Are Laptops, PDA's and cell phones permitted onboard US Naval vessels?

Question

If so are Electrician Mate's harassing everyone with a power supply that doesn't have a three prong ground wire. Do they have wireless connections on the mess decks and in bearthing comparments?

What about browsing the internet and shipboard security?

For those sailors that have cell fones how does that work? Especially if you have a contract and are deployed? The roaming charges must be through the roof.

Can you write your email on your own machine and then take it over to a navy terminal to send via a USB thumb drive or diskette

Answer 1

I left the Navy in 1999... but I had my laptop aboard the USS Kitty Hawk in 1996. It was cleared thru the EM's for my power-supply, and thru our Department's security. Cell-phones just weren't prevalent then. I locked up my lap-top in my division spaces... I wouldn't have taken it to berthing at all.

I recall that was my first cruise with the "Project Athena" system that allowed us satellite email, pay-phones and television !! WOW, calling home as we transited the Straits of Hormuz.

In port, a cell-phone or PDA should work... but they are LOS (Line of Sight), so they should fail the moment you're over the horizon from a cell-phone antenna. I know they ARE restricted from classified materials spaces.

The previous shipmate covered the current issues of cellphone contracts and browsing the Internet. Just amazing how far we've come in 15 years

Answer 2

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Answer 3

my husband and i are in the navy and yes you can have your electronics on board you just have to register them with your ship's security before you bring them on. and the thing with the cell phones, if you're going to be deployed then call you cell phone provider and tell them that you're in the military and that you want a stop on your phone for however long you're going to be gone. people do it all the time. your phone won't work in another country anyways so it would be useless for you to keep it on. and you probably won't be able to use your laptop's wireless capability aboard ship. most of the peoplewho have them just use them to watch movies when they're on the boat. but your ship will have plenty of computers to use and you'll have your own log in and password for your email and stuff. but alot of the sites that people like to visit are becoming blocked more and more and if that's a problem for you then every base that you go to will have somewhere where you can use an unrestricted computer for whatever you need. whether you're at home or abroad.

Answer 4

OK, just for clarity, a Navy ship is not Mom's house.

Cell phones: You can physically have them onboard with you but 99% of the time you can't use them even in port. First of all inside the skin of the you don't get reception. Next they are banned because they radiate radio waves that can interupt other mission critical electronic equipment onboard. Then they give off radio waves that can be tracked by our enemies. The point of a Navy ship is to not be seen electronically.

Laptops. Mainly a security risk. No you can't hook up into any ships LAN system. There are no wireless drops on the mess decks or on berthing. The Navy is not a Princess Cruise line. Again you don't get reception inside the skin of the ship. Remember a Navy ship is made of numerous layers of steel. You may be able to have them onboard but will only be able to use them to type letters on Word or to watch movies. Using them with any internet access is not allowed or going to happen. Most ships say no no to them so they don't have the hassle of babysitting people like you that are always going to try to hack the system somehow and use your computer. They are also a security risk because you can steal and download top secret information on your computer.

PDA's: Kind of like cell phones, you can have them onboard but depending on your chain of command may never be able to use them. PDA's are issued to Officers and Senior Enlisted that need them for their jobs and those people follow certain protecol to use their PDA's onboard.

If you have a cell phone contract you get to pay for it while you are away and not get any use out of your phone or you cancel your contract. and pay up. Some carriers will freeze your service for the time you are deployed and reduce your monthly service.

You are seriously in la la land on how the Navy works. Internet access and in a lot of cases Navy e-mail is very limited especially on a ship. The ships first priority is the mission the ship is on and whatever is needed to do that job is first when it comes to computer use. Only senior personnel have unlimited access to the LAN to check e-mail and use the internet. The system is huge but still very slow. The enlisted people that get access only have access because they need it to do their jobs. That normally means admin people only and E7 and above. Joe Sailor E1-E6 gets to live life most of the time without computers. There are telephones onboard, but when you are underway, the phones are basically turned off to off ship calls unless you are the CO or another high ranking person. There are Sailor Phones, which are pay phones that take AT&T phones cards and cost $1 a minute. Don't get excited, these phones are broken more times than not because they are satelite phones.

Are you getting the picture yet?? When you are on the ship you will be working. When you aren't working, you will be eating, sleeping, doing your laundry, working out, watching TV, playing video games, maybe taken a few college classes......Sitting around surfing the net is not a choice for anyone or calling your girlfriend from your cell phone......nope. Just like any other adult job you are paid to work and giving plenty or your time, but screweing around on your electronice crap isn't on the list of things you are going to be allowed to do. If you get caught trying to smuggle this stuff onboard or using it when you have been told no then you go to Captain's Mast and face the punishment. You will live to tell about how you disconnected yourself from your electronic toys. If this doesn't sound good to you stay home and let us do the job.

AND EM's really have nothing to do with controlling the computer use and stuff onboard. That is the job of the IT's. Nice guess though.

Answer 5

oh now this subject count number does annoy me lots- it completely relies upon upon how lots you employ your contraptions- in case you employ your moblie telephone 24 hours an afternoon with it permantly related on your earhole then confident you're probably to get strategies maximum cancers- yet sending the surprising text textile or the surprising phonecall in all probability will improve your danger yet to no longer the stages that are publicised via the media. the main harm you will do which contain your computing device is burning your epidermis in case you hold it on your lap- the sign from a on the spot card isn't sufficently intense sufficient to do any long term harm- possibly in case you connect it on your head then confident it may do some thing or yet another, yet otherwise no with the stages of use for many conventional human beings, i strongly have confidence which you do no longer could build a radiation chamber with gloves related to apply your computing device!!

Answer 6

yes.. but you can't hook them up to the Ship's LAN. Cellphones will only work when in range of a shore tower.

no wireless. every machine must be cleared by the Techs for use on the ship's electrical system.

Internet connections are on the ships unsecured Comps. certain sites are banned such as you tube, facebook and etc. open source emails such as hotmail or yahoo.. MIGHT be restricted as well. you will be given a ship's email account. most large files will not be permitted.. comingand going.

Answer 7

Good luck getting a cell phone to work at sea... unless you got a fancy satellite phone.