My son shipped out to Great Lakes 4/24

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Senecal on May 6, 2013 at 11:46am

Arrrgh!

Was helping my daughter and son-in-law move this weekend.  While moving some heavy desks onto the truck my pocket started buzzing.  Since I was busy I ignored it.  A few minutes later my sil brings his phone out saying it was my wife needing to talk to me.  We started talking and my pocket started buzzing again.

I said, "Who's buzzing my phone!" to my phone in a jokey-jokey way.  She didn't know and it wasn't her since I was on the other phone with her.

I got a call a little while later from her saying that it was our son Josh who had been trying to call me! :cry: :cry: :cry:

It's only been one week and they let his unit make calls home already.  First thing I asked was if everything was alright because with a phone call this early I thought for sure it meant something was wrong.  The only thing I can think of for letting them call home this early is that maybe they did so well the first week they were rewarded with calls home.  I don't know.

I also got THE LETTER in the mail with his PIR date . . . 21 June 2013.  Only seven weeks away!

Time to start pricing tickets. :smile:

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Permalink Reply by Marvin on May 6, 2013 at 1:00pm

Dropped my son off with recruiter this morning. Ironic to hear about you missing a call. That is already my biggest fear. Me, and his mom are divorced. I told my son not to agonize over whom to call when he gets a chance to. His mom, and I get along fine, and we can communicate amongst us. I just want him to be able to focus on the task at hand.

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Permalink Reply by Paul on May 6, 2013 at 11:46pm

Hello Kevin, We have a lot in common lol!! I did the same thing, looked at some old pics, went into his room and lost it hahahaha! Me and my wife even talked about the hardest part for us is knowing that he wont ever be home with us again. I know exactly where you stand my friend. My son left on April 30th. Tomorrow will be one week for us. When did your son leave? We got his box today but we have not had any other communication with him nor have we received anything about his PIR.
 
Kevin Senecal said:

Arrrgh!

Was helping my daughter and son-in-law move this weekend.  While moving some heavy desks onto the truck my pocket started buzzing.  Since I was busy I ignored it.  A few minutes later my sil brings his phone out saying it was my wife needing to talk to me.  We started talking and my pocket started buzzing again.

I said, "Who's buzzing my phone!" to my phone in a jokey-jokey way.  She didn't know and it wasn't her since I was on the other phone with her.

I got a call a little while later from her saying that it was our son Josh who had been trying to call me! :cry: :cry: :cry:

It's only been one week and they let his unit make calls home already.  First thing I asked was if everything was alright because with a phone call this early I thought for sure it meant something was wrong.  The only thing I can think of for letting them call home this early is that maybe they did so well the first week they were rewarded with calls home.  I don't know.

I also got THE LETTER in the mail with his PIR date . . . 21 June 2013.  Only seven weeks away!

Time to start pricing tickets. :smile:

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Permalink Reply by NavyDads Co-Admin, Gary on May 7, 2013 at 12:05am

Welcome to the Navy Family! Hang in there Kevin you'll be surprised how quickly time flies during bootcamp though at first it seems like forever. Keep writing to your SR and stay positive...

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Senecal on May 7, 2013 at 10:36am

Paul our son left for Great Lakes on 4/24 so sounds like your son is one week behind him.  We got his box that next Tues or Wed and the letter from him with his PIR date that next Fri/Sat.

 

Good luck to your son!  :hug: to you!
 
Paul said:

Hello Kevin, We have a lot in common lol!! I did the same thing, looked at some old pics, went into his room and lost it hahahaha! Me and my wife even talked about the hardest part for us is knowing that he wont ever be home with us again. I know exactly where you stand my friend. My son left on April 30th. Tomorrow will be one week for us. When did your son leave? We got his box today but we have not had any other communication with him nor have we received anything about his PIR.
 
Kevin Senecal said:

Arrrgh!

Was helping my daughter and son-in-law move this weekend.  While moving some heavy desks onto the truck my pocket started buzzing.  Since I was busy I ignored it.  A few minutes later my sil brings his phone out saying it was my wife needing to talk to me.  We started talking and my pocket started buzzing again.

I said, "Who's buzzing my phone!" to my phone in a jokey-jokey way.  She didn't know and it wasn't her since I was on the other phone with her.

I got a call a little while later from her saying that it was our son Josh who had been trying to call me! :cry: :cry: :cry:

It's only been one week and they let his unit make calls home already.  First thing I asked was if everything was alright because with a phone call this early I thought for sure it meant something was wrong.  The only thing I can think of for letting them call home this early is that maybe they did so well the first week they were rewarded with calls home.  I don't know.

I also got THE LETTER in the mail with his PIR date . . . 21 June 2013.  Only seven weeks away!

Time to start pricing tickets. :smile:

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Permalink Reply by Carl G. on May 7, 2013 at 12:22pm

I had an interesting time dealing with my emotions.  About a week before my son shipped out, I started getting bad heartburn, indigestion, and I couldn't sleep (we're talking a couple hours a night at most). 

When the time came at MEPS to be sworn in, I saw how all the other kids looked like...kids.  I mean, real young.  Proves how old I am, I guess.  I was getting more worried.  They looked so young.   

My emotions ran from extreme worry to happiness, then I noticed something amazing:  my son wasn't worried at all.  He was happy, chumming it up with the other soon-to-be recruits.  Here I am, harboring all this negative energy, and he's smiling, laughing and looked so relaxed. 

He's been in RTC for 2 weeks now, and he did call home to his mother, saying he's homesick and was crying.  More heartburn.  I'm surrounded by crying women - my fiance, his mother, my mother, my sister - but I am not letting the emotions get to me.  I figure what he needs is someone to be strong and tell him not to give up, you can do it.  He's got to stick it through, nothing's easy that's worth anything.  I want him to grow up and be a man.   

Then, yesterday I received a letter and was excited.  He said they're messing up left and right, everyone's yelling at them non-stop, but he's not giving up.  He's learning to not quit when things get rough.  He even apologized in his letter for not listening to me about how important it is to pay attention to details, but now he does.  Funny how your kids don't appreciate things until after they pay the price.  I'm sure I was the same way at his age, too. 

The most exciting thing, my young man is becoming a man.  A sailor.  A U.S. Navy man.  That's awesome. 

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Permalink Reply by Paul on May 7, 2013 at 12:55pm

Great story Carl!!! Im sure that he will be fine. They will all be fine. Its funny how you mentioned about him paying attention to details. My son Adam was a real rebel in his early high school years. We didnt think he would do anything after graduation. During his 2nd year at high school he did a complete turn around. Stopped getting into trouble, got his drivers license, got a job and a car and just started doing the right things.

He decided that he wanted to be a rescue swimmer in the Coast Guard but they told him that there was a 2 year wait so he decided to wait the 2 years and keep training. Worked out 6 times a week, worked full time and just kept focused. Then he decided that he wanted to not wait and go into the Navy asap.

The funny thing is that before he left he was very respectable, spent time with his family and helped out around here all the time. I told him before he left " You finally straighten out and have become the person me and your mother have waited to become and now your leaving us...thats not fair" LOL!

Im glad hes doing what hes doing. It seems that he has finally found his way and we couldnt be more prouder. Congrats to you and your family and thank you to your son for his service to our great nation.

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Permalink Reply by Carl G. on May 7, 2013 at 1:22pm

Thanks for the congrats.  Much appreciated.  Same to you as well. 

I had to laugh regarding your son.  I never thought mine would ever "get it", but he slowly is maturing into a man and that is such a good feeling. 

One thing I did tell him before he left is to take the time to visit the chaplain.  In his letter he said he went to church on Sunday and "it felt so good to relax and just pray".  I think even the most non-religious people may find some solice with the chaplain so I would advise anyone to mention it to their son or daughter. 

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Permalink Reply by Alan McCullough on May 11, 2013 at 8:47pm

my son left of the 23rd from Sacramento and will also be graduating on 6/21. And, I too missed his first call home. Luckily for us he immediately attempted the call to his sister who was asleep in bed. He's tried calling his mom twice and each time she's missed it. Just got off the phone with him a few minutes ago and he said the hardest thing about his day is trying to stay awake. He was in ROTC for 2 years in college before he enlisted and he feels pretty comfortable with all the marching. 

He also said he was moved up from section leader to (and help me everyone with this because the connection was't good) guide on? Said he's the one to instruct the recruits when to turn and stay in formation while they are drilling.

Kevin Senecal said:

Arrrgh!

Was helping my daughter and son-in-law move this weekend.  While moving some heavy desks onto the truck my pocket started buzzing.  Since I was busy I ignored it.  A few minutes later my sil brings his phone out saying it was my wife needing to talk to me.  We started talking and my pocket started buzzing again.

I said, "Who's buzzing my phone!" to my phone in a jokey-jokey way.  She didn't know and it wasn't her since I was on the other phone with her.

I got a call a little while later from her saying that it was our son Josh who had been trying to call me! :cry: :cry: :cry:

It's only been one week and they let his unit make calls home already.  First thing I asked was if everything was alright because with a phone call this early I thought for sure it meant something was wrong.  The only thing I can think of for letting them call home this early is that maybe they did so well the first week they were rewarded with calls home.  I don't know.

I also got THE LETTER in the mail with his PIR date . . . 21 June 2013.  Only seven weeks away!

Time to start pricing tickets. :smile:

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Permalink Reply by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on May 11, 2013 at 9:20pm

The guidon bearer is the person that carries the flag in formation. It is a position of honor.

Alan McCullough said:

my son left of the 23rd from Sacramento and will also be graduating on 6/21. And, I too missed his first call home. Luckily for us he immediately attempted the call to his sister who was asleep in bed. He's tried calling his mom twice and each time she's missed it. Just got off the phone with him a few minutes ago and he said the hardest thing about his day is trying to stay awake. He was in ROTC for 2 years in college before he enlisted and he feels pretty comfortable with all the marching. 

He also said he was moved up from section leader to (and help me everyone with this because the connection was't good) guide on? Said he's the one to instruct the recruits when to turn and stay in formation while they are drilling.

Kevin Senecal said:

Arrrgh!

Was helping my daughter and son-in-law move this weekend.  While moving some heavy desks onto the truck my pocket started buzzing.  Since I was busy I ignored it.  A few minutes later my sil brings his phone out saying it was my wife needing to talk to me.  We started talking and my pocket started buzzing again.

I said, "Who's buzzing my phone!" to my phone in a jokey-jokey way.  She didn't know and it wasn't her since I was on the other phone with her.

I got a call a little while later from her saying that it was our son Josh who had been trying to call me! :cry: :cry: :cry:

It's only been one week and they let his unit make calls home already.  First thing I asked was if everything was alright because with a phone call this early I thought for sure it meant something was wrong.  The only thing I can think of for letting them call home this early is that maybe they did so well the first week they were rewarded with calls home.  I don't know.

I also got THE LETTER in the mail with his PIR date . . . 21 June 2013.  Only seven weeks away!

Time to start pricing tickets. :smile:

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Permalink Reply by Paul on May 13, 2013 at 9:37am

Well I just talked to my son on Saturday morning for the first time since he left. He said that hes doing well but he did get into a little trouble. Nothing really bad I hope. What happened was that him and his buddy were the first to finish their swim test. They passed it with flying colors. The instructors told them to go sit on the bleachers, look straight ahead and dont talk. After a few minutes, 2 other recruits came to sit behind them on the bleachers and one of the boys had a bloody nose and didnt realize it. My son and his friend turned to tell them that his nose was bleeding and when the instructors saw them talking they ran over and screamed at them and told them that they failed there swim test for not following their instructions of "Sit on the bleachers, keep your head straight and dont talk". 

Now I just read that on the RTC web page that if they fail the swim test that they cannot call home and will be pushed back a week on graduation. I hope to God this isnt the case because we already planned our trip to graduation and I cnanot get the follwing week off from work. I hope that this kid didnt really screw this up. I might have to kick his butt when I see him!!

He said that he hates it because he misses us all but I told him that he would be fine and now that he could start getting letters and the occasional phone call that it would get a lot easier. The Navys plan on breaking them down to rock bottom at boot camp and building them up to be sailors is definitely working on him. In 1 conversation I completely got an understanding on how boot camp works. Its amazing on how they can completely change a person.

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Permalink Reply by Carl G. on May 13, 2013 at 10:27pm

In response to your last couple sentences....

This may sound extreme, but, if in the event of combat (which our young sons and daughters are being trained for and volunteered for) a fellow soldier gets injured, it is absolutely imperative to continue with the mission.  A professional soldier focuses on completing that mission. 

That was a lesson I'm sure your son (and his division) won't forget. 

That said, conversely, my thoughts are your son and his fellow shipmate gained huge cool points by showing concern for a fellow shipmate. 

The RDCs constantly yell, the recruits can't do anything right, but the RDCs are constantly observing and seeing who the leaders are.

Leaders care about their shipmates.  Your son and fellow shipmate are leaders. 

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