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Pass In Review - Tips, Hints, and Helps

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Pass In Review - Tips, Hints, and Helps

Pass in Review: There have been so many questions & answers about Pass in Review "PIR" that we need one place to be a clearinghouse to help experience a Navy Graduation.

Website: http://www.navydads.ning.com/group/pirtipshintsandhelps
Members: 670
Latest Activity: Jul 5, 2023

Helpful Links for Pass In Review / Navy Boot Camp Graduation

From RTC:

To better accommodate traffic flow on the day after graduation when families and friends pick up Sailors for liberty, a new traffic plan will direct guests to the parking garage adjacent to the USS Yorktown visitors center, the same place you would park on graduation morning.

Gate 8 (same entrance used on graduation morning) will be open from 6 to 10 a.m. All guests will park in the garage to wait for their Sailors who will meet them there. When dropping off Sailors later in the day, guests will use Gate 6 at Illinois Street and Buckley Road and drop the Sailors off in the chapel parking lot.

Gate 8 will NOT be open to vehicular traffic when returning your Sailors from liberty. Sailors may also be dropped off at Gate 8 to access base on foot via the automated turnstile using their CAC (Common Access Card).

PLEASE NOTE: **ONLY GUESTS WITH GRADUATION TICKETS MAY ACCESS THE BASE WHEN PICKING UP AND DROPPING OFF SAILORS TO AND FROM LIBERTY! PLEASE RETAIN YOUR TICKETS FROM GRADUATION.** GUESTS INTENDING TO PICK UP A SAILOR FOR LIBERTY WITHOUT A TICKET WILL BE TURNED AND MAY HAVE TO PICK UP THEIR SAILOR AT GATE 8.

PIR Moves to Thursdays !

Families and friends of future Sailors: Beginning October 5, 2023, recruit graduations will be conducted on Thursday instead of Friday. This will allow an extra day of off-base liberty for the graduates and their families. Federal holidays, such as Thanksgiving, will push up the graduation to Wednesday.


For a current list of upcoming graduations dates and all graduation information, including instructions for obtaining graduation ceremony tickets, please visit our website at U.S. Navy Recruit Training Command > Graduation.


The liberty policy will also change effective October 5.
Enjoy LIBERTY (free time off base) with your NEW SAILOR! Sailors are allowed to spend time off base (Liberty) with their family following the graduation ceremony. The amount of time spent depends upon where your Sailor is going for follow-on training. The Navy is required to transport Sailors to their next command, so Sailors MAY NOT travel to their next command in your vehicle or with tickets purchased by themselves or by you.
• SAILORS REMAINING AT GREAT LAKES FOR SCHOOL: Sailors remaining at Great Lakes for “A” school Will have the following schedule:
o DAY OF GRADUATION: You will normally have free time off base (liberty) with your Sailor from the conclusion of graduation until about 8pm. You will return your Sailor using the RTC main gate and drop your Sailor off at the RTC Chapel. The Sailor MUST be in his or her barracks by 9 pm, so plan accordingly.
o DAY AFTER GRADUATION: The next day, your Sailor must check into his or her school before being granted more free time with you time off base (Liberty). You will pick-up your Sailor OFF BASE at the Great Lakes National Museum of the American Sailor between approximately 10am and noon and the Sailor can normally remain with you off base until Sunday evening. For more information about liberty procedures, please contact the school house directly:
o Culinary Specialists (CS): Although this “A” school is located in Virginia, these Sailors will remain in Great Lakes for up to one week to complete additional firefighting training.
o Engineering: For Surface Warfare Engineering School Command Great Lakes:
GRLK_SWESC_PAO@navy.mil
o Combat: For Surface Combat Systems Training Command Great Lakes:
scstc-gl_pao@navy.mil
o EOD: For Center for Explosive Ordnance Disposal, please call 847-688-6819 (EOD Sailors ONLY!)
• SAILORS TRANSFERRING TO SCHOOL OUTSIDE OF GREAT LAKES:
o DAY OF GRADUATION: You will normally have free time off base (liberty) with your Sailor from the conclusion of graduation until about 8pm. You will return your Sailor using the RTC main gate and drop your Sailor off at the RTC Chapel. The Sailor MUST be in his or her barracks by 9 pm, so plan accordingly.
o DAY AFTER GRADUATION: The next day you may return through the main gate and pick your Sailor up at approximately 8am in the RTC Chapel parking lot. Once again, the Sailor MUST return to his or her barracks by 9 pm that evening, so plan accordingly.
o SATURDAY MORNING: You may meet your departing Sailor at the airport to say good bye and to give the Sailor any small items he or she may want for “A” School (laptop, a few items of civilian clothing, etc.) but remember your Sailor is already carrying a seabag, garment bag, and back pack!

The Latest Guidance as of September 23rd, 2022

Revised Pass-in-Review Policy

Effective immediately, indoor mask policy is relaxed per CDC guidance. Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTAGLKS) returns to HPCON Alpha. Presently, Lake County, Illinois, has a low level of COVID cases. Guests attending the graduation ceremony are NOT required to wear a mask while indoors, for ticket pickup at the Welcome Center, or while indoors at Recruit Training Command.

The number of guests allowed has increased to four, unless there are 11 or more divisions when the maximum number of guests is three. If you have already submitted your guest security access form listing two individuals, please have additional guest information ready to provide to your recruit when they call. All guests must have a ticket including active duty personnel and veterans. (Children 2 & under do not count toward the guest limit.) COVID-19 immunizations are still required for guest attendance. Guests 12 or older need to provide proof of immunization (14 days post final dose,) in the form of a COVID-19 vaccination record card, to attend. If you are unable to provide proof of vaccination, you will not be issued tickets and will not be able to attend graduation. REMINDER: Policies regarding the graduation ceremony can change at any time due to changes in our health protection status and policy. Please continue to follow RTC social media accounts for updates and check www.bootcamp.navy.mil for the most up-to-date information. For specific questions and inquiries, contact the RTC Public Affairs Office.



Live streaming of our graduations begin at 9 a.m. CST every Friday. Videos will also be available for viewing afterwards as well on our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/NavyRecruitTrainingCommand and our YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/c/RTCPublicAffairs/community​.

GRADUATION STREAMING LIVE

For those family and friends unable to attend RTC graduation, it will be streamed live over the internet at 0845 (CST) on the day of graduation.   Please follow the link below and join us in honoring the service of these young men and women.

 

Click here for live video of PIR


Pass in Review Graduation Schedule - Navy Boot Camp Graduation Schedule

Liberty Rules @ Navy Graduation - Granted Liberty to Go Off Base

Where is Recruit Training Command Located? - Location of Navy Boot Camp

Directions to Navy Boot Camp - Naval Station (NAVSTA)

Shortcut to RTC for PIR

Security protocols in order to ensure the safety and security of our Sailors, recruits, and visitors - Pass In Review Security for Navy Graduation

What is the Proper Attire to Wear to PIR? - What to Wear to Graduation

PIR Glasses & Contact Lenses - Can my Sailor Wear Their own Glasses or Contacts for Graduation?

Military & Veteran Guests Attending PIR - Military Attending Pass in Review

Tickets and guest policy - Tickets and Guest policies for PIR

Items not allowed in the drill hall - Not allowed

Greeting Your Sailor at the Airport Gate -  USO Location's @ the Airport

Metra Stop @ Great Lakes, IL - Public Transportation @ Navy Graduation

How to Order a DVD of Your Sailor's PIR - Navy Graduation Video

Click here for the form to order division T-Shirts - Division Tee-Shirts

After PIR Comes "A" School - General information about Navy "A" School

PIR and Liberty - General Liberty Policies after PIR

 Dates with [3] means MAX number of guests is three.

NAVY LODGE - Great Lakes - information

NAVY LODGE FACEBOOK PAGE 

Discussion Forum

Great Lakes Lodging Guide

Started by NavyDads Admin (Paul). Last reply by NavyDads Admin (Paul) May 26, 2016. 61 Replies

Great Lakes Airfares...

Started by NavyDads Co-Admin, Gary. Last reply by Chuck McCann Sep 21, 2015. 21 Replies

PIR April 1 This Friday!

Started by John B. Last reply by Alan Willard May 31, 2012. 16 Replies

Navy Boot Camp Graduation Schedule

Started by E.G. - ND's Creator/Admin. Last reply by NavyDads CoAdmin Jim Gramza Jan 15, 2018. 15 Replies

Order a DVD of your Sailor's PIR

Started by NavyDads Admin (Paul). Last reply by NavyDads CoAdmin Jim Gramza Oct 10, 2014. 15 Replies

Great Lakes A school

Started by Bryan K Stewart. Last reply by Robert Quartararo Oct 3, 2011. 10 Replies

July 1st PIR

Started by J. Moan. Last reply by NavyDads CoAdmin Jim Gramza Jul 3, 2011. 10 Replies

Ticketing and guest policies

Started by E.G. - ND's Creator/Admin. Last reply by NavyDads CoAdmin Jim Gramza Feb 9, 2015. 9 Replies

Staying on after PIR

Started by Northeast Dad. Last reply by Carlos E. Alatorre Apr 6, 2012. 9 Replies

Liberty after PIR

Started by Nelsen's Dad. Last reply by Craig Mar 23, 2011. 9 Replies

Comment Wall

Comment

You need to be a member of Pass In Review - Tips, Hints, and Helps to add comments!

Comment by Mr. Sailorette on October 19, 2011 at 7:17pm

Sailorette graduates Nov 10. how long are weather delays around that time?

Comment by Ric Pallson on October 19, 2011 at 4:20am

About time for the yearly weather warning to all.

From about now until April please allow extra time for weather when planning your visit to Great Lakes.

The shores of Lake Michigan are subject to lake effect snowstorms which only add to the freezing temperatures of the continental climate here. 

 

Please consider that O'hare (ORD) MDW and MWK may be subject to snow, freezing fog, and other flight delaying factors for the next 6 months.  Allow extra time when planning visits to Great Lakes for PIR.

 

(Administrators -- please consider posting this information at top of page)

 

 

Comment by Ric Pallson on October 19, 2011 at 3:53am

Thanks, LLA

It's been a couple years since my daughters PIR (my son may be there soon), but the most helpful posts for me here have always been ones like yours where you just describe your experience, what you did, what happened.

Thanks for posting.

Comment by Logph Aguirre on October 18, 2011 at 9:34am

OK folks,

Here is my PIR (Oct 14) experience. Hopefully, this will help someone out there.

First of all, this site was extremely helpful. I was able to get everyone's experiences and pick and choose what I wanted to do. Thanks for maintaining this site. We chose to fly in to Milwaukee instead of the Chicago airports and we were glad that we did. Although the drive was a little longer, the traffic in the Chicago area is really bad. We stayed in Waukegan at the Ramada Inn. It was run down and has seen better days but the staff was very accommodating and friendly. They have a shuttle that leaves the hotel at 6:45-7 am. After reading about the base gates opening at 6:30, I was not comfortable with the shuttle times so we elected to drive to the base. We arrived at 6:30 to find a long line of cars on Buckley Rd. The line did move fast. The line turns on Ohio St and it leads into the base. The line split into two lines. We chose the left line and it took us to a covered parking structure. The walk to the ceremony hall was very short. We had to first walk into the Visitors Center where we could view some static displays of boot camp and Navy life as we stood in line. At the security check point, there was random checking of persons in line. Other than that we were able to get our name checked on a list and hand stamped. After that we walked next door to the ceremony hall.

I was surprised at how fast we made it to the hall. We found our seats in the bleachers. If you get there early, you sit downstairs. After that section fills up, you get moved upstairs. The ceremony was very nice.To see all of those recruits standing in front of you poised and disciplined is a sight to see. Very important - communicate with your recruit as to where you will meet him or her because when the Liberty call is made, it gets very chaotic. It took us at least 10-15 minutes to find our son. It would have worked out better if we had told him to walk toward the bleachers and meet us there. There is a time limit that the hall stays open. I want to say about 30 minutes but lost track of time. All I remember is that they kept announcing that the hall was closing in ?? minutes. My son had to immediately go back to the compartment to move his stuff to another area so we walked to the NEX and he met us there. I was surprised that they let us go into the NEX and shop there. Our son informed us that he was not leaving for the airport until 12:30 am Sunday, so we got to spend time with him Friday and Saturday. Both of those days he had to be back by 8 pm. That is the time that he had to be in his compartment. We dropped him off by 6:30 pm each night. He still had a long walk and we wanted to make sure that he did not get into trouble. We drove to Midway airport to try to spend more time with our son on Sunday morning. We got there at 1am, before the bus from the base arrived. We parked in the economy lot and took the shuttle back just in time to see the new sailors walk into the terminal. Since the ticket counter was closed, we were able to stay with our son even longer. To our pleasant surprise, when our son finally checked in for his flight, the ticket agent told him that he could get passes for his family to get past security and to proceed with him to the gate. I am not sure if every airline does this, but Air Tran at Midway does. My son's flight departed at 12 noon and although it was sad to see him go again, we were comforted by the extra time we spent with him. I did not include what we did with him while we had him in our possession because we did not do much. We went out to eat, and saw some sights but our priority was to just spend time with him. We let him talk and talk and talk..He never gave details and we never asked for them. He was full of funny stories and just general chit chat.We just wanted to make sure that he got used to being around his family again. Once again, great experience.

Comment by NavyDads Co-Admin, Calvin on October 13, 2011 at 7:19pm
Pete, we stayed at the Homewood Suites in Lincolnshire and really liked it. The drive is not bad and you are only on 3 streets and traffic is not bad.
Comment by Pete Freeman on October 13, 2011 at 6:59pm

I didn't like the reviews of any of the hotels immediately around Great Lakes. Most said things like, "I only stayed here because it was close" and "over-priced". 

So, I made a reservation a the Homewood Suites in Lincolnshire, right off Rt. 94. It's about 12 miles from RTC but, they have free breakfast and dinner. Also, my two adult children are going with us and Homewood has two-bedroom suites and I got one for the price of two hotel rooms at the cheaper hotels.

I stay at Homewood Suites when I travel on business and if it's not too late to get in, you won't regret the extra drive to RTC.

 

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on October 13, 2011 at 3:26pm

Understandable Randy!!  You'll have a great time at his PIR...the second one is as emotional as the first!!!!

Comment by Randy Leeper on October 13, 2011 at 3:19pm

We are only staying there the day he flys out of O'Hare so that we will be close. Also it helps us avoid Downtown Chicago when we leave on Sat. for PA (and that's a long drive!)

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on October 13, 2011 at 11:40am

That's quite a drive(Hyatt Place Lombard) to RTC Randy...that has to be 45 minutes under favorable traffic conditions?

Comment by Randy Leeper on October 13, 2011 at 11:32am

Hi Guys,

    Just wanted to pass on a helpful hint about hotel reservations. This is my second go round in 2 yrs. When I called the hotels direct (got the #'s from the AAA tour book) I found out that it is best to mention that you are attending the Naval Boot Camp Graduation and you get a much better rate than even a AAA discount. In our case we saved $20/nite at the Holiday Inn Express.

   My second reccomendation is the Hyatt Place Lombard. It is within a 10 min. drive to O'hare and is located in a very upscale area. Their rates were even better than the HI Express (but call direct not the reservation site). We stayed there 2 yrs ago, the place is great, offers everything and there are numerous resturants within walking distance. We plan on hanging with our son at O'hare the day he ships out (Friday 11/10) and this is convenient.

   Can't wait to see our new sailor.

 
 
 

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