Things I got and things you can get for the Navy Girl in your life, based on where she’s at:

Boot Camp (What to get for the girl who’s about to spend 8 weeks learning how to follow orders)

• LETTERS! - I loved reading just little updates from my family and friends. We didn’t have much room in our lockers, and we weren’t allowed to have outside food, so seriously, just letters. Well, I don’t even know what they do now they probably have facebook.
• A nice dinner at her favorite Chicago restaurant on boot camp graduation day! For my meal, I got a grilled cheese sandwich meal AND a steak dinner. One sitting. Everything was gone by the end.

Navy ‘A’ School (Okay now she’s learning to do her job and has some more free time)

• Stereo - I bought an AIWA system almost immediately. I needed my music. Probably now they just want their computer huh?
• Clothes - all the old clothes I didn’t get to wear in boot camp! Get them gift certificates to stores, send them their old wardrobe, anything so they can feel normal again!
• An iron - seriously she’s going to be ironing her uniform all the time to pass all the inspections. A little hint too for you Navy girls: iron everything weekly for six months and they will keep those creases for the rest of your Navy career.

And most importantly, what to get for your girl on Deployment

• A Magazine Subscription - These are awesome! Great way to mark each month or each week and feel connected to your home country! I had a subscription to Wine Spectator, so that was pretty awesome. Instead of drinking wine I got to read about it.
• Air Freshener spray - We had a tiny nook outside our office with no ventilation where they stuffed an elliptical machine. If anyone did their workout there, I would open the door and be confronted by an atmosphere of disgusting humid workout stank. I seriously appreciated the air freshener spray.
• Little snacks - nothing crazy, because there’s a surprising amount of junk food on those ships, but if there’s something they really like (my parents sent me Girl Scout cookies and they were so good) they’ll appreciate it.
• Books - I read a lot underway, so any books you think they’d like, gift it to them. A friend of mine loaned me Jupiter’s Travels, which was so random, but I ended up loving it!
• TV Shows - The popular thing now is to watch tv shows that you’ve missed out on.  I remember I bought myself The Office (UK version) on a whim and completely adored it. I also learned then that UK tv seasons are rarely longer than six episodes.
• A Star Map - At night in the middle of the ocean the view of the stars is amazing, and sometimes having one of those little star maps is pretty cool. Pretty nerdy too, but I loved the one my dad gave me!
• Good Headphones - These will get you a long way with music/movies and blocking out annoying bunkmates blasting THEIR movies or music.
• Ketchup packets - It’s seriously the worst when the mess decks run out of ketchup.
• Oatmeal - Breakfast gets OLD after like two weeks underway when the fruit goes bad.
• Coffee Press and Her Favorite Coffee - Only thing that’s going to keep her going! Possibly some quality creamers too. I took a whole box of those individual pots underway with me.
• Emails - That’s really all I wanted. Keep your sailor updated! It meant the world to me that a cute Australian rugby player kept me updated often about his rugby games and boring workdays back in Brisbane. It’s just nice to have consistent contact with home. Looong emails are fun to read AND write!