DEP - Leavin' for bootcamp in October

Has anyone whose recruit left October 3rd, (or later), received their form letters yet?  We have not.  I think I figured it should be coming anywhere between the 16th and 23rd.  Just wondering if anyone else has...

Oh no! I have been antsy because mine left on the 9th and so far no letters only the box. Looking at all the info it looks like we are still well within the normal range. 10-14 Mondays thru Fridays. I am going with no news is good news, but honestly not doing much for my emotional state. Lol. Mama bear wants some proof and is not adjusting well to not being able to plan for the holidays and PIR. Hang in there!

My daughter left on October 4th and we haven't received anything either.

Yes, that's what we've been going by, "No news, is (hopefully) good news"...  We are just anxious to start making plans/reservations, as well.  You hang in there, too!

Proudmom314, You are looking at the Liberty rules, not the Leave rules. Liberty is for when a Sailor is off duty, but will be back on duty within in less than 72 hours (like after work or a weekend for civilians). Leave is when a Sailor is authorized to take off several days (usually a week to a around a month or so). Leave is like when a civilian takes a vacation. Your then Sailor is able to fly home for Leave.

The Form Letter now arrives 9 to 14 business days after the recruit's arrival at the RTC in most cases.

Thank you lemonelephant for keeping us newbies straight. So much to learn.

Proudmom314, you are very welcome. We were all newbies once.

My recruit left on Oct. 1 and we received two letters from him last Thursday (Oct. 18).  They were dated Oct 8 and 9.  Surprisingly upbeat!

My son left for boot camp on 10/18/18.  He left from Maryland.

My son signed a new contract, so I bid farewell to this October group and look for my correct place.  The best of wishes to you all!!!  

Mine left this morning. He was supposed to leave yesterday but MEPS had "technical difficulty" so his flight was pushed till this morning. Such a crazy experience...feel a bit off.  Super sad but beyond happy at the same time.

He landed at 2:00 and is now waiting to be picked up. Should be on his way to BC by 6:00. Sucking up all the text messages and phone calls I can get between now and then.

Hi spensersmom!  I am glad he is on his way and welcome!!! I soaked up all of those messages and had him leave a voicemail BEFORE I got the "I am here" call!  Ifbthisnsite has taught me anything itnisbthat you are not alone!!

momof3boys I actually missed his "I'm here" call and he left a voicemail.  I wish I had made him leave me a Voicemail before he left like you did.  I have listened to his "I'm Here" message a dozen times ...  LOL

He made it to boot camp yesterday and I got the "I'm here" phone call last night. I am assuming that his graduation will be 12/14/2018 if I did the math correctly????

USPS INFORMED DELIVERY SHOWS I AM GETTING  LETTER TODAY!!!!  This might be my longest day at work ever! I can't wait to get home a see it!!!  I got a rush just looking at his handwriting on the outside of the envelope in the image USPS sent me!!!!

SO EXCITING!

Soooo excited for you 2gooddogs!!!

thank you!  I am super excited too!  If I can trust the return address on the letter shown on informed delivery I now know his ship and division which feels like a HUGE move forward to me....like I know something tangible and real about what he is doing FINALLY!  Yippee!

I agree and jusy seeing the envelope with his writing was HUGE for me also.  

Yesterday's nugget of my sons division running pt was awesome.  I actually put eyes in him....I know this is such an incredible experience for him and am so proud...but I do miss his face!

Wow my sons box arrived this morning ,earlier than I thought and it still didn’t stop me from suddenly tearing up.it didn’t help that a letter I had given him to read during boot camp was also in the box.

He’s probably thinking stilly old mom getting herself all upset.  

 My mind tells me it’s so crazy it’s not like I won’t hear from him again..  the day he left was like the first day of kindergarten all over again but this time I didn’t have chocolate. 

Wendywoo he is going to miss you too! Don't feel bad about the letter. They are so rushed and disorientated I am surprised that more stuff doesn't end up in the boxes. When you get his address stick a stamp on it and send it back. He is going to want to read it. I was so desperate to feel connected that I snapped a picture of his handwriting on the box. Lol hang in there.

Wendwoo - i know he is missing you as much as you are missing him.  The letter will come!  they had to send EVERYTHING back in that box...

by the way Proudmom314 - i did the same thing!!

i did get a phone call this weekend and I was such a mess that I am sure everyone in LAX thought i was insane!  (i was traveling for work).  my heart was so happy and then sad all at the same time.  I miss him dearly but he sounds so good.  He said everyone in division 039 was doing great and he was loving this experience.  I truly believe it is the same for your son!  send him the letter.  he really will want it.  my sons letter today asked for pictures, but rather than doing that i made the background of the paper i am going to write his letter on today - with pictures of the family (pets and all)!  i also played a game with my son in the letters - a guessing game with movie quotes from his favorite movies.  today i got the letter that answered them and he LOL'd me!  

i really believe this experience is just as hard on us as it is on them.  but I am so proud of all of them (and us moms!).  stay strong ladies

Thank you everyone for your kind words of support, it helps when you know you’re no the only one in this boat .. LOL no pun intended.  Stay strong ladies they will get thought boot camp and so we will .. 

My son left for boot camp in October.  I got my first hand-written letter from him today.  I also did a quick letter to him today via Sandboxx app.  With the Sandboxx letter I added a photo.  I'm hoping the photo gets printed in color.  It cost me $3.99 - so doubt I will use that app much.

New news just out today from the US Navy Recruit Training Command FaceBook page:

Attention families and friends of RTC: Previously, upon arrival to boot camp, recruits would box up their civilian belongings and ship it to their choice of destination. Our new procedure now has those boxes being stored locally and will be returned to the recruits the day before graduation. The new procedure went into effect this week beginning with Div. 409 in Training Group 52.

October is quickly approaching!

**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."

My son shipped yesterday!  I seem to be taking things in stride right now.  I am so glad to have found N4M before he left so I could be better prepared!

MrsDevilDoc - now you can "hurry up & wait" lol!  The boot camp group should be able to answer most of your questions and once you get your PIR date you can join that group ;-D

Good luck to your son.  It was a year ago this month our son shipped out to Great Lakes.  Keep us updated.

Tammy_Girl - my son shipped out 7 years ago this month!  He's out of the Navy now - using his GI Bill to finish his college degree.  He met a great girl (who also happened to be a nuke) and they are engaged to be married in July.

B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN, aww, how sweet.... congrats to your son and soon to be daughter-in-law.  Wow, 7 years.  At this point we are unsure if our son will make the Navy a career, or will he just do his contracted time.

Hi Donits you are still in between the 9-14 days for the form letter. on the 9th or 10th would of made her fifth business day her first PFA . stay calm your form letter will be on its way if all went well with her PFA. Best wishes and ((((Hugs))))) to you.

Here is the site on when form letter arrives and PFA.

See Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) and Fitness Improvement Training (FIT).

You are welcome Ma'am, I know how hard this can be. You just keep your head up, and know all will be fine. I was the same when my Son started, so I can relate to the Emotions you must have. Come join us at Boot camp for Moms, I help on there and anything I can help with you let me know or anyone for that matter.

Hello!  My daughter has been waiting for a job to open up for her and just got word that one has, she's so excited.  Her new date to go to boot camp is Oct 6th 2020.
Anybody else out there with the same/similar date?

Hi VillageMum - Glad to hear a job opened up for your daughter and she is excited for it!

October is right around the corner.  Be sure you and your SR are getting ready now!

**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."

Hi B'sNukeMoM - thank you for the link!  I'm working on her :) as a runner myself I have her doing a HIIT routine 3 x week which includes a one mile run.  We're going to increase to 2 miles so that 1.5 feels like she's finishing early when she gets to RTC.  She has no interest in my long runs....yet.

High school graduation is this month, once that's complete she can really start to focus and work on everything she needs to.

VillageMum - that's awesome that you are helping her out with her running!  And it will give you some nice quality time together before she leaves - cherish it!

Keep in mind they could ask her to leave earlier, but she does NOT have to go early (if she doesn't want to).

Be sure to take a look at the boot camp group too.  There's lots of good info there to help prepare.

Thank you for the heads up on that, I didn't know they could be asked to leave earlier.  It wouldn't be a bad thing once HS is finished.
I am cherishing every moment for sure, time flies...

My son is leaving October 5, 2020.  Any other moms have kids leaving then?  I would love to hear from you. 

Welcome to all the new members - October is right around the corner!  How are you holding up?  Is your depper ready to go?  Do you have any questions?

**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."

Also, be sure you are in the boot camp group.  There's lots of good info posted there and BelovedByHim has a good blog with info regarding quarantine.  

If you have a son or daughter that is leaving for boot camp soon please sit down with them and have a real good talk about what to expect.  Since Covid has hit things have really been all over the place - they get put in quarantine, they get out of quarantine, they get put back in quarantine.  A normal 8 week boot camp can drag on much longer and it can take a huge mental toll on them.  It's important that they understand THIS IS ONLY TEMPORARY!  They need to be physically strong but more importantly they need to be MENTALLY STRONG!  Let them know that they probably won't even get a letter from home until they are at least HALF WAY through boot camp.  NO you haven't forgotten about them - it just takes that long for them to train someone in the mail room so they can get their mail.  The first couple of weeks they may question their decision to join - and that's normal!  But they need to be strong.  This is just the beginning of their Navy career and they need to learn to be FLEXIBLE.  Remind them they are STRONG and THEY CAN DO THIS.  Before they leave ask them HOW BAD DO YOU WANT THIS?

They've got this mom's and so do you!

Here's the link to the October 2020 PIR group:

PIR OCTOBER 2020