This site is for mothers of kids in the U.S. Navy and for Moms who have questions about Navy life for their kids.
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.
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:
**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:
**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:
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.)
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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.
Visite esta página para explorar en su idioma las oportunidades de educación y carreras para sus hijos en el Navy. Navy.com
When Will the Recruits be Paid?
Your Recruit must be at RTC for at least 3 full weeks prior to a pay day in order to be paid because it takes a while for everything to get entered in the system, but be assured, your Recruit will receive the pay from the day he/she was sworn in at MEPS on the way to RTC. There have been times when the pay has been deposited on a pay day that was just over 2 full weeks after the recruit's arrival at RTC, but that is not consistently the case. If that happens, then be pleasantly surprised.
Pay days are the 1st and the 15th, but those who choose to have the pay directly deposited into a Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) account will see the deposit a day earlier—we have been seeing that direct deposits with some other institutions are also deposited a day early. The pay is directly deposited into the account of the Recruit's choice. Your recruit will have the opportunity to set up an allotment to pay a bill if he/she took the account information to do so. If pay day falls on a weekend or holiday, the deposit is made on the previous business day. Here are some examples of when others have received that first deposit in the past: arrived 8 March – deposit 31 March (this Recruit must have chosen NFCU or the 1st was on a weekend), arrived 2 December – deposit 1 January, arrived 28 May – deposit 1 July, arrived 20 May – deposit 15 June, arrived 3 September – deposit 30 September (this Recruit uses NFCU).
Recruits and Sailors don't get pay stubs. Their LES (Leave and Earning Statement) is online at https://mypay.dfas.mil/mypay.aspx. The mypay account appears to be set up by the recruit at some point during the first week or so of BC. (See Understanding The Navy LES. How to Read a Military LES gives a line-by-line guide to reading the LES.)
It will take 3-4 pay days for the pay to settle at what will be the norm for your Recruit/Sailor. Pay days are the 1st and the 15th and they will be paid half of their monthly earnings on each pay day. Remember that state and federal taxes are taken out as well as the premium for life insurance (SGLI, which is about $27 a month). The first few deposits are not the same because the first deposit is prorated from when the Recruit first arrived and that deposit and/or the next one will have deductions for the NEX card (Recruit Card) the Recruit is issued to use for the things for the Sea bag and things that are needed at BC ($150) and for uniforms. Note that they get a uniform allowance, so money is put in and then taken back out for the various uniform parts, but the uniform allowance and the charges for the uniform may not be in the same pay cycle. (http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/support/uniforms/uniformregulations/Chapter1/Pages/SeabagActive.aspx gives the cost of the items in the Sea Bag and the amount of the allowance. The 2018 info can be found in http://www.military.com/benefits/military-pay/allowances/clothing-allowances.html.) The pay depends on your recruit’s rate and recruits are paid at their contracted rate even though they are all referred to as SR at RTC until PIR. Some have indicated that all money on the Recruit Card needs to be used while at RTC since the card may not be able to be used at other commands.
2019 US Military Basic Pay Charts can help you with the current basic pay. The Regular Military Compensation Calculator will help to compute pay BAH and BAS based on the information entered.
If something happens and a Recruit is sent home, s/he will be paid for all of the time s/he was at RTC from the time that s/he was sworn in at MEPS on the way to RTC.
Medical coverage for Recruits begins as soon as they swear in at MEPS, as does life insurance. (I suggest that you continue medical coverage until your recruit has PIR because it may be difficult to add him/her back on if something happens. Check with your insurance company to see what is best in your case.) Dependents are also covered under medical from day one. The Recruit must enter them on Page 2 (NAVPERS 1070/602 - Dependency Application/Record of Emergency Data) and get them enrolled in DEERS (Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System). This happens about a week or so after arrival at boot camp. (MILITARY SPOUSE INFO gives more info.)
Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) gives info on the "meal allowance" that your recruit/Sailor will receive. In BC the BAS is paid directly to RTC. At some Schools/commands, that amount shows up in the LES and then is deducted and paid to the galley even if the Sailor seldom or never eats there. It is important to know that because the Sailor will be paying for food s/he never eats if s/he eats at other places frequently. (There are other links on that site that you may want to check out as well.)
Military Compensation--Allowances will help you to understand each of the allowances.
Anything that ends in allowance or includes allowance in the name is non-taxable. Anything that ends in pay is taxable. BAS, BAH, and FSA are all non-taxable. Base Pay, Flight Pay, and Sea Pay are all taxable
Additional Information for Spouses
MILITARY SPOUSE INFO has information for you.
If your recruit calls and asks you to send a copy of your photo ID, driver's license, and/or marriage license, send copies, not the original. The recruiter or someone at MEPS will need to certify that the copy matches the original document so be sure to get that "stamp" and signature before sending the document/s.
BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) does start from day one, but you may not see it in the accounts right away. Some have seen it deposited in the first or second pay and others have not received it until after the Sailor has left boot camp. It may depend on whether the dependents were listed prior to leaving for boot camp or were listed for the first time at RTC. BAH will be for where you are located while your spouse is in BC and school. Once your Sailor is out of school you are expected to move with him/her, and if you don't, BAH will be for his/her duty station.
You will get separation pay once your recruit been gone for 30 days.
You need to know your spouse's full name, social security number, DOB, rate (rank/paygrade), and contracted rating (job/specialty). It is also a good idea to keep his/her contact information with you.
Your spouse will send you a completed DEERS Form 1172-2 (https://www.pdffiller.com/jsfiller-desk4/?projectId=216358289&expId=3776&expBranch=2#a9422112716f47ff9de221695ccfc143) in the second week or so after arrival at RTC. (Look for it around day 12-20 based on reports from spouses.) It will have all the information you need to get your Military Dependent ID at the nearest military base to you (it does not have to be a Navy base). You should call ahead to verify the hours or check https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/rsl/appj/site?execution=e3s1. You may need to make an appointment online at *https://rapids-appointments.dmdc.osd.mil/. You will go to the Visitors Center at the base. They will give you a temporary pass to get onto base and will tell you which building to go to to get your ID made. You may also be able to register your car if you intend to use this base for shopping and/or services. If there is not a military base nearby, there may still be a location near you where you will be able to get your ID.
For your ID, make sure you take your marriage license, social security card, and your drivers license. (If you don't have one of those, make sure you take at least 3 government issued ID's; like passport, ID card, green card, etc.) They will take your picture and make your ID while you wait and then give it to you before you leave.
You are enrolled into Tricare Standard for medical if it is needed from the time your spouse had you entered into DEERS or from the time of his arrival at RTC if you were entered onto his Page 2 prior to arrival at RTC. There is a yearly deductible and a co-pay for each visit to an approved civilian provider. You can stay on Tricare Standard or go to Tricare Prime when you get your ID card. For Tricare Standard the policy # is your spouse's Social Security #.
When you get your Military Dependent ID card you can go and enroll in Tricare Prime, where there is no cost to you; but it does not start immediately. If you enroll prior to the 20th of the month, you will be covered as of the 1st of the next month. If you sign up after the 20th, then it doesn't start until the first of the following month. You will then be assigned a primary care manager (PCM) to go to. If there isn't a base near you then you can go to a civilian provider.
Your tan Military Dependent ID card authorizes access to commissary, exchange and certain morale, welfare and recreation (MWR) privileges on military bases. Your Military Dependent ID serves as your insurance card when seeking health care.
See http://www.tricare.mil/DEERS/ and http://www.tricare.mil/Welcome.aspx for more information.
Defense Finance and Accounting Service may have information you need.
Protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), formerly known as the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act (SSCRA), is a federal law that provides protections for military members as they enter active duty. It covers issues such as rental agreements, security deposits, prepaid rent, eviction, installment contracts, credit card interest rates, mortgage interest rates, mortgage foreclosure, civil judicial proceedings, automobile leases, life insurance, health insurance and income tax payments.
You may be able to receive a lower interest rate on your mortgage and/or on credit cards effective on the date that your recruit was sworn in at MEPS and was then enlisted in the US Navy. Check with your creditors and find out what proof you need to provide--sometimes providing a copy of your Military Dependent ID or of your spouse's Military ID or his/her enlistment papers is enough. There are also protections for renters (you don't have to pay a fee if you have to break a lease due to military orders among other protections). There are other protections as well and the Supreme Court has ruled the SCRA must be read with "an eye friendly to those who dropped their affairs to answer their country's call." Military legal assistance attorneys are available to provide guidance on the SCRA. (See http://www.military.com/benefits/military-legal-matters/scra/servicemembers-civil-relief-act-overview.html.)
There is a mobile app. "New to the Navy", that may be helpful in answering questions you or your spouse has. There is more info at http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=92264.
There are others who can answer questions for you within Girlfriends, Fiances,and Wives of Sailors and NAVY WIVES ON N4M.
If you have a young child and would like a book to help explain about Daddy (or Mommy) being away at boot camp, then check out Hooyah Daddy!!: My Daddy's in Navy boot camp Kindle Edition available from amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CXIQ54G?*Version*=1&*entries*=0.
If I have used a term or abbreviation that is unclear, What does ??? mean? (A Guide to Navy Abbreviations and Terminology) should help; if not, please ask because if you have a question, someone else most likely does as well.
*If you cannot open https://rapids-appointments.dmdc.osd.mil/, click on Tools within your browser and then Internet Options, then click on the Advanced tab, then under Security, be sure that Use TLS 1.0 is checked and then click Apply. You may be able to add the exception after clicking on the link.
The above information is provided by lemonelephant, the mom of a retired Sailor.
Last updated 06/10/2019
Comment
osubuckeyegirl, yes. After Boot Camp you will be able to drop him from your policy.
Our son is still covered under us until he is 25 years old. Is insurance something that is just done?
Shetootall, that is strange. You can check with your nearest military base--it does not have to be a Navy base.
lemonelephant Section V is covered with computer generated X’s so there is no room to fill the information in on my own. I’m assuming I was sent the wrong 1172-2 but his division changed so I can’t write to him until I get the form letter.
Shetootall, he should have completed Sections I and II. Most usually at least fill in the names in Section V, but some don't. You can fill in Section V.
My spouse mailed me the form 1172-2 but I’m not listed any where on it. Is that how it’s supposed to be or do I need a new form?
Kelz89, you are very welcome.
Lemonelephant thanks for replying! He did take his bank deposit info with him.
Kelz89, yes, it is very possible that the first pay you will see will be the 15 January pay date, which may be as early as 12 January. That is because your recruit will have just been at the RTC three weeks on 1 January and with the days off for the holidays, his info may or may not have been entered in the system in time to be paid on that date. Hopefully he took his bank info so that you will have access to the direct deposit.
Hello,
My husband just left for bootcamp on the 11th and I’m a little stressed about upcoming bills. If he left for bootcamp on the 11th of this month will his first pay not be deposited until January 12th?!
ismenia, in order for you to be added as a secondary dependent, your son must be providing more than one-half of your actual living expenses. It requires proof of this. See the info in https://www.dfas.mil/militarymembers/SecondaryDependency/SDC.html.
Thank you lemonelephant! I've been referencing this for the past month- very helpful!
rootie, you are very welcome.
Asia, you are very welcome.
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