Welcome to
Navy For Moms

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

Add an Event

**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:

Graduation Info
PDF – 2.7 MB
PNG – 2.3 MB
JPG – 3.4 MB
Printable PDF – 2.0 MB

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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Great Lakes A School Q&A

Information

The purpose of this group is to allow family of new sailors assigned to school at Training Support Center Great Lakes a chance to voice questions to a Student Division Commander

Location: Great Lakes, IL
Members: 2332
Latest Activity: Mar 12

Discussion Forum

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Comment Wall

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You need to be a member of Great Lakes A School Q&A to add comments!

Comment by Phoenixmom on August 1, 2017 at 10:53am: Thank you LindseysMom for that great information. It is so nice to know that answers can be answered with everyone knowing so much. I am so excited! and the family will be so excited. his nephews and nieces will jump for joy as he was so loved by them. Favorite Uncle I guess you would say! Thank you I hope all works out so this can happen. fingers crossed. Thanks again!

Comment by Phoenixmom on August 1, 2017 at 10:40am: Good Morning Ladies, so from reading all of your messages, Our sailors will be able to come home for the Holidays if he/she puts in for it? How do we fing out for sure and is there a specific mile frame it has to be? I live in Phoenix, AZ and it is about 1400 miles away and about 31/2 hrs away. please advise so I can get to writing to make sure he puts in for it. Thanks Ladies all news is good news much appreciated.

Comment by ellen0502 on August 1, 2017 at 4:00am: LindseysMom, Holiday stand down during A School is a whole different ball game. Sailors are encouraged to make a trip home. All Sailors requesting leave must put in a chit. That chit also includes travel. Most if not all are approved.

Comment by Allison on August 1, 2017 at 3:48am: This was at Great Lakes as well just to be clear. My husband chose to save his leave since he was detatching anyway about a week after it started, he thought it would be a waste. Anyway, is true they cannot go more than 300mi on liberty; however, they can go further on leave. Leave is hard to get approved in A school without special circumstances like a family emergency, but during stand down, they are approving leave requests :).

Comment by Allison on August 1, 2017 at 3:41am: LindseysMom the base will go on stand down around Christmas. This past year, there was two shifts to choose from for the students, each shift was equal to about two weeks with some overlap between them. It's best to have the chit ready to turn in as soon as they announce the stand down dates and start accepting them to make sure it gets approved and they get the dates they want. I think they announced it about a month beforehand.

Comment by Tffytat on July 27, 2017 at 11:54am: Anti M- Thank you so much for attaching the liberty phases. Great info!

Comment by Anti M on July 27, 2017 at 10:16am: Great Lakes is actually two bases in one. RTC is boot camp side, and TSC (Training Service Center) is the other side. They do not intermingle.

Being on hold before A school is very common. Almost everyone does it, some much longer than others. They can also wait between different portions of A school, before C school if they have one, and even waiting for orders after school in a few cases. They are given work to do, have duty, and other general training.

Here are the liberty phases:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/training-support-center-tsc-great-la...

Comment by Allison on July 27, 2017 at 9:39am: Sailors that for whatever reason were able to graduate but cannot transfer will wait on ship 5 in the Temporary Holding Unit (THU). During their stay they can use their phones, wear civilian clothes after time, and have some liberty, but mostly they will help escort the recruits in separations, clean, and stand watches. Usually sailors seem to be sent to THU for minor medical reasons or administrative errors from those I talked to. Holds on the TSC side of Great Lakes where A school is will also spend a lot of time cleaning and standing watches, but they can start advancing through liberty phases which is nice. Sailors in A School are usually on hold because they are waiting to fill a class.

Comment by CherylG on July 26, 2017 at 9:41pm: Yes as soon as PIR is over they go back to their Ships pack up and they bus them over to TSC check into their new barracks, there's a meeting then they have limited liberty the rest of the weekend.. Must be back at barracks no later then 10pm I think..its actually great we spent the whole weekend with my son.. Way more time then if they are shipping out to another A school.