PIR 10/15/10

@ Pink...just curious, do you really have a Pink Helmet? :-)

@ Dana...that is great news about your son doing so well! I think a 4.0 on inspection is great.

I realized last night that racks are the bunks...my son doesn't like stacking racks! I think someone mentioned that they had to move their stuff to another room.

I just wish one of your kids or husbands knew my son.

Yes... my husband designed the flag for his division when they were in boot camp. He actually designed a page for his ship's cruise book as well. He's quite the artist! ;)

Yes, the earn flags for doing the best above the other divisions for different things. The flag holders march in front of their division displaying the flags they've won.

So yep... when your recruit tells you they won a flag... it's a big deal!! :)

The FBI came to my neighbors house to ask about my recruit today. I had heard that they do this for their security clearance. The agent showed his FBI badge and my neighbor was thinking to himself... "WOW!"

@ Dana, no way! Did the neighbor tell you what they asked? How interesting. Tell me more.

My husband was out mowing and chatted with the neighbor for a bit but hubby didn't ask what the agent asked him! That would be the first question outa my mouth! LOL!!!

I'll find out soon and let you all know. It's so interesting, huh? I'm sure it was basic stuff... just to find out what kind of kid he is. He's never been in any trouble. Just a good, level-headed young man. :)

Yeaaaa Missy on getting a phone call from your hubby!

Dana, wow! a 5.0. That's terrific! My son said that he is a guidon. Of course, I said, what the heck is that? He said, "Mom, I hold the flag and lead the division and will do so at graduation". My sister said I should really bring a towel to PIR because she knows I cry at the drop of a hat. I even cry when I see someone getting married and I don't even know them! LOL.

winniesam - he only got a 4.0 out of 5.0 but still good in my book! ;)

Awesome about being a guidon!!! You'll be able to pick out your son quite easily then! Ask him what flag he'll be carrying to make it even easier.

Hi Stevie! So is the 4th week "hell week" then? Anyone know what they do that week?

Oh.. ok. That makes sense! I thought fire-fighting was so FUN! When else would I get the chance to learn that? It was a really neat experience!

The gas chamber was quite interesting as well. I remember we all put on our masks and thought that this will never work. This mask isn't going to filter out anything... but when we were told to take off our masks and recite our name and social (i think they say something else now) I thought I was going to DIE! It was AWFUL! I can tell you that the gas mask WORKS! As soon as you breath in that gas your eyes burn, your throat burns, you have boogies coming out your nose and you think you're going to throw up! SO then you realize how important it is to don that mask when you're told to do so! ;)

OH MY GOSHH ! FIVE LETTERS TODAY :D
sooo exciteddd (: he sounded good , but does that mean i wont get any more this weeek, does anyone know? he also talked about a few guys being good friends of his... Ogden, Trammel, Boykin, Woods, someone who's 32 yrs old and is the Yeoman. anyone know these guys?

Chris' Girl! - LOL! I think so!

gmarie - That's awesome! I know my son's division can only send letters on Sunday right now but they get mail every day. They were hoping to get the privilege of sending letters on another day each week but I don't know that they got that yet. So if he can only send on Sunday... that might be it for this week. But that's still awesome!!!

MissU- I know they have limited space so I wouldn't send too many pictures. If you can print them out smaller and fit several on regular 8.5x11 paper that might work out better. It'll take up less room. Maybe some others have thoughts on that they'll share. I'm sure he'll love to get the pics so send as many as you can in as small of space as possible.

well he's been writing alot at night after he gets his duties completed, so i guess they're allowed to write as long as they're finished what they have to do that day. THANKS for the support(:

gmarie - Oh that's awesome! You may get letters quite regularly if he can write that often! Woohoo! Good for you! I'm JEALOUS!!! :)

gmarie-that's great!
I got another letter today. He wrote it on Sunday. I can't believe he's finally attending church. He said the sermon was great and it put him in such a good mood. He's still not feeling 100% from being sick. He said he is preparing for inspection and test and for their drill assessment that is going to be in the same week. He made me laugh. He said it should be a true test of how good his noggin is! He said he's grateful for all the letters I sent him. those letters we send are a lifeline to them! I'm so happy to hear from him but still the tears still flow like crazy! Thanks for letting me share. You girls are the best!

Dana, sorry I meant 4.0 which is absolutely awesome. Sorry I work with numbers all day and I guess I can't see straight by the end of the day! LOL~!!!

YIPPIE Missy on the call. And out div will have a flag. YIPPIE.
Such good news on here today.
Thank you God

I got a letter today! I was freaking out because when my mail came around 3, there was no letter. But then I got home around 9 and there was one waiting for me on the steps :) I'm so happyyyy!

Chris' Girl-No more pictures? I was going to send out a couple tomorrow. I'll ask Steve when/if they call tomorrow. He told me he wanted updated pics of the kids. If they have no more room then I will atleast send him one of the three of us and then send no more.

timsmom - yes! I really do have a pink motorcycle helmet!! The guys I work with think it's pretty cool!

I got a letter today and my son is totally cracking me up! I asked if he was a flag bearer... his response: "no i am not one. to be a flagbearer you have to be short (which I am not). LOL!!! What a hoot! He did say he's the road guard though... apparently he has to stop cross traffic when the division is marching in intersections.

So proud of 344 winning a flag!!!

LOL! My son is 6'2 and said he's often a crossing guard as well! I'm 5'7 and was a crossing guard in boot camp also. It must run in the family! ;)

Here's a pic of what their "racks" may look like. Everything has a very specific place that it has to be stored and they can't "overflow" into another compartment. So yep... space is very limited.

Pink....I love pink! I did wonder how you picked the name though.

Dana, so that is what a rack looks like...I watched the video on how to make a bunk and the rack looked different than this one...they do look heavy.

See how neatly everything is folded? There are very specific rules about that... even how to fold the blanket (the scratchy wool blanket... LOL!) at the foot of the rack has to be folded just so and placed exactly in the right spot.

I think these are probably the newest ones... but I don't know for sure. When I was in boot camp... we had lockers in the front of our racks and I don't see that here.

On the ship they similar to this but they have curtains for a little bit of privacy or light control.... kind of like you see on those tour buses that rock stars use... LOL... or maybe on a train car or something.

On the ship I was on... I had a top rack... there were 3 stacked together. One was on the bottom- basically on the deck, then there was a middle and a top. The top was kind of cool because it was open on the top and didn't feel like a coffin... but when I tried to sleep... I'd put a blanket over the top to block out the light. I remember there was always a red light glowing for safety lighting and that was annoying. The berthing area couldn't be totally dark.

Hope that sort of helps describe it... I know I'd be curious. ;)

Yep... ditto what Sandy22 suggested. I send my son typed letters I create in WORD and add pics right to that. I send funny pics, family pics, screen prints of parts of his Facebook page, etc... all printed out on 8.5 x 11 paper. You can get a lot on a page that way. Use minimum margins! :)

If you look close to where the guy is standing... I think there is a drawer there... I bet that's where they can keep letters and other personal items like their wallet or glasses, etc. Ok... I'll shut up now. ;)

I have this to say.....346 better start winning flags...my daughter is a Stick and she will need a flag to carry...she is short ...lol....but she needs something to carry...I'd hate to see her out there flapping her arms around trying to look like flag...so please pray that 346 wins at least 1 flag for my child......thanks

I just got finished writing a letter to my son (Anthony). Some days are better than others. Tonight was just a series of crying jags. It's just an incredible roller coaster. I cannot wait for PIR. Some days I think my heart is going to break.

Right there with you...since I missed his call yesterday, have been inconsolable. All I can do is write and think about PIR. Hugs winniesam...we are almost there!

Thanks for the hugs Sheilaq, I really needed that! Hugs back to you as well.

I know what u mean.. Wanted to cry when chris called but thats the last thimg he needs to hear bc then he'll worry about me... hearing him cry breaks my heart tho.. Its hard to hear that and not be able to be there for him when he needs someone..

That's the truth Missy. You just want to hold them and tell them everything will be okay. It's hard to be strong for them when you just want to break down! I guess we just have to keep thinking it will be here soon enough and we can hug and kiss the daylights out of them! I'm sending you a great big hug!!!

Have you all seen this video?

VIDEO LINK

Yes I watched it right after he left, there are alot of informing videos on u tube

I know... I watch it again and again... somehow it makes me feel a little closer to my son. :) I'm a silly mom!!!!

Nathan's Mom... lots have said they got mail on the same day each week so I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!!! :) HUGS!!!

It makes me feel closer to my son too! It has always helped me to see where the people I love live... somehow it's not so far away once you can picture them there. I don't know if that made any sense at all!! I'm a silly Mom too!!!!!!

Pink... PERFECT sense! I get it! We are so much alike! :)

I hope you get mail today Nathan's Mom!!

OMG!!!!! My son just called me!!! I was worried for a minute that something was really wrong... like he was coming home or something, but he's changing jobs... Does anyone know what a CTN is?!

WOW! Pink YAY! CTN is Cryptologic Technician- Networks ... let me find a link to the description for you... hold on... ;)

Pink... here ya go... CTN Rate

LOL... aren't we bad that we instantly think something is wrong? We've gone so long without hearing from them so no news does feel like good news!

But that call was good news! So awesome he got to call for that. Did he ask for info for a security clearance?

Thanks so much Dana!!

Yes, I guess we just try to prepare ourselves for the worst... then when it's good news we are extatic! (I have NO idea how to spell that word!!!!)
He needs me to fax his birth certificate to him. He didn't say anything about a security clearance... but maybe they need this for that?!

deemedic - glad you got a letter! YAY!!! Oh... the swearing... yeah.. they hear so much of it it sounds sort of normal. Once he gets back into the real world... he'll reign that in a bit. ;)

Pink - what was his rate before? I would guess so... funny that wasn't in his file already though.

CTN requires a Top Secret Security Clearance. The school is at Corey Station, Pensacola, FL... that's where my son is going, too... but he's an IT. IT only requires a Secret Clearance I believe. So... be prepared for the FBI to visit friends or neighbors cause I bet they will... they visited my neighbor yesterday! ;)

My daughter's in the Cryptologic group also

got our first letter last thurs ( i was out of town) and a call on Friday!! She sounded sooo good. We both cried though. but a good cry. She did have her wisdom teeth pulled. Her nickname now is cheeks b/c she was so swollen. Is there anyone on here with a daughter named sarah? That is her bunk mate.Congrats for everyone for getting their first letters, praying that everyone will get a call now.

deemedic - glad to hear you got a letter!!!

Dana - his rate before was ET or FC. He said they had a lot of those and there was an opening for CTN so he's going for it. He did say the school was in FL and it's shorter than for ET/FC.

Charlee - cool! maybe they will get to know each other!!

marsy - so sorry to hear about your daugher swelling up so much! I'm glad she's doing ok though! It's so great to hear their voice isn't it?!

Good morning everyone...well at least here in California! This information on the FBI and security clearance is so interesting. I wonder if my son needs a security clearance for the SECF program...does anyone know?

Dana, thanks for posting the picture of the rack and for the information..my son said in one of his letters that he doesn't like stacking racks.

Nathan's Mom... you're a Dana, too??? ;)

Pink... oh yeah... I knew that. Yes, ET school is long... I think CTN school is like 6 months... still long... but not as long. ;)

marsy - Oh... poor girl! Hope she heals fast!

Timsmom - I think SECF is a Secret Clearance job.

So just be prepared that our kids may never be able to tell us exactly what they do for a living. ;)

In response to the comment...be prepared to never know what jobs our kids do....my son doesn't talk much, I have to fish for information. Is it a boy thing?

What about for Nuclear Power School?

I think Nukes are a Secret Clearance as well.

Yeah.... my boy just expects me to ask TONS of questions. I just tell him that's my job!

But we'll have to respect them if they tell us they can't tell us something. The Navy gives them a lot of responsibility, often at a young age... and they understand that very clearly after going through boot camp. We have so much to be proud of in our recruits! :)