Son to leave for Navy Boot Camp Oct 28th, what to expect?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on September 28, 2009 at 11:18pm

There are quite a number of posts about this experience in the Bootcamp and DEP group. I'd spend some time the past posts (there's about 130 pages of them !!!) in the bootcamp area...you'll see a lot of common feelings and experiences. Any time you start to feel down about it read Larry's post in the discussion area of the Bootcamp group : A MUST Read for bootcamp parents. He captured the essence of boot camp very well and you can start to understand what your son will be doing and why.

Remmeber that w've all been through this....use the site to post your questions and concerns...there is a ton of support here......

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Permalink Reply by William Mcnamara on September 30, 2009 at 6:28pm

My 25 year old daughter left on September 23 and I received the 15 second phone call at 2345. She sounded tired and I'm sure she didn't get any rest anytime soon. Just received her belongings yesterday and am waiting on her address. I wish she would have done this years ago but after floundering for five years decided this was best for her. She could have gone in right away because of her scores but chose to wait three months. Best advice, get mentally and physically prepared.

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Permalink Reply by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on September 30, 2009 at 6:45pm

check with her recruiter....he will have her ship and division number. If you check the area called About This Site area on every NavyDads page (on the right side of the page) for the Contact Your Sailor link you'll see the addresses to use. This is an RTC link and has the most current address.

William Mcnamara said:

My 25 year old daughter left on September 23 and I received the 15 second phone call at 2345. She sounded tired and I'm sure she didn't get any rest anytime soon. Just received her belongings yesterday and am waiting on her address. I wish she would have done this years ago but after floundering for five years decided this was best for her. She could have gone in right away because of her scores but chose to wait three months. Best advice, get mentally and physically prepared.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Scott on October 2, 2009 at 1:50pm

Thom,
Our son left, 9-28, we are also extremely proud of this life decision he has choosen. One thing we tried to do the morning we drop him off at the Navy office in Evansville IN. was stay positive and keep our emotions at bay, at least till he was gone. There will be a lot come out the days after, up till now we were doing good, today is a different day, my wife emailed and starting to have a little more stress with this. In a nut shell keep positive, keep upbeat and know that this is a fantastic oppurtunity.

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Permalink Reply by William Mcnamara on October 3, 2009 at 1:58pm

Finally got her address Ship 07 Div 004 Grad date 11/20

NavyDads Admin said:

check with her recruiter....he will have her ship and division number. If you check the area called About This Site area on every NavyDads page (on the right side of the page) for the Contact Your Sailor link you'll see the addresses to use. This is an RTC link and has the most current address.

William Mcnamara said:

My 25 year old daughter left on September 23 and I received the 15 second phone call at 2345. She sounded tired and I'm sure she didn't get any rest anytime soon. Just received her belongings yesterday and am waiting on her address. I wish she would have done this years ago but after floundering for five years decided this was best for her. She could have gone in right away because of her scores but chose to wait three months. Best advice, get mentally and physically prepared.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kevin Ballenger on October 4, 2009 at 10:07pm

Thom,
As with you, Thom, I am very proud of my son's decision to join the Navy. I'll give you a bit of what I know and was surprised about. Alex arrived at Great Lakes on 9-8-09. Alex is on day 2-4, as of tomorrow. That is his 2nd week of training, day 4. There a 5 days in each "week", not counting the weekends and holidays. The first week to 10 days, they are "in processing". This doesn't count towards their training. Day 1-1 will be their first day of training after their processing is complete. If he has a debit card, have him take it with him. He can keep it. He will be able to use it for stamps, envelopes or anything else he needs. If he doesn't, he can take up to $25 cash with him and you can send him money from time to time. No more than $20 at a time and only in 10s. You can send stamps, if it doesn't have money for them. Don't send printer generated return labels as they have to address their own letters. They'll just get thrown away. If he wears glasses, have him take them with. They don't allow contacts though. Don't expect any contact from him for about 2 weeks. In this case, no news is great news. It means you son is doing ok. Your son will be very busy, getting uniforms, shots, getting settled in his new division. Learning how to be a sailor. It took a little over 2 weeks before we heard from Alex. An excrutiating amount of time, not to hear from your son. Trust me, I know..Alex's mom and I are divorced but we've always kept him at the center of our lives and are/will be very good friends. We've always known where he is what he's doing and what time he'll be home. Whoseever home that might be. The first two weeks...I'll be honest are not going to be fun for Mom and Dad. You'll just have to believe in the fact that if you don't hear from your son, its a good thing. If you do hear from them before that time frame, it could mean two things. One, that they have given them an off chance to call home. Alex got that after 1 week he was there. Scared me half to death... :-) But it was nice to hear from him. Two, something is wrong...The former is not common. Make sure your son has both your cell phone numbers and home number (numbers, in my case). This website: http://www.navy.com/about/during/bootcamp/ will give you an idea of his schedule. So far what I've heard is and seems to be true is that, if it will fit in a standard sized envelope, you can send it. Just keep in mind, that the envelope may get opened and looked at prior to your son seeing it if it seems "odd". Remember that he is not supposed to be an individual, so don't send anything that might cause him to be singled out and ridiculed. Trust me, audio type cards....That's a bad thing. :-) Luckily, the one sent by my ex didn't work when Alex got it...He thanked her for that.
Ok..I know I'm digressing..You're son will not have a lot of time to write back, however, the thing that keeps their spirits up is hearing from home. Write as often as you can. Write about anything. Have his friends write. Have relatives write. Have his high school teachers write. Have as many people write him as you can. You have no idea what it means to them to have "mail call" come and go and there are no letters for them. After their 3rd week (2-1), they'll have a schedule that they will be able to call home. I think Alex's will be Saturday mornings. He called Bev on Saturday (thank heaven's). That's another story but not germane to this. Keep your cell phones charged and close. You will not have forewarning when your son will be able to call. When you do receive that call, you will probably feel a bit silly for worrying (I did), but man, was it nice to hear his voice...My advice?.. Be patient..Don't do the "what if" scenario. Its just self defeating. Your son will be fine. Like school, there are a lot of people in close proximity to each other. Alex was sick with a cold the second week he was there. He worked through it, but said it made the physical "stuff" a bit harder sporting his cold for that week. Well, hopefully, that should get you through the first couple of weeks. After that, you'll be fine...Kevin

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Permalink Reply by Thom Tipul on October 18, 2009 at 10:25am

Hello, I am not on Navy Dads as much as I should or no doubt will in the very near future. Do you know if the recruiter will give our son a list of things to take or not take? Tyler leaves Oct 28th. getting very close now.

Kevin Ballenger said:

Thom,
As with you, Thom, I am very proud of my son's decision to join the Navy. I'll give you a bit of what I know and was surprised about. Alex arrived at Great Lakes on 9-8-09. Alex is on day 2-4, as of tomorrow. That is his 2nd week of training, day 4. There a 5 days in each "week", not counting the weekends and holidays. The first week to 10 days, they are "in processing". This doesn't count towards their training. Day 1-1 will be their first day of training after their processing is complete. If he has a debit card, have him take it with him. He can keep it. He will be able to use it for stamps, envelopes or anything else he needs. If he doesn't, he can take up to $25 cash with him and you can send him money from time to time. No more than $20 at a time and only in 10s. You can send stamps, if it doesn't have money for them. Don't send printer generated return labels as they have to address their own letters. They'll just get thrown away. If he wears glasses, have him take them with. They don't allow contacts though. Don't expect any contact from him for about 2 weeks. In this case, no news is great news. It means you son is doing ok. Your son will be very busy, getting uniforms, shots, getting settled in his new division. Learning how to be a sailor. It took a little over 2 weeks before we heard from Alex. An excrutiating amount of time, not to hear from your son. Trust me, I know..Alex's mom and I are divorced but we've always kept him at the center of our lives and are/will be very good friends. We've always known where he is what he's doing and what time he'll be home. Whoseever home that might be. The first two weeks...I'll be honest are not going to be fun for Mom and Dad. You'll just have to believe in the fact that if you don't hear from your son, its a good thing. If you do hear from them before that time frame, it could mean two things. One, that they have given them an off chance to call home. Alex got that after 1 week he was there. Scared me half to death... :-) But it was nice to hear from him. Two, something is wrong...The former is not common. Make sure your son has both your cell phone numbers and home number (numbers, in my case). This website: http://www.navy.com/about/during/bootcamp/ will give you an idea of his schedule. So far what I've heard is and seems to be true is that, if it will fit in a standard sized envelope, you can send it. Just keep in mind, that the envelope may get opened and looked at prior to your son seeing it if it seems "odd". Remember that he is not supposed to be an individual, so don't send anything that might cause him to be singled out and ridiculed. Trust me, audio type cards....That's a bad thing. :-) Luckily, the one sent by my ex didn't work when Alex got it...He thanked her for that.
Ok..I know I'm digressing..You're son will not have a lot of time to write back, however, the thing that keeps their spirits up is hearing from home. Write as often as you can. Write about anything. Have his friends write. Have relatives write. Have his high school teachers write. Have as many people write him as you can. You have no idea what it means to them to have "mail call" come and go and there are no letters for them. After their 3rd week (2-1), they'll have a schedule that they will be able to call home. I think Alex's will be Saturday mornings. He called Bev on Saturday (thank heaven's). That's another story but not germane to this. Keep your cell phones charged and close. You will not have forewarning when your son will be able to call. When you do receive that call, you will probably feel a bit silly for worrying (I did), but man, was it nice to hear his voice...My advice?.. Be patient..Don't do the "what if" scenario. Its just self defeating. Your son will be fine. Like school, there are a lot of people in close proximity to each other. Alex was sick with a cold the second week he was there. He worked through it, but said it made the physical "stuff" a bit harder sporting his cold for that week. Well, hopefully, that should get you through the first couple of weeks. After that, you'll be fine...Kevin

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Ballenger on October 18, 2009 at 4:46pm

Hi Thom,
I wouldn't rely on your recruiter (sorry for the lack of confidence)..ours wasn't very helpful in that regard. Hopefully yours is. He told Alex that he could take his contacts. Yeah, he had to send them back. We did send him his glasses later, after we found out that he'd be able to wear them at graduation, instead of those awful black military issue glasses. As I indicated below, debit card, glasses, phone cards, money and wallet. I would also suggest you send a book of stamps with him in his wallet.. Just something else he won't have to buy when he gets there. Whatever he takes with him barring the exceptions above, will be boxed up and sent back. That's pretty much done on the first couple of day(s) he's there. Write as often as you can. That's the very high point of their day. Have anyone you talk to write him. Also, just to prepare you..Alex had got a cold the 2nd week there and worked through that and now has another cold. With all the people in such close proximity to each other and from such diverse places, its like sending them to school. They may get sick. I would suggest getting him on daily vitamins and preparing him for that scenario. For you and your wife?... Find something to occupy your time for the first two weeks. You probably won't hear from him except for the phone call that he makes when he arrives saying he is there and is in good shape. I was a mess for the first couple of weeks, to be honest with you..I'm divorced but still very good friends with Alex's mom. We live in the same town but, of course, different addresses...Coming home from work to an empty house was very hard as for the last 13 years, Mondays, Wednesdays and every other weekend, he was there. He is my best friend and now he's gone. I'm so happy for him, but I sure do miss him...As your son is going to be entering Basic Training, mine will be leaving. He graduates on Oct 30th and will head to S. Virginia that next Wednesday to start his "A" school. I'm so looking forward to seeing him...
You and your wife will need to be comforted the first couple weeks he's there as you probably won't be hearing from him. No news in this timeframe is awesome news as he's ok, getting settled and learning the rules of the new game. Be patient...that's the best advice I can give you.. Trust me..I know. When you do start hearing from your recruit, I think that you will be amazed at the transformation he has made. The personal growth. He has a vast untapped strength that he doesn't even realize he has at this point. You'll hear it when you get your first letter or phone call. Good luck, Thom..."Make sure your traytables are in the the upright position, you're in for a bumpy ride"... If you'd like to talk, my number is 605-338-5167... :-) Kevin

Thom Tipul said:

Hello, I am not on Navy Dads as much as I should or no doubt will in the very near future. Do you know if the recruiter will give our son a list of things to take or not take? Tyler leaves Oct 28th. getting very close now.

Kevin Ballenger said:

Thom,
As with you, Thom, I am very proud of my son's decision to join the Navy. I'll give you a bit of what I know and was surprised about. Alex arrived at Great Lakes on 9-8-09. Alex is on day 2-4, as of tomorrow. That is his 2nd week of training, day 4. There a 5 days in each "week", not counting the weekends and holidays. The first week to 10 days, they are "in processing". This doesn't count towards their training. Day 1-1 will be their first day of training after their processing is complete. If he has a debit card, have him take it with him. He can keep it. He will be able to use it for stamps, envelopes or anything else he needs. If he doesn't, he can take up to $25 cash with him and you can send him money from time to time. No more than $20 at a time and only in 10s. You can send stamps, if it doesn't have money for them. Don't send printer generated return labels as they have to address their own letters. They'll just get thrown away. If he wears glasses, have him take them with. They don't allow contacts though. Don't expect any contact from him for about 2 weeks. In this case, no news is great news. It means you son is doing ok. Your son will be very busy, getting uniforms, shots, getting settled in his new division. Learning how to be a sailor. It took a little over 2 weeks before we heard from Alex. An excrutiating amount of time, not to hear from your son. Trust me, I know..Alex's mom and I are divorced but we've always kept him at the center of our lives and are/will be very good friends. We've always known where he is what he's doing and what time he'll be home. Whoseever home that might be. The first two weeks...I'll be honest are not going to be fun for Mom and Dad. You'll just have to believe in the fact that if you don't hear from your son, its a good thing. If you do hear from them before that time frame, it could mean two things. One, that they have given them an off chance to call home. Alex got that after 1 week he was there. Scared me half to death... :-) But it was nice to hear from him. Two, something is wrong...The former is not common. Make sure your son has both your cell phone numbers and home number (numbers, in my case). This website: http://www.navy.com/about/during/bootcamp/ will give you an idea of his schedule. So far what I've heard is and seems to be true is that, if it will fit in a standard sized envelope, you can send it. Just keep in mind, that the envelope may get opened and looked at prior to your son seeing it if it seems "odd". Remember that he is not supposed to be an individual, so don't send anything that might cause him to be singled out and ridiculed. Trust me, audio type cards....That's a bad thing. :-) Luckily, the one sent by my ex didn't work when Alex got it...He thanked her for that.
Ok..I know I'm digressing..You're son will not have a lot of time to write back, however, the thing that keeps their spirits up is hearing from home. Write as often as you can. Write about anything. Have his friends write. Have relatives write. Have his high school teachers write. Have as many people write him as you can. You have no idea what it means to them to have "mail call" come and go and there are no letters for them. After their 3rd week (2-1), they'll have a schedule that they will be able to call home. I think Alex's will be Saturday mornings. He called Bev on Saturday (thank heaven's). That's another story but not germane to this. Keep your cell phones charged and close. You will not have forewarning when your son will be able to call. When you do receive that call, you will probably feel a bit silly for worrying (I did), but man, was it nice to hear his voice...My advice?.. Be patient..Don't do the "what if" scenario. Its just self defeating. Your son will be fine. Like school, there are a lot of people in close proximity to each other. Alex was sick with a cold the second week he was there. He worked through it, but said it made the physical "stuff" a bit harder sporting his cold for that week. Well, hopefully, that should get you through the first couple of weeks. After that, you'll be fine...Kevin

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Thom Tipul on October 18, 2009 at 5:17pm

I want to thank you for all of your advice. It for sure helps a lot. We are having a bad day today as it is getting close. Tyler has been with us always and so when he leaves it will be very hard, as you now. It helps to have someone to talk with for sure helps. Its the unknown that is the worst.

Kevin Ballenger said:

Hi Thom,
I wouldn't rely on your recruiter (sorry for the lack of confidence)..ours wasn't very helpful in that regard. Hopefully yours is. He told Alex that he could take his contacts. Yeah, he had to send them back. We did send him his glasses later, after we found out that he'd be able to wear them at graduation, instead of those awful black military issue glasses. As I indicated below, debit card, glasses, phone cards, money and wallet. I would also suggest you send a book of stamps with him in his wallet.. Just something else he won't have to buy when he gets there. Whatever he takes with him barring the exceptions above, will be boxed up and sent back. That's pretty much done on the first couple of day(s) he's there. Write as often as you can. That's the very high point of their day. Have anyone you talk to write him. Also, just to prepare you..Alex had got a cold the 2nd week there and worked through that and now has another cold. With all the people in such close proximity to each other and from such diverse places, its like sending them to school. They may get sick. I would suggest getting him on daily vitamins and preparing him for that scenario. For you and your wife?... Find something to occupy your time for the first two weeks. You probably won't hear from him except for the phone call that he makes when he arrives saying he is there and is in good shape. I was a mess for the first couple of weeks, to be honest with you..I'm divorced but still very good friends with Alex's mom. We live in the same town but, of course, different addresses...Coming home from work to an empty house was very hard as for the last 13 years, Mondays, Wednesdays and every other weekend, he was there. He is my best friend and now he's gone. I'm so happy for him, but I sure do miss him...As your son is going to be entering Basic Training, mine will be leaving. He graduates on Oct 30th and will head to S. Virginia that next Wednesday to start his "A" school. I'm so looking forward to seeing him...
You and your wife will need to be comforted the first couple weeks he's there as you probably won't be hearing from him. No news in this timeframe is awesome news as he's ok, getting settled and learning the rules of the new game. Be patient...that's the best advice I can give you.. Trust me..I know. When you do start hearing from your recruit, I think that you will be amazed at the transformation he has made. The personal growth. He has a vast untapped strength that he doesn't even realize he has at this point. You'll hear it when you get your first letter or phone call. Good luck, Thom..."Make sure your traytables are in the the upright position, you're in for a bumpy ride"... If you'd like to talk, my number is 605-338-5167... :-) Kevin

Thom Tipul said:

Hello, I am not on Navy Dads as much as I should or no doubt will in the very near future. Do you know if the recruiter will give our son a list of things to take or not take? Tyler leaves Oct 28th. getting very close now.

Kevin Ballenger said:

Thom,
As with you, Thom, I am very proud of my son's decision to join the Navy. I'll give you a bit of what I know and was surprised about. Alex arrived at Great Lakes on 9-8-09. Alex is on day 2-4, as of tomorrow. That is his 2nd week of training, day 4. There a 5 days in each "week", not counting the weekends and holidays. The first week to 10 days, they are "in processing". This doesn't count towards their training. Day 1-1 will be their first day of training after their processing is complete. If he has a debit card, have him take it with him. He can keep it. He will be able to use it for stamps, envelopes or anything else he needs. If he doesn't, he can take up to $25 cash with him and you can send him money from time to time. No more than $20 at a time and only in 10s. You can send stamps, if it doesn't have money for them. Don't send printer generated return labels as they have to address their own letters. They'll just get thrown away. If he wears glasses, have him take them with. They don't allow contacts though. Don't expect any contact from him for about 2 weeks. In this case, no news is great news. It means you son is doing ok. Your son will be very busy, getting uniforms, shots, getting settled in his new division. Learning how to be a sailor. It took a little over 2 weeks before we heard from Alex. An excrutiating amount of time, not to hear from your son. Trust me, I know..Alex's mom and I are divorced but we've always kept him at the center of our lives and are/will be very good friends. We've always known where he is what he's doing and what time he'll be home. Whoseever home that might be. The first two weeks...I'll be honest are not going to be fun for Mom and Dad. You'll just have to believe in the fact that if you don't hear from your son, its a good thing. If you do hear from them before that time frame, it could mean two things. One, that they have given them an off chance to call home. Alex got that after 1 week he was there. Scared me half to death... :-) But it was nice to hear from him. Two, something is wrong...The former is not common. Make sure your son has both your cell phone numbers and home number (numbers, in my case). This website: http://www.navy.com/about/during/bootcamp/ will give you an idea of his schedule. So far what I've heard is and seems to be true is that, if it will fit in a standard sized envelope, you can send it. Just keep in mind, that the envelope may get opened and looked at prior to your son seeing it if it seems "odd". Remember that he is not supposed to be an individual, so don't send anything that might cause him to be singled out and ridiculed. Trust me, audio type cards....That's a bad thing. :-) Luckily, the one sent by my ex didn't work when Alex got it...He thanked her for that.
Ok..I know I'm digressing..You're son will not have a lot of time to write back, however, the thing that keeps their spirits up is hearing from home. Write as often as you can. Write about anything. Have his friends write. Have relatives write. Have his high school teachers write. Have as many people write him as you can. You have no idea what it means to them to have "mail call" come and go and there are no letters for them. After their 3rd week (2-1), they'll have a schedule that they will be able to call home. I think Alex's will be Saturday mornings. He called Bev on Saturday (thank heaven's). That's another story but not germane to this. Keep your cell phones charged and close. You will not have forewarning when your son will be able to call. When you do receive that call, you will probably feel a bit silly for worrying (I did), but man, was it nice to hear his voice...My advice?.. Be patient..Don't do the "what if" scenario. Its just self defeating. Your son will be fine. Like school, there are a lot of people in close proximity to each other. Alex was sick with a cold the second week he was there. He worked through it, but said it made the physical "stuff" a bit harder sporting his cold for that week. Well, hopefully, that should get you through the first couple of weeks. After that, you'll be fine...Kevin

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kevin Ballenger on October 18, 2009 at 6:04pm

You're welcome, Thom..Chin up, you'll do ok, as will your recruit.. You want to know about tough?.. Here's something for you..Being divorced and not hearing from Alex was really tough on Bev..Just to give you and idea of what I went through?.....She actually missed the first TWO phone calls that Alex was able to make home. He had called my cell phone as was able to get a hold of me, but when Bev caught wind that she'd missed his phone calls? Oh, boy..not fun. So keep them cell phones close, charged and not on vibrate!... :-) Call if I can help...Kevin

Thom Tipul said:

I want to thank you for all of your advice. It for sure helps a lot. We are having a bad day today as it is getting close. Tyler has been with us always and so when he leaves it will be very hard, as you now. It helps to have someone to talk with for sure helps. Its the unknown that is the worst.

Kevin Ballenger said:

Hi Thom,
I wouldn't rely on your recruiter (sorry for the lack of confidence)..ours wasn't very helpful in that regard. Hopefully yours is. He told Alex that he could take his contacts. Yeah, he had to send them back. We did send him his glasses later, after we found out that he'd be able to wear them at graduation, instead of those awful black military issue glasses. As I indicated below, debit card, glasses, phone cards, money and wallet. I would also suggest you send a book of stamps with him in his wallet.. Just something else he won't have to buy when he gets there. Whatever he takes with him barring the exceptions above, will be boxed up and sent back. That's pretty much done on the first couple of day(s) he's there. Write as often as you can. That's the very high point of their day. Have anyone you talk to write him. Also, just to prepare you..Alex had got a cold the 2nd week there and worked through that and now has another cold. With all the people in such close proximity to each other and from such diverse places, its like sending them to school. They may get sick. I would suggest getting him on daily vitamins and preparing him for that scenario. For you and your wife?... Find something to occupy your time for the first two weeks. You probably won't hear from him except for the phone call that he makes when he arrives saying he is there and is in good shape. I was a mess for the first couple of weeks, to be honest with you..I'm divorced but still very good friends with Alex's mom. We live in the same town but, of course, different addresses...Coming home from work to an empty house was very hard as for the last 13 years, Mondays, Wednesdays and every other weekend, he was there. He is my best friend and now he's gone. I'm so happy for him, but I sure do miss him...As your son is going to be entering Basic Training, mine will be leaving. He graduates on Oct 30th and will head to S. Virginia that next Wednesday to start his "A" school. I'm so looking forward to seeing him...
You and your wife will need to be comforted the first couple weeks he's there as you probably won't be hearing from him. No news in this timeframe is awesome news as he's ok, getting settled and learning the rules of the new game. Be patient...that's the best advice I can give you.. Trust me..I know. When you do start hearing from your recruit, I think that you will be amazed at the transformation he has made. The personal growth. He has a vast untapped strength that he doesn't even realize he has at this point. You'll hear it when you get your first letter or phone call. Good luck, Thom..."Make sure your traytables are in the the upright position, you're in for a bumpy ride"... If you'd like to talk, my number is 605-338-5167... :-) Kevin

Thom Tipul said:

Hello, I am not on Navy Dads as much as I should or no doubt will in the very near future. Do you know if the recruiter will give our son a list of things to take or not take? Tyler leaves Oct 28th. getting very close now.

Kevin Ballenger said:

Thom,
As with you, Thom, I am very proud of my son's decision to join the Navy. I'll give you a bit of what I know and was surprised about. Alex arrived at Great Lakes on 9-8-09. Alex is on day 2-4, as of tomorrow. That is his 2nd week of training, day 4. There a 5 days in each "week", not counting the weekends and holidays. The first week to 10 days, they are "in processing". This doesn't count towards their training. Day 1-1 will be their first day of training after their processing is complete. If he has a debit card, have him take it with him. He can keep it. He will be able to use it for stamps, envelopes or anything else he needs. If he doesn't, he can take up to $25 cash with him and you can send him money from time to time. No more than $20 at a time and only in 10s. You can send stamps, if it doesn't have money for them. Don't send printer generated return labels as they have to address their own letters. They'll just get thrown away. If he wears glasses, have him take them with. They don't allow contacts though. Don't expect any contact from him for about 2 weeks. In this case, no news is great news. It means you son is doing ok. Your son will be very busy, getting uniforms, shots, getting settled in his new division. Learning how to be a sailor. It took a little over 2 weeks before we heard from Alex. An excrutiating amount of time, not to hear from your son. Trust me, I know..Alex's mom and I are divorced but we've always kept him at the center of our lives and are/will be very good friends. We've always known where he is what he's doing and what time he'll be home. Whoseever home that might be. The first two weeks...I'll be honest are not going to be fun for Mom and Dad. You'll just have to believe in the fact that if you don't hear from your son, its a good thing. If you do hear from them before that time frame, it could mean two things. One, that they have given them an off chance to call home. Alex got that after 1 week he was there. Scared me half to death... :-) But it was nice to hear from him. Two, something is wrong...The former is not common. Make sure your son has both your cell phone numbers and home number (numbers, in my case). This website: http://www.navy.com/about/during/bootcamp/ will give you an idea of his schedule. So far what I've heard is and seems to be true is that, if it will fit in a standard sized envelope, you can send it. Just keep in mind, that the envelope may get opened and looked at prior to your son seeing it if it seems "odd". Remember that he is not supposed to be an individual, so don't send anything that might cause him to be singled out and ridiculed. Trust me, audio type cards....That's a bad thing. :-) Luckily, the one sent by my ex didn't work when Alex got it...He thanked her for that.
Ok..I know I'm digressing..You're son will not have a lot of time to write back, however, the thing that keeps their spirits up is hearing from home. Write as often as you can. Write about anything. Have his friends write. Have relatives write. Have his high school teachers write. Have as many people write him as you can. You have no idea what it means to them to have "mail call" come and go and there are no letters for them. After their 3rd week (2-1), they'll have a schedule that they will be able to call home. I think Alex's will be Saturday mornings. He called Bev on Saturday (thank heaven's). That's another story but not germane to this. Keep your cell phones charged and close. You will not have forewarning when your son will be able to call. When you do receive that call, you will probably feel a bit silly for worrying (I did), but man, was it nice to hear his voice...My advice?.. Be patient..Don't do the "what if" scenario. Its just self defeating. Your son will be fine. Like school, there are a lot of people in close proximity to each other. Alex was sick with a cold the second week he was there. He worked through it, but said it made the physical "stuff" a bit harder sporting his cold for that week. Well, hopefully, that should get you through the first couple of weeks. After that, you'll be fine...Kevin

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Permalink Reply by Jim Marsh on October 21, 2009 at 4:13pm

Our son (Emerson) left on Sept. 23rd and we too were (and are still) very proud of his career choice. I must tell you though, I tried to keep my emotions in check but simply couldn't. Emerson was able to make some phone calls this past Monday and he told my parents (his grandparents) that it was the first time he'd ever seen me cry. I think it was comforting to him to know just how much his family cares for him. He sounded so good when I spoke to him on Monday. What he's going through now is hard but it's preparing him for much greater things. Be sure and write your son often. Letters mean EVERYTHING to our sons and daughters as they go through boot camp.

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Permalink Reply by Thom Tipul on October 22, 2009 at 2:51pm

Thank you for advice. The days are counting down and there are times when I am driving and start to think about all of the good times we had and will have in the future. It is a very emotional time and we are very proud of his decision to join the Navy. Thanks again I hope your son does well God Bless!

Jim Marsh said:

Our son (Emerson) left on Sept. 23rd and we too were (and are still) very proud of his career choice. I must tell you though, I tried to keep my emotions in check but simply couldn't. Emerson was able to make some phone calls this past Monday and he told my parents (his grandparents) that it was the first time he'd ever seen me cry. I think it was comforting to him to know just how much his family cares for him. He sounded so good when I spoke to him on Monday. What he's going through now is hard but it's preparing him for much greater things. Be sure and write your son often. Letters mean EVERYTHING to our sons and daughters as they go through boot camp.

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