NAVY BOOT CAMP

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Comment by Brad on August 13, 2013 at 10:53am

Stephanie, find the videos that show what happens at Boot Camp on a week to week basis, then focus on the week, not each day. Consider, in a mere three weeks things will start getting a bit easier for him, then it's downhill from there. 

Keep telling yourself that he's probably much safer there, than on some college campus with drinking and partying. 

Then, tell yourself he's on his journey to adulthood. 

Most importantly, write down your thoughts as you have them. Don't wait to try and compile them later. Write him letters, seal them and number the envelopes so once you get his address you can send them, and he'll know what order to read them. They really appreciate the mail. 

Also, there are some great questionnaires on various websites that will give you questions to ask him. 

Hang in there. It's the first step in a long journey.

Comment by Stephanie Brawner on August 13, 2013 at 9:00am

This will help me if I do count down the days. Ohhh the first night is hard. Glad I have pictures and friends to help me. Their are 3 other mom's that loves my son and their each counting down the days as well. We'll get together each weekend so this 8 weeks will go fast.

Comment by John M. Kuhn on August 13, 2013 at 5:42am

Stephanie, I won't say it is easy, Our son is waking up this morning to his third Tuesday at RTC Great Lakes. one of the things that helps us is counting the fridays. Waiting for the form letter so we could have an address to write to him was hard on us, but we finaly received it this past Saturday!!! and this site is a GREAT asset, all of the support from the Men and Women that have gone before us and are willing to share their knowledge. And Thank your Son for us for his commitment to serve in the BEST NAVY IN THE WORLD!!

Comment by Stephanie Brawner on August 12, 2013 at 11:11pm

My son leaves this morning to MEPS and Great Lakes. Oh how does everyone get through this. I miss him. Only 8 weeks is what I keep saying!!! I'm from NC.

Comment by Evan Barnard on August 12, 2013 at 8:46pm

Got my I-pass transponder in the mail today from Illinois Toll Authority.  Ready for bear when we head to PIR 9/19 - nothing is gonna slow us down!

Comment by Lon Sellers on August 12, 2013 at 2:03pm

Luke,
Congrats to your son and your family for his commitment to a greater purpose. Know that you are all in for a great ride that will have emotional highs and lows as he goes away to RTC. You will hang on every word of every phone call and every letter you get. PIR is an unbelievable experience that will have the buttons popping off your shirt from pride. It is a great thrill to see your son change and grow and his commitment will no doubt make your entire family closer to each other. When he goes on to A School you will get much more contact. And then when he moves on to the fleet, it is more like a job with Somewhat regular hours and he will have time to call often or hopefully see you occasionally.
Welcome to the family and
Congrats and Thank You to your son for his service.

Comment by LukeH on August 12, 2013 at 2:01am

Lon, thank you for posting that. My son ships out for RTC in less than a month, so I'm just at the beginning of this journey. It is very encouraging to hear something so positive from someone farther along. 

Comment by Lon Sellers on August 11, 2013 at 11:38pm

My son is about to celebrate his one year anniversary in the Navy since his arrival at boot camp. We are one of the blessed families in that after PIR and A School, he was stationed in San Diego less that 2 hours from home. We have been able to see him on the weekends occasionally which has been great. I know how lucky we are. Our experience is about to become very real for us soon, as his ship prepares to sail for the next 10 months or so. I am so proud of him and all of our sons and daughters who have made the commitment to serve their country. NavyDads.com has been a great daily resource and comfort to me, and will continue to be. As I read the the post of all the new Navy families, I am reminded of the pride I felt when he went to boot, watching his PIR and his arrival in San Diego after A School. The Navy has been like watching him grow up, it continues to get better and be exciting. God Speed to all of our sons and daughters in all branches of the service and to my son Greg. We will miss him and will pray for him and all of our men and women. The Stars and Stripes and Navy flags will fly proudly in our yard until he/they all come home!

Comment by Dan J Douthitt on August 11, 2013 at 7:41pm

Scott, our Grandson is having his PIR 13 Sept. he will be going to A school to Master at Arms in San Antonio. We will be flying in from Arizona, and would like to spend as much time with him as possible. Tell me how much advance notice did you have with regards to his departure to San Antonio. Of course we would like to spend some time with him at the airport. We have a option to fly in to Midway and fly out from Midway. We would like to make reservations but are unsure, since we have no travel information for him. If you could share some information with us we would appreciate it.Also thanks for the information on the PIR. By the way congratulations to your son. I am sure you are very proud.

Comment by Scott Himmelspach on August 11, 2013 at 8:31am

Just got back late last night to NC from my son's PIR.  It was as advertised!!  Awesome!!  The sense of pride in the hall was incredible.  Son flew out Saturday morning for San Antonio.  He is there and settled in and ready for the 8 weeks of Master at Arms training.  It was GREAT to see him, he has been transformed into a man and a member of the world's BEST Navy.

Some notes to those of you yet to go.  We got in line in our car @ 05:45 and were about 30th in line.  We were able to park and get great seats.  I would suggest following suit if you don't want to worry about getting a seat so you can see your child's division.  Also, when they left for Midway Airport Friday night, we made sure to be at the airport before they got there.  Although it made for a very long day, we were able to spend several hours with him there at the airport before he flew out.  We ended up getting back to the hotel about 06:00 Saturday morning.

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