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Comment by LTLY on August 17, 2010 at 11:46am

Good morning everyone! Sobe, JessicaB, dianne, or anyone...tell us about the meet and greets. Are they always held at the Ramada? Who cooridinates it (I am assuming we need a volunteer from our PIR group)? When is it? Give us some ideas on what to expect and such...Thanks!

Comment by wvsuzanne (PIR 8/13 nuke mom) on August 17, 2010 at 10:40am

Hi! I'm from PIR 8/13. We just had the best weekend of our lives with our new sailors and yours is coming! :)

Here is the link for the PIR 8/13 group--

http://www.navyformoms.com/group/pir8132010

It's a large, wonderful, and chatty group. Feel free to ask us questions about our experiences now that we've been all the way through boot camp and graduation. We'd love to help you in any way we can. (And we love to talk about our sailors, LOL.)

Have a great time at your PIR!!!!

Comment by Jimmy's Mom Ship 06 Div 946 on August 17, 2010 at 9:45am

Davis, it was great to hear that your son is doing so well. I thought it was strange to get a call yesterday but I am glad I was home to be able to give him the information he needed. My son is also on ship 6/div 946 and it is amazing to see what a difference a week makes. He sounded awful during the first phone call but by this last weekend he sounded like a new man. He went from hating it to saying he loved it there and that it was a great experience. He even called his div "a Family". He said that the guys in div 946 were working together to make sure no one was left behind. What a joy it is to hear such good news. I would love to hear from other moms who have a son or daughter in Div 946. 44 days and counting :-)

Comment by diannep on August 17, 2010 at 8:45am

Good morning, ladies! Hi SOBE and Jessica! Thought I would drop into our newest PIR group and say WELCOME! Jessica and I were in the same PIR group (until my son was asmoed (setback) for a week). She reached out to me when my son was setback and I was freaking out. I didn't find much info at the time on that, and although she didn't know either, her compassion for me and my son's predicament just warmed my heart. It was then that I realized that we all need to share with one another and drop back to help others when we can.
PAY IT FORWARD, as Jessica and SOBE always say. SOBE is another one who as you all know is WONDERFUL! Her son graduated a few months after ours did, and she jumped right in there to help. The three of us LOVE doing this. I started 2 PIR groups, the last one just graduated. I have to tell you...I LOVED it. To watch these ladies change from fearful and anxious to being so confident and proud during the course of their PIR period....wow. It is an experience like no other! I was like a proud "mama" of all of them!

Anyway, both Jessica and I have sons who are now stationed. SOBE's is in school. So we are all at different stages in this. But the one thing we have in common is this...we have very willing hearts, we LOVE to research info and share what we find, and we are here for you all!

If anyone has any questions, please ask. We all have different opinions on things, but would like to share all of them so you can make your own choices.

Hotels? I loved Residence Inn-Waukegan. Wonderful...and free hot breakfast too? Great for large groups (2 bedroom-2bath, full kitchen, also 1-bedrooms)
Shuttle or Car to PIR? Shuttle from Residence Inn was wonderful, quick, and easy! $3/pp each way, you sign up when you check in (go on the earliest one).
MeetNGreet? GO! We missed ours and regret it.
GradNGo? Be sure to go to the airport to spend more time with your sailor before he/she leaves for school. We didn't do this...didn't know it was an option at the time. Regret it very much.

Welcome, Ladies, and know that you are still in the very hard part of bc. The lack of communication, the screaming and yelling going onwith your recruits, the confusion and discouragement....it all gets better. We are here to be your cheerleaders....coaches....whatever....to get you all through this.

Go on the PIR8/13/2010 group if you get a chance and read some of their posts since they just graduated this past Friday. This was such a vibrant group of ladies....so creative, so gung ho....and many have shared their PIR experiences, including posted pictures in that site. It will help you to keep your eye on the prize....PIR! It is SO SO worth it when they get there....

Good luck, ladies! hooYAH! (chant of the Navy...get used to it and use it often!)

Comment by TashaShip04Div821 on August 17, 2010 at 5:35am

Sandy - Thanks for sharing your experience! That was so beautiful. It even brought tears to my eyes just thinking about the day I get to reunite with my husband. Even more so now I cannot wait.

Comment by pastorMom on August 17, 2010 at 1:09am

Hi, Moms,
I got a call and the form lettter today. My son called this morning to say he needed his drivers license sent back to him that he had sent home in the box. He couldn't talk just "send me the license and hurry"! He did give me his address, but then this afternoon I got the form letter. He is Ship 13, Div. 328, PIR 10/1 which is earlier than I thought it would be. Becky, I wonder if he is your son's friend from Pendleton. However, there is another recruit from Pendleton too and the Div. is different. I am sorry that things didn't work out for your son. You will be in my prayers. Thanks for being there all of you.
PastorMom

Comment by LTLY on August 16, 2010 at 11:42pm

Sandy and Becky have my tears flowing.
Sandy, thanks for sharing, it really does help to hear about the reward to all this heartache.
Becky, I wish your family the best!
Prayers for all N4M's tonight.

Comment by Sandy's_sailor son on August 16, 2010 at 10:31pm

Hello Ladies, my name is Sandy and my son just had his PIR 8/6/2010. It was one of the most joyful and memorable experiences of my life.-- Second only to my marriage and births of my children.

Here is how our day started.
We all had breakfast early 6am. We took a taxi from the Ramada in at 7:30. We arrived on base at Great lakes at 7:40. Everyone 12 and older had to show a photo ID. We then walked with the rest of the families to the Hall. The Hall where the PIRs are held is huge. When we entered the building we saw the bleachers to the left. Luckily we knew where to sit because they were marked with our division number. I don't want to spoil it for you by telling you too much. I will say that as soon as all our Sailors marched in, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Even my husband had tears in his eyes. As our sailors took their positions in front of the bleachers, We were looking for our son. We could not see him. They all looked a like in their Dress Whites.LOL. After the beautiful ceremony. A ladies voice came over the loud speakers: Now here this, Now here this, it's Liberty time!!! Everyone ran off the bleachers to find their sailors. We decided to play it safe and sit for a minute. After the smoke cleared, we walked towards our division to find our son. I looked at all the sailors and could not see him. Then I heard his voice. He had been standing only 6ft away from us. He was my son, but so different. Ok, maybe it was the BC glasses, but my son had been transformed in just 8 weeks into a United States Sailor.

If I could say something that would help you all through these 9 weeks it would be this: I wouldn't trade this whole experience for anything. I lived through the dreaded "Kid Box," The no calls for weeks, all the ups and downs of boot camp.
After the first 4 weeks the time will go by very fast. Remember, no news is good news. It really helped me to write lots of letters.
Good luck on your journey
Sandy.

Comment by SOBE,PIR 6/4/10 IT Mom, Italy on August 16, 2010 at 8:27pm

Security Clearance calls: Some recruits are instructed to call home to ask you for addresses, phone numbers, etc. so the Navy can complete the security clearance they will need to enter A-School after boot camp graduation. Not all recruits will be calling home for this info. The recruiters back at home do a good job, but the Navy needs more! Your recruit will be calling on the Navy's dime and the area code will be "847" but it won't say "pay phone" like normal calls home will. Some Moms will wish that there kid would call for more info! USUALLY, "No news is Good news", so not hearing from your recruit often is a good thing, but please remember not to get worried if you get one of those calls requesting info for security purposes.

Comment by t. :) SHIP 6 DIV 946 on August 16, 2010 at 8:09pm

Hi All! After reading these pages since my son left 8/4/10 finally decided to join
in. I have already gotten through the sad days after that first Sat. call and heard how miserable my guy was. Now I am so proud after this past Sat. call to hear how well everything is going. I guess 1 week to adjust wasn't so bad. I also got a call today because he needed more info. for security clearance. What's that all about? He is in Ship 06 Div 946 and says the group is doing really well. Can't wait till Oct. I know its only been about 2 weeks but it feels more like a year.

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