First Day of Boot Camp January 8th

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on January 8, 2015 at 10:25am

about now he's wondering "what did I do....." - keep the faith!

Typically the first 4-10 days after the new recruits arrive at RTC are called Processing Days or P-Days. Around holidays and sometimes for unforeseen issues (flight delays, severe weather, etc.) P-days can last up to 14 days. Although recruits are assigned to a ship and division upon arrival, these assignments are not final and they do not move to their designated ship until P-days are over. Unplanned events may change that ship assignment. Your sailor's recruiter may give you an address a day or two after your recruit arrived at Great Lakes with a particular division that may not be final. This is why NavyDads always advises you to wait for your sailor's form letter with his or her correct address. That letter typically arrives 5-10 days after they have shipped to RTC.

Permalink Reply by Marvin on January 8, 2015 at 10:26am

My son graduated July 2013. You probably have, or will have mixed emotions. You should be getting the box of his belongings in about a week.

Permalink Reply by Joseph Cavallo on January 8, 2015 at 10:30am

Terry, first day is overwhelming for them. Not much sleep, if any, all new, processing, yelling, etc. If you got more than an "i'm here and I'm o.k." you're good. The next step you will receive the box of his clothes and belongings...that's a little sad. Following that you'll receive a letter about his PIR date. Someone can chime in here but one of those will have his mailing address, so write those letters to him and mail them as soon as you can. I typed my letters and added pictures from home but not too much so as to not make him home sick. It's going to be a long couple of months but be proud, you will be amazed of what he becomes. My son has been in about 13 months now and I beam with pride every time I see him or talk to him.

 

Permalink Reply by Marvin on January 8, 2015 at 10:39am

Terry is 100% correct. Send letters. Don't use nicknames, or anything embarrassing, just in case someone reads them. They will share mail with others that may not receive mail.

Permalink Reply by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on January 8, 2015 at 10:40am

and no glitter and no musical cards......

Permalink Reply by Keith Ramsay on January 8, 2015 at 10:50am

Terry.

  He will be fine. You. well not so much. My son has been is 18 months. I did not get a letter for over 2 weeks. The ship has to earn the privilege to write to home. So that time frame varies. Once you have that address. write a lot. Till then just hang in their, and be proud.   I worried about my son and how he would do.  He is now a Rescue swimmer, and loves it. He  has done more at 19 then i ever did.

  I will go through all this again in July as my other son has contracted for  the diver program. GO NAVY

Permalink Reply by Chistopher Lee Witt on January 8, 2015 at 10:54am

My son graduates 01/30/2015 and I have missed the "got here safe" phone call, but have recieved about 6 calls since then. 2 scheduled calls and 4 calls for security clearance information. We did not receive letters for about 4 weeks, probably due to the holiday mail in and out of there. 

The 1st night they got there they were up for about 40 hrs.before they finally got to their ship. Then it is hurry up and wait going through medical. They can send mail on Sundays only but can receive mail Monday - Friday. So just keep sending your letters to them it helps them get through the hard and boring times...

Permalink Reply by David McNeill on January 8, 2015 at 11:18am

My son graduates Feb. 6, and it was 45 hours of no sleep for him when he got there. But he's doing fine. The time to that first call from him seemed forever, but now we've gotten some letters and sent him a bunch. There's some good letter writing tips here: http://navyformoms.com/group/bootcampmoms/page/letter-writing-fun-s...; I found them very helpful.

Permalink Reply by Rod Allen on January 8, 2015 at 4:31pm

Well, it's all been said by these other NDs. When he is your only child, it can be tough. I did my share of "What's going on!" posts. I hand printed all my letters to him to keep it personal. He has finished A-School and has two C-Schools to go (one on each coast!) We were able to have him home for Christmas before he headed to SD. We are hoping he gets some days at home when he heads to the East Coast. Just keep on praying because he belongs to The Navy now!

Permalink Reply by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on January 8, 2015 at 4:34pm

lest you think you are alone, this was posted by a dad to another member dealing with separation anxiety....

    "I know you have seen some encouraging comments from other members, but I wanted to weigh in here too. On 28 January, a month after completing college, my son was sworn in to the Navy DEP. It was a couple of days after that when it hit me....after 23 years of a daily relationship with him everything was about to change! I knew joining the Navy was going to be the absolute best thing for him. But in spite of that, I became very depressed. I had no idea what I was doing but googled Navy support groups. I found this site. I remember posting my first comments.....reluctantly because I thought others would think of me as less of a man.....how depressed I was already at the thought of my son leaving and he was not leaving for boot until 1 May. Well the responses were surprising! All the admins and a number of other members put me at ease when they responded that every dad on this site, if they are honest with themselves, experienced the same thing. I also followed the great advice from the admins to read as much as possible on this site. All of this really helped! But then came the week before he left. I became very upset and just wasn't sure how I was going to cope. It really took some work to get it under control. Then the day came to put him on that plane to Great Lakes. As the tears flowed, it was my son in a bit of a role reversal that said, "dad, it's going to be just fine." Well from that point everything happened just as it was described by the admins and other members on this site from receiving the "kid in a box" to the form letter to the first phone call. The best advice I received after his departure was to write often. I didn't really think my son would care that much because my son has always been very independent and not the "home sick" type. But I found out two things in writing the letters: he loved them and encouraged it and they were very therapeutic for me! In the 7 weeks after I received his address I wrote 16 letters. All typed, no spacing, and not one under 4 pages long! I would never have imagined being able to come up with that much to write about....but you will be surprised. It truly helped the time move along as well. Then believe it or not, PIR was upon us. My son graduated on 28 June. The only thing I can say about PIR is that as it relates to my son, it was the second greatest day of my life......second ONLY to witnessing his birth! When you see your sailor march into that hall and you realize he/she is now a part of something greater than themselves, it is an indescribable feeling of pride. A feeling that washes away all the tears and angst of the previous 8 1/2 weeks of separation. Now as I look back, I am amazed how time has passed so quickly! As of today my son has been out of boot camp almost as long as he was in it. He is in Pensacola attending IT A school. This is totally different from boot camp. It resembles being away to college as you can communicate freely (voice, text, e-mail) with the exception of when they are in class. So to wrap this up, as others have said, hang in there! You too before you know it will be in the same shoes as many of us....looking back wondering where the time went and posting comments to help parents going through that which you have endured. I cannot emphasize enough how wonderful this site is to help you through it.....from really good information to Navy FAMILY who are there for moral support. God Bless you and your son for his service to our great country!"

Permalink Reply by David McNeill on January 8, 2015 at 4:43pm

Wow. Now you're making me tear up. :)

Yeah, it's been tough without him. House so quiet. But I know he's having the time of his life and that gives me strength. I definitely agree that reading this site and others, watching boot camp videos, learning about his A school etc all helps tremendously.

Proud to have my son in the Navy, and proud to be part of this community. Thanks for making it happen.

Permalink Reply by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on January 8, 2015 at 4:46pm

Well understand that whatever range of emotions and feelings you may be going through, someone here has as well....we're all are part of the Navy journey together-----and that is exactly why this site exists!

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