I just got a letter saying the command here has 2 openings. I would like to do it but I'm afraid I'm not going to have time. So if I could ask those that are/were ombudsmans what their experiences have been like that would be awesome. Also, what was training like? How long was it? Oh, they asked for those interested to send in a letter. I have no idea what I'm supposed to say in it. I know I should state that I am in fact interested but what else do I say? Do I talk about John's job? What my schedule is like? My experience as a Navy wife? Also, for those that have wrote a letter (not sure if that is procedure) how long did it take before finding out you received the position? Is there a step in between the letter and actaully getting the position (besides training)? And another thing, we are only here for about 11 more months. Will that deter them from picking me? Would they want someone who will be here longer? Sorry for all the questions and TIA for answering any.


Oh, Froglove, I know you just had training here at Great Lakes. Could you let me know what it was like. For instance, did you enjoy it or not, was it helpful, what were the hours, etc. ? TIA

My experience has been that you put in a resume with your job and poeple experiences. Also put any FRG or volunteer work. Some commands like to have wives that are already involved with the spouses and want you to be knowledgeable about being Navy wife and resources available to you. Personally I do not involve my dh's job or even mention him :giggle
They will call you and set up a meeting to talk with you and then they will let you know from there. It is like any other job interview.

Usually they would like for you to be able to commit to a year. Ombudsman typically change with Change of Command.

Your time commitment depends on your command. A deploying command can take up a lot of your time. Shore duty command are not so demanding but with IA's it can be. Once your selected you go through a training class that can be several nights for 4 hours at a time or over a weekend. It gives you the overview of how to be a liaison for your the command and how to be professional about your job.

It is an awesome experience, I have done it twice now and I am getting ready to step down because of our transfer and I will miss it very much.

Thank You so much.

We're at RTC Great Lakes. John is a RDC on his last push. He graduates them in a little over 2 weeks and then he'll be on hold for the rest of the time we are here.

I don't have any FRG or volunteer experience. A group of us wives and girlfriends kind of did our own thing since the Support Group was so unbelievably disorganized. Besides going to college I haven't even worked since we got married almost 8 years ago.

Man, I really want this and it sounds really rewarding. But I'm not feeling to confident about getting it. Oh, well. I'm going to submit my letter and pray for the best. Hopefully, they call me.

I don't have any FRG or volunteer experience. A group of us wives and girlfriends kind of did our own thing since the Support Group was so unbelievably disorganized. Besides going to college I haven't even worked since we got married almost 8 years ago.


Tell them about that right there, it doesn't have to be FRG experience. They want to know you have people skills and can get out there and talk to others. RDC will have IA families, but that isn't a large drain of your time.

BE confident about it!!!
Trust me, they look for spouses that want to be involved :thumbsup

I really enjoy being an Ombudsman. Depending on how many Ombudsmen your command has, you may not have as much fo a time commitment as you might think. We have 3 and it works out well sharing the jobs. Commands where they all deploy together tend to have busier Ombudsmen. I do get quite a lot of calls, but the vast majority are information and referral questions.

OBT was 4 days 4 hours per night for me. They cover everything from confidentiality, to how to handle crisis calls, dealing with the media, the IA program, etc.

I love doing it. I feel like I'm helping the community I'm part of. As I understand it, you don't have to sign up for a year. You do have to resign every change of command (it's a formality because you need a new appointment letter) but you can resign at any time.

Regarding the letter, I would write something that explains your background, what you think makes you qualified to be an Ombudsman (mention how long you've been a Navy spouse, but I wouldn't mention anything else about your DH), you'll also want to address why you want to be an Ombudsman.

If you're unsure about the time commitment, have a chat with your CMC. They are usually your point of contact at the command, but the CO will be the person who actually appoints you. You will likely have an interview with the CO, XO and CMC. The CO will usually go with the recommendations of the other two if he doesn't know you, so talking with the CMC is a good idea.

I've only been doing it for a few months now, and I'm a co-ombudsman. We have a lead ombudsman, and another co-ombudsman. Right now, since the boat is deployed it takes up a lot of my time. But, I think part of that is mismanagement on our parts - we don't have a pattern yet to working as a team.

My training was all day long for 3 days. Some of it was very interesting and helpful, some of it wasn't.

I didn't have to do a letter. I had lunch with the Captain and COB (same as a CMC basically) and they liked me, and that was that.

I definitely don't mention dh much, and never formally. Sometimes he comes up in regular chit chat at lunch, but that's about it.

I can't say yet whether or not I think it's worth it. I like the work, I like helping everyone, and I like being involved. But I really don't like the politics and gossip involved. But that's just the people that I'm dealing with, not the job.

I hope you get it! If nothing else, it's a great learning experience, and good for the resume in the future!

I have been thinking about it as well. Since DH is going to a precom... nothing has been set up yet. I just keep going back and forth because of my past BAD experiences. :sigh