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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.

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

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**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

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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.)

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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 September

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

Website: http://www.navyformoms.com/group/deppersinbutnotyet
Members: 601
Latest Activity: Sep 3, 2022

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

If you have September 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 September, ...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 Fitness Standards"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 37 seconds for female recruits."

Discussion Forum

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

Comment by FireTeamLeaderWife aka FTLW on September 5, 2011 at 6:41am: We'll be looking for the mom/wife/GF etc who will be interested in creating the 10/28/2011 PIR group. Probably someone who's recruit is arriving between 09/01 - 09-06 to RTC to be on the safe side. So ladies if it is something you think you'd be interested in...friend me and send me a message.

Comment by jacketfan24 (corpsman mom) on September 5, 2011 at 6:21am: Today is the day. The recruter called about 10pm last night and told him that the time had changed. Rather than get there at 10am he wanted them there at 4pm. We are having big breakfast with family and some of his close friends at Cracker Barrell this morning; it was supposed to be just before we dropped him off, but he still wants to do it with the time change since we found out so late.

I am sending him with an old backback with a change of clothes for tomorrow as well as travel sized toiletries. We picked out old clothes that he didn't care about so that he can donate everything, shoes included. The only thing he will send back will be his phone, but after reading this I am thinking that maybe he should at least wrap it in a shirt to protect it.

I did put a calling card with a list of phone numbers and a couple of addresses with it. I like the bandaid idea and I also think I may add a few stamps.

Banditos mom...good luck today and tomorrow also. Hope we both make it through!

Comment by Arwen on September 5, 2011 at 3:17am: No toiletries. Anything they need (female supplies), they can purchase in the NEX. Like tiny bottles of shampoo, toothbrushes, anything they bring will be thrown away, then replaced with "Navy issue" versions of the same thing. Sometimes they ask recruits who had unused items to donate them to the USO for stranded servicemembers' use.

Send her with nothing but the clothes on her back, her cell phone, wallet (with the items already discussed), and maybe an iPod. My son brought his but never used it. He discovered he was travelling with a bunch of others who were about to go through the same thing, so they talked a lot, trying to predict what was about to happen. No matter how much veteran moms like me pass on, there is ALWAYS a surprise, something the recruits didn't expect.

I sent my son with a backpack with a single change of clothes, his phone and iPod. The backpack got thrown away (or donated, I'm not sure) because it wouldn't fit in the box. I'm just glad it was the tacky blue pleather backpack the Navy gave him in the first place. The rest came home in the box.

One recruit who arrived at the same time my son did made a very different decision. He wore old, worn out tennis shoes, a ratty t-shirt, and holey jeans. No phone, no iPod. Instead of shipping a box home, he just tossed it all in the trash, saving himself the $15 shipping fee.

Comment by Diana(PO3/IT3) on September 4, 2011 at 4:20pm: Such great info ladies! I so appreciate the sharing. One more Q: what about toiletries? For the girls especially - like tampons, etc. I know they can't bring full sized items. Just curious what to bother sending with her in the backpack that will be sent home with what she wore, cell phone, purse, iPod for flight, etc....... Thanks. ~Diana

Comment by FireTeamLeaderWife aka FTLW on September 4, 2011 at 2:38pm: They may also have a small Bible. Buy I believe I read somewhere that one would be provided upon request. The band-aids are a great idea...they get blisters sometimes...new boots...marching.
Target has AT&T phone cards. Mine was 600 min.I got lucky...it was on sale for $20...normally $30. Make sure it is activated first. The first call eats up 30 minutes so it's good to get one with a lot of minutes if you can. Some moms photocopy both sides so they can add minutes for their recruit.

Comment by Bandito's Mom on September 4, 2011 at 2:14pm: His decision on the phone. His current one is pretty expensive and they didn't want to risk anything happening to it. Thanks for the info about the cash, will remind DIL about the addresses and secret note.

Comment by Arwen on September 4, 2011 at 12:59pm: Why get a throw-away phone? My son's phone made it back to us just fine. When they put all of their clothes in The Box, they have them separate the battery and phone, and put one in one shoe, and one in the other, in order to protect them during shipping. iPhones (battery doesn't come out) are simply turned off and placed on one shoe. I haven't ever heard of a phone that was damaged or lost in this process.

Recruits are allowed up to $25 in cash, and yes, they can keep it while in boot camp. They simply put it in their wallets.That money is mostly good for the trip to boot camp. There really is no opportunity for them to spend it while in boot camp. When they go to the NEX they don't get to shop. They are given a list of items to purchase, which are charged to their accounts. Any recruit who purchases something not on the list is punished rather harshly, even if they are using their own money. Sometimes the whole division is punished for one recruit's infraction (they are supposed to police each other).

Often, the wallet is the only thing recruits end up keeping when the box is filled, so make sure there is a list of addresses and phone numbers, a few band aids, and a secret note in that wallet. I also included a self addressed, stamped envelope with a "fill in the blanks" letter for him to send home. He's not much of a writer, I figured I would learn a lot more about what is going on that way than if I let him simply write home.

Comment by Bandito's Mom on September 4, 2011 at 11:40am: DIL got a "throw away" phone at Target with $2 daily charge phone card. Still have to get a old fashioned phone card for him to use during Bootcamp. Should he travel with some cash? Will they get to keep it on them in BC?

Comment by Diana (Proud Navy Mom) on September 3, 2011 at 11:14pm: When I went to my son's swearing in he had the flight time, number and airline listed on his orders he was carrying around with him. Also, the Control Desk at MEPS has the flight info at the desk.

Comment by jacketfan24 (corpsman mom) on September 3, 2011 at 10:06pm: Ty's Mom...glad your SR got there safely. Diane...not strange. Mine is not packing up his room like many of them, so his things will still be there. Not so much a shrine, but I want him to know this is still home until he makes a real one elsewhere.

Family gathering tonight went well. Bittersweet. We are all emotional, but holding it in. He still wants goodbyes said at recruiters, or really more at home before we take him, so no MEPS and swearing in for me. He's very sensitive, and I think he wants to focus on his future and not how upset I am. I can understand that. I will be okay. Also getting him trial sizes to take; I guess I do need to get a cheap bag to put them in. I may have a backpack that he can donate so he can carry a few things.

Bandito's Mom...glad the tattoos went over well. I actually went and got the real one today while he was home to go with me. Wow, it hurt. My daughter and son in law, SR, and my husband all went. Kept the day light and not so serious.

Will keep everyone in my thoughts the next few days as we all go through our journeys!