DEP-Leavin' for bootcamp in February

SHORT CUT DIRECTIONS

FROM THE NORTH – Take either Green Bay Road, or Hwy 41(Skokie Blvd), or Hwy 43 (Waukegan road) SOUTH to 22nd street (Martin Luther King Blvd), turn LEFT heading east for about 1 mile. Once you pass Commonwealth Ave, turn right at the next intersection (Hwy 137 – Bobby E. Thompson expressway). Stay in left lane and continue about ¾ of a mile and you will see the train station (OHIO STREET) . REMEMBER stay in the left lane and cross the intersection and head into the gate. Have graduation tickets and I.D.s ready.

FROM THE SOUTH – Take either Green Bay Road, or Hwy 41(Skokie Blvd), or Hwy 43 (Waukegan road) NORTH to 22nd street (Martin Luther King Blvd), turn right heading east for about 1 mile. Once you pass Commonwealth Ave, turn right at the next intersection (Hwy 137 – Bobby E. Thompson expressway). Stay in left lane and continue about ¾ of a mile and you will see the train station. REMEMBER stay in the left lane and cross the intersection and head into the gate. Have graduation tickets and I.D.s ready.

FROM THE WEST – Take Buckley Road (RT 137) to Hwy 41. Turn Left onto Hwy 41 and go one light to 22nd street (Martin Luther King Drive) and turn right and head east until HWY 137 Bobby E. Thompson Expressway, turn right and head straight into Ohio Street (REMEMBER STAY IN LEFT LANE) Have graduation tickets and I.D.s ready.

GROUPS: Listed By Navy Job/Ratings (clickable link) and companion 
     Ratings, A School Locations & Links to Groups

PIR: March 9, 2018 TG 18 -  9 Divisions (115-122 and 918) 

PIR: March 16, 2018 TG 19 - 7 Divisions (123-128 and 919) 

PIR: March 23, 2018 TG 20 - 10 Divisions (129-136, 809 and 920) 

PIR: March 30, 2018 TG 21 - 9 Divisions (137-144 and 921)  

PIR: April 6, 2018 TG 22 - 11 Divisions (145-152, 810, 811, and 922) 

PIR: April 13, 2018 TG 23 - 11 Divisions (153-162 and 923) 

PIR: April 20, 2018 TG 24 - 13 Divisions (163-174 and 924)

  If you want to get Informed Delivery™, go to https://realmail.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action and put in your ZIP Code and see if it is available in your area. If it is then Sign up.  With this service you can get images of the mail that will be placed in your mailbox each day. Black and white images of your actual letter-sized mail pieces, processed by USPS^® sorting equipment, will be provided to you each morning.

App to assist with writing letters: Sandboxx - Military App is an App that can assist with communicating with and sending pictures from your phone to your recruit and later Sailor when s/he is "off the grid" and only able to receive physical mail. Using the App, you can send pics in a note that includes a postage paid addressed envelope for your recruit or Sailor to write back. The cost is $2.33 to $3 per letter depending on how you choose to use the App. (See https://www.sandboxx.us/ to learn more and/or to download the App.) Some have indicated that letters sent to their recruit using the Sandboxx - Military App reached the recruit one to two days after they were sent.

Are there any official RTC sites?

Yes, check out https://www.facebook.com/NavyRecruitTrainingCommand and http://www.bootcamp.navy.mil/. They will have lots of information for you. https://www.facebook.com/NavalServiceTraining also has items at times.

https://www.facebook.com/ASBPGreatLakes has pics of some of the recruits who give blood while at the RTC. Those donations occur about 2 weeks (10 to 16 days depending on the division) before PIR.

still waiting for the form letter. some have already received it and left the same day as my son. But I guess it will come soon. I guess no news is good news so hopefully he is doing ok. It is hard not hearing from him.

Has anyone received their letter from sons or daughters that left February 26, 2018?

I have not received my letter yet....my son also left on Feb 26th 

My son left February 22, 2018 and we have heard nothing....but they say no news is good news

The recruiter gave us an address with the ship name so I figured out the ship number but not the division yet

As for getting the address from the Recruiter that is fine, But we ask that you wait for the form letter and here is why,

It is best to wait for the form letter before mailing letters to your recruit, but if you do get an address from your recruit's recruiter, double-check the address the recruiter gave you against those at http://www.bootcamp.navy.mil/contact.html#contact. Recruiters sometimes give a generic address for the RTC and if the street address is not correct, then mail can be delayed for up to 3 weeks or not get to your recruit at all. 

When recruiters actually do have the correct information, they sometimes give extra information that you do not need in the address,

Know that letters mailed before you get the form letter do not get to your recruit much quicker, if at all, than letters mailed after receiving the form letter because the recruits cannot receive mail until they are in their permanent ship and a Recruit Mail Petty Officer has been trained in how to handle mail, which means it is usually sometime in the third week or later (1-3 or 1-4 DOT) when they start receiving mail depending on when P-days ended and the division formed

Because the weather has been really BAD in the Midwest and northeastern parts it may be delayed, letters that is.

OMG!!!! The form letter is coming today....yea!!!!  Ship 11 - Division 167

Moonbeam- so happy for you. A great start to a good weekend!

Moonbeam ours is in 167 as well. Yippee!! 

Yes Ceej0347; I'm so excited.  

Rachel our boys are in the same ship as well?

Good Morning Ladies, hope all is well this Friday morning.

YAY! receiving letters, Great News.

Moonbeam - yes. Sorry forgot to put ship 11.

Rachel, I'll PM you later for more info.. . I'm so excited!!!

My son is just finishing week 4.  I received 2 letters from him yesterday.  The one letter was full of information - filling me in on all he has been doing and he seemed like he was doing so well.  The 2nd letter was completely different.  He said that he missed everyone and was thinking about quitting.  Has anyone else gone through this?  Does the feeling usually go away? Yes, I wrote him back and told him that he was missing everyone and that how he was feeling was normal.  I hope these feelings have passed by now...???  I am so worried about him.

TmansMom, so sorry to hear how down he was, and to say the least yes, it is quite normal. When they are in ROTC or MEPS what they are picturing is quite different that what it really is in real life. I have to say, My Son had been in ROTC for the whole 4 years, Junior year he decided he wanted to sign up, he researched each military selection and came to choose Navy, My son was very fit, he entered as an E-3 and what not. I have to say My Son had a very incredible Recruiter who worked out with him, took him a community college and showed him the swim test and all, My son had passed the FIT/Run/everything that they have to test for in BC beforehand. I was a mess for the whole 3 weeks until I finally heard from him, and I do have to say he was miserable/Sad/and was second guessing himself and saying it wasn't what he thought it would be. He also wanted to come home. I had to nip that in the Butt really quick, I had remind him why he was there and the reason behind it, and basically it was everything he had told me, so I had to remind him of all his words. They are missing their family, it is just as hard for them as it is for us even more so. They are tired, exhausted and working extremely hard, My son use to tell me how at night he would hear grown men crying, girls crying, it isn't for everybody at towards the end they will start weeding out the weak. so Mother's stay strong for them, encourage them, Pray with them over the phone, it is extremely importtant!

Thank you Phoenixmom for responding. I appreciate it. It really helps. This week he should have gotten his pictures done... maybe that will help him to see the end result. I pray for him daily and pray in letters to him. I ask him to pray for strength. I know he has gone to church. I know he is braver than me. It was nice to hear about your son's experience and know my son is not alone.

TmansMom you are welcome and best wishes to your Son!

You are doing a Great Job!

So excited, my son left feb26th and the informed mail shoes it’s coming today. He’s on ship 11, division 172

SeaBeemom that is Great news! Thank You Ladies for sharing and posting, please let me know if there is anything that I can post for you all.

Here is a website you can click on, at the top it will have recruits, what to expect and what goes on, Graduation everything about graduation, FAQ if you click on that it will explain the separated process, the not passing of the run,FIT, Swim and so on a very good site for information including red cross numbers, chaplain. please take a look.

http://www.bootcamp.navy.mil/faq.html#contacting_recruits

Hi everyone, new here! My husband leaves February 12th for bootcamp. 4 1/2 months seems like a long time away but with the holidays coming up, time will fly by so were enjoying every minute we can with him!

My son leaves February 4, 2019. I just bought plane tickets to go to my daughter's the following week. I thought some grand kid love would help with the worry and loneliness. 

Hey everyone! Our daughter finally got through the waiver process and has a ship date of 2/20/19. So excited for her. She has worked so hard to make this a reality and it's finally happening! @3ofusbda nice to meet you on here since our kids should arrive to RTC on the same day. 

Well that changed quickly... ship date moved up to 1/30! 

Hi everyone!  New to the Navy!  My son is scheduled to leave in February.

Anesthesiamom, you can share the date he ships to RTC. Once he is a Sailor, then you will not be able to share dates that his vessel departs or returns to port since that would be an OPSEC concern. While in BC, the only dates you should not share are the date of Battle Stations-21 (BST) and the date of the "I'm a Sailor!" call since BST is considered a ship movement.

It is very good to be cautious and sharing too little is MUCH better than sharing too much.

Be sure to check out the discussion, Things to Do in the Last Month before Your Future Sailor Leaves for..., and to start discussing some of the things there with your future Sailor such as how to handle bad news and who will get the tickets for PIR.... 

If you have not yet joined Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones), now is a good time to do so and to begin checking out the Pages (found under the pictures of the Members) starting with OPSEC and PERSEC (Making Changes to Your Profile) (some of you have changes that you need to make--at least change 3) and then go on to Arrival and What Happens at the RTC. 

Hello everyone!  I'm new to the group, my son will ship to RTC on February 20th.  He's been on vacation overseas since the end of December.  We'll only have five weeks together before he leaves for RTC.  .  I hope he's not overeating during his vacation, he was within 1 pound of the weight limit before he left!

Hello everyone - I just found this group today and my son ships out to Great Lakes on Feb. 5.  So much information to take in!  I'm on overload right now.  :)

My son left for Great Lakes this afternoon.  We were able to see him at MEPS this morning before he left.  I'm awaiting my phone call tonight.  

And........ we are on hold for Boot Camp again.

We showed up this Morning for the Swearing in before he headed out to the Airport only to find he was not going to Boot today. He spiked a high fever this morning and they sent him Home with us. His new ship out date for Boot Camp is Monday, February 25th. 

Everyone, make it a habit to check your My Page because you may have comments from Members and not even know it if you have the notifications turned off for comments on your My Page. To reply to someone who leaves a comment on your My Page, click on "Comment Back" or "View Thread" below the comment. Also check in the upper left to see if you have any new friend requests or messages in your Inbox.

Hello everyone. My son left for Bootcamp on Tuesday the 5th. Did anyone else have a child leave on the 5th?

Jay25, I have a son who went to boot camp on Feb 5th.

Our son landed in Great Lakes Tuesday, February 5th.  We are brand new to the whole experience.  I'm very grateful for this forum and all the wonderful moms who have gone before me.  

My son also left for Great Lakes on Feb. 5th.  We received the I'm here call about 11 pm MST.  We also received his box (clothes and cell phone) on Friday.

I'm glad to hear that there are other Mom's in the group who's child left on the 5th. I also received the box on Friday. Is everyone else full of anxiety like me?  I can't stand the no communication part. 

If your future Sailor has yet to ship, then be sure to check out the discussion, Things to Do in the Last Month before Your Future Sailor Leaves for....

If you have not yet joined Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones), now is a good time to do so (especially if you have a recruit at the RTC) and to begin checking out the Pages (found under the pictures of the Members) starting with OPSEC and PERSEC (Making Changes to Your Profile) (some of you have changes that you need to make--at least change 3) and then go on to Arrival and What Happens at RTC.