Grad & Go Info

Sobe - I called the Dept of ?? Affairs - JessicaB or one of the longtimer moms gave the number. The young woman who answered was able to tell me after asking me his Div number - that he is Grad and Go for Saturday - but would not give me his detailsl. CKH also called (same ship and div as my son) The gentleman that answered actually gave her quite a bit of info - including that her son is also Grad n Go (of course he will still stay there for further training for a few weeks etc.) So they will give limited info. At least they did for her and my self....

Sobe - that number I used was 847-688-2405 - of course knowing that anything can change at the last minute in the military - so when my son actually gets his orders we will know for sure. Im just passing on the info. for consideration. Thank you for the info on the "meet at the airport" yall are so wonderful and Patient with us moms!

Hoppi - thanks for all your help (an knowledge) I'll check with her and see what she says. What would we do with you!!!

Hello ladies I Thank God for this group I already know that my son is a Grand and Go he told me a couple of weeks ago when he called. OK I know that I will have other questions because I am still in the process of reading all the info. What I am asking right now is on the USO Is that where we sit with them as we are waiting for their flight to leave

mfavored: Once you and your sailor have met by the ticket counter and you have your pass to go through airport security area, you are free to roam the terminals/concourse area. They are not required to stay in the USO, but it is available and open to them and you too of course!

When my son flew out, there was a sailor in his group who was sort of "in charge" of keeping everyone focused and grouped together that last 60 minutes before boarding began. So we had time alone with our son before that "rounding up" began! The sailor in charge (a new sailor himself) strolled the terminals reminding sailors on his flight to be sitting at the gate by such and such time. They just don't want anyone to miss the flight. We were all sitting near the USO at Midway because it was quiet there, then got something to eat, and finally sat with the whole group of them at their gate that last hour. We heard the FUNNIEST stories of boot camp from those guys, my husband and I will never forget that day!!! Now... if your son is flying out of O'Hare, the USO is before you go through security, so you guys can hang out there, but you will all need to go thru security at least 1 1/2 hrs prior to boarding time. There's better food behind security than in front of it - that goes for both airports!

Thanks Hoppi - Is the number Lydia left below a different dept? Was she just lucky and got someone who felt like being helpful? We certainly don't want to call people we shouldn't. I always try to remind everyone that no one knows it best like their own recruit - so always get your info from them. It may be last minute that they tell you, but it will be the correct info.

I read that they could take a plain blue or black backpack with them on the plane,
but I was wondering can they have a carry on suitcase?

Codysmom91: I am going to say yes to this question, mainly because suitcases are held or rolled by the recruit - and that has been confirmed to be allowed, as long as they use their left hand. They cannot carry a backpack on their shoulder, they must hold it in their left hand and must always have right hand free. Any carry-on item they utilize needs to be black or dark blue, per the Navy. The airlines don't care, as long as it fits their size rule for carry-ons.

Heads up: I just got some news from G&G moms in the PIR 7/23 group. Their experience at the airport this morning was not pleasant and also NOT the norm. Their sailors had a "chartered" flight, and those are a bit different. I have asked one of the moms to send me a detailed message so I can update my info above. I know I always add the line "these are the norms, but things can change or be different" but I also hope that doesn't happen. More info to come as soon as I receive it.

Is there a limit as to how many can go to the airport?

My sailor PIR'ed on 6/4/10, but we saw 3 new sailors at Stratford Square Mall, on their way to Red Robbin for lunch today. 2 were from Texas and 1 from Florida. They were suppose to fly out to their A School in Texas, but delayed due to the storms. If these were your sailors, just want to let you know that they look great, sound great, and are anxious to get to A School!

4myboy: There is no limit on how many people can go to the airport because an airport is open to the public. Now, as to how many courtesy passes an airline MIGHT issue, that is up to that airline. Not all airlines offer passes, but quite a few of them do. Worst case is that you will have to visit with your sailor in the lobby area before they go through security.


TheRightThing: How sweet of you to post that! Isn't it cool to see those guys in their Dress Whites, probably makes you miss your son even more! How the heck are you? I miss our PIR group, but still post there occasionally! Hope your son is doing well, Love Sobe (Lisa)

Lala just posted a discussion on Charted Flights that everyone should read. I hope and pray that the Navy doesn't use this method of transportation very often, but it's good to be prepared for what these families and sailors endured. Once I get more details, I will also add a paragraph about chartered flights to the general description above. THANKS LALA - I know that must of been difficult to write, let alone experience.

FYI: I called the number below (PAO) a few days ago also because someone in another group had posted that they got definitive info about their recruit's G&G status. The gentleman that answered was very polite, but he did tell me that he could not give me specific information about my recruit. He could only tell me whether his division as a whole was designated as G&G. My son is division 271, the first division in the PIR group, so I was thinking it would be G&G. However, the gentleman at PAO told me that my son's division was not G&G. He did say that that did not mean for sure that my son was not G&G. I still haven't heard from my son whether he is or not - he either doesn't know yet, or just keeps forgetting to answer that question... :) I'm just planning my trip with all options open. :)

Bubbasmom. That sounds like a good idea to me. You never know how much liberty time you will get with your sailor. Maybe you will have lots of time, even though he is a grad & go.

Thanks, Sandy . But, so far, I actually think he's not grad & go... At least his division is not. The PAO told me his division was not. And my son has not told me anything. So, I am planning as if he is not, and we will just go from there. It doesn't matter to me - if all I get is to see him graduate and squeeze him one time, or if I get to see him for three days... I just want to see him!! :)

Bubbasmom - that's the spirit! You have the right attitude, plan for the least amount of time and you just may be pleasantly surprised. You are now the official spokeswoman for G&G's!

I heard from a lot of moms in PIR 7/23 that their G&G experience was a good one (those who had kids NOT on the Chartered Flight!). One mom did not know that her son was a G&G over to Great Lakes A-School (across the street), so she was TOTALLY surprised that she got to have him the ENTIRE weekend (yes, overnight too) and that just made her day! Thought we needed some good news on this page!

I promised my hubby I would take a weekend off and go spend some time with him at the coast (Brookings, Oregon), it's about a 3 hr trip. But I also cannot take my laptop or use my blackberry (another promise I made!). I've got almost 30 yrs invested in this marriage, so I need to remember he is first, but just know that N4M is a very close second.

There are over a 100 members on this group now, so I know if anyone has questions, there is a lot of seasoned moms who can answer. Have a great weekend, I'm out for 3 days - unless I sneak into the business center at the hotel -but will be back Monday.

Mother Hen aka Sobe Enjoy you deserve it!! We will miss you but we also realize that time with hubby is important !!! Have a wonderful time!!

Hubby? You mean the lonely looking fella who hangs around, overlooking my shoulders saying with a long face, "Are you on N4M again? "

BunkerBee - my hubby says Im cheatin on him with the N4Ms hahaha !!!

Ok so it took me a while to getting around to posting this, but I have some input for this topic as well. When you go to drop your sailor off on Friday night, leave EARLY. An hour may not even be enough time. Everyone else is trying to return their sailor at the same time so there is going to be a LOT of traffic. I went to drop off my man and we got there 45 minutes early and traffic was 2 miles long. I ended up having to get into the far left lane and drive up to the stop light in front of the gate and he had to hop out and hot foot it to his ship. He wasn't allowed to run because it was raining and he was in his whites. So keep this in mind when you are schedualing your time for the day. Even if you get on base early, you can hang out in the church parking lot until he has to leave. Better safe than sorry. :-) Good luck to all the rest of you!

Lydia, my husband says the same thing. Men!!

My husband starts to list all the wonderful dishes I used to cook before N4M. He is very sorry that he found this site for me. We had an empty nest for a short time w just the two of us. Now that N4M is the third wheel, he says it's like having another child, except this one gives back emotionally!

Our daughter was PIR 7/30/2010 and was G&G to Pensacola. We were told that because there were so many heading to A school there, the entire group was on a chartered flight. Disappointing, absolutely, but we got to spend the day with her, and because we had a heads up that it was likely happening (thanks to this group and the PIR7/30/10 group), we weren't blindsided. She got to Pensacola and settled in just fine, and called us to let us know she is there. Just wanted to let people know that although it isn't ideal, it isn't just awful. We will overnight all of her electronics to her on Monday, she'll receive them Tuesday and we'll be able to be in touch regularly. So thanks to everyone for the very timely information - in our case it's incredibly helpful and very much appreciated!

Hello Ladies Got a question if my Sailor (just wanna let you know that I am grinning from ear to ear as I say this LOL) doesnt leave that Friday is he allowed Liberty that evening I am not really clear on this because my son is still not sure about his orders yet but I did tell him to have his info on hand with him so he could pass it to us at PIR I am praying that they wont do a chartered flight and that he gets an airline that will give Military Family Passes He is headed to Mississippi (12/261 PIR 8/6)

Sobe or anyone - what are the rules about watches - dont know what I want to get him for grad but was wondering

Sobe I forgot to tell you Thank You So Much for the info on meeting at the airport and the USO You along with all of the other veteran moms have been such a great help to all of us that are still going through This site and the helpful women like you all are SUCH A BLESSING Thanks again

Pat - thank you so much! :o)

A big thanks to Pat for her great answers! It was actually nice to be "computer-free" for 3 whole days. I had a great time on the coast, took an 80 mile jet boat ride up the Rogue River and then went to the Oregon Caves National Monument - that was truly an awesome experience! It paid off that I'm vertically challenged, because my husband, who is 6', has a sore neck today from ducking in the caverns the whole time!

Thanks also to the recent PIR attendees who posted their G&G experiences, we need those stories to help everyone else prepare!

Lydia - a wrist watch is a great gift and one they are allowed to have! About the only other items a sailor can take back to RTC that evening are phone cards, debit/credit cards & cash! Personally, I did not give our son a gift - our gift was our presence at PIR, which cost a small fortune! But now that I think about it, we did reimburse him for the portraits & DVD of PIR (that was $174), so I guess that could be considered our gift!!!

Hi CathyJ - I know you!!! So... let's just pray that there are not many recruits going to Texas so he will be on a normal commerical flight, that way you can see him at the airport and hand him his cell phone!
Please go to the discussion area above and look for the "G&G questions to send your recruit" and mail it off today. Ask him to complete it the night before PIR and hand it to you after graduation ceremony - that way you'll know exactly where to go (instead of going crazy!).

Holidays - good question. On the weekend of Labor Day, PIR is on Thurs 9/2, however that coming week, PIR is on a Friday 9/10 (sort of backwards in my book!). I have tried contacting a mom who had PIR on a recent holiday (4th of July), but she hasn't responded. Sometimes when their recruit is out of bc, they stop using this site.

So, does anyone here know if G&G's leave on Fri or Sat when their PIR is on a Thursday? I would also like to know if those who are not G&G's get that extra day to be with family (so, Thurs after ceremony, all day Fri, Sat & Sun)??

hopeful: Yes, that is very possible that those sailors you described are NOT G&G, as most recruits fly to their A-School after Sunday, not PIR weekend - it's pretty standard and happens every week.

stephanie: It's very rare that a recruiter has access to that info, and he should of reminded you that until orders are in writing, they are not set in stone. I am pretty close to my son's recruiter, and I was "begging" for info on when my son's flight would leave and he really tried to help me!!! If your son is Div 282, his PIR isn't until 8/20, that's more than 2 weeks away. Here are two scenarios: One - his group is on a chartered flight, which is why the time is so early in the morning & why "possibly" the info is known so soon OR Two - he is a normal G&G on a commerical airline, will probably leave early in the morning and have an early flight or a late morning flight. There are other scenarios that fit too. The good news is: You get to spend approx 8-9 hrs with your son on Friday (10:35 they cry "Liberty Call", he's yours until he has to be back around 8pm). AND.... you may also have several hours with him on Saturday morning at the airport - dependent on him not being on a chartered flight.

FYI: A lot of recruits are told that their bus to the airport leaves at 2:00am on Saturday, but often (not always) they are told a day or two before PIR that it won't leave until 5:00am. So be prepared for the worst, hope for the best and keep all options open!

Good Morning Everybody! I'm up brght and early today!!

Hoppi - I sent those questions to daughter and got answers back. So I could use your help again, please.

Are you a Grad N Go - No
Are you considered an "undesginated" Airman? Yes
If yes, which one are you? Seaman
Do you have follow-up orders to your first command? No, not yet

So, since she states that she isn't "Grad N Go" does that mean that she will be staying in GL for her A School?

Pat - thank you!!! I hope that you are correct. I've been stressing about this Grad N Go thing!

OK thinking logically then if G&G is on Saturdays normally with a Friday PIR then because of the holiday week end it would seem that G&G would be Friday because it would be hard to get seats on a plane for Saturday because of the three day weekend for normal people. Does this sound right. I was so worried that I did not stop and think about all this.

Pat - you're the best. Thank you !! I'll go over there and join that one. Never can get to much information.

imparis - I I just heard from a Mom who had a sailor graduate over the Fourth of July holiday, PIR date was Thurs 7/1. She said that G&G's flew out on Friday and Saturday, and there were a couple (just a couple) who flew out late Thurs night - which is very rare. But what she did say was that those sailors who were not G&G got the entire weekend for liberty (not overnight), but they had Thurs, Fri, Sat & Sun, and some even got Monday - a chit was required for that day. I wasn't present, so can only go by what one Mom told me this morning. Hope this helps.

our PIR was 7/23,sailor was a G&G. We had all day after grad until 8pm, but we brought him back to base at 7:30 to be safe. Saturday we joined him at airport. Flight was delayed 45 mins and left at 11. He had to be up at 2am and leave base early, I guess this was to avoid delays with the insane traffic around airport. We caught up with him at 7am and several flew on same flight to SC.

thanks for the info above, but one question. If my SR goes to the airport at 2am and he's inside already by the time we get there.... the adivce above says we can get a pass to go to the gate as long as our sailor is there at the ticket counter with us. Am I reading this wrong? If he's inside and I'm outside, how does that work?

Good question NukeMom & CathyJ: The bus leaves at 2am to head to the airport. If they are NOT on a chartered flight, they are dropped off in front of the "departure" area and recruits get in the ticket counter line to get their boarding pass and check in their seabag. They are AT the airport, but not BEHIND security yet (they need a boarding pass to do that). So you can find them in the ticket area. Our son arrived an hr before us and was still waiting by the ticket counter area for us. The important thing is to COPY, PASTE and print the "G&G Questions to send your Recruit" and mail it to them now. Had my son completed this the night before and handed it to us at PIR, we would of been at the airport at the same time as him, instead of an hour later! (he didn't know which airport he was flying out of, forgot to look before grad ceremony!).

Okay, got it. I did sent the questionaire to my SR. I'll be sure to tell him to WAIT for us. Thank you.

Just read a post from a Mom from PIR 7/30. Her daughter was NOT a Grad & Go, but parents stayed in town until she flew out on Tuesday to A-School. Once again, the RDC's told the new sailors that their parents could not hand them cells & laptops at the airport. But as soon as they were on the bus to the airport, the man driving (Navy himself) told them that RDC's know all about boot camp, but that's where it ends when it comes to what you can have at A-School. Luckily my N4M friend still brought the electronics to the airport and YES her daughter was able to take them on the plane (commerical airline, not a chartered flight). And YES she already has her laptop set up in her barracks at A-school. Obviously the Navy would not allow you to get internet set up in your room if your not allowed to have a computer!!!! I love the RDC's, I really do - they have a tough job at bc and I respect them, I just wish they wouldn't give out wrong info!

I hear you Hoppi, and you know I love those guys/gals and have so much respect for them (I defend them a lot on the PIR groups!), but they are telling these recruits that they are not allowed to have them at A-School, as well as not being able to take them on a commerical flight. But I love it when you post and you are so correct about being human - we all make mistakes. I give out wrong info too at times, although I'm the first to admit it once I find out! And I count on folks like you to correct me - and you do!!! (smiling!)

Some other things to think about taking for your sailor - IF you have the room. And if you have a pretty good idea that he'll be on a commecial flgiht. I was lucky that I could drive to PIR & didn't have to worry about checking bags, etc. And he went to Goose Creek & has enough room for it. I can't testify for the other A schools, but maybe someone else can. Anyway, f you can, take some civilian clothes. No, they can't wear them for at least the first 4 weeks of A school, but I just couldn't justify the idea that my son would go out to buy new clothes when he has so many here. So I took him a couple pairs of shorts, jeans, some T shirts & a pair of shoes. And boxer shorts, he was so glad to be rid of the tighty whiteys! He didn't ask for them but was thrilled to have them. I used a collapsible duffel bag so that he didn't have to use a lot of space to store it when he got there. Actually, I wish I had taken more; I have sent 2 more boxes to him since then. But the closet is finally emptying out :-)
And, I am thrilled to say, he hasn't asked me ship any of his game systems.

Hoppi, not all of the RDCs are telling them that. My son knew that he could have his phone, etc & his contacts.

My son was G&G for 8/6 PIR, leaving next day at 10am for FL. He had given me the filled out flight info. right after PIR so we knew where to meet him at the airport. Thanks N4M's. He hung out in the USO until we arrived around 7am. The USO personnel were very helpful to the recruits We walked up with my son to get his plane ticket and he had them print out gate passes for the 4 of us- remember to bring your ID. As soon as we passed thru security, we handed him his cell and laptop and a few goodies inside a plain black backpack. He gave me his folders of photos to take home.
We hung out in the terminal until he boarded the plane. We had about 3 hours, plane was delayed about 20 min. Cherished every moment. Looking back, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Sure, would have like to have more time to sight see with my son, but that's doesn't always work out.

Thanks OPPMom for posting another successful G&G experience. You are right, it's not as good as seeing them for the whole weekend, but going to the airport and seeing them off is really a treat - especially if you hand them their phone and laptop, because you have instant contact forever more - which is a true blessing after 8 weeks of boot camp! Congratulations to you and your sailor.

OPPMom - woow that makes me fee much better. Great experience! Good info