Son not leaving for BC til 9/21/10 from Colorado (Colorado Springs)

[R&BCook]

So any suggestions for the new Navy mom? My family (30 of us) have decided that all want to go the BC graduation. Okay the shock has warn off now what? Help!

[Anti M]

Uh, 30 people? Only four guests are allowed on the list. Children under 12 don't count as one of the four.

First, find the boot camp moms group, the new moms group, and his graduation group when it forms. Keep reading and asking questions.

Welcome Aboard.

[dflemsubmom]

Hi welcome you will have all kinds of emotions when he leaves and the first three weeks when you don't hear anything. There is really no need for him to take anything beside stamps, phonecard with him. They will send all his stuff home in a box anyway. After he leaves and you get the official letter you can start a group with the other moms of his ship and div number or a pir date. This site is wonderful to find out all kinds of info. Good Luck

[Marybeth]

I've got mixed feelings on this - first, yes, only 4 family members will be allowed to attend the actual PIR ceremony.

Secondly, your soon-to-be Sailor may feel quite overhwelmed by it all after 8 weeks of basic training, and may just want some quiet time in the hotel room, or a trip to the mall, or a train ride into Chicago to see the sights.

There's also a possibility he could be "Grad N Go" off to his A school - which means that you may only have a few hours to spend with him after PIR. You will find this out a few weeks before graduation, so if your family members wait until you have this information to make their travel plans it could get very expensive.

What does your Depper have to say? He may think he wants them all there now, but that could change before he actually heads to bootcamp, or while he is in Basic Training.

Normally I'm all about "the more the merrier". I'm guessing your large family gatherings are routine and traditional, so maybe it is something he will want. Just keep some realistic expectations for the weekend itself and it should all work out fine.

Congrats on your sailor-to-be...

[Arwen]

First, you need to join the group Leaving for bootcamp in September to connect with others whose recruits will be leaving that month.

Now that I have that out of the way...

Welcome! My family is similar, family gatherings of 200+ are not uncommon, 30+ is routine. And the Navy isn't set up to deal with our kind of family.

First, keep in mind that you won't know his graduation date until about six weeks before it happens. You will get a letter in the mail 1-2 weeks after he arrives in Great Lakes with his graduation information. By that time airline tickets begin to get expensive.

Then you have to deal with whether he will be grad-and-go. The first few divisions (the lowest number divisions in each group) are sent to their A-school either the same day they graduate, or the next. Also, some individuals from other divisions may be grad-and-go because of the needs of the school they will be attending. They may be informed of their status as grad-and-go right away, or not until a week before PIR. If they happen to have A-school at Great Lakes, they just move across the street and are released for liberty about 5 hours later for a normal weekend liberty. If their A-school is in another location they may have as little as 15 minutes with their family before they are shipped off to the airport.

If he ends up with a small graduating group (9 or fewer divisions) there is a real chance they can all get in. The written rules aren't enforced strictly (despite what they say), except with a larger graduating group. I had a special situation with my family, but I also saw other families there who had 10-12 guests. As long as they have room, the guards at the gate let them in. They didn't get the best seating, but they did get in before PIR began. You just have to make sure everyone has government-issued ID.

Your sailor would write down his "guaranteed four" and the rest will have to wait at the gate until about an hour before the ceremony. When they determine that there is enough room (there were whole bleacher sections empty at my son's PIR - with 9 divisions) they let in "overflow" guests.

You can plan ahead for everyone to meet at a restaurant after PIR for a family reception for your son. If the family mob doesn't get in because of a large graduation where there isn't enough room, or if they decide to become more strict with the 4-guest rule, you can plan it as a surprise party for him.

For the rest of the weekend everyone can go their own way, do the tourist thing in Chicago, and maybe meet each night for another family dinner. That way he can have his days to relax and do his own thing, and still have the big family gatherings to make everyone happy.

[1NavyMa]

Hi and welcome to the Navy family ! It's really great that your son has made the decision to serve ! Navy boot camp graduation is so awesome I can't really put it into words, the way it is all played out with such precision and accuracy is very impressive, you will see, it's something you won't ever forget. But unfortunately unless they have changed the rules, I think they may have a visitor limit per recruit, I can't remember what it is (it's been 10 years since my son graduated) but your son will send you his packet 1/2 through his boot camp giving you very specific instructions to follow. Mom, this is a journey not only for your son but for the family as well ! If your son has never been away from home, bootcamp may be difficult for him and he may suffer from home sickness, but just give him all your support and love and you both will get through it together!
Again congratulations and welcome !!

[AngieFromWA:BUDS Mom/ HM alumnus]

Hi Robenco, I'm a little late to the party here, but still wanted to welcome you to N4Ms. :-) You have received some good advise and accurate info from some Vet Moms, at least two of whom are prior Navy themselves!

Arwen has graciously provided you with a link you can click on to join a Group where you will meet other moms/members with Recruits shipping out to BC in Sept as well. I am one of the mentor Moms there, a Co-Administrator of all the monthly DEP Groups, so I will hopefully "see" you there once I have finished helping out our Aug crew. :)

Meanwhile, I'd also like to extend an invite for you to join the main DEP (Delayed Entry Program) Group as well, or at least drop in and read through all the great discussions full of helpful, need to know info for newbies, including Boot Camp videos and recommendations of what to send with them to BC, or not. Feel free to drop in on any of our pages with questions or to post a comment/question on the main page of the DEP Group:

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

As far as your large Family Group at Graduation, I would agree with rethinking that plan, as fun as it seems to you now. First of all, the Navy sets these guest limits for good reasons, like safety and so that everything runs smoothly. I would speculate that too many guests per Sailor would make the logistics of passes, cars and shuttles more difficult. (For instance, only one green parking pass is issued per Recruit) It makes it more fair to each new Sailor too. FYI: some of them seem a little dazed and unable to make decisions that first day, they are so used to being yelled at and/or told what to do every minute. You don't want to stress him further. They are often pretty wiped out on Fri afternoon!

If he isn't Grad and Go, he may just want to stick close to the hotel after PIR, shower ALONE, sleep, check his FB/email/messages and eat. My son wanted to rest, go see a movie, eat and call/text some friends back home. We spent most of Sat in Chicago and some of Sun visiting with family nearby. He will probably have to be back at a predetermined time each night. Wait and see what he wants as you get closer to graduation. PIR IS an awesome, unique experiance though. You can have him order the DVD of the Ceremony when he orders his official Navy photos (about week #4 in BC), so that anyone who can't come can still see it later. We wish him all the best! God Bless. =)