This site is for mothers of kids in the U.S. Navy and for Moms who have questions about Navy life for their kids.

FIRST TIME HERE?

FOLLOW THESE STEPS TO GET STARTED:

Choose your Username.  For the privacy and safety of you and/or your sailor, NO LAST NAMES ARE ALLOWED, even if your last name differs from that of your sailor (please make sure your URL address does not include your last name either).  Also, please do not include your email address in your user name. Go to "Settings" above to set your Username.  While there, complete your Profile so you can post and share photos and videos of your Sailor and share stories with other moms!

Make sure to read our Community Guidelines and this Navy Operations Security (OPSEC) checklist - loose lips sink ships!

Join groups!  Browse for groups for your PIR date, your sailor's occupational specialty, "A" school, assigned ship, homeport city, your own city or state, and a myriad of other interests. Jump in and introduce yourself!  Start making friends that can last a lifetime.

Link to Navy Speak - Navy Terms & Acronyms: Navy Speak

All Hands Magazine's full length documentary "Making a Sailor": This video follows four recruits through Boot Camp in the spring of 2018 who were assigned to DIV 229, an integrated division, which had PIR on 05/25/2018. 

Boot Camp: Making a Sailor (Full Length Documentary - 2018)

Boot Camp: Behind the Scenes at RTC

...and visit Navy.com - America's Navy and Navy.mil also Navy Live - The Official Blog of the Navy to learn more.

OPSEC - Navy Operations Security

Always keep Navy Operations Security in mind.  In the Navy, it's essential to remember that "loose lips sink ships."  OPSEC is everyone's responsibility. 

DON'T post critical information including future destinations or ports of call; future operations, exercises or missions; deployment or homecoming dates.  

DO be smart, use your head, always think OPSEC when using texts, email, phone, and social media, and watch this video: "Importance of Navy OPSEC."

Follow this link for OPSEC Guidelines:

OPSEC GUIDELINES

Events

**UPDATE 4/26/2022** Effective with the May 6, 2022 PIR 4 guests will be allowed.  Still must be fully vaccinated to attend.

**UPDATE as of 11/10/2022 PIR vaccination is no longer required.

**UPDATE 7/29/2021** You now must be fully vaccinated in order to attend PIR:

In light of observed changes and impact of the Coronavirus Delta Variant and out of an abundance of caution for our recruits, Sailors, staff, and guests, Recruit Training Command is restricting Pass-in-Review (recruit graduation) to ONLY fully immunized guests (14-days post final COVID vaccination dose).  

FOLLOW THIS LINK FOR UP TO DATE INFO:

RTC Graduation

**UPDATE 8/25/2022 - MASK MANDATE IS LIFTED.  Vaccinations still required.

**UPDATE 11/10/22 PIR - Vaccinations no longer required.

RESUMING LIVE PIR - 8/13/2021

Please note! Changes to this guide happened in October 2017. Tickets are now issued for all guests, and all guests must have a ticket to enter base. A separate parking pass is no longer needed to drive on to base for parking.

Please see changes to attending PIR in the PAGES column. The PAGES are located under the member icons on the right side.

Format Downloads:

Latest Activity

Navy Speak

Click here to learn common Navy terms and acronyms!  (Hint:  When you can speak an entire sentence using only acronyms and one verb, you're truly a Navy mom.)

N4M Merchandise


Shirts, caps, mugs and more can be found at CafePress.

Please note: Profits generated in the production of this merchandise are not being awarded to the Navy or any of its suppliers. Any profit made is retained by CafePress.

Navy.com Para Familias

Visite esta página para explorar en su idioma las oportunidades de educación y carreras para sus hijos en el Navy. Navy.com

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Information

AECF - FCs and ETs

For families that have a loved one serving the Navy as an FC or an ET. This is the place to share and learn more about their jobs and schools. For subs - look for the SECF group.

Members: 834
Latest Activity: Feb 14, 2023

Discussion Forum

Anybody out there?

Started by Jules. Last reply by Bandmom Aug 24, 2021. 2 Replies

Current A school at GL for AECF?

Started by BessLynn423. Last reply by ANOsMom Nov 11, 2019. 1 Reply

Anyone graduating A school on 10/26/18

Started by Dena4. Last reply by Anti M Oct 9, 2018. 2 Replies

Comment Wall

Comment

You need to be a member of AECF - FCs and ETs to add comments!

Comment by Allison on December 2, 2018 at 7:57pm

How exciting! The countdown is on! There are forums on this site based on PIR dates where you might find moms or SOs from the same division. His A School location will be based on his job, so you happen to remember what it is he’s going for? I assume it’s AECF (ET or FC) but occasionally others pass through here, so I thought I’d double check before I say for sure. 

Comment by Alicia on December 2, 2018 at 7:53pm

will my son learn when he is suppose to go to A school prior to graduation? Will the parents learn this, or do we see him graduate and then wait for him to in process to A school then get to hang out with him? What is typically the time line for this process? Im just trying to figure out what to do in the event he gets a little bit of time to hang out and what to do during that time or if he will graduate and we get to hug and then off he goes.  

Comment by Alicia on December 2, 2018 at 7:07pm

I got his letter 11-30-18! His graduation date is set for 1-11-18. div 67! does anyone else have a child in this div and set for the same graduation date? Now I am waiting on that phone call. I hope I find out if he is doing A school at the same place and how long he has liberty before he has to show up for the inprocessing part of A school. I guess I need to find out what to do around Chicago if he gets some time off. 3 1/2 drive there- so I gotta figure out what we will do in the mean time.

Comment by Allison on November 25, 2018 at 12:13pm

And an example page. Most of his friends put pictures of them together, but I didn’t want to post those on here, so here’s a silly one from one of his friends with a meme haha. I made the pages into pocket pages, so the photos fit inside them for easy storage. 

Comment by Allison on November 25, 2018 at 12:11pm

I actually made my husband’s address book. Unfortunately, it’s pretty worn over the years, but here it is:

Comment by Allison on November 25, 2018 at 12:03pm

I remember that feeling. Fortunately, my parents had the same mailman most of my life, and we knew him fairly well, so it wasn’t totally crazy when I started waiting by the mailbox. He happened to be retired navy himself, so he knew exactly what it was when the letters started arriving. He reassured me he would take extra care with them to keep them dry in the winter, and he would tell me all the workings of the post office that could delay them when they didn’t show up on time. I was a lunatic about the mail, and he was so kind about it. 

Anyway, you can actually send your recruit a pocket size address book in bootcamp. Once you have their address, just try to put it in the smallest box or padded envelope it will fit in. They will be allowed to carry it with them to the NEX when they make phone calls and take it out during holiday routine to write letters. My husband and I really only called each other and our parents during bootcamp, but we both appreciated being able to send updates to other friends/family through letters, and my husband used his to keep track of friends and important contacts both from bootcamp and after, since he still had to lock up his phone during school and before reporting to work. I put notes and pictures from his friends/family in his too, so it was a great comfort during hard days in bootcamp and while he would be away. 

Comment by Alicia on November 25, 2018 at 10:39am

I am anxiously awaiting this letter- mail man has no idea the hero he is going to be when he delivers that bad boy. lol. my next area of concern is that my son probably doesn't even know my cell phone number, who does these days right? With the holidays I am figuring on in the next couple of weeks I might receive a phone call. if he can remember my number_ god willing he does. 

Comment by Allison on November 23, 2018 at 12:12pm

Two years ago I shipped the 16th of November and my graduation was scheduled January 13th. I do not think there is a graduation the first week of January because of holiday stand down. That year, the 2-3 pir groups ahead of us were push divisions, so they were only doing about 6 weeks in bootcamp, so the last graduation before mine was before Christmas. There was no pir group behind me for 2 weeks…I remember because I was terrified of being asmoed (spelling? Lol) because instead of being set back just a week, you’d be set back like 3 weeks since that was the next available division. I’m sure it varies a little every year based on how the dates lay out.

Anyway, beyond the confusion of holiday standdown. PIR dates can be a little unpredictable because they have to wait to form complete divisions before they can leave P-Days (in processing). So for example, when I went to bootcamp, I was fortunate to be in one of the last groups to arrive in my compartment, but others had been there anywhere from a day or two to ten days before me. You stay in this temporary compartment until your division is filled, and you will probably have to wait for your brother division as well…then all 80+ from your division and 80+ from your brother division have to complete your medical processing (dental exam, blood tests, eye exam, obgyn for girls, and more),  first uniform fit, set up pay, set up emergency contacts, moment of truth, take a test on the basics, get your address and fill out the graduation access list, go to a couple classes, label your gear, learn how to fold it, and a few other things Im sure I’m forgeting and some things that vary by job, and then FINALLY you and your brother division can move across to “main side” to your new, permanent ship. Bootcamp week 1 officially starts the day you move to your permanent ship. Basically, what I’m saying is actual time in bootcamp can range anywhere from like 8-10 weeks just from the whole P-Day process. This is especially true this time of year because there are far less recruits going through basic around the holidays due to less staffing and many recruits choosing a later ship date to avoid missing the holidays or fear of the cold weather and snow. Holidays can also increase time in P-Days because they can’t do anything for in processing on those days.

I share this as both a caution and a comfort. Caution for anyone planning time off or travel before the form letter shows up, and comfort because if someone hasn’t heard from their sailor after a week or two, they may just be in P-Days still. You cannot make phone calls or write letters in P-Days, even during holiday routine.

Once the form letter shows up, you can pretty much count on that graduation date, but I always caution people to wait a little longer to book things. Things happen sometimes and even some of the best recruits might get set back a week or more. Rarely, a whole division might even get set back. Sometimes recruits are sent home. No news is always good news though, even if you don’t hear anything the whole time your recruit is gone, your recruit is on track. If their graduation date is impacted in any way, they will be allowed to keep calling until they get ahold of someone. 

Comment by Rain on November 22, 2018 at 11:58am

Alicia, Happy Thanksgiving! My nephew went in on 11/13 and they said to count 9 Friday’s from then so we are thinking the 1/11 or could be the 1/4. We were told to wait for his letter as true date. I’m anxious to know. 

Comment by Alicia on November 22, 2018 at 11:42am

If my son went in Nov 14- would he be graduating January 4th?

 

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