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Comment by Alvarez02 on November 12, 2012 at 2:22pm

I want to thank you all and Craig I am not usually a big cry baby. I have not let my daughter see it in my letters but I know that this is what she wants to do I will always back her in her choices. Will we be getting information from boot camp to be able to have them travell home? I will be there until Christmas eve so does this mean she can fly home with me? Thanks again everyone and I'll write more later

Comment by Craig on November 11, 2012 at 5:50am

Alverez - Here is some important info for you:

http://www.navyformoms.com/forum/topics/stand-down-at-christmas?gro...

From the commander of the TSC (Great Lakes A school).

"This is Captain Lintner, the CO at TSC. I have approved the leave dates and they are 21 Dec - 6 Jan. All students must be back in their barracks by 2200 on the 6th. Sailors do not need to wait for approved leave chits to book flights. Unless they end up in a disiplinary status, they will be granted leave for the holidays. All students will have the option to take the entire leave period. Those graduating from boot camp after the 21st will be allowed to depart on leave after graduation and will still be required to be back by 6 Jan. The ITT office on base is the easiest place for your sailor to purchase tickets but you can try any airline. We have busses going to Milwaukee, O'hare and Midway so you can choose your airline. Buy early to get the best deal. Encourage your sailor to use the MWR buss to the airports. Its the most painless way to get there."

For those with PIR of 12-21-12 he said "The graduating class on the 21st will go directly on leave after graduation. The rules are a little different at RTC but I believe they will be allowed to be on leave until the 30th. They won't check in to TSC until they return from leave."

Of course your SR/Sailor will know more about this as it gets closer.

Comment by Craig on November 11, 2012 at 5:21am

Nate's - I hear you, men are programmed to hide their emotions from birth, it seems like.  God knows why.  

Alverez - I'm sorry if it came across to "suck it up", believe me, that was not my intention.  Everyone needs someone to vent to.  Women will always be on the same wavelength.  Likewise, men can more easily talk to other men. Then there are sailors like me that try to keep everyone on the same page, and sync'd up to understand each other and explain why the Navy does what it does.  My main focus is to help recruits to have the best time in boot camp and transforming their lifes.  

The best place for support, besides your own homie's here in the Colorado section, is her daughters PIR group.  That is where you will find out exactly what is going on in your daughters ship.

Your daughter will be in the Holiday PIR group in boot camp.  If you need help understanding what you will need to do to get your daughter home (to Denver) after PIR, just send me a private message.  This topic will also come up very soon in your daughters PIR group section. 

Again, Congrats to you soon-to-be freshly minted sailor!

Comment by Nate's mom on November 10, 2012 at 6:54pm

Awesome video, alvarez02, were here to help you stay positive and help you through the bad times, men can't relate, they r told to suck it up, we won't tell you that. Friend me and we can meet for coffee.

Comment by J-RockyMtn on November 8, 2012 at 12:01am

Craig - the photos and video are awesome!  Thank you for posting.

Comment by Craig on November 7, 2012 at 11:28pm

alvarez - I'm a guy so I don't have the same emotions as you women.  However, I did want to say, what made me totally comfortable is I knew exactly where my son was every night.  There was never a second guess.  I actually got the best nights sleep once he went to boot camp.  None of this 2 am in the morning stuff.  Plus I knew he was in good hands....    Your daughters life begins now.  I know you're proud, and you should be.  The Navy is an awesome place for people to be now.  

Seriously, start focusing on the positive things.  You will soon realize that for 18 years or so you have been the "referee" in your daughter's life.  You were the rule setter and the penalty enforcer.  But as your daughter's life changes, so will your's.  You will now become the "cheerleader" for her.  You will watch and cheer as she works her way through the advancement system, the qualification standards, and simple things like just folding her towels correctly.  You will stand and scream at the PIR as her division enters, and you will cheer as her ship enters San Diego or Norfolk after a deployment.  I have decided it is far more important for me to be a cheerleader than a referee.  Don't waste your time on the sadness, focus your feelings on the positive things that will help your daughter...Just a suggestion...

 

May I also suggest you not bring your sadness into the letters you write.  She has a lot more stuff on her mind than to worry about than the sadness you're feeling.  Keep her focus.  Praise her.  Keep her motivated   Yes, your 1st letter you will get will say "What have I done, I want out of here"... this is normal, a lot of kids say that.  But they will soon realize that the quickest way out of boot camp is just to complete it.  By the time the 6th week comes along, then you'll get letters like "This isn't bad, we actually had a great time today".  Just keep her motivated  keep her focused, and tell her how proud you are of her.  You gave the Navy your daughter, and in 8 short weeks they will return a mature and capable young woman.  She will have the foundation to be a leader, and she will have ability and knowledge to be a successful person in life. 

I want you to watch this video by Ollie North.  Play it a couple times.  It is not only enjoyable, it is riveting!  Talk about making a kid self sufficient!  Woo-hoo, I love when recruits become sailors.... It makes my day! 

 

 

I love the last part..... GO NAVY! 

From Life Magazine Oct 28, 1940

 

Comment by Craig on November 7, 2012 at 11:26pm

There also seem to be a lot of newbie here.  Just want to make sure everyone knows that you probably want to join your sailors PIR (graduation) group here at N4M.  

You can find it at this link: 

http://www.navyformoms.com/forum/topics/groups-listed-by-pir-date

Secondly, if you want to know what your sailor is probably doing day-per-day, go to this link:

http://www.navydep.com/forums/showthread.php?t=433

Comment by Alvarez02 on November 7, 2012 at 9:07pm

Hello everyone. I am a single mother who lives in the Lakewood area and would like to meet up with any groups that get together. I am in school but am usually off by 2pm. I have a 18 year old daughter that is now in boot camp and will be graduating in December. I miss her so much because she was the one there to listen to me and help me through things. How does everyone handle the separation? I'm trying but sometimes I go to bed crying. Ths has been very hard for me but I would hold my children back from what they want to do. Thanks for listening. I have a band concert to go to. I'll get back on tomorrow.

Comment by CO-TwinSalorsMom on November 7, 2012 at 2:11pm

Got my call at 1:30 AM (2:30AM chicago time) Brief, to the point but did ask how thing were going and his reply "as expected".  Look forward to the next step, the letter.  I sent him off with a card and a 3 page remembrance of being his Mom for 18 years looking back on his life from day 1.  He loved having that to read in route and said it would be hard to put that in the box. Something for those of you who are waiting to send yours off to consider.  Glad I did.

Comment by Pam- Jared's mom on November 6, 2012 at 11:37pm

Laurie G-

I am a teacher so I'm not available days, but I'm free evenings and weekends.  I'd love to meet for coffee and to hear more about what your son does.

Pam

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