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Comment by diannep on October 29, 2012 at 7:52am

Good Morning Ladies.  Just a reminder again that they are really enforcing the "no entry into RTC if your name is not on your sailor's list" policy.  Another lady posted last night that this past Friday, her mother in law's name was not on the list (they only had 3 names) and she was not allowed in.  Told to return to the car.  So the mother in law's son stayed behind with her and missed the ceremony too. 

Again, if possible, we ask that you bring your extras/people not on the list to share time with your sailors after PIR.  This same lady posted that they were announcing that if you are not on the list, get out of line and return to your car.

Comment by sheila.Momship2,951 on October 29, 2012 at 12:00am

Still praying for Brett and his family.!

Comment by ProudMom on October 28, 2012 at 9:50pm

Some more advice for graduation weekend if anyone would like it :)  This is mainly for those with sailors staying at Great Lakes.

A couple of thing that would have made it easier for us..  There is a .90 cash only toll every time you come off and on of Hwy 94 to go to the base. (We stayed in Gurnee)  It is unattended and they don't take dollars so bring some extra change.  So we went through that toll and supported the Great State of Illinois about 10 times over the course of the weekend!  

Our daughter stayed at Great Lakes so she was transferred to a different part of base.  After graduation we "heard" although didn't know for sure that anytime between 2:30-5:00 they were released for liberty.  You need to go to Gate One by the Navy Museum to pick them up.  Some parents were waiting at the wrong gate.  There is a place to stay inside the museum to wait or you can wait in your car but if you are like us you are so anxious to see a glimps you stand right out by the gate in the cold freezing.  She did call around 3:00 but we didn't know for sure if she would be able to call (she couldn't take her phone at graduation) so we waited in the cold and we got there about 2:30.  She was released about 4:00.

Lastly when they are picked up (for us Sat & Sun am)  you need to go to their ship with them to sign them out.  They walk up to the gate (about a 20 minute walk)  You can drive onto to base if they are with you in the car if you have your gate pass from graduation.  So the best arrangement is them to walk to your car (same place Gate 1) get in the car, go through the gate with your sailor in the car (make sure you have id's and auto insurance papers and graduation pass) go to the ship, sign them out and drive back out.  You can also do the same when you drop them off.  We didn't do this the first day because we didn't know you could drive on with the graduation gate pass. So we wasted about an 45 minutes walking.  Driving also gives an opportunity to look around a bit..but we didn't go more than 3 blocks from her ship..but we were able to find the galley, the NEX, the fitness center and the bank with her.  At least she could get her bearings.  

I hope this helps!

Comment by ellen0502 on October 28, 2012 at 7:27pm

Reminder, We cannot post BS dates here on N4Ms. This site follows the RTC guidelines and OPSEC, and BS is considered ship movement.

If you have information on dates, or need information on dates please message diannep, she is keeping track of those.

Comment by diannep on October 28, 2012 at 2:41pm

TxNyukeMom:  HA, not an expert, but have been following the BattleStations in the groups long enough to know there are some guidelines!  :-)  By the way, although BattleStations for a PIR group normally start on Thurs night a week before PIR, we have seen them start on Tues or Wed nights, as this group experienced.  Tues night is highly unusual though because normally the previous PIR group is still going through that night and they usually don't mix the PIR groups in BattleStations (other than adding individuals from FIT who are now ready to complete BattleStations).

Comment by diannep on October 28, 2012 at 2:37pm

To the person in the 11/02 FB group giving out the BattleStations info:

Although they can do just 2 divisions (brother divisions) at a time, they can also do 3 (800/900 division with a set of brother divisions) or 4 divisions (2 sets of brother divisions...happens often).  I am actually surprised that they just ran 2 divisions a night last week for a PIR group of 13 divisions.  If they continue with that number per night this week, even with 3 going one night, they actually may not finish until Thurs morning (if they don't go tonight...they don't always go on Sunday nights).  Yes, although it doesn't happen often, they do sometimes run a PIR group's BattleStations through Wed night (use to happen more often than it does now)---calls on Thurs afternoon. 

I have been keeping BattleStations schedules since early in 2010, and use to be able to post them in the BattleStations discussions on the PIR pages during bootcamp.  RTC had us stop doing that about a year ago--wanted the ladies to practice OPSEC during bootcamp and to consider BattleStations as "ship movement" ....so now I post the dates after the fact in the BattleStations discussion groups on the PIR sites.  Please feel free to go back through the PIR pages and pull up the schedules in the discussion group and you can see how they go.  You can find the "alumni" PIR groups just by knowing that most Fridays had a PIR...just plug in that PIR's date.

My advice?  Phones handy starting tomorrow afternoon and continuing each day until that call comes.  If you think your call will come on your travel day, I would suggest that families in flight with phones off may want to change their voicemail greeting to greet your new sailors and ask that they call back and leave many messages.

Comment by daizygirl72 on October 28, 2012 at 11:58am

Katy thank so much for that information, I saved it in a folder to share with my family. It was incredibly generous and helpful. Thank you!!!!!

Comment by Lala Ribbon Queen PIR Ribbons on October 28, 2012 at 10:06am

I agree 100% Diannep, My daughter did BS on a Sunday night :-) And both of my Sailors cringe when they see some of the info that is posted on Facebook and other sites. I have had moms send me private emails about their recruits getting in trouble for something they posted on facebook and I have had some whose Sailors have come to them after PIR and made them delete all their facebook accounts and pages. The last thing a Sailor wants is to be called into an office and be reprimanded for something a family member did. I think most of them just don't realize the harm that can be caused.

I was able to meet a fellow Navy Mom and her daughter for dinner last night and we had a wonderful time. They were a delight and have such an amazing family and lots of wonderful family stories. :-) Her son will PIR with this group 11/2 and I know she is super excited to go to PIR.  I am sorry others could not join us because of the storm and other things going on but we will meet again next time I am in VA Beach visiting my Sailors. 

Comment by diannep on October 28, 2012 at 8:14am

Good news, sheila!

Thanks for posting here, Katy!

Ladies, I heard about some FB info being posted  re: BattleStations.  This info is incorrect so I wanted to correct it.  They never do BattleStations on Fri or Sat nights...they have Captains Cup on Sat morning so this may be the reason why.

Also, they do sometimes have BattleStations on Sunday nights.  Yes, it is their day of rest, but they go on Sunday nights at times. 

True, they do go in division order....however, in the 10/19 group, there must have been a training delay with the first two divisions and the next two divisions went before them.  So there are exceptions, just not often. 

Please read the BattleStations discussion I posted above for more info--here's the link:

http://www.navyformoms.com/group/pir562011/forum/topics/battlestati...

A further caution about posting BattleStations specific info on "private" FB pages:  It is forbidden by RTC.  It is very possible that one of your SRs' RDCs or a friend/family member of theirs is on your group....seeing this info....and your last names are exposed there....SRs can get in trouble for what you are posting if it is info received from your SRs.  Please, FB ladies, follow rules that RTC has set out for all social media sites....that is, not posting of prohibited info.  As is true with N4Moms, if you want to private message BattleStations dates on FB with one another, no problem.  Please do not be posting them on the page though. 

Good Morning all!

Comment by Katy - Sailor Salty Mom on October 27, 2012 at 10:43pm

More:

Sailors staying in Great Lakes have to check in to their new station right after graduation before they can leave with you.  Many were not able to leave until 3:30 or 4 (it may be even longer since this is such a big group).  Be sure you have a way to communicate with your sailor so you know when they are finished and ready to leave (phone card or cell phone).  Some parents waited in the cold for hours waiting for sailors to come out since they didn’t plan to communicate with them first. Good news is that they will have liberty Saturday and Sunday. (If you want a nice natural peaceful place to go, I suggest the Chicago Botanical Garden.  It is about 30 minutes from the PIR and is quite beautiful and has a nice cafeteria to eat.  It was cold, so bring gloves and scarf.  Your sailor will have gloves and a huge lined overcoat.)

A note about the pictures, the “A package” include some very big pictures and frames 2 X 1.5 feet…and small frames.  If your sailor ordered pictures, be prepared to carry a stack of frames and photos.  I wish I had some strapping tape with me to keep the boxes together.  The large pictures/frames will not fit in a carry-on, and you may need to strap them together for easy handling or bring a large suitcase to get them home. Luckily we brought a big case, that was half empty.  Even then, some extra clothes will be in a small carry-on, purchased at WalMart.

My daughter was able to receive her phone right after graduation, and kept it with her (turned off and out of sight) until we were off base. We went to the mall and had a late lunch/early dinner.   Her bus to the airport left at 1am, she was told by her RDC that parents should not come to the airport, but that is not true. The USO and airline were very helpful.  We met her at USO at 8 am and her flight was at 1 pm.  After meeting her we went to ticket counter to get a gate pass.  No problem at all, just need to have your photo ID.  We were even able to go through the priority lane for security. At the airport, she could use her phone and we brought her computer to her.  All the sailors were exhausted since they didn’t sleep Friday night, but it was good to spend those last hours with her.

Congratulations to all the new sailors and to the navy moms who survived being away from our children for 8 weeks.  Enjoy every minute with your sailor and safe travels!!!!

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