fayegirrl4 - I go to CT from the south (NC), but I usually go through PA. I-95 might not be too bad on Thanksgiving day, but I like to take I-84 into CT. It isn't the shortest or fastest, but it is a pretty drive and avoids I-95 altogether. However, I have not done that this time of year -- weather might be a factor. Another possibility for lodgings would be a B&B. There are many in the area and it is off season, though I don't know about availability around holidays.
For those of you that have already gone through PIR... have you seen a "general" time that they fly out following PIR? Or is it still at random? Also...can anyone accompany them once they arrive at the airport? Or immediate family only? TIA!
ally684, we just went to our son's PIR on 11/6. His flight was at 5:40am to Groton. He was able to stay with us outside the gates/security until about 4:45am. The USO representative told us the determining factor of wether or not you can go past security depends on the airline your sailor will be taking. They each have different regulations I guess. The six of us had a nice time sitting around at the Starbucks for the four hours we had together. My son mentioned that he thought there was a group that flew out a little later too though. Hope that's helpful!
fayegirrl4, I wanted to share that I stayed in Best Western in Mansfield Center, CT, 06250; and it's only 15 mins. or so from base to the north, very near Univ. of Conn. campus. A shopping mall is closer to the base; I didn't visit it, so I'm sorry I don't have the name of the mall. When I visited my son, he used on-line tech to find directions. I like mapquest myself; I find it to be quite accurate. While driving, the roads are rural enough that street lighting is poor; or maybe I'm too used to it being here in Cols. I hope your travels are good; keep me posted!
I just had to share!! Had the most wonderful surprise today!! My son came home!!! I didn't think he was going to be able to come home and this was the first year he wasn't going to be here!! I had no clue, my co-workers helped him surprise me and I was Stunned when he popped around the corner of my office!!!!!!! I'm still shaking!!!! One of the most happiest moments of my life!!!!
Hello all! A quick report about our Thanksgiving jaunt to see our son over the weekend. 5 of us left last Thursday morning to make the 11 hour 48 minute drive. We arrived around 8:55 pm at New London Sub base. Our son looks good and seems to be acclimating nicely to his new routine. He took us around base Friday afternoon between his duty watches. Saturday he spent all day and night with us. We were able to your the USS Nautilus and sub museum, drive around New London and Mystic along with a trek to Providence, RI. We stayed at Ramada in Groton. Clean rooms, a little noisey but worked for our purpose-- sleep. We had a great visit! Trip back to Cincinnati area took an extra 2 hours due to the massive amount of traffic from CT through NJ, NY and PA. I would love to go back during the summer and drive job the New England coast. Thank you to all that gave helpful tips. They were a huge help!
So my boyfriend willbe traveling home for the holidays , and is going to have to take the am track train, but the station is about 4 miles away from the school . I was wondering if there is any type of transportation he can get from Groton to the train station .right now the only 2 options would be a 1 1/2 hour walk or a taXi ( does any one know the taxi fares from groton to the train station closest ) . Any other ideas for transportation would be really appreciated
Hey guys, I'm planning on moving up to Groton while my husband finishes out school. He has about 8 months. Is there anyone that could tell me the best apartments? Any that include utilities? Thanks in advance.
My son just signed up at meps as ST. Told hell go to A school CT 9 wks and San Diego C school, 37 wks. I'm a proud navy mom. Just went thru bootcamp experience wth h8m twin brother. We went to his graduation 11/13. He's in A school , for ctn, pennsacola fl. I'll be in touch in near future as I'm sure I'll read the great info on yur site here.
Navy mom 9828, just saw yur response. So was yur son part of SECF when he enlisted. Went to bc and thenjoy to A school, Connecticut? Has he chosen or determined h8s rate yet?
Navymom9928!! Thanks. So is BESS after the first 2 trainings of 8 wks? And getting his rate 6-7 wks into vess, is that after the 8 wks, then bess starts 9r are the first 8 wks, part 9f bess? What rate did yur son get??
Then do they complete C school there also, at Groton?
He's not sure yet. We're just discovering t9 night that the info received at meps and on his contract is N9t accurate. Interesting. But he is in secf, and unsure which rate hell request, or get . He 8s married the and I know he and his wife are wantinhbgerbt9 be able to be there if possible, when possible. I'm reading some comments and discussions on here. Will continue. Thanks for yur response.b
Nav6mom9828, for example ,after bess, att, tnoc, then an a school?? How long is yur son's et/nav A school? And will there be a C school, another location?
Son and his wife trying to get an 8dea 9f when she mite be able to come to groton. Hell grad bootcamp, leave for groton, be restricted to base for a period. When is it feasible for a wife wth out shipping household goods to actually go to groton, get into housing, and livery there, seeing hubby as he's avail and phases up etc. ??
My sailor said that everyone is on liberty, but he's not coming home for Christmas because he doesn't have enough time (only five days accrued), and two of those days would be for travel. How does this work? I guess I just don't quite understand the concept of liberty and whether or not it subtracts time from his future days off.
My son had PIR 12/4/15 and has been in Groton from there. He only has the 5 day leave but is flying home and will drive back..I'm thinking about riding along ..not sure yet on that we are so excited for his visit!
Our sailor will be returning to base Dec. 29. He needs to find an economical way back from Hartford/Bradley airport. We thought he could use the shuttle but was informed that it would not be running until Jan. 2. He is not old enough to rent a car and a taxi will be close to $200. Any helpful tips will be appreciated! Thanks!
Fayegirrl4 If he has a friend that could pick him up or possibly contact the USSVI Groton base and see if you could have someone pick him up and get him to base. http://www.subvetsgroton.org/default.aspx They are the group that does the large Thanksgiving for the guys that can not make it home. Good Group.
CO_Proud Parent, thanks for the tip! We will contact USSVI Groton to see if there are other options for our sailor. If he didnt have a round trip plane ticket, I would drive him back to Groton ( although the trip up and back over Thanksgiving ALMOST did us all in).
If that doesn't work out my sailor suggested UBER. When he got back in October the taxi took him to the wrong base and still cost him a fortune. He used UBER yo get back to base
I haven't looked into Navy housing. We just got married on the 21st of this month. I didn't think they would allow us to live on base,because he will only be there for a year.
We have looked on Craigslist but it's mostly houses and we want something that'll be easy to leave when he gets a duty station. ET NAV was his 3rd choice
Congrats, Hannah! Glad y'all got that worked out! You might check out http://www.cnic.navy.mil/ffr/housing.html/onestop, and he could ask what the options are and how to go about things. I am sure the staff in Groton will be helpful.
Those whose sailor left for Groton after PIR, how much time did you have with them? When did they have to fly out of Great Lakes? We travel for PIR on Jan 29th.
Our PIR was 11/20 and we had from the end of PIR until 8:00pm with him. His flight was at 5:30 the next morning and he left RTC around 12:30am. We met him at the airport at 1am and spent until about 3:30am with him at the airport.
Our sailor's PIR was 09/04/15 and he wanted to be back on base pretty early so we dropped him off around 6:30 pm the evening of PIR. We met him at the airport around 1:30 am and his flight left at 7 am. Hope this helps!
For future sailors and families: check with the airline attendants as your sailors check in. You should be able to get gate passes so you can stay with your sailor at his/her gate while waiting for their flight. Makes for a very long day/night but SO WORTH IT AFTER not being able to see them for 8 weeks at boot camp or if they have been away at school or duty station.
MaeJay, I m sorry you weren't able to get passes. I suppose security has been tightened up . I know you can never be too safe but it breaks my heart knowing that sailors ( military personnel in general) can't be with their loved ones. I suppose that is just the reality of serving our country. THANK YOU to all that served or have served!
HUGE FAVOR: Our son is scheduled to graduate A school the first week in February. If anyone is close by or going to be at the ceremony, would it be possible to get a picture of our sailor? I wish I had the time and money to fly to Groton to witness the graduation . Just asking .....thanks in advance!
MaeJay - As you know, our sailor graduated from PIR the same day yours did. Is it possible that you were so restricted because your sailor graduated from PIR and then the terror attacks in Paris happened? We saw on the news November 14 that the Chicago airport was highly restricted and virtually locked down. Our sailor had asked us not to come to the airport because he was given extra responsibilities to assist with everyone heading to Groton and just wanted to be able to focus on what he needed to do. After he got to Groton he told us that he was glad we weren't there because he wouldn't have been able to see us anyway.
New to this group, my SR has PIR Jan 22nd and he's headed to Groton,CT for A School....
Anyone have any pointers for PIR day and what to do/not do?
Seems like they all fly out really early the following morning :/ bummer...
any suggestions on ensuring you get to spend the most time with them? (I just sent him a letter with an index card asking him to writ down his flight info once he gets it so he can give it to me at PIR)
WearsLargeHats
fayegirrl4 - I go to CT from the south (NC), but I usually go through PA. I-95 might not be too bad on Thanksgiving day, but I like to take I-84 into CT. It isn't the shortest or fastest, but it is a pretty drive and avoids I-95 altogether. However, I have not done that this time of year -- weather might be a factor.
Another possibility for lodgings would be a B&B. There are many in the area and it is off season, though I don't know about availability around holidays.
Nov 17, 2015
ally684
For those of you that have already gone through PIR... have you seen a "general" time that they fly out following PIR? Or is it still at random? Also...can anyone accompany them once they arrive at the airport? Or immediate family only? TIA!
Nov 17, 2015
ally684
A general time for those going to Groton...
Nov 17, 2015
ally684
Thank you Navymom! Was anyone allowed to go wait with them (meaning not just immediate family)?
Nov 17, 2015
ally684
Thank you.
Nov 17, 2015
Nikki92
ally684, we just went to our son's PIR on 11/6. His flight was at 5:40am to Groton. He was able to stay with us outside the gates/security until about 4:45am. The USO representative told us the determining factor of wether or not you can go past security depends on the airline your sailor will be taking. They each have different regulations I guess. The six of us had a nice time sitting around at the Starbucks for the four hours we had together. My son mentioned that he thought there was a group that flew out a little later too though. Hope that's helpful!
Nov 17, 2015
ally684
Super helpful! Thank you all so much! I hope you all are getting some time with them over the holidays (Thanksgiving OR Christmas)!
Nov 18, 2015
lakeranne
fayegirrl4, I wanted to share that I stayed in Best Western in Mansfield Center, CT, 06250; and it's only 15 mins. or so from base to the north, very near Univ. of Conn. campus. A shopping mall is closer to the base; I didn't visit it, so I'm sorry I don't have the name of the mall. When I visited my son, he used on-line tech to find directions. I like mapquest myself; I find it to be quite accurate. While driving, the roads are rural enough that street lighting is poor; or maybe I'm too used to it being here in Cols. I hope your travels are good; keep me posted!
Nov 21, 2015
Amy L.
I just had to share!! Had the most wonderful surprise today!! My son came home!!! I didn't think he was going to be able to come home and this was the first year he wasn't going to be here!! I had no clue, my co-workers helped him surprise me and I was Stunned when he popped around the corner of my office!!!!!!! I'm still shaking!!!! One of the most happiest moments of my life!!!!
Nov 25, 2015
Amy L.
Thank you Navymom9828!!! It is AWESOME!!! Hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
Nov 25, 2015
fayegirrl4*
Nov 25, 2015
fayegirrl4*
Dec 1, 2015
Elizabeth
Dec 4, 2015
HannahLashai
Dec 7, 2015
Texasmom
Dec 9, 2015
Texasmom
Dec 9, 2015
Texasmom
Dec 10, 2015
Texasmom
Dec 10, 2015
Texasmom
Dec 10, 2015
Texasmom
Then do they complete C school there also, at Groton?
Dec 10, 2015
Texasmom
Dec 10, 2015
Texasmom
Dec 10, 2015
Texasmom
Dec 10, 2015
Texasmom
Dec 13, 2015
Anchor's Aweigh Mom
My sailor said that everyone is on liberty, but he's not coming home for Christmas because he doesn't have enough time (only five days accrued), and two of those days would be for travel. How does this work? I guess I just don't quite understand the concept of liberty and whether or not it subtracts time from his future days off.
Dec 17, 2015
Mominmich
Dec 19, 2015
fayegirrl4*
Dec 25, 2015
CO_Proud Parent
Fayegirrl4 If he has a friend that could pick him up or possibly contact the USSVI Groton base and see if you could have someone pick him up and get him to base. http://www.subvetsgroton.org/default.aspx They are the group that does the large Thanksgiving for the guys that can not make it home. Good Group.
Dec 25, 2015
fayegirrl4*
CO_Proud Parent, thanks for the tip! We will contact USSVI Groton to see if there are other options for our sailor. If he didnt have a round trip plane ticket, I would drive him back to Groton ( although the trip up and back over Thanksgiving ALMOST did us all in).
Dec 26, 2015
TJ Proudnavymom
Dec 26, 2015
fayegirrl4*
Dec 26, 2015
HannahLashai
Dec 29, 2015
Texasmom
Dec 29, 2015
HannahLashai
Dec 29, 2015
HannahLashai
Dec 29, 2015
Texasmom
Dec 29, 2015
Texasmom
Dec 29, 2015
Texasmom
Dec 29, 2015
HannahLashai
Dec 29, 2015
HannahLashai
Dec 29, 2015
WearsLargeHats
Congrats, Hannah! Glad y'all got that worked out!
You might check out http://www.cnic.navy.mil/ffr/housing.html/onestop, and he could ask what the options are and how to go about things. I am sure the staff in Groton will be helpful.
Dec 29, 2015
dawneee5
Jan 10, 2016
1sttimenavymom
Those whose sailor left for Groton after PIR, how much time did you have with them? When did they have to fly out of Great Lakes? We travel for PIR on Jan 29th.
Jan 11, 2016
ally684
Our PIR was 11/20 and we had from the end of PIR until 8:00pm with him. His flight was at 5:30 the next morning and he left RTC around 12:30am. We met him at the airport at 1am and spent until about 3:30am with him at the airport.
Jan 11, 2016
fayegirrl4*
Our sailor's PIR was 09/04/15 and he wanted to be back on base pretty early so we dropped him off around 6:30 pm the evening of PIR. We met him at the airport around 1:30 am and his flight left at 7 am. Hope this helps!
Jan 11, 2016
fayegirrl4*
Jan 12, 2016
fayegirrl4*
MaeJay, I m sorry you weren't able to get passes. I suppose security has been tightened up . I know you can never be too safe but it breaks my heart knowing that sailors ( military personnel in general) can't be with their loved ones. I suppose that is just the reality of serving our country. THANK YOU to all that served or have served!
Jan 12, 2016
fayegirrl4*
HUGE FAVOR: Our son is scheduled to graduate A school the first week in February. If anyone is close by or going to be at the ceremony, would it be possible to get a picture of our sailor? I wish I had the time and money to fly to Groton to witness the graduation . Just asking .....thanks in advance!
Jan 12, 2016
Anchor's Aweigh Mom
MaeJay - As you know, our sailor graduated from PIR the same day yours did. Is it possible that you were so restricted because your sailor graduated from PIR and then the terror attacks in Paris happened? We saw on the news November 14 that the Chicago airport was highly restricted and virtually locked down. Our sailor had asked us not to come to the airport because he was given extra responsibilities to assist with everyone heading to Groton and just wanted to be able to focus on what he needed to do. After he got to Groton he told us that he was glad we weren't there because he wouldn't have been able to see us anyway.
Jan 13, 2016
Nicole_Storm
Hello! :)
New to this group, my SR has PIR Jan 22nd and he's headed to Groton,CT for A School....
Anyone have any pointers for PIR day and what to do/not do?
Seems like they all fly out really early the following morning :/ bummer...
any suggestions on ensuring you get to spend the most time with them? (I just sent him a letter with an index card asking him to writ down his flight info once he gets it so he can give it to me at PIR)
Jan 14, 2016