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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.

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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

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Follow this link for OPSEC Guidelines:

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RTC Graduation

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.

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Grad & Go Info

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A place to ask questions or give answers to those who have recruits that are a G&G or who may be a G&G

Members: 144
Latest Activity: Aug 16, 2023

When I heard my son may be a Grad & Go, I had a ton of questions. The first one was: What the heck is a Grad & Go?? Now that I've experienced it, I wanted a place for N4M users to come and post questions and hopefully get some answers. Every recruits experience will be slightly different, but there are lots of "norms" that we can share with you that will answer a lot of questions. Remember, there are no stupid questions!

So, what is a G&G? It's a recruit that leaves boot camp before PIR weekend is over to travel to their A-School. They usually fly out on a Saturday, but occasionally on a Friday. This means a limited time to visit with them when you come out for their graduation. Some G&G's are just moving across the street because their A-School will be at GL (Great Lakes). If they are required to move over before PIR weekend ends, they are called a G&G. These two types of G&G's can be quite different, each with it's Pro's and Con's. If they have A-School in GL, but don't move over until after Sunday, they are not considered a G&G.

How do we plan our travel if we don't know? I can only share what others have shared with me. Most everyone made plans as if their recruit was not a G&G. That's what my family did too, and we loved our decision. We flew out Thursday, flew back late Sunday. We enjoyed our Sailor until he flew out Saturday afternoon, then we went and checked out the Chicago area on our own. If you are driving, it's a little easier to change hotel plans a few days before, but flight changes cost $$.

Can we meet them at the airport? YES! The Navy uses all three local airports (O'Hare, Midway and Milwaukee) to transport new sailors to their A-School city. You are allowed to meet your new sailor at the airport and visit with them there. You can even request a special pass from the ticket counter so you can go through security with your sailor and sit with them at the gate! "Most" airlines allow this and they do this free of charge for military families/friends, as long as you have an ID and if your sailor is there with you. You can have a lot of fun at an airport (great food too)!

What if they tell us they are on a Chartered Flight? The charter flights are cheaper for the Navy to use than commercial airlines, so they may be using them more and more. The cost of the flight is pre-determined by the exact weight of everyone and everything onboard. This includes the recruits' seabags. If the parents were to meet the recruits to hand off laptops and other items, now the weight of everything aboard has changed and that may not allowed. Because it's a chartered flight, obviously no one is allowed to go out to the plane to meet their recruits as the plane is not at a regular gate. I know it sucks for the families, but the transportation is all about cost efficiency and isn't concerned about families unable to meet the recruits. This made sound harsh, but the Navy is like other departments in the goverment and needs to keep costs down. New Sailors are not allowed leave and do not have to be granted liberty after bootcamp. Yes, it is customary to receive Liberty after bc, but just know that it's not a right, it's earned.

SEND YOUR RECRUIT THE G&G QUESTIONS POSTED IN THE DISCUSSION AREA TO THEM NOW SO YOU WILL KNOW THE INFORMATION BY PIR DAY!

Can we give them their cell phones? That depends. If you are meeting them at the airport (whether you pass security gate or stay in front lobby), then YES, you can give them cell phone, ipod and even their laptops (don't forget to pack all the chargers/cords!). As long as they can carry it onboard the plane, they can take and keep these items with them at A-School. They "check" their big 55lbs sea bags in with the airlines, so they have no carry on except their manilla envelope (their orders). If you had too much fun shopping at Gurnee Mills Mall that weekend, they are allowed to have a small backpack or gym style bag - but be sure it's a solid dark color (Black or Navy Blue), free from adornment if possible. If they are a G&G over to Great Lakes for A-School, they can have these items AFTER they are processed into that base. In other words, once they call you to pick them up after moving over, then you can give them their "toys". I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, but it has been noted by many recent N4M members that those who are a G&G to Great Lakes ONLY, and that move over to A-School on that Friday right after PIR, only those families they are allowed to keep their new sailor with them all weekend. Once they have actually completed the move on Friday (takes 5-7 hrs), you can pick them up and have them overnight for the entire weekend!!! They may have to muster (roll call/check in) over the weekend, but otherwise they have liberty. There is NO OTHER situation that I am aware of that allows a new sailor to stay away overnight after PIR. Those who are G&G's that are flying out that weekend are NOT allowed to stay overnight with their family, they must go back to RTC (boot camp) that Friday night.

The HARD FAST RULE IS: Your new Sailors can't bring anything back with them to boot camp. They are considered to be in bc while they remain on the RTC (Recruit Training Command) side, even if they have already graduated. Handing them money or a debit/credit card is okay, because they are allowed to have their wallets at boot camp, but you can't give them their cell phones or anything else if they have to report back to boot camp that night. Wait until you see them at the airport!

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Comment by Dustins_Girl (Ship 10 Div 251) on July 31, 2010 at 11:07pm: Ok so it took me a while to getting around to posting this, but I have some input for this topic as well. When you go to drop your sailor off on Friday night, leave EARLY. An hour may not even be enough time. Everyone else is trying to return their sailor at the same time so there is going to be a LOT of traffic. I went to drop off my man and we got there 45 minutes early and traffic was 2 miles long. I ended up having to get into the far left lane and drive up to the stop light in front of the gate and he had to hop out and hot foot it to his ship. He wasn't allowed to run because it was raining and he was in his whites. So keep this in mind when you are schedualing your time for the day. Even if you get on base early, you can hang out in the church parking lot until he has to leave. Better safe than sorry. :-) Good luck to all the rest of you!

Comment by Lydia (For B - The Sea is Ours) on July 30, 2010 at 9:52pm: BunkerBee - my hubby says Im cheatin on him with the N4Ms hahaha !!!

Comment by BunkerQB on July 30, 2010 at 9:41pm: Hubby? You mean the lonely looking fella who hangs around, overlooking my shoulders saying with a long face, "Are you on N4M again? "

Comment by Deborah (CTT son) on July 30, 2010 at 5:59pm: Mother Hen aka Sobe Enjoy you deserve it!! We will miss you but we also realize that time with hubby is important !!! Have a wonderful time!!

Comment by SOBE,PIR 6/4/10 IT Mom, Italy on July 30, 2010 at 2:03am: I promised my hubby I would take a weekend off and go spend some time with him at the coast (Brookings, Oregon), it's about a 3 hr trip. But I also cannot take my laptop or use my blackberry (another promise I made!). I've got almost 30 yrs invested in this marriage, so I need to remember he is first, but just know that N4M is a very close second.

There are over a 100 members on this group now, so I know if anyone has questions, there is a lot of seasoned moms who can answer. Have a great weekend, I'm out for 3 days - unless I sneak into the business center at the hotel -but will be back Monday.

Comment by SOBE,PIR 6/4/10 IT Mom, Italy on July 26, 2010 at 5:07pm: I heard from a lot of moms in PIR 7/23 that their G&G experience was a good one (those who had kids NOT on the Chartered Flight!). One mom did not know that her son was a G&G over to Great Lakes A-School (across the street), so she was TOTALLY surprised that she got to have him the ENTIRE weekend (yes, overnight too) and that just made her day! Thought we needed some good news on this page!

Comment by SOBE,PIR 6/4/10 IT Mom, Italy on July 26, 2010 at 12:22am: Bubbasmom - that's the spirit! You have the right attitude, plan for the least amount of time and you just may be pleasantly surprised. You are now the official spokeswoman for G&G's!

Comment by Bubbasmom on July 26, 2010 at 12:03am: Thanks, Sandy . But, so far, I actually think he's not grad & go... At least his division is not. The PAO told me his division was not. And my son has not told me anything. So, I am planning as if he is not, and we will just go from there. It doesn't matter to me - if all I get is to see him graduate and squeeze him one time, or if I get to see him for three days... I just want to see him!! :)

Comment by Sandy's_sailor son on July 25, 2010 at 10:12pm: Bubbasmom. That sounds like a good idea to me. You never know how much liberty time you will get with your sailor. Maybe you will have lots of time, even though he is a grad & go.

Comment by Bubbasmom on July 25, 2010 at 10:09pm: FYI: I called the number below (PAO) a few days ago also because someone in another group had posted that they got definitive info about their recruit's G&G status. The gentleman that answered was very polite, but he did tell me that he could not give me specific information about my recruit. He could only tell me whether his division as a whole was designated as G&G. My son is division 271, the first division in the PIR group, so I was thinking it would be G&G. However, the gentleman at PAO told me that my son's division was not G&G. He did say that that did not mean for sure that my son was not G&G. I still haven't heard from my son whether he is or not - he either doesn't know yet, or just keeps forgetting to answer that question... :) I'm just planning my trip with all options open. :)