DEP-Leavin' for bootcamp in February

Hi Everyone, my son left for Bootcamp on February 6th,  and received the I’m here call at 12:30am on the 7th.  I am extremely anxious thinking about him and not being able to talk to him....I’m hoping this gets easier as time goes by.....Nothing like when he went away to college.  However, I am beyond excited for his future!!  So greatful for this forum!

My son left February 7. The swearing in ceremony was inspiring. I didn't cry. The 15 minutes with our son went by fast. He was not talkative. I think his brain was already on Chicago. I was surprised to receive multiple texts from him while he was in the airport waiting on the plane and after he arrived in Chicago. The texts were about nothing special. The 2 minute phone call on arrival was only 19 secs. My son told me he loved me and that was all I needed. 

Anyone else have a recruit that arrived at boot camp on February 7? 

My son also left for BC on the 5th and received the box on Friday.  It's been a very long week already!

@Cate - our daughter got to Chicago on the 6th... got the phone call around 11:30 pm PST, a whole whopping 18 secs. We got her box today. I wonder if they are in the same division?  

Our daughter also arrived in Chicago on the 6th. She was able to FaceTime when the plane landed. I think she was little overwhelmed with all the snow. Atlanta was 77 degrees when she left. We got the I am here call about 10:45pm ET. The box attempted delivery today and I rerouted it to a store location tomorrow. Next the form letter. 

Ladies on Boot camp Moms there is much needed info that can be very helpful such as letter writing what you can send or not send. info on the PFA fitness it explains when the form letter will be sent and what happens if your Loved one doesn't pass the run or fitness/swim. please come join and if there is anything I can do to help please let me know. we have a great group who will share experiences and all.

Good Afternoon All, 

My son left earlier today to boot camp.  Pretty emotional morning but I'm so proud of my boy.  Anxiously waiting for a phone call,

The Disneymom, I wonder too...we received our box on Saturday....We will wait for our form letter to see!

Ok.... I got a funny for everyone.  "The Box" came on Monday, they didn't leave it.  I had to go to the distribution center three towns over to pick it up.  Gave the lady my door tag from FedEx, she went to get it. She came back with a look on her face.... i must have turned a little red, as i saw Nikki's writing on the box.  "Are you going to start crying?" she asked.  "yup." i choked out.  This woman climbed over the fedex counter and over the scale and wrapped me up in a huge bear hug.  "I know what this box is.  Thank you for your daughter's service," she said while squeezing the life out of me.  "Thank you..." I cried.   "You know, when you get in the car, when you open it, you should breathe in.  You can maybe still smell her".    I smiled, thanked her, grabbed that precious box and got in my car and drove off.  Down the road, i couldn't wait.  I pulled into an empty parking lot.  I ripped all the tape off of the box, closed my eyes, opened the box and breathed "her" in.  What a rude awakening.  My daughter had placed her tennis shoes on the top of the box.....NOT the smell i was hoping for.  I started laughing and crying so hard.  

I hope you all get a giggle out this... i sure did. :)

TheDisneyMom I have tears rolling down my eyes and my Office is looking at me all crazy, I love this! and the funny part about the shoes also!

thedisneymom, I love that story! Yes, I laughed.

Thedisneymom, that was such a great story about The Box.  We got our son's box after signing for the FedEx box to be left at our gate.  I was amazed at how "unstinky" our box was, but i guess that might be the difference between shipping stuff in the winter versus summer!  I'm glad you got a "whiff" of your daughter. I didn't think to take a deep sniff of our son's stuff! 

I thought I would have such a hard time letting my son go, as he is not even 19 yet and has always been at home, but I have such a peace about him being at boot camp. This has been his dream for so long and I know God is with him.

The first week my son was gone was a little rough, just because of all the unknowns on my part and because he sounded so nervous in his "I'm here" call.

But my Tues. morning phone call from him made all the difference for me.  His exact words "Mom- I'm great" did so much to put me at ease.  I knew he would be fine, but now I KNOW he is.  I just need the form letter to arrive so I can send off a bunch of mail!

Hi everyone! My boyfriend left for BC 2/4 and his PIR is expected to be 03/29. During his "I'm here" call, he told me that he would call me again in about three weeks. Does anyone know if/when the recruits usually call? Is it during the day/night or on the weekend/weekday? I'm scared I'm going to miss it. :(

We received his box today. Check off one item on the countdown to graduation day. I wrote the first letter. We had a discussion prior to boot camp about pictures. His friend has already been through Marine boot camp. I took pics of son and printed stationary for friends letters. Son told me I couldn't do that for the Navy boot camp. So I drew pictures :) They were not very good but I hope he will laugh or at least roll his eyes. It was kind of fun writing a personal letter for snail mail delivery when we receive his address. He loves the app i Funny. So I scrolled through until I found a Spiderman comic. I didn't attempt those pictures but I wrote out the dialogue. Then I found an article on pcgamer.com that I thought he would find interesting and wrote that out. 

Chloe, calls are totally up to the RDC. Don't expect a call, but have your phone available at all times (especially from 8 am to 8 pm Central Time M-Th and Sat and from 1 pm to 8 pm Central Time on Fridays and Sundays--calls at other times are possible, but generally indicate a problem or a need for information) and be pleasantly surprised when you get a call. See Phone Cards and Phone Calls. 

Possible times for calls scheduled by the RDC: 

8 am to noon M-Th 

1 pm to 8 pm F or Sun 

8 am to 8 pm Sat 

Calls for information or due to a problem usually come during business hours, M-F 9 to 5 pm. 

FedEx seems to be better than UPS for getting things to RTC from what has been posted.

thedisneymom Thank you for your story about the box.  It had me laughing and crying. Tomorrow we head down to MEPS for my son's swearing in and departure to Chicago.  Tonight I needed a good laugh!

I am off to our PIR group. We received the form letter today. Graduation April 5, 2019 Who will be there with me?

ga3aak When was his ship date?  My boyfriend's ship date was 2/11/19, I received his box but no form letter yet.

I’m joining my son at MEPS tomorrow morning for his swearing in.  Will I have the opportunity to hug him afterwards?

if not then I can meet him at 4:30am while he waits for the bus here at the hotel, I need one more hug before he ships.

Any advice?  Thanks!

lifesmiplified February 7th. It usually take 3 weeks to receive the form letter. We received ours in 2 weeks. I am mailing 6 letters to him today. :)

DisneyMom We had 15 minutes for pictures and hugs after the swearing in. That was the final hugs. We were told that we could watch the recruits load the bus. We could not wait with him at the airport. We were not allowed at the hotel. 

Click on the date of your recruit’s PIR and join the group to connect with others with loved ones training with your recruit.

No PIR February 22, 2019 

PIR: March 01, 2019 TG 17 - 11 Divisions (123 - 130, 809, 916, and 917) 

PIR: March 08, 2019 TG 18 - 9 Divisions (131 - 138 and 918)

PIR: March 15, 2019 TG 19 - 11 Divisions (139 - 148 and 919)

PIR: March 22, 2019 TG 20 - 11 Divisions ( 149 - 158, and 920)

PIR: March 29, 2019 TG 21 - 9 Divisions (159 - 164, 810, 811, and 922)

PIR: April 5, 2019 TG 22 - 7 Divisions (165 - 170, and 922)

Here's a timeline to follow if you're waiting for the form letter and actual letters from your recruit.  This is only my experience.

Left for BC - Feb. 5

Received form letter - Feb. 19 in AZ- it was mailed Feb. 14.

Received 2 written letters - Feb. 22 - mailed Feb. 19.

Hope this helps someone!

Hi dear NavyMoms,

With a Feb 5th arrival at GL, we received a call from our son at 7:30 am today Saturday.  The number showed up as a 847 area code, so right away we thought it might be from the Chicago area. 

I don't know if everyone will be receiving a "three week call" soon, so I thought I would share some of his general comments so that you have some news. 

Generally, they are doing great, but here are some comments that resonated with this NavyMom:

He had been  SIQ (Sick In Quarters) because they removed his wisdom teeth on Wednesday.   He said his face is still swollen, but that he had IV anesthesia and was allowed to sleep for 48 hours while he recuperated, which he so appreciated!  

So far, he has only received one letter from family, although we have sent several and the one he did receive was not the first sent.  He has not received the PIR guest form that was so important.  

Generally everything is going okay.  He said they are all sleep deprived, tending to nod off during class, but if anyone is seen dozing, they have to stand up during class.  Basically "you can't ever be comfortable" is the general rule.  

He said they only have "about ten minutes" to eat.  The food is okay, but served to them in smaller portions than what he is used to.  He is trying to supplement calorie intake with anything he can quickly consume such as lots of peanut butter! 

He said there is no free time from 4am to 10pm, except for Sundays, when they have a few hours 7am to 1pm of unstructured time they can use to shine shoes and fold clothes, but they can't sleep.  Learning how to "fold underwear" isn't exactly the funnest thing to do, but they will survive!   

He said that despite the inability to talk much,  he is still meeting people from all over the country, even world, so that was definitely a positive. 

Overall, he sounded really good!  Tired and stretched, but still holding on to a "can-do" outlook. 

The last thing he said was "Letters are EVERYTHING"!  

I thought this message of encouragement would be helpful to all moms. 

great info FarmSonGoesNavy!

My son left for BC 2/21. I got the “I’m safe call” and I’ve received his box. No letters or anything. 

Communication will begin around the 3rd or 4th week. Maybe even sooner if the Div. is doing well it will be a little pat on the back for them for job well done. Here are a few sites to read on. and Welcome to Navy moms.

Phone Cards and Phone Calls.

Letter Writing & Fun Stuff/Questionnaires to send to your Recruit

3ofusbda - the waiting is hard.  I was in your exact position 4 weeks ago.  You have NO control, no contact, no nothing.  Getting the form letter and just seeing their handwriting on the letter is calming.  Knowing you have an address to reach out to them....  This place is a great resource to let it out.  We have ALL been in the place you are in now.  We will help guide you along as best as we can.  Stay strong, send positive thoughts to your sailor.  We will send positive thoughts to you.....

He is my oldest. He is my over achiever. Graduated high school early in order to enlist. I was not prepared to let him go so fast. We are adjusting. Of course we didn’t have much choice, he’s gone!

Has anyone ever heard of "Challenge Coins"? Another elderly Navy mom told me that parents can give a challenge coin to their sailor after a big achievement (like graduating from boot camp)...I've looked them up, but am not sure if that's really a thing. Thoughts?

Challenge coins are given for milestones or ports visited. My family and my son-in-law's family got him some for boot camp. Funny story, one of the challenge coins he got at boot camp was for Hawaii because that was his "sponsor" for his boot camp group. He and my daughter are currently stationed there. Other than the ones he got in boot camp, our SIL has gotten a few others for advancements he has made. 

There is a vendor set up in the ceremony hall where you can buy challenge coins. 

Awesome, blackbird, thanks for the info! Oh, and Hawaii, what a beautiful place to be stationed!

Pearl Harbor is a beautiful base. They enjoy living there, but it can be expensive. It's also a long plane ride from home. :-) But it just goes to show you never know where they will end up in the Navy.  It's been almost 2 years since his Pass In Review (March 31, 2017). 

Two weeks today...still no letter, but I keep checking! Praying for him every morning: for strength, stamina, joy in his work, freedom from illness or injury, and favor with his fellow recruits and leaders. No news is good news, I know. Watched a PIR last Friday and cried at the end when all the family members flooded the floor and hugged their sailors. So excited to see him again, to see the transformation, the pride, the feeling of accomplishment, the energy!

SDnavymom, you are within the window to receive the form letter any day now. The window is 9 to 14 business days after the recruit's arrival at RTC.

February is right around the corner - be sure your future Sailor is prepared.

**It is very important that your future Sailor be physically fit prior to shipping to the RTC (these are new standards beginning 1/1/2018) and that he be able to pass an initial run test. See Navy Sets New Physical Fitness Standard to Start Boot Camp. "The initial run standard is evaluated on the 1.5 mile run of the first Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) at boot camp. The initial run standard for male recruits will be 16 minutes 10 seconds and 18 minutes seven seconds for female recruits."

Just found out yesterday that our son will be leaving February 3rd instead of March 17th, still a little shell shocked and trying to embrace the journey and prepare. Our time line just got drastically reduced and feeling extremely overwhelmed, this is brand new to us...help!

My son just left yesterday.  I think we are all a little shell shocked also.

MomforBlue and WashingtonMom - be sure to join the boot camp group - I left the link in the welcome message on your page!

Hang in there!

My daughter left 02/26.