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 as of 11/10/2022 PIR vaccination is no longer required.

FOLLOW THIS LINK FOR UP TO DATE INFO:

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.

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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DEP-Leavin' for bootcamp in December

Information

This group is for N4M members that have a loved one leaving for bootcamp in Dec..I will leave the year open so that even future Deppers leaving in the month of Dec of any year can join...Lets share stories, information, concerns, and questions

Website: http://www.navyformoms.com/group/deppersinbutnotyet
Members: 521
Latest Activity: Oct 2, 2022

Hello everyone and welcome to the Navy!!! This Group was started for the loved one of DEPPERS leaving in the month of December (although everyone is welcome).......What year you say? Well ......any year!

If you have December ship out issues/questions etc., need specific information, (or have some to share) or just want to talk to someone that is where you are, with a Recruit leaving for and arriving in BC in December, ...then this is the place to be. :-)

Remember, don't "miss 'em while you're with them!" :) Make the most of every precious moment together before they leave. This will be a big transition for both of you! We'll be here for you every step of the way...
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Things to do in the last month before your future sailor leaves (Click on the link.)

Once your recruit has arrived at RTC, the next stop here is to join the group Boot Camp for Moms (and loved ones) Hangout and ask questions in this group until your form letter arrives.

***New news just out today (9/25/19) from the US Navy Recruit Training Command FaceBook page:

Attention families and friends of RTC: Previously, upon arrival to boot camp, recruits would box up their civilian belongings and ship it to their choice of destination. Our new procedure now has those boxes being stored locally and will be returned to the recruits the day before graduation. The new procedure went into effect this week beginning with Div. 409 in Training Group 52.

Approx two to three weeks after your recruit arrives you will receive the "Form Letter". The form letter will include their Ship# , DIV #, their mailing address, PIR date, and the Security Access Form. The Security Access form needs to be completed and sent back to your recruit ASAP. Keep this letter in a safe place, it has the information you will need.

The date that is on the form letter is the official date for your Recruit's Training Groups PIR (graduation), Things can always change for an individual Recruit (due to illness, injury, failure to pass a final test etc.)! So, we always recommend that you plan, if possible, to purchase Refundable or Exchangeable plane tickets.

After you have received the form letter, join the group for your recruits PIR. There you can ask questions about PIR, training, hotels etc.Those groups will be posted in the Boot Camp for Mom's group.

Thanks for joining us. We hope you will realize you are not alone, and will soon make new friends, plus feel supported and encouraged! :)

**It is very important that your future Sailor be physically fit prior to shipping to the RTC (these are new standards beginning 1/1/2018) and that he be able to pass an initial run test. See Navy Sets New Physical Fitness Standard to Start Boot Camp. "The initial run standard is evaluated on the 1.5 mile run of the first Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) at boot camp. The initial run standard for male recruits will be 16 minutes 10 seconds and 18 minutes seven seconds for female recruits."

Discussion Forum

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You need to be a member of DEP-Leavin' for bootcamp in December to add comments!

Comment by Arwen on November 21, 2012 at 1:57am: My apologies for the mistake on the Great Lakes student sailors. They keep changing the rules, and sometimes it is hard to keep up with the current state of affairs.

Comment by MountainMama(ship3 div081) on November 21, 2012 at 1:18am: Wow, things have changed since my son's PIR in 2010. Still I would have crawled over broken glass to spend 20 minutes with him.

Comment by FireTeamLeaderWife aka FTLW on November 21, 2012 at 12:41am: Those new Sailors that will be attending A school anywhere other than GL have Liberty PIR day and usually leave Saturday. They are bussed very early in the morning no matter what time their flight is at. Then yes you can spend the time with them there.

On ocassion though some do not fly out until Sunday. It doesn't happen all the time. It did to me as my son PIR'd on Memorial Day Weekend. We had a Thursday PIR. But, I have seen it happen on a regular ol' PIR.

Ocassionally, some are held at RTC, sometimes for a week. They are "on hold". It can be for various reasons. Their A school might not be "ready" for them to arrive yet. Sometimes they have a medical waiver to finish clearing up. If this happens though, the most Liberty you would get with them would be PIR weekend.

You may not find out when your new Sailor leaves until few days before PIR...and that's IF they get to make another call home. So, lots of times it is the day of PIR.

What we (the veteran moms on the PIR GROUPS) advise (ONLY if it fits your pocketbook and time wise) is to try and stay until Sunday. Of course, that is something you would discuss with your Sailor and based on what you can afford.

I did happen to book through until Sunday knowing that he would most likely leave on the day after PIR.I just figured I'd rest or sight see! He called while I was flying over on Tuesday to let me know he had extra liberty! We were very lucky!

Comment by lemonelephant on November 21, 2012 at 12:36am: FTLW, I'm glad you caught that one. Yes, those who stay at GL do have daytime Liberty each day of the weekend following PIR and can be picked up each morning (times have been anywhere from 6:30 to 8 am), but must stay within 50 miles of the TSC and return in time to be in their barracks by 10 pm (so we say drop off around 9:30).

Also, there is no "A" School in Houston; there is one at Fort Sam Houston, near San Antonio, for HM, and that may be what Arwen was thinking of.

Comment by FireTeamLeaderWife aka FTLW on November 21, 2012 at 12:28am: Unless they have changed something, those newly Graduated Sailors attending GL TSC for A school have off-base liberty on PIR weekend. They have been for quite some time. After PIR while they are at Phase I Liberty, they will be restricted to on-base Liberty during the training week. They will have off-base Liberty on non-training days. There are different hours depending on wether they are on first or second shift for school.

Here is the link to the Abridged Phased Liberty Policy Training Support Center Great Lakes

Comment by Arwen on November 21, 2012 at 12:04am: Also, the last I checked they no longer give a whole weekend of liberty to newly graduated sailors. They get Friday with the family, then fly out Saturday - unless they are attending a Great Lakes A-school.

Those who attend A-school at Great Lakes will have on-base liberty Saturday and Sunday. Family can come on base to visit, but the sailors will not be allowed to go out the gates.

If your sailor is going somewhere else, such as Pensacola, San Diego, or Houston, you might be able to spend part of Saturday at the airport with them. Sometimes they fly out on charter flights and take a bus straight to the plane, other times they are assigned to a civilian flight and have time to kill at the airport. The USO has a lounge at the airport where sailors and their parents can "hang out" while waiting. Once they get to their A-schools, they will get on-base liberty for the remainder of their weekend.

Personally, if they had this policy when my son was there, I would not have gone. I would have saved my pennies and visited him at A-school for a three-day weekend instead. But that's just me. Most people consider PIR to be a once-in-a-lifetime event not to be missed. I've just been through too many of them to care anymore.

Comment by lemonelephant on November 20, 2012 at 11:57pm: Lita, what will his rating (job) be? There are groups on here for most of the ratings and/or "A" Schools and those within those groups would be able to tell you how ship and shore duty has worked for their Sailors.

Comment by lemonelephant on November 20, 2012 at 11:55pm: Lita, count 9 Fridays and then know that it can be the week before or after depending on how his division fills. You will only know the PIR date for certain when you get the form letter.

Comment by lemonelephant on November 20, 2012 at 11:52pm: The Navy Gateway Inns & Suites is located on the main base, about 1.5 miles from RTC. Only those with military IDs can access the base to stay there. http://dodlodging.net or 1-877-NavyBed (1-877-628-9233).

The Navy Lodge is located 1.9 miles off base from RTC and guests of graduation are allowed to stay there. https://reservations.staydod.com/hotelSearch.do?action=View&pro... or 847-689-1485.

Comment by Arwen on November 20, 2012 at 11:50pm: Oh, and for the holidays, my son was there for 10 weeks, so yes, it does affect their training schedule.