Gifts to Give Someone Going Into the Navy

According to the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics organization, there were approximately 327,000 people who served on Active Duty in the Navy in 2009. Navy recruits have limited storage space in their barracks room lockers during and after basic training. Therefore, gifts should be small enough for the person to store them inside their barracks’ locker yet personal so as to take into account activities and hobbies that the service member likes.

Digital cameras are good because Navy personnel can take pictures during their travels after they graduate from boot camp and send the images to their family and friends via email. They can also take short videos of themselves at various duty stations they are assigned to and share them with their loved ones. If the Navy service member purchases a memory chip for the camera, they can store hundreds of pictures on the camera without having to worry about paying to have film developed.

Decorative stationery in a small container that includes self-addressed stamped envelopes can be used by Navy recruits during basic training to write and keep in touch with family and friends back home. The first two weeks of basic training (a time that can feel lonely), recruits are not permitted to read newspapers, magazines or visit on or off-base stores. They appreciate getting mail in response to correspondence they write and send home.

Engrave the Navy service member’s name on the front or back of a photo album. At the bottom of their name, engrave the date that they entered the Navy. Insert pictures that the recruit took with relatives and friends before they joined the Navy in the first five to ten pages of the photo album. The pictures will be a welcomed reminder of home during the long hours of physical and academic training that the person will endure as a Navy recruit and, post basic training graduation, as a professional Navy service member.

Present the Navy recruit with a cell phone that includes Internet, email access and international roaming access. The phones can be used by Navy personnel wherever they are assigned for duty. Cell phones are small electronic items that Navy personnel can keep in a barracks locker or pack and carry in a duffel or shoulder bag while they complete work assignments or travel to a new duty station after they complete basic training.