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:
Events
**UPDATE 4/26/2022** Effective with the May 6, 2022 PIR 4 guests will be allowed. Still must be fully vaccinated to attend.
**UPDATE as of 11/10/2022 PIR vaccination is no longer required.
**UPDATE 7/29/2021** You now must be fully vaccinated in order to attend PIR:
In light of observed changes and impact of the Coronavirus Delta Variant and out of an abundance of caution for our recruits, Sailors, staff, and guests, Recruit Training Command is restricting Pass-in-Review (recruit graduation) to ONLY fully immunized guests (14-days post final COVID vaccination dose).
FOLLOW THIS LINK FOR UP TO DATE INFO:
**UPDATE 8/25/2022 - MASK MANDATE IS LIFTED. Vaccinations still required.
**UPDATE 11/10/22 PIR - Vaccinations no longer required.
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
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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Where to Go in Chicago!
Information
For anyone coming to to visit your Sailor in Great Lakes, one of the biggest questions everyone has is: Where do you recommend we go for (fill in the blank)?
I was born in raised in Chicago and the suburbs and for those of you who don't know, I work at the base (10 years as of May) but please know I am not here in a professional work capacity, I am here as a volunteer helping to make sure everyone has the correct information. I have been on this site under various names for 10 years since May 2008. (Various names because a few times someone has ticked me off on here and said, "Screw this site! Only to return a few days later. Oh, hush. I haven't quit in quite a few years now.)
Thus, I have a lot of knowledge of Chicagoland (which describes Chicago and all its suburbs) as do other fine ladies on this site who also live in the area.
Some ladies might live in the suburbs and frequent the city more than I do, even though I actually live in the city, and can offer suggestions that I'm not even aware of. Some may have vast knowledge of the communities surround the base; I have some but this idea here is to have a spot where locals can contribute.
I wish for this to be a group where you can come to get suggestions from locals on restaurants, events, commuting tips, shopping, and especially all ethnicity offerings for area restaurants.
This is a work in progress and I will continue building on it every day and welcome all to contribute if they also have been here and recommend something in a particular category.
Location: Chicago!
Members: 52
Latest Activity: Aug 15, 2023
Discussion Forum
After PIR Itinerary
Started by BoogiesMom. Last reply by BoogiesMom Jul 26, 2018. 6 Replies 2 Likes
My Son's PIR is 8/10/18, and because he won't be leaving for A School right away, we get all weekend with him. Friday after PIR will likely be Pizza and naps in the Hotel Room, but for Saturday and…Continue
Tourist Attractions
Started by Hikergirl. Last reply by SunflowerLynn Jul 23, 2018. 1 Reply 0 Likes
Hi, we are looking for cool things the kids would want to do ththats not going to cost us 50-100 a person. Any advice? Continue
Comment Wall
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Comment by Anti M on August 8, 2021 at 10:15am
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When not staying at the Navy Lodge, decorate the inside of the room! No tape on the walls though, ever.
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Comment by Chipmunk on August 7, 2021 at 7:37pm
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Here is a link to the July 2021 - Brochure for motels, etc for PIR. I pulled this from the RTC website - RTC_Brochure_July2021_web.pdf (navy.mil)
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As the hope for PIR opening back up is slowly becoming a reality, I wanted to share this information here.
I know that some people are interested in PIR door decorations. Let me just share this, to my knowledge, the Navy Lodge is really the only place that I think it is even remotely suggested to put anything on your door, especially with your sailor's name and division information. This was not something that I did for my sailor, because I did not know about it and neither did some of our other seasoned moms. However, it comes up from time to time, so I wanted to share - do a Google search - navy pir hotel door decorations - all sorts of images come up, including ones that have a sailor's last name. Keep in mind that we follow OPSEC/PERSEC on this site, so No last names should be posted. If you would like to share your ideas on the BC Mom group page, please feel free, just refrain from reposting with a last name, or your sailor's last name showing, please block it out before posting.
Also, as we move back into having PIR in person, it is not recommended that you hang anything on a motel or hotel door indicating you have a sailor graduating, other than maybe at the Navy lodge. Not everyone is accepting to our military and again, their safety and even ours is first priority. Some families decorate inside their rooms, personally, mine flew out very early the next morning, so we barely had time to just get in hugs!
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Comment by diannep on March 7, 2020 at 1:34pm
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NOLA-Mom: Sadly the person who started this group is no longer on N4Moms. But....post this same question on Bootcamp Moms too. Hopefully someone on there can help!
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Comment by NOLA-Mom on March 5, 2020 at 9:26am
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I’m hoping for some suggestions of some good sites to take in on the Sunday of my son’s PIR. I’m assuming he will be gone, so my mom& I will need something to do on Sunday. We check out of hotel but our flight isn’t until midnight. Don’t want to sit at airport that whole time so I was hoping maybe I could get some suggestions of either places to see or maybe good place to do some shopping??
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ellen0502 - thanks for the update. I knew I had not seen any posts from hooyahsuzy lately. A good reminder about not removing yourself from N4M so your posts don't disappear as well.
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Comment by ellen0502 on July 24, 2019 at 3:02am
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Unfortunately the person who created this discussion left the website completely because she had too many other thing going on. If you leave the website it removes all of the posts.
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This is not exactly about visiting in Chicago, but I had put a reply down for someone regarding where to go in GL on BC Mom and so I posted this and thought I would post it here as well.
You should have received a brochure with your form letter that has motels and such listed. If they did not mail it RTC might just have in online at the boot camp website now.
We stayed cheap and close at the Red Roof Inn, I think it was. There were two different ones and I think one was closed. This was next to a pizza place and close to RTC, but is more of a truck stop type motel and some people may not be as comfortable with it, but I was looking for inexpensive and since we were leaving very early on PIR, a simple breakfast was fine. Also, we left early Sat morning way before sunrise to meet our sailor at the airport and then head on home for our 12+ hr drive, so I was glad we had not opted for the expensive hotels with large breakfasts.
Others have done differently. Our motel did offer a free shuttle, however, the next morning we found out that they never wrote our name down, so we ended up driving and using Sarge's route advice and it worked out better for us in the long run to have our vehicle at RTC. We were able to park in the parking garage without any difficulty. And we stood in line before the doors open, but we were still not so early to get the best seats in the house. (In my opinion - top row of the bottom section - at least if you want to get to your sailor quickly and also not have to hold a camera up over the railing of the upper deck. Although you may not have as good of an overview when they are marching in.)
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Comment by DesiD on March 26, 2019 at 1:08pm
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Thanks, B'sNukeMom!
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Comment by B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet) on March 26, 2019 at 12:56pm
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DesiD - we did that back in 2012. Train and bus and it worked out great. We did a LOT of walking (in December). It was cold but so worth it. We did Millenium Park, Navy Pier and took pictures of the Bean....everything was decorated for Christmas and it was beautiful. I say get the pass and go for it!
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