guests

[nukemom1993]

My son leaves on Tuesday at 10am...I am an emotional mess.. He told me i am emotional enough for everyone lol. 

I was wondering if anyone can give the number of guests allowed to attend graduation?

Then i hope i can figure out where the answers from the post are!!! lol

Any input would be so appreciated and i hope to find a couple moms who i can correspond with regularly.  My son is going to Great Lakes for boot camp.

I love reading the posts on here it makes me feel like I'm not "going crazy" :) so thanks !!!!

Looking forward to hearing back from some of you!!!

Dawn

[nukemom1993]

@ Bandito.....yes he is In the Nuclear program!! Where is your son and where is he doing boot camp?

[Bandito's Mom]

My son is at the hotel waiting to go to MEPS tomorrow morning.  And then he goes to Great Lakes, which I believe is the only BC for the Navy.  After that it is to Goose Creek, South Carolina for training.  Check out the group Nuke Moms.  Lots of info there too.

 

[nukemom1993]

Hi Banditos mom,

My son will also be going to South carolina!!! this site is so cool to meet othere moms who's sons are going to be at the same place.  I already belong to nuke moms group as well. thanks!!

[jacketfan24 (corpsman mom)]

Mine will be going to San Antonio for A school (corpman) but we are from South Carolina. 

[navmomtera]

Hi Proud Navy mom to be! My son left today too and he is Nuke so maybe they will be together at BC! I just talked him a bit ago and his flight is not until 6:50pm. He thought that the nukes might be put together somehow at bc but I don't know that for sure. Can't wait to get his PIR date letter so I can join the group for his date and division and start getting to know those moms. I have done pretty good so far but I am starting to have my moments of tears welling up in my eyes. I think in a day or two or three when I haven't been able to talk to him or see him it will really hit me!! This is my baby, my first born (here I go again with the waterworks!! LOL) so I think that doesn't help any either.

[Dkdj mom]

Your SR's division will probably have other nukes, but divisions are filled based on when they arrive and not necessarily by job. Three guys from our DEP pool shipped together and were put in the same division. They were going into different jobs.

When your SR arrives, he or she will be put into a division. The divisions are grouped together into a training group. Each training group graduates on a specific day, although there may be a time lag between when the earlier divisions and later divisions arrive at GL.

Performance divisions (drill, instrument, vocal, performance support) are given a 900-level division number. They will do all the same basic training as other recruits, plus practice and perform at PIR's and sometimes other functions. They have very busy schedules, with performance and rehearsal, as well as regular training.

I believe SEALS are 800-level. My sons training group had a 900-division, but no 800-division, so I don't know much about 800-level.

The other division numbers are combinations of recruits from around the country, and even the world. There will be SR's of various ages and experience levels, and they will represent a variety of Navy jobs.

Everyone in the same training group who successfully completes basic training on time will PIR Om the same day, but the divisions will not all be on the same day of training as each other. Lower-numbered divisions may be on day 3-1 (read week 3, day 1) while others are stll completing days in week 2, for example. When you write or if your SR calls, ask what day of training they are on. My son's division started the training week on Tuesday's. Again, this is after p-days. My son was also in a later division in his training group. His pir was 8 weeks and 1 day after he arrived at GL, and he had just over 7 weeks of actual training days. Earlier divisions in the training group may have closer to 10 weeks of bootcamp, including p-days. It's just a timing thing.

Your division may also have a "brother division" that trains with them. Each division would be distinct and have it's own RDC's and recruit jobs, earn it's own flags, etc. The two divisions would just train together and be evaluated separately.

I hope this isn't information overload. These are the things that confused me at first, so I hope this helps clarify it for you. :-)

[AHuffRN]

My son left on Sept. 7th...what a difficult day that was!  I made it through the "I'm here" scripted call, and bawled after....am now waiting for "the box" and form letter so I can mail the letters I've written, the pictures his little siblings have drawn and an ultrasound photo of his soon to be baby brother.  This has been the most emotional and difficult time I've ever been through as a mom.  The info I've received from this site has been great. 

[Judi(NavyMom)]

welcome!  this site has been a blessing to me also. My daughter is in week 4. Received first "real" letter today.

My SR left on Mon. Received Box on THurs. & form letter on Sat. There are a few lines on the bottom of form letter where SR can write a couple of lines. I must of read that a hundred times!  LOL If you have any questions.... ask away!  The veteran moms are wonderful.

[Dkdj mom]

This reply went to the wrong place, and it doesn't want to move!! AHuffRN--Congratulations on the soon-to-be brother! Goodness gracious, pregnancy hormones AND bootcamp emotions? May God bless you with an extra measure of peace!!

[Dkdj mom]

To clarify, it's children 12 and under who don't need to be on the list. I have three children who came to PIR with us, ages 7, 9 and 12. Make sure you have a birth certificate or social security card for each child as identification. Children 13 and over will need a government-issued photo ID, as will adults. Active-duty military and retirees do not count toward the 4 on the list. Make sure you find all the IDs and vehicle paperwork you need early, just in case you need to order duplicates. And remember, only your SR can put people on the list, and their finalized lists need to be submitted within the last couple weeks before PIR. Your form letter will show who your SR has on the list, as well as the password for printing parking passes. Put it in a safe place, you will need it later. And if changes need to be made to the list, write early and coordinate with your SR. It might also be possible for your SR to coordinate with a shipmate who isn't using all 4 invitees to add a name to their list from your party--it has happened. Just make sure you know that SR's name and who is on which list. Otherwise, your party may be split between invitees and standby. And get there early-- we were there by 7:30, and the main floor was packed. Within about 20 minutes, the balcony was too. The floor has signs for each division, and you will want to sit in the section near the sign to get the best view of your SR and his/her shipmates!

[Dkdj mom]

To clarify, that is military retirees that don't need to be on the list. Retirees from civilian jobs would need to be on the list.

Ps--I strongly recommend letting someone else do the driving. Taxi or hotel shuttle, if you are traveling from far away. We live in SE Wisconsin and drove down to Waukegan and took the train from there. Definitely a time and sanity saver, as all cars need to be searched and there could be 600-1000 SR's participating in PIR any given week. Even if you use transportation, print a parking pass, just in case. We used it to get our SR and his brother shipmate and to return them to GL (one on RTC side and one to A school across the street).

We used it all weekend, FYI.

[Dkdj mom]

This may seem like a lot to think about when you SR is just shippling off to GL or just recently arrived, and the next few weeks may seem like an eternity. But before you know it, they will be completing Battlestations and you will be getting ready for PIR. It's amazing how quickly the time flies after you get your first real letter, and how weird your "mail day" feels after PIR, when letters aren't coming any more. It was kind of bittersweet to stalk the letter carrier on Tuesdays (letters are mailed on Mondays, and we live fairly close to base, so our letters from bootcamp arrived on Tuesdays. You may get yours later the farther you are from base, but the day of the week will generally be the same, unless your SR isn't able to write in a given week.). Tuesdays are just another day now. :-)