NAVY BOOT CAMP

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Comment by Garry Felker on September 28, 2009 at 6:31pm

My son is in Div 370 and we got our first phone call today. It was so good to hear his voice. He sounded good. Although he has been gone since August, they are only in their 3rd week of boot camp. He said the windows are obscured so they don't know what it is like outside most of the time. He also indicated there was more studying than he expected. He sounds motivated. :-)

Comment by Andrew Ross on September 27, 2009 at 2:22pm

Well, things seem a little more normal now that he's tasted some freedom.

The weekend has flown by and now it's nearing time for us to leave, but we've thoroughly enjoyed our time with our son ... he's turned into quite the young man! His A school is 211 days, I believe, and there may be a waiting period before he actually starts, so he'll be here for a while. He's under the impression he'll be getting a couple of weeks off at Christmas ... we're really looking forward to seeing him then! All going well, the rumor that his C school is in San Diego will come true and he'll only be an hour or so away from us ... his mom will really like that!

All said and done, he's in good hands, which is very evident from his demeanor.

Comment by GP on September 27, 2009 at 11:20am

As a parent of a Navy Nuke who graduated boot camp in June, it is nice to go back and read the comments left here by the parents of new recruits. It seems everyone is going through the same problems and excitement that my wife and I had faced. I just want to offer a small piece of advice. Keep sending those cards and letters to your children. My son said he and the others in his division could not begin to explain just how much words of encouragement from their parents and families meant every day to them.

When you do finally attend graduation, do not be alarmed by their change of behavior. They have just spend 8 intensive weeks of not being allowed to even think for themselves, being told what to do and when to do it every minute of the day. It may take a while to readjust. I know the first day, my son's reply to everything we asked was "whatever you want to do." We finally had to give him some choices and stressed that until he made a decision, we weren't moving. It worked. The next day he was more like his old self, only much more mature. I think that is the major adjustment that we the parents need to make. We sent our children to Great Lakes and the Navy returned our grown sons and daughters. May God bless them all and I thank them for their commitment to this county!

Comment by Andrew Ross on September 26, 2009 at 7:20am

Ron, I'm glad you experienced something similar; my wife and I thought it was something to do with us ... my wife cried herself to sleep last night, thinking he didn't want to be with us ... you're right, the transformation is amazing. My daughters were constantly trying to make him smile and laugh, but he was very cautious ... and they were very aware of the fact. Today is a different day; hopefully, a little easier on everyone!

Congratulation to all the new sailors and their parents!

Cheers,
Andrew

Comment by Jack Michel on September 26, 2009 at 4:34am

13 more days until PIR ,can not wait. My sons PIR is 25 years to the day that i started BC.I talked with him again this week his div. must be doing great i asked him did he already get out of BC as much as he has called lately and he lol. Now we have a young man to be proud of and huge. Congrats to all that PIR this week and every week. GOD BLESS AND GO NAVY!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment by Andrew Ross on September 25, 2009 at 9:32pm

I saw my boy today ... boy, was it strange! Poor guy was a little stressed being out for his first time. He couldn't stop straightening his uniform out, lol! He needed to be back in his compartment by 2100, so he wanted dropped off at 1930, so he could be sure he'd make it back. He told me he'd call tomorrow to let us know what time to pick him up. Liberty starts at 0700, but he thinks his RDCs will be screwing with them in the morning ... he's thinking it'll be more like 0830, we'll see.

Comment by Edward Davis on September 25, 2009 at 9:21pm

Scott i know how ya feel it's been four weeks for my son. We've gotten two letters so far and neither one sounds like Anthony wrote them that's how much he's changed so far. So that's something to look forward to instead of "i don't know" all the time now it will be a complete thought and answer to a question.

Comment by Larry Huffman on September 25, 2009 at 9:42am

Andrew...you are at PIR as I write this...Have a great visit with your new sailor. Congrats to him and thank him for his service to his nation!

John...I am glad you got some letters. I know that eases you and your wife's minds. The outbound stream of letters is slow and lags behind. They can usually only send letters out on Sunday...which is why a lot of boot camp letters are a string of smaller letters written through the week and all bundled up and sent on Sunday. With inbound mail, they get it any day (unless they have lost the priviledge for some reason), but there is a delay processing the mail once it gets to the base. Congrats to your son on passing his swim and PT tests. Those tests, especially the run, trip up a lot of recruits. It is a good hurdle to be over.

Scott...You know, it may seem odd for your son to have that sense of what boot camp will mean to him so soon in...but it is evident from the start to them if they are paying attention. To begin with, the RDCs tell you they are going to make a man of you, and then they proceed to do it. It is really a good sign, I think, that your son sees it, because it probably also means he is willing to allow them to make that change in him. Congrats...I know getting the box and the form letter is a special time...that first tangible contact. I think it reinforces that they are ok and in a good safe place, and not just gone. At least that is how it felt to us.

Comment by John Neeley on September 24, 2009 at 8:57pm

Hallelujah!! We got 2 letters today. My boy has not lost his sense of humor. Life is good. He had some unique observations of the various health, hygiene and mental capabilities of his shipmates. It sounds like a lot of fun, says he passed his swim and PT tests and as a "big guy" was surprised he finished 4th out of 80+ guys in the run. He was not pleased because of his height that he gets chow 5th from last of the group. He observed that everyone he follows in a line has neck/back of head zits and wounds from the haircuts and wonders if he is so afflicted.

Comment by Andrew Ross on September 24, 2009 at 3:52pm

Finally arrived in Great Lakes ... sitting with the family in the hotel, anxiously awaiting tomorrow's graduation! We'll probably do a dry run, so we know how to get to the base tomorrow!

Good luck to all this weekend!

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