Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

I would like to extend a Great Big CONCRATULATIONS to the families attending PIR this morning. Please be safe in your travels and dress warm. And have an AMAZING time with your Son/Daughter. They will look so Handsome/Beautiful in their Uniform.

HOOYAH to all the New Sailors. May the Lord be with you always to keep you safe in this New Journey you will begin. So very very Proud of you all!

  PIR: December 15, 2017 TG 06 - 8 Divisions (037-042 and 906, 907) 4 guests 

      NO PIR: December 22, 2017 & December 29, 2017

      PIR: January 5, 2018 TG 09 - 14 Divisions (043-054, 908 and 909)  4 guests

      PIR: January 12, 2018 TG 10 - 7 Divisions (055-060 and 910) 4 guests

      PIR: January 19, 2018 TG 11 - 12 Divisions (061-070, 805 and 911) 4 guests       

      PIR: January 26, 2018 TG 12 - 12 Divisions (071-080, 806 and 912) 4 guests   

This is a friendly reminder that recruits are NOT allowed to receive care packages of any kind. Any food items that are received are discarded. Never send your recruit anything unless they specifically request it, such as particular toiletries; or contacts/makeup for photos and graduation, for example. If in doubt about something you wish to send, please email us at rtc.pao@navy.mil.

Well Ladies have an early day, so I hope the info was good and it helps, wishing you all a Fabulous weekend.

May the Letters and calls be received this weekend.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen

SO exciting Kami1!  This is an awesome Friday for you!!  I cannot wait to get a letter from my son!  : )

They are allowed to have a black watch. My son took his. Good luck to your daughter.

They can keep watches. Some need them for night watch. They say they must look professional and most pick black or silver. My son has his watch. They say not to wear anything expensive.

Got my letter yesterday..can now write. I actually got a call from him because the needed additional security information. Seems to be keeping in good spirits.. processing is a lot of waiting in lines.  Told him it’s a good thing we practiced lines by going to Disney lol.

Oh my gosh, Kami!  That's AWESOME!  You will have a wonderful weekend, reading and re-reading!  I will be surprised to get one letter from my SR (he's not much of a letter-writer!)  I keep sending those letters though, of course!!  

Kami!  That's great news, enjoy hearing from your SR!

?? Do mail the pir to back recruit or does it goes somewhere eles

@Linda. Yes, fill out the form and send it back to your recruit.

Thank you it been emotional morning my son call home crying a little missing home, we insure him in 6weeks we will be there and when he fly out for school he will be close to me once get freedom leave base I will be there every weekend I can be

Yes, I understand that. My son left for bc on the 4 of this month and I miss him like crazy. I've received his form and already have sent him letters. I praying I'll hear from him soon. Prayers and blessings for our son's and daughter's.

Yes me too I sent him a card this morning I am still here writing him a letter with tears in my eyes

I found myself a complete mess the first week but it has been getting easier as days go by. I know it's the holidays and it makes it a little harder but hang in there. It'll be ok.

I was fine until he call home and started breaking down been home sick it broke my heart but I did not let him know what, I just tried to tell him he can do it b.c. hard part and he got three weeks down already not to give up it be worth it in end

 Linda - The hardest part for my son was the cussing and the yelling. That is not something he likes nor feels necessary in order to get him to obey. I know you are encouraging your son, and just keep it up. It is my understanding that they start pushing trying to figure out if there are recruits that are homesick, so encourage him to put up a tough demeanor as well and see if you can get others - mentors of his from church or who have been in the military that can write him encouraging letters.

Share scriptures or his favorite song lyrics and copy pictures to print on your letters. Once he gets mail, he should receive mail every day, but is only able to write on Sunday and mail out letters. It is hard as a mom to see or hear our children in pain, but we also have to be strong and cut the apron strings as much as possible, we are raising our children to go out and fight there own battles and sometimes that battle comes sooner than we think. Pray a lot as well for him!

Just got a 30 minute phone call from my son.  He had "hell week" this past week, so he sounded very tired.  He is doing okay and just wants to finish. Keep the prayers going for strong finish.  There are still a couple of tests and BST. 

So happy EAJmom you got to hear his voice! They can do this! They'll fight and have the courage, all of our prayers, and most of all God behind them! HUGS!

My sailor wrote they missed the run-time part of the PFT and sit-ups and will need to retest and should have no problem passing by the end. YIKES! Don't they retest right before BSTs and only retest once? 

Will any phone calls privileges be taken away so they can focus on their PT? waaah.....

For any of you that don't watch NCIS (the original show), I would recommend you watching this weeks 12/12/17 episode. It is a good reminder of family and struggles of kids with parents and parents with kids, but also a tribute to our service men and women. It had some touching moments of respect and even sometimes dishonor, but well done. I appreciated it more, now that my son is serving. - We just pull it up on the internet on CBS without their access.

I know this is going to be a tough holiday for many of you with sons and daughters at BC. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. I know Anti M mentioned going to chapel just to have a chance to be in quiet for an hour or so and not have anyone yell at you. I commented on this to my husband who was in the Army Basic and he said they actually took a group of the men to a church revival once just for them to have some quiet and down time. So encourage your recruits to enjoy some quiet time, if possible at Christmas.  

Good Morning Ladies, Hope all is well with you this Monday,

Looks like many received letters YAY!

And Calls, EAJmom I know how hard it is to hear them for the first time when they call, they are very tired but I am so Glad and Happy he is doing well YAY for him!

Sambam32 keep your head up they will get it the next time around no worries, they will need to pass this in order to go to BST-21. May the Lord give them all strength and determination to get pass this little bump in the road! Amen!

So glad to hear how happy you all are, it just makes my Day. Have a Great Day Ladies!

Also I would like to say hello to all the New Comers, welcome to Boot camp for Loved ones, you will find lots of great information here. We have many Great Women here that will help and give excellent advice. Remember there is no such thing as a dumb question, so if it is on your mind ask away.

Again Welcome!

I received "THE BOX" on Saturday!!  Waiting eagerly for the form letter with an address so I can start sending letters! My SR has been at RTC one week today... Miss him so very much! 

That's Great News mdun5959, you can begin writing now so when the address comes you will have many letters to send.

Also remember Ladies inside the envelope will be a brochure with all the Hotels near the Base or PIR. Most of them do Have shuttles, but again that will be something to think about because it being so cold over there.

The brochure that is included from MWRGL about hotels and other things is at RTC Friends and Family Brochure July 2017 rev.pdf.) The form letter includes your recruit's address, so now you can mail out all the letters you have been writing. There is more on this in Letter Writing & Fun Stuff/Questionnaires to send to your Recruit.

US National Weather Service Chicago Illinois

If you take a taxi or shuttle or otherwise walk in, it is about 100 yards to the Visitors Center from the gate and then about the same to the Drill Hall. Dress warmly in winter and wear comfortable shoes all year round.

If your Sailor will be staying in GL after PIR, you may want to rent a car so that you have more freedom over the weekend. Some have found that they saved money by booking the car rental with their airfare rather than booking it separately or using a taxi or shuttle service.

The discussion, Recommended List of Rental Cars, Taxis, and Shuttle Services, within PIR Reference Information may give you some ideas.

Can you assist me with hotel reservations?
A. You may contact MWR (Morale, Welfare & Recreation) for information regarding hotel and airfare reservations. MWR may be contacted by calling 1-847-688-3593 or you may also visit the MWR website at http://www.navymwrgreatlakes.com.

Q. What is the closest airport?
A.  Chicago O’Hare International is 30 miles from RTC; Chicago Midway is 46 miles; and Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International is 49 miles.

Taxi/Shuttle/Car Rental

If you are using Sarge's Transportation service for PIR, he is wonderful and will ask you if you want to "carpool" with other families arriving or leaving near the same time, which saves money for all. On your PIR group page, you can post your arrival time/airport and see if others will be coming in around the same time. He gives good rates anyway, but it is even better when you can split the cab fare with others. If you use his service from the airport, then he will take you to/from PIR for free. Sarge can be found on here as OldSarge and there is information on his rates on his profile page.

You could use Sarge's services to get from the airport to Waukegan where car rental rates are less expensive than rates near the airport. Be sure to figure in his rates to see if this will result in a savings for you. Most car rental agencies have shuttles from the airports to an off-site location, so ask about that when checking rates.

Some hotels offer free or low cost (usually around $3 per person) shuttle services to and from PIR. Some shuttles will allow the new Sailor to ride free with a paying person who is booked at the hotel. You will need to check on the cost and availability of shuttle services when booking your hotel. Be sure to ask what the "shuttle" is because the "shuttle" at some hotels may be a bus, a van, or a taxi.

If you take a taxi or shuttle or otherwise walk in, it is about 100 yards to the Visitors Center from the gate and then about the same to the Drill Hall. Dress warmly in winter and wear comfortable shoes all year round.

Here is some Great Info that HooyahSuzy posted a while back in regards to shuttle vs. driving. so I am reposting it so that way you all can make a choice.

For those always asking if taking a hotel shuttle to PIR is better than driving, here's the upside and downside of this: The upside is what everyone stating that the shuttles get to by-pass traffic so you don't have to sit in a long line of traffic. Okay, fine. But then what? Then, the shuttle dumps you off at the gate where, depending on the number of recruits graduating with the more recruits, the more guests, you'll be standing in line at the gate as the guards check each ID against each ticket and then each guest has to have each of the bags search by security. And then, you have about a 100- to 150-yard walk to the visitors center. If it's winter and it's 5 degrees out or temps are sub-zero, and it's windy and the snow is blowing sideways, that is going to be one hellava walk for you, especially for the eldery guests or young children. Wheelchairs are available upon request, but you have to wait until one arrives. Suddenly, sitting in a long line of heated cars doesn't seem so bad. If you are not dressed properly for the weather, including those who insist on wearing cute little short dresses and heels, you are going to be quite miserable for this walk. If weather isn't so bad, and you have no issues with cold

on the day of RTC graduation are we allowed to bring the graduate their cell phone/laptop?

 Nicsam - I believe you joined Nuke Mom's group, which indicates that your sailor will fly to SC for A school. All sailors who fly out are suppose to wait to receive their phones and laptops at the airport when they leave. There have been some sailors who have been held in GL and may not fly out PIR weekend. I don't know if they are allowed to have their cell phones when they go to THU (temporary holding unit) but if that happens your sailor should know.

What THU

Friends and family of Recruit Training Command, please be advised that as of the first graduation ceremony of 2018 (January 5), we will be adjusting our Recruit Family Welcome Center hours of operation. Our new hours will be Thursday [10:00 AM to 7:30 PM] and Friday [5:30 AM to 8:30 AM]. Please make note, we will no longer open on Wednesday for normal ticketing hours. Thank you.

THU-Temporary Holding Unit-where recently graduated Sailors go if they are on hold for "A" school--those Sailors with a contract for Culinary Specialist (CS) often find themselves in the THU for one to four weeks after PIR. Those in the THU are in separate quarters from those being discharged. Few graduating Sailors are in THU since the change to Friday and Saturday Departures, but some will be sent here while awaiting clearance or to conduct a special physical or while waiting to class up if there is no housing available at the "A" School or for some other reason.

Welcome to all the New Comers to this site really glad to have you all along. I hope you find all the information you are needing and then some. Please share your moments when you loved one Left to BC or any questions you may have. We have many Amazing and Wonderful Ladies that will share their experience as well. Thanks for being here!

Hi everyone! This will be my second go around as a military Mom and I can't be prouder! My oldest son was in the Marines for nine years and my youngest son swore in this morning and is on his way to RTC. My heart strings are feeling that tug today! I look forward to getting to know everyone on the site. Can you please tell me how we find out what division they will be in? Thank you!

Welcome ReeseMom and Congratulations to your New SR. please make sure you have the phone whether cell or home phone near so you do not miss the I'm here call, it will be late in the evening. I am posting some info for you to read and it will explain to you how the procedure goes.

   PIR: December 15, 2017 TG 06 - 8 Divisions (037-042 and 906, 907) 4 guests 

      NO PIR: December 22, 2017 & December 29, 2017

      PIR: January 5, 2018 TG 09 - 14 Divisions (043-054, 908 and 909)  4 guests

      PIR: January 12, 2018 TG 10 - 7 Divisions (055-060 and 910) 4 guests

      PIR: January 19, 2018 TG 11 - 12 Divisions (061-070, 805 and 911) 4 guests       

      PIR: January 26, 2018 TG 12 - 12 Divisions (071-080, 806 and 912) 4 guests       

US National Weather Service Chicago Illinois

My cell will be tied to my hip! Thank you so much for the all the great information!

I received the form letter this weekend!  I was so excited just to see my son's handwriting.  I mailed a letter today and hope, fingers crossed, that maybe he will call on Christmas.  What are the chances I will get a call?

You are very welcome ReeseMom, Glad to be of Help.

please use this link to read about the adopt a Sailor for Christmas

  U.S. Navy Recruit Training Command.