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Comment by blm on April 10, 2012 at 12:09pm

zStratM--thank you for all the valuable info!. I am constantly amazed by the amount of help available on this site! Thanks again to all the veteran moms!!

Comment by FireTeamLeaderWife aka FTLW on April 10, 2012 at 12:07pm

That's wonderful hendersonc! Woo-Hoo!

Comment by hendersonc Ship11 DIV 134 4/27/1 on April 10, 2012 at 11:35am

@diannep...Yes the letter was dated April 5th which was Thursday. Im so glad she passed both parts of the swimming because that was her biggest struggles. She said she did 61 sit-ups, 22 push ups, and of course ran her 1 1/2 under 15mins. She said they had 3 inspection that week and she got a 5.0 so im not sure if thats good r bad(lol). She said they did the shooting range also and got the rest of their uniforms. She said she want be getting set back so that was a big plus for her(lol). That made me so happy because i was worried to death(lol).

Comment by Katheeh (07/129 PIR 04/27/2012) on April 10, 2012 at 10:43am

Good Morning Everyone! Well, I've gone into "planning phase". Trying to make our trip to GL the best it can be for our son.  In his last letter home he's requested Italian or Chinese food for his first meal out....researching restaurants in the area.  Anyone from the area have suggestions?

Comment by diannep on April 10, 2012 at 8:27am

henderson:  So glad that she is doing so well!  When she wrote the letter, they must have been starting training week 5 which means she has just 2 more weeks of training.  BattleStations are done on 6-5 (week 6/day 5) and then they are done!  Final tests will be coming up soon for them.  I know she will continue to do well!

Comment by diannep on April 10, 2012 at 8:24am

Welcome back, zStratMom;  We have missed you on the groups!

Comment by zStratMom on April 9, 2012 at 11:17pm

**GATE PASSES @ AIRPORTS**

To spend time at the airport with your SR, you need one of two things.

(1) If you are departing from the same airport on the same day, your own BOARDING PASS will get you in. Life usually isn't that simple, though, so you'll likely need to use #2.

(2) Air Carriers (American, Delta, etc.) have long issued GATE PASSES for a family member to spend time at the gate for special circumstances. For example, a parent taking an "unaccompanied minor" to a flight, or when a senior (like my grandmother) flies. Military departures fall under this category.

You obtain your GATE PASS from the ticket counter of the Carrier your SR is flying on, and YOU NEED the Carrier and Flight info, along with your SRs name, in order to obtain the pass(es).You will also need to show photo ID.

The easiest way to get your gate pass is to MEET the group of Sailors at the terminal BEFORE they "check in" for their flights and obtain their boarding passes. The Navy transports whole groups of Sailors to the airport by bus. (Be aware, this could be at 2 am!!) In my case, the bus was scheduled to depart GL at 6, so we estimated they'd be at Midway around 7. It just so happened, a USO volunteer was assisting the group through the process of checking in. I don't know if this always occurs, but if you can be there during this time, as soon as all the Sailors got their boarding passes, all the family members were put through the check in line to obtain their gate passes. Another advantage of going at the same time as your sailor is that Midway put the military members and the family through a shorter security line.

If you miss this "mass check in," simply go to the ticket counter and request the gate pass for your sailor and provide the flight info. You will need to go through security, just as if you were boarding a flight. Off come the shoes, empty your pockets, take laptops out of computer bags, etc.

IF YOU DRIVE to the airport (personal or rental car), here's another hint. The parking structure at the airport charges a higher "per hour" rate. Elect to park at one of the "long term" parking lots just down the street. The daily rates there are cheaper than four hours at the airport lot. They will drive you to the airport and pick you back up, and if you tell them you're visiting your SR, they keep your vehicle at the front of the lot for your convenience.

Comment by zStratMom on April 9, 2012 at 11:16pm

**PERSONAL BELONGINGS UPDATE**

I've been pinged regarding WHAT personal belongings we can give our SRs.

Your SR can NOT have these items while still attached to the recruit command. Review the posts regarding the "how/when" to get belongings to your SR, based on whether the A-School is AT Great Lakes, OR if your SR will travel to another destination for A-School. Remember, if he or she is traveling, you will have to transfer the belongings AT THE AIRPORT before or after they check in. If you miss them before check in--the OPTIMAL transfer time, you will have one more chance. The second opportunity involves transfer at the gate. Once you get your gate pass, you will need to take the belongings through security screening--this means the items have to be in a "carry on" state. Passengers CAN check additional bags at their GATE; often, with very full flights, passengers are invited to check bags so the overhead compartments will not be too full. Take this as credible from someone who has earned over a million frequent flyer miles.

Once in A-School, they can HAVE the items (they may need to "lock" them up until able to use). For my son who stayed at Great Lakes, we only brought electronics (laptop, cell phone) and no civies. He purchased boxers at NEX on first day of liberty, and then a minimum of civies after the 3 week mark for when they were allowed to wear them.

For my son who flew to A-School on Saturday after PIR, we DID bring a suitcase and his electronics (laptop, iPod, etc.). Because he will be at his A-School for several months and it would be costly to ship, I packed a modest "starter" wardrobe of civilian attire. If you decide to do this, think about your SRs wardrobe preferences and the regional climate of their A-School location. What this entails will be different for each SR and their destination. The key is to NOT overpack. In addition, I had an extra, brand new seabag that I packed into the suitcase--and the suitcase was one I was willing to discard if need be. I know he will be able to use the second seabag when he transitions from A-School to the NEXT destination. Additionally, I included a TSA lock. These are locks the airport security have a tool to open if they want to search a bag. Often your SR will use a master lock, and if TSA decides to search the bag, they will cut the lock off.

Almost ALL air carriers are good to our military and don't charge them for extra bags. However, our SRs can't abuse this or the support could change.

Comment by zStratMom on April 9, 2012 at 11:16pm

IF YOUR SAILOR will be DEPARTING for A SCHOOL at a DIFFERENT LOCATION:

Start asking your sailor at about two weeks BEFORE PIR to pay attention if they are given their orders and travel vouchers. Sometimes, they have them before Battlestations and can give you info on the “I'm a Sailor!” call--a HUGE help for planning. SPECIFICALLY what you want them to look for: The DAY/DATE of their flight (Fri? Sat? Sun?), the CARRIER (American, Delta, AirTran, etc) and the TIME or FLIGHT #. If your sailor doesn't know this, you'll just need to bring their belongings and be prepared to bring them back home with you. My son did not get his orders until after battlestations, so we were unsure if we would be able to transfer his belongings.

Typically, the Navy will transport whole groups to the airport (and they spend HOURS there, waiting for their flights!!). In our case, my son's flight was Saturday, from MIDWAY (note - you can look up the airport, if you have the info from the orders that I suggested in paragraph 1; they might be O'HARE). A large group of sailors transported via bus to Midway, arriving about 7 am. YOU WANT TO PLAN TO CONNECT at the point where they are waiting for check in (OPTIMAL); you CAN connect later, but it's easiest if you can meet them first at this point.

The USO had a gentleman that coordinated their check-in in groups. While waiting for check in, we transferred all his belongings. NOTE: They have with them: a seabag, a garment bag and their black back pack. I had packed for my son: a "roll-aboard" sized suitcase that unzips to expand the size to fill in more stuff (then it becomes "checked" baggage) and a computer bag. WHILE he was waiting for check in, we transferred his orders and check in vouchers to his computer bag, emptied his water bottle, repacked his back pack into the suitcase. NOTE 2: In the suitcase, I actually had a second seabag, in case he had to transfer all his belongings into it and only check Navy issued stuff. THAT WAS NOT NECESSARY, the airline wasn't even concerned). Ultimately, he checked: Seabag, Suitcase (with back pack inside), Garment bag; and only carried on his computer bag. AFTER ALL THE SAILORS have checked in, the USO coordinator put all the family in the line and we got our gate passes so we could go into the terminals and spend time with our Sailors. YEAH! The USO at Midway was much smaller than O'Hare, so we took our Sailor for "brunch" and bought him a new book for the flight, visited, etc. Then we left to catch our flights from O'hare. GREAT TIMES, folks, take advantage of these.

Comment by zStratMom on April 9, 2012 at 11:15pm

IF YOUR SAILOR has A SCHOOL AT GREAT LAKES:

After liberty is called at PIR on FRIDAY, you have a short interval of time to visit. They have to report back to their ship, and "transfer" or report in to their new location off the recruit command and on the actual Great Lakes base [*See note below regarding planning how to meet up with your sailor!!]. Your sailor will go through an orientation and be assigned to their new barracks. THEN, they will be granted liberty--unless they have watch. Most often, they will know if they will have to stand watch in advance, AND most often if they have family coming, they are able to trade with another sailor. By this time, it's going to be around 4:00 or 4:30 in the afternoon. You will be able to meet them ON BASE at their barracks location to sign them out for liberty. During THIS liberty (or any liberty over the weekend), you may give your sailor his / her personal items (civies, electronics).

*A SCHOOL @ Great Lakes - ONE MORE NOTE: When you're visiting with your sailor between PIR and their CHECK IN to their new "station" on base, MAKE A PLAN for how you will meet. IF YOU HAVE a rental car, you can not take it on base without a military or dependent ID. So the best place to meet is the Great Lakes (not RTC) Visitor Center parking lot (there's a visitor center and small museum at this site), just outside the MAIN gate. NOW you can give them a phone! Once you give them their phone, it will be easier to connect.

They will have set liberty hours. In our case, I had flown my DIL and my son's two children (3 yr, and 4 mo at that time) out with us. BECAUSE he had dependent family he would not see for another several months, he was granted liberty for the WEEKEND and came with us to the hotel. A GREAT option if you have this scenario is to select a hotel, such as the Residence Inn, that has two bedrooms, a living room and kitchen. The livingrooms have sleeper sofas, and the kitchen makes it easy to handle the needs of the kids.

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