NAVY BOOT CAMP

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Comment by Gary T. on January 26, 2009 at 4:00pm

My son Nicholas joined 01/13/09. PIR date of 03/13/09. He is currently assigned USS Arizona Division 115. Anyone assigned same please contact.

Comment by Proudpapa on January 26, 2009 at 1:14am

Looking for other dads with kids on ship 14 div 119 PIR date of 3/13/09? Should I start a group?!

Comment by John on January 25, 2009 at 7:24pm

My son Colin is being picked up tomorrow. We are going to see him sown in on Tues.and off to GL my daughter leaves on feb 22nd we had a nice weekend saying goodbye

Comment by Coach D on January 25, 2009 at 12:56pm

Hey all, my son leave's for boot camp on Feb 3rd. So I will probably be picking everyones brain for the next few weeks. It sure is great to have a site like this so I can communicate with other people that are going through this as well.

Comment by E.G. - ND's Creator/Admin on January 25, 2009 at 11:38am

Congrats Lee, Once in A school he is now only a phone call away, anytime. I'm glad y'all had a great trip.

Comment by Dave on January 25, 2009 at 10:38am

way to go 078 welldone

Comment by Lee on January 25, 2009 at 9:31am

Wow! There is no other word to describe the past couple of days! I was so proud to see Kevin's PIR on Friday and I spotted him in a "sea" of 842 graduates. The kid who left here in November is now a grown man. For those parents going to PIR, here a few pointers I picked up. Keep in mind everyone's experience is a little different.

We checked on the shuttle from the hotel but even they advised driving to the base if possible as they couldn't go on the base...they let you at at the gate and it is a nice long walk from there. I am not saying it was cold at GL, but if you are coming from anywhere the temp is above freezing, it is a cold slap in the face. It was a balmy 1 degree yesterday morning (no, that doesn't include wind chill). I found it much easier to get on and off the base driving rather than being on a schedule for the hotel. I was really surprised how easy it was. I never experienced a long delay at any point entering or exiting the base.

If you want a good seat get there early and then be prepared to wait and wait and wait. It seemed like it took forever for the ceremony to begin and when it did, it was over very quickly. There are divisional signs so everyone has an idea of where to sit for the best vantage point to see their sailor.

I read about the mad dash when the ceremony is over and it's all true and very accurate. My wife and I walked past Kevin as we couldn't see through the throngs of people. We then had 15 minutes to get out! When the Navy says 15 minutes, they mean it, so it's best to greet your sailor and book it back to the NEX.

My son's division had to must at noon, so he left us at the NEX (which really hurt the wallet). Once he came back, be grought us his pictures and new divisional t-shirts that listed all the recruits names in his division as well as his RDC and division motto. Be prepared to spend some money at the NEX!

After that, he had liberty until 8pm and like everyone else I think, we ended up at the mall. Kevin said it felt "strange" being off the base and he forgot what the real world was like. The time flew by on Friday and we dropped him off at GL around 7 as he still had to deliver the mail.

Saturday was a rushed day as we had to head back to Chicago at 1:30 for our flight home. It was an emotional 2 days for all of us, but one of the proudest days of my life.

One of the things that surprised me is how courteous everyone off base is toward the new graduates. It made me very proud as almost everywhere we went people would ask if he was a new grad and when he said yes, their response was always "Congratulations and thank you". Amazing to see how the community supports the grads and recognizes what these young men and women are doing for our country.

Kevin had to get up at 2am this morning for his flight to Pensacola. We hope to hear from him tonight as he said, "A" school is not boot camp and he will have a little more freedom.

Comment by E.G. - ND's Creator/Admin on January 24, 2009 at 9:14am

Michael and Robert you can send a letter everyday. The RDC's will stock pile that mail until the recruits have earned the right to receive it. When our son first received mail he said he had a lot of letters to read. So it is a good idea to number or date your letters 1,2,3, etc. So they will know what order to open and read. I think he received them towards the end of week two. We did not receive a letter from him until week 3 or 4. He said that he felt helpless reading the mail from mom because she was asking how are you?, are you o.k.?, please write me, etc. But he couldn't write back to tell her he was. Every privilege a recruit has at boot camp must be earned by the entire division. When mail finally does start arriving at your home it will be on Wed or Thurs every week. They can only write letters on Sunday during their liberty. Hope this helps a little.

Comment by Robert S. on January 24, 2009 at 7:06am

Michael, it is up to the RDC’s of their division when they can start sending or receiving mail. That is why you are hearing different times. My son went in on 12/2/08. I got his first letter on 12/22/08. However, some in his division got a letter as early as 12/17/08 but they lived close to the base. I think our letter got held up in the mail. Michael & Robert, I just went through all this and will be happy to answer any questions I can for you.

Comment by Robert Mayo on January 24, 2009 at 6:36am

Micheal,after the 2:30 am, 30 second phone call form my son,saying he arrived safly. About two weeks later a formal letter arrived with his division number and location. He was able to write a short note at the bottom of the letter.That's all I know right now.Maybe we can get more info from other dads that can help us both out.But I've been writting to my son every week.

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