An Open Letter To The RDCs of Recruit Training Command

[K]

I wanted to post this for a few reasons:

1. Even if it has been posted before, I am sure it cannot be done often enough.

2. I am sure there are other moms (and dads) from this last Friday's PIR and past/recent PIRs that would like to chime in and add to.

3. To help ease the minds of the new boot camp moms and bootcamp moms "to be".

I want to thank you. I wanted to voice my appreciation at what you have done for and with my son.

I sent an 18 year old child to you who wouldn't wear a coat in a snowstorm and got back a young man who not only wore his coat, he buttoned it up! WIthout being asked!!!! Or told!!!!

I sent you a teenager who had no real direction, drive, motivation or organization or even a future and recieved a young man who now has a direction, a goal in life, and a FUTURE.

I sent you a kid who probably couldn't get more in this tiny town then a part time job at McDonald's in this economy IF that and you returned to me a young man with a CAREER and a path to a real honest and noble life for himself.

I sent you a kid that thought iron was something in Flintstones vitamins and now have a great young man who knows you can ALSO use one to take wrinkles out of clothes!

I sent you an immature boy who had a fifth grade sense of humor and no sense of self and got back a very funny and poised young man with good posture and a strong but gentle bearing.

But, I think most of all....I sent you a young one who had been isolated in a sense and thought that our life, our values, and our morals were all some bizarre anomoly to our family that had nothing to do with "real life" and you took him in and showed him that life is not about what you see on television or hear in the tabloids or from ignorant kids at school with worthless absent parents. You took what we tried to teach him and showed him that it was indeed the gold standard. He is now proud to be himself and that was something I was afraid I would never see. I saw it this weekend.

Thank You ALL so much for putting the finishing touches on the child I sent you. Thank you for helping him take that last step over the threshold for becoming a man. He purchased his graduation photos and now his three RDCs as part of the graduation photo hold a place on our family wall for the role they played in his life. I am not sure I can thank you all enough but I hope this is a good start. I invite ALL the moms and dads to submit their thanks here to them. In a world of selfish and self absorbed people who are all too concerned with the material and the celebrity....we need to appreciate the true role models and mentors and heros.

Thank you, RDCs.

[Kim D]

Amen !

[Bonnie Juckem]

Thank you, how true, We sent you a boy and were given a young man I am speachless at the changes and oppertunities you have given my son!!

[Jaci]

You said this perfectly. I cried through every word.
Thank you.

[ADavis865]

Wow, that was an awesome response. I really don't have the knack to write as most people to with words. But you have described it to the tee. Everything you had written was right on the money. Yes to see the changes from boy to man; its just awesome; what every parents want's for their child to accomplish. Thank you for your words. Yes, I am greatful for my son to have see the light and know he does have a future. No playing video games all day long and work part-time. My son best friend is finally had heard about the opportunity to succeed in the Navy and all it has to offer and going to go to Great Lakes this January; a year later than my son. But, now they want to be on the same ship when he gets done with bootcamp. He mom is proud and happy that her son to is joining and also a bright future too. Thank you to the RDC's too.

[Kate H]

Hey Linda, That cheese cake factory is about 20 miles from the base. At least that's what I was told.

[Kate H]

My daughter delivered herself to you and you made her into a very focused and confident woman. I am so very proud of who and what she is. From the bottom of my heart, I Thank You for all that you have done for all of us. We sent you children and you gave us adults! I know that they will continue to grow and learn. I feel like you gave me a personal gift that I will treasure always. So, between your hard work and my daughters hard work, I, again, Thank You!!! GO NAVY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Stacy R]

Thank you...very well done!

[Ramona - Proud Mom of Andrew!]

Very well written! I can also say that I sent a little boy and was returned a man, and am extremely proud of him and thankful to all who trained him at RTC.

[Monica Jackson]

Oh my goodness K...........you said it all and then some. The RDC's of my son's DIV 313 SHip 14 in 2008 rocked. My son and the others left with so much respect for them. I admire them for accomplishing more in the eight to nine weeks of boot camp than I was able to do in 18 years of his young life. My son was and is the easy, happy-go-lucky kid that loves all walks of life unconditionally and doesnt have a bad thing to say about anyone.

What I was not able to instill in him was that he is a LEADER. Kids from youth group, in school and in the area looked up to him but he always thought it was because he was funny and likeable. He never back talked, skipped school or broke the law but he lacked self confidence although those that knew him wouldn't know that.

In boot camp he was made a LEADER and he finished that duty to the end. He said to me "mom, our RDC's saw something in me that I didnt see and that was being a leader. I learned to seperate the duty from the friendship and learned to do my job well. If I am told to clean the commode, I will clean it better than its ever been done before".

THANK YOU Petty Officers...............you know who you are and you very well know who I am.
Have a blessed and happy holiday.

[Beth]

Wow, what an awesome letter!

I just want to add my thanks, also. Especially to those RDC's who had Division 944 / Ship 06, PIR'd on 9/19. My son had some tough times growing up, some legal "adventures", and was not always the best kid to be around. Once he made his decision to go Navy, the Navy was not so sure they wanted him because of his past. He had to work hard to get there, and work even harder to stay there. To the RDC, who went with him to that meeting with command, and evidently spoke highly of him. Thank you!!! To the RDC, who kept him on his toes with reminding him he could go back "2 weeks" at any time...Thank you!!! My son's favorite picture of PIR is the one of you and him together!

This troublesome kid is now upset over the fact that he "only" got a 95 on a test at A school. He now has goals and a focus I have never seen before. He is proud of himself and that is worth it's weight in gold to me.

Thank you RDC's!!!!

[Angie F.- WA: HM mom]

Intelchips, I see you are a Dad and brand new to the site. Welcome! =) I am wondering if you've had any prior military training/experiences yourself and what week of training and Div/Ship your son is in. Is he in a Spec Opps Div (800s), when is he due to graduate? If you talk to the Ship 17 Group Moms, I can assure you it has not been an oasis there, rather it has been quite the opposite of your son's apparent impression of easy street. It has in fact, been a nightmare place to be for some; though things seem to be getting a whole lot better, largely I suspect in thanks to many of our members who decided to speak up and be part of the solution and agents for change there. I'm glad your son has decided that is not an option for him.

I am sorry your son is discouraged and disheartened. :( If you notice though, most of the posts on this thread are from Moms whose kids have completed Boot Camp and have gone to PIR (graduation), spent time with their New Sailor and processed/evaluated the whole experience from beginning to end. You seem to be somewhere in the middle. It's not unusual for Recruits to struggle, to think they either made a mistake or ended up in the worst Div and are being lead by the meanest RDC there ever was. Parent get letters that are full of self doubt, frustration, anger, homesickness and alarming, worrisome phrases. Somewhere along the way, they start to notice a change in the tone of the letters coming home. The Divs start working as teams, the Recruits start to get excited about what they are and will be doing. Sounds like your son's made of tough stuff and is actually doing relatively well (RMAA) in spite of his current "conditions". I highly encourage you to join the following Groups:

http://www.navyformoms.com/group/bootcampmoms

- www.navydads.com (These are N4M Dads- and some Moms.)

Lots of great people and support there too. It may be helpful for you to chat with veteran parents. In the BC Moms Group, you can get to know those who have Recruits in your son's Div and with your PIR date. It will be beneficial to compare letters, calls (get a better picture) and other info by joining Groups for those as well. Additionally, there is probably also a Group for his particular rating, plus you can go to the "A" school Moms group after he graduates. Hang in there, BC isn't easy, harder for some than others, (physically and/or mentally) but in many ways, over time, for both of you, it gets better. Best wishes to your Recruit. Again, welcome aboard. :-)

[K]

Angie F - Great response. To Intelchips: my son did comment that there were some kids who had a different perception of the experience. And my son did have letters home that sounded "worried", bored, resentful etc. It's the overall package at the end that I speak of...wait and see.

I think the most spectacular and moving moment was so small but for me it was watching him in the front row during PIR. He was one of the flag holders. I watched as he moved and all his movements were SO precise. So slow. So exact. So thoughtful. So deliberate. I used to wonder if the child had a brain in his head and if he did, did he grasp he could USE it. To see him so focused and precise in his movements was like this little hallelujah that he had engaged that brain and new he could CONTROL himself and his fate versus letting it happen to him.

Now, he is still sarcastic, a little misanthropic, and does not necessarily thrill at the thought of working hard for the rest of his life (who really does?) but he at least now seems to accept that it is a responsibility to care for himself as an ADULT and that he is his responsibility now, not ours (in the sense that we have raised him to be his own person and now it's his time to shine). The safety of family is hard to disengage from for some so it can be more difficult.

Of course, I always always told him:

You will find "jerks" (cleaned up for this board) in any and every job you will ever work. There will always be at least one person you absolutely cannot stand to have to deal with. Sometimes you will be their boss...sometimes they will be your boss. When this happens, make the best of it, do what needs to be done to change the situation, and remember that when you get away from that one...there is another one waiting somewhere. I am sure there are jerks in ANY field and career (including RDCs) but you have to take them with a grain of salt just like everything else. For the most part, though, I think the percieved "jerkosity" of the RDCs is kind of like the percieved "idiocy" of us parents. They always realize what was REALLY going on AFTER the fact *wink*

I am not such an idiot any more and by the end of boot camp, the RDCs aren't so "mean" either. I don't think the RDCs change at all. But the perception of the kids does.

Just my two cents.