Ship 04 DIV 820 !

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Permalink Reply by Bill on August 18, 2014 at 4:18pm

We also received our first letter.  Sounds like Dive-Mo PT is in full swing and they're up at 0300 on Dive Motivation days.  It's being run by a couple of battle-hardened SEALs that mean business--just as it should be.  It was interesting to learn that the majority of recruits in Div. 820 have college degrees.  We made reservations arriving Thursday, Sep. 25th and departing Sunday, Sep 28th.  We're planning to spend some of that time visiting Chicago sites and, or course, as much time as possible with our son depending on his liberty situation.  On that note, I'd be interested to learn what the typical liberty arrangement is for graduating recruits.  If anyone can help me in that area I would be grateful.

 

Regards,

 

Bill 

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Permalink Reply by Tom on August 18, 2014 at 4:44pm

How good does that first letter feel? I read it four times.
I think I'm doing the same, going into the city for some deep dish.
Staying at the Navy lodge.
Here, I found this awhile ago

If he is staying in Great Lakes for Dive Prep. He will see you right after PIR for 30-45 minutes. Then he will have to get all his gear and report in at his new digs, this could take till 2 or 3PM He will call you to pick him up at a visitors station. he will can then be with you till 8-9 PM Friday.
We picked up  our son 5;30AM next morning and he was with us till 8PM Saturday night. Then Sunday the same.We had to leave so took him back 4PM SUnday.

If he is ND hang for quite a ride with and for him. My son went in 5/6/13 PIR 6/28/13; Grad DIve prep 8/28/13; started dive school Panama City 9/3/13; Grad dive school 1/23/14; Action packed for us all."

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Permalink Reply by Bill on August 18, 2014 at 4:58pm

OK--great--that's helpful to know.

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Permalink Reply by Berin Brenda on August 19, 2014 at 12:23am

Hi Bill,  What you're describing is similar to my son's BC experience.  He graduated from Div 815 in July.  Average age was 25 and college degrees were not unusual.  There were a number of former professional and D1 athletes and at least one olympic trial qualifier in his division. Lots of emotion and support from families at PIR. 

My son had blisters on his hands from doing bear crawls on the pool deck during dive-mo. The SEAL motivators do mean business.  My son shared some of their more memorable lines verbatim during liberty.  He loved it, but it would have terrified me when I was nineteen.

About 4 weeks in he asked us to send him inserts for his boots and running shoes because he was developing shin splints.  This worried me because I know that can become a deal breaker.

I went straight to the local athletic store that specializes in footwear for distance runners. One of the employees had been in the airforce and showed me what he had used in his combat boots. 

There's a time lag between letters, phone calls and when SRs get mail delivered.  If you want to mail inserts to your SR proactively, they have to be precut and removed from the package before mailing.  I sent my son several pairs and he was able to share the extras with some grateful shipmates. 

We arrived at OHare early Thursday AM, enjoyed some time at Illinois Beach State Park on Lake Michigan, drove to Milwaukee for a Brewers game at 1:00 and checked into our room in Waukegan early in the evening. Traffic in Milwaukee was a breeze compared to Chicago.

We drove directly onto the base for graduation and traffic was no problem whatsoever.   There were only 7 divisions graduating so a shuttle might be a good idea depending on how many divisions are at PIR.

My son had to be back by 8:00 PM.  So we ate nearby, drove down to the lake at the yacht club (not the beach since he was in dress whites) and took some pics.

We met him at Ohare at 230AM Saturday and waited with him at the gate until he boarded his flight for Pensacola around 630. We didn't fly home until Sunday evening and saw lots of happy sailors and families enjoying Navy Pier and the Wendella river tours in Chicago.

You'll love PIR. Somehow my son grew another inch (how is that possible while sleep deprived?) but the internal changes were even more dramatic. The best part for me was seeing the smile on his face when he greeted his grandfather (a Navy vet) after graduation.

Hope this helps!

BB

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Permalink Reply by Tom on August 19, 2014 at 10:35am

Hi Berin and thank you for the info.

Are you 100 pct sure that mailing inserts are allowed? I'd like to take this proactive step and get them to him but would hate to have him get into any trouble or worse given a hazing from fellow sailors?

Thanks again.

Tom

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Permalink Reply by Bill on August 19, 2014 at 3:29pm

Berin:  Thanks for the info.  If you know, what kind of footwear (brand/model) are they running in?  Are they wearing boots for PT and running shoes strictly for runs?

 

Any info in this regard would be greatly appreciated. I know from experience the effect of bad footwear.

 

Bill

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Permalink Reply by Berin Brenda on August 19, 2014 at 8:00pm

Bill and Tom,

My son said in a letter and in a subsequent phone call that inserts are ok.  They must be taken out of the package before mailing. I removed them from the package and put them in the padded envelopes that  they sell at the post office. No problem.

Here's what they suggested at the athletic store:http://www.downunders.us/, but even Doctor Scholls inserts are fine. 

$45 bucks a pair.  I didn't care.  It was the least I could do. 

My son is in the pipeline to become an aviation rescue swimmer.  One of his colleagues broke a foot in Pensacola, as did one of his buddies from the air force who was a PJ candidate.  An ounce of prevention goes a long way. 

Good luck to your sailors and thank them for their service!

BB

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Permalink Reply by WilliamSP on August 21, 2014 at 9:20am

Son doing well by reading letters received. He had his wisdom teeth removed the 13th, no novocaine and bed rest for two days, normal procedures for SR by all accounts. He's been battling a cold or flu but refuses to go to medical as he doesn't want to miss any training days. No complaints, loves the letters and says keep them coming. Misses his Mom and can't wait to talk to us.
Hoping for the phone call this week
He mentioned Dive MO but not sure what that is or how long it lasts but sounds like they're up at 3:00 am for water work

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Permalink Reply by Tom on August 21, 2014 at 9:59am

Glad he's doing well William. I too cannot wait for the call. Perhaps this Sunday.....

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Permalink Reply by Tom on August 21, 2014 at 7:25pm

Got the call this evening from my son. He's doing very well, sounded very positive. Had his wisdom teeth taken out of course.
Sounds like he's with a great group of guys. He actually likes his division commanders very much as well as his pool mo SEALs.
It's a def no on the inserts as he would need a medical prescription for them and they would supply if he needed.
Felt great to hear his spirits so high.

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Permalink Reply by Bill on August 22, 2014 at 12:17pm

I'm glad to hear the positive report.  It looks like they're getting access to the phones now, so we'll likely be hearing from them more often.  As with your son, mine sounded very positive. It sounded like about everyone in the Division was sick with some kind of bug.  They said it happens all the time with folks coming in from every part of the country and putting them together in one room.  It probably doesn't help that they're up at 0300 and secure at 2200 nearly every day.  Add to that a four hour fire watch during the night and my son said some days he's operating on 2 hours sleep.  He said his favorite parts of boot camp are, Diver Motivation, Chow, and sleep :)  He said the SEAL Instructors had the recruits tread water the other day while holding a 10 pound weight over their heads for five minutes. He said it was hard, but he managed to tough it out to the end.  They're also beginning to swim with fins to get them oriented to the training ahead of them.

 

Cheers and all the best to your young men, Gents.

 

Bill

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Permalink Reply by WilliamSP on August 22, 2014 at 1:57pm

Welcome aboard, first phone call from son. He's doing great. Understand NTC is backed up and the 820 might not be able to move across the street after PIR. Anyone hear the same? i assume they would continue NSW prep regardless. looking forward to 9/26 and seeing this fine young man!

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