloves for civilian clothes etc.  Maybe even some navy pride stuff.

I needed only one thing in ET A School.   Money.  Cash.  Dosh.  The gift certificates accepted everywhere.

Ray.  Ex-SINS Tech Boomer Puke Boomer.

He's to young for booze... And actually already has a chromebook.

Tight year for our gift budget, sadly.

Thanks!

That could get  him a really good time some places.  Too bad hookers don't have gift cards.  Oh wait some do take Visa or MasterCard.

A heartfelt letter telling him how proud you are of him and what he means to you will be kept forever.  Costs nothing and means more than anything you can buy.  

If you want to spend money, you could give him the gift of roundtrip travel to come see you back home.

A little late but .......

no to watches, rings, ID bracelets, any jewelry below the elbow. Big no, no if you work on electronics. Also, as a SPY tech he'll be going to a ship, ships have all kinds of things everywhere that like to latch on to whatever you're wearing. No reason to wear it on the ship anyway. Had a bud on my second ship get his wedding band caught on something as he was running to his GQ station and it skinned his ring finger down to the bone. Had to have it amputated.

A couple ideas......

Thin but warm blanket. Thin so that it is easily stowed, warm because it gets cold on ships, especially in winter and in northern seas/ports. Those Navy issue wool blankets are barely adequate.

Headphones so he can listen to/play whatever on his tablet in his rack. Don't want him disturbing shipmates trying to sleep who are on a different watch/work rotation than himself. Depending on regulations though he may not even be able to wear them as a Sailor can't hear alarms and announcements with them on.



 

Ask him what he needs, and what they will let him have. Different A schools vary, but if they do a B drawer inspection and he has contraband...

A bit late, but powdered soap.. takes longer to pick up in the shower... Being Navy, he should enjoy it...

This thread needs a post by a completely disrespectful asshole.  That would really take it to the next level.  I hope one shows up soon.