Son leaving for boot camp April 13th

[SaltyM]

Hello our family is completely new to military life. My oldest son will start his new life April 13th. I’m glad there is a group that I can learn from! 
Thank you! SaltyM

[Northwoodsmom]

Welcome SaltyM, you will love this site. The ladies are so compassionate, they will give you insight on what to expect and encouragement when your feeling overwhelmed. It is the only way I made it through Boot camp for mom's.

[Chipmunk]

Welcome SaltyM - There is a lot of information on the main Boot Camp Mom group page, and there are videos to watch as well. 

Enjoy the last few weeks before your son leaves. He may take a wallet, his cell phone and charger (they no longer send these home, so they are stored at RTC - Recruit Training Command, until after PIR.), a prepaid phone card, some stamps, a very small notebook that would fit into a breast pocket, which you may put addresses and phone numbers in for him. Some short encouraging notes. They can buy stationary at the NEX, but I did send a folded SASE with one small sheet of paper in it for my son. They may also take a small pocket sized Bible. They had some military New Testaments at our MEPS.

While the SR (Seaman Recruits) may purchase a phone card at the NEX, I managed to find one for my son at our CVS Pharmacy, I think. Wal-Greens may have been the other location. They are difficult to find and you need the ones for pay phones, not a cellular phone. But I had my son set the phone card up and his PIN, etc. before he left for BC so he knew exactly how to use it, and it was already activated so he did not loose time being able to talk on the phone trying to use it.

They will use their cell phones to call home when they arrive at RTC, and after that they may have a phone call around 3 weeks, some will call around 6 weeks and then they will call after Battle Stations - BST-21.  I would also suggest you ask your SR to call you once he lands in Chicago. It will be the last opportunity you have to talk to him and knowing he is on the ground is helpful. He/they will be looking for their bus to take them to RTC and depending on many things, the "I made it" / "I arrived call" will be very late in the evening or possibly early morning. It is a scripted - 30 second or so call that may sound like a recording. I just kept telling my son, "I love you" and didn't really hear what he said, but it mostly was telling me I should hear from him in about 3 weeks.

The first couple of weeks or so until you receive the form letter with his address and PIR information is the hardest few weeks you may ever go through - the not knowing and uncertainty of what is happening is hard to handle as a mom. We say though, "No News is Good News" because that means they are staying on track. Some do call home for needing extra information.

Other things to do before he leaves is to make sure all bank accounts are in order and that you are either on as a joint account holder, or you have the proper POA - Power of Attorney paperwork filled out that his specific bank wants, and if you are not a joint account holder that he has beneficiaries listed on his accounts. This is not to instill fear, this is to have things organized and ready if he is unable to handle things. 

Make sure his taxes are done and any payments or refunds are taken care of. 

We opened a Navy Federal Credit Union account for my son in addition to his other bank account. There are some benefits, one being they will do the Direct Deposits and put it in a day early. (The first check will take over a month though to arrive - info is on the main BC Mom page.) But there is an Early Start savings certificate that they can set up. It is only available if they have their check going Direct Deposit. We have a branch here locally and I went in with my son when he set things up and they were very helpful.

Come here often, especially on the main discussion page and share your thoughts, feelings, concerns, joys, and questions. We are here to help you as best as we can. We are all volunteers in various stages of military life as Moms, or other loved ones. 

[belovedbyHim]

First things first.....New Moms.... Take a Deep Breath in....... Let it out...... Take another one......... Let it out....... Repeat continuously!!!  Just keep breathing and it will all be OK!! We haven’t lost a mom to Boot camp yet, we won’t start with you.

If your Recruit has not left yet: have him leave you a voicemail message so when you just can't stand it you can hear their message (Over and Over and Over, Just don’t listen to it till after they've been gone for 24 hrs. You’ll know when it’s time.), Sneak a note of encouragement in their wallet and ask them to leave you a note at home so you can find it there. Also have them call as soon as they lands in Chicago. It will be your last "Visit" until the call home around week 3. They store their Cell phones at RTC so make sure they have a charger and or a battery back up.

Now on to P-Days and what the first few weeks may hold.
Day of Departure/ MEPS/ Flying out-- After they Swear in (You can attend this ceremony) they will be transported to the Airport to fly to Chicago (unless you live close by in which case they are bused.)You can go to the airport if you want.  They are not "Bonding" just yet, they may not even see the sailors they shipped with again at BC until PIR. Shortly after arrival they will make the “I am Here Call” This usually comes Very late at night or Early morning (Ours came at 1:30am Mountain time) It is Scripted and they are not allowed to vary what is said. You can read the script in the boot camp files but I advise just talking over your SR (Seaman Recruit) and telling them you love them and are proud of them and you KNOW they GOT THIS and OH Yeah… You LOVE THEM!!! Don’t expect an answer but know they will have heard you!

The Processing Days.
P1 begins the Day of Arrival and continues through the night and into the next day. So If your SR (Seaman Recruit) Swore in on Tuesday then Wednesday counts as P1. As you count the P-days DO NOT count Saturday or Sunday or Federal Holidays—Those will be P-Hold days. In My example it would look like this P1- Wed, P2- Thurs, P3- Fri, P-hold- Sat & Sun, P4- Mon and P5- Tue. On P5 they take the initial PFA (Physical Fitness Assessment). (It can be P-4 if they are in a Push Division) Assuming they pass the PFA They will then move into their Ship (Berthing space).

This is Phase 1 of boot camp which begins when recruits first arrive on board RTC. The new recruits will begin filling in their paperwork; they are given further medical and psychological evaluations and receive their inoculations; and receive an initial set of PT gear; are interviewed; and will be assigned to a division. When P-Week is over, Boot Camp officially begins. Phase 1 can be as short as 4 days to as long as 2 weeks, but are seldom over 11 days. (See Arrival and What Happens at RTC and https://www.mypoints.com/emp/u/videos.vm.)

This marks the transition to Training Days. Usually denoted as W1TD1 (Week 1 Training Day 1). This is the day that they fill out the form letter that gets mailed home. That letter is collected and mailed the next business day (Remember we do not count Sat, Sun or Holidays). Usually that letter arrives home between 14 and 21 business days since departure, HOWEVER there are reasons it may be delayed. If they didn’t pass the initial PFA, If they were on P-hold waiting for others to join to fill the Div/ TG, If they were waiting on paperwork….. If Ma Navy was just not feeling it that day…. Lots of reasons that are NOT cause to panic. It is hard but Repeat after me.... No News is Good News!! Again... No News is GOOD NEWS!!!  Repeat daily, hourly, Minute by minute as necessary!! The Form letter will give you the address and PIR date!! Time to start making plans!! I know how hard the waiting can be but calling the recruiters is not advised. They may have the wrong address and letters sent early may not arrive in a timely fashion since the Mail Petty Officer has to be trained and until that happens mail is set aside to be sorted later and sometimes that later is MUCH later!! This is honestly the hardest part of Boot camp! Your emotions are still raw from letting go of your Child and knowing that for better or worse they will be changed by this experience (even those who don’t complete it are changed!) and add to that the Communications Blackout that is imposed and it can be quite overwhelming but trust us that they know you love them, they feel your prayers and you will get a chance to send letters!

Around week 3 you will get the first call home. They may be homesick and there may be tears so be prepared and be strong. (You can come here and cry later, to quote my favorite wizard…”I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.”  It’s ok to cry about missing your baby, even if they are mostly full grown!! (We are over 6 years in and I still cry on occasion—Navy Mom Allergies!!!) It does not mean you are weak or not proud!!). The call can come on ANY day of the Week at any time from 9am-5pm Central time. Calls will not come on Sunday Mornings but they can come any other time. Keep Phones charged and ringers on LOUD at all times while they are in BC!! Answer all Calls!! Yes telemarketers may call but you can hang up on them!! You don't want to risk missing a call from your Recruit!  Keep a notepad handy of all the questions you want to ask so you don't forget!

In the meantime while you are waiting through the “Great Silence”, write letters!!! Write all the Letters you can! Take all the raw emotional letters and save them for a BC burning/shredding party at the end of BC and get ready to send positive and encouraging letters. There is a whole file here on letter writing. Read all you can and watch the videos “The Making of a Sailor” videos to get an idea of what your SR’s are going through.

This whole experience is a huge roller coaster of emotions. We have been where you are now and we know what you are feeling. Just remember you are stronger than you feel… You raised a young Man or Woman who was willing to put duty to country over self. They are strong enough to take on this challenge because they were shown strength from home! You have raised the 1%!! Be proud of that and welcome to the Family!!