Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

Partyofseven:  I just got the countdown notification on my phone...  2 days!!!!  How can it be 2 days!?!?

Kim/Toby - I know on my 3rd SRs first call home he was hoarse from Marlinspike and that was in his week 3 day 1 of training. 
My son who arrived on 7/9 - on 8/1 he had just received his NWU uniforms, the 11th was some test, the 12th he got his dress uniforms and NSU,  the 11th he got our first letters, on 8/14 he mentioned livefire, damage control, PI, Drill PI, another PFA and firefighting was coming up. By 8/17 he had his military ID (aka CAC card), 8/19 was live fire, and his individual photos. 8/20 was his division photo, 8/29 was his final PFA, 8/30 he asked me to wsh him luck  on BST-21, and his PI Test. His PIR was 9/3.

Shanny - BC drags on and on and then BOOM it is over already? So excited for you! The dark days are almost over and then open communication! Don't be surprised it it is a week after PIR before he goes to A school. 1&2 went Friday after PIR so I was spoiled and it made it so hard for when #3 was held a week.

Party - morning to you!

Vintage - we have our logical and heart on sleeve kids, #1 and  #3 are our heart on sleeves (RTC ship out order not age) and 2 and 4 are more logical though #4 lets it bottle up and then becomes very emotional. Still waters run deep until they become a geyser!

Ladybluefire, EOD is Explosive Ordnance Disposal, part of Special Forces.  It's a very tough rating.  

Vintagegal, no emojis, but we can post images....

LadyBlue - You are a veteran to this and we appreciate all the info. One more question, Why do they assign the SR's a ship number and division before they even finish P-days? Seems like a lot of extra work to just change it again after P5?

I should stop saying "one more question" because I'm sure it won't be the last. LOL

LadyBlueFire- you’re absolutely right! Their wonderful individual personalities make them who they are! My youngest wears his heart on his sleeve and my middle daughter is a mix :) 

Anti M- definitely! 

Kim/Toby - no idea why they assign when they do - I guess (and a guess it is) is more than enough will stay in the div than won't, lol. As far as I can glean they assign them div based on arrival days - (my kids were later in the week arrivals and were in the bottom end of div #s except #2 he was the first div in the training group) - I know there must be some tweaking when it comes to girls and such. 
I know less than there is to know - all I can tell you is from my own personal experience. A lot of things change once you get the hang of how they do it. What I shared from my #3's letters may not even apply to my #4 or yours but it is a good thing to use as some sort of guide so you can kind of imagine what they might be doing. 

Anti M - thanks for the info on EOD. 

LadyBlue - Ok, thanks again! I'd say you are correct that the process is always evolving. Especially this year!

Northwoodsmom- Yes it does. And it truly is a blessing to have all of you sharing and it does make one feel better when there is so much craziness in the world. 

There are times when even I must step back and take a breath. :)

Hey ladies! I haven’t been posting too much but I’ve been trying to keep up with your posts. I wanted to share that on Monday I got 3 letters from my SR. If you remember he was sent back to ROM and training halted.

First letter was him saying how he thinks this just isnt for him & I guess another SR told him he could quit (lol) but he found out that wasn’t true. Im sure that’s a normal feeling. It’s really hard getting through the days by himself and the most annoying part of BC is not being able to go to the bathroom for 14-16 hrs until lights out. He’s asking for suggestions on how to handle and I said maybe they can give him Immodium. I really don’t know.

Second letter was after the 2nd call he was going back to ROM - He received vaccines then 2 pills. He said afterwards he started showing symptoms of being “sick” so was moved back. He said a bunch of other kids were sent back too-some feeling sick some not. He likes ROM bc you can sleep. (insert me rolling my eyes here) He did his PRT....nailed the push-ups, no sit-ups so he thought he was good. Then the run...the person giving instruction he said he couldn’t understand but wasn’t going to ask him to repeat it so he ran 9 laps (in 12 mins) but then heard them say go to the right so he stopped. He should’ve ran 3 addtl laps. SMH! So they failed him. No $2k bonus. He gave me instructions on how to get in touch with his friend and get his address. He closed with telling me his hard it was to talk to me on the phone & that he almost cried.

Third letter he was saying he thought he was doing pretty good in BC aside from his boot breaking & not having a clean pair of shorts & something that messed up his rack inspection. He told us to use Sandboxx, that they are receiving those letters in ROM & it’s much faster. He closed with his much he misses us but thinks (bc if some of the things they told them) that he won’t get to see us for years. ........Sad. I know it wont be that long.

Of course I had 2 1/2 pages already started so I replied to all of his questions, got his friends address and sent today. His buddy said he had been thinking about him/worried so he’s glad I reached out & he would be writing him ASAP.

That’s all for now.

@katharine.....I still can’t believe nothing yet. But your last message I read told me your in a good place in your head. Even if it’s for a little while... stay strong mama. Your SR is powering through, no news is good!

Kristel - it is not just the $2k bonus he loses out on he also loses out on advancing to E2 - I was so pissed when they did that to my 3rd SR. So far only my 1st got the bonus and the advancement - though truly do not know she got the $. My 2nd passed the PFA but got less than 80% on the DEP test. My 3rd was told he had to do slow and controlled push ups so he did not do enough (51) though he could do 80 at home.

Amazing how right after getting a vaxx they feel sick! (insert sarcastic tone here).

My husband does not recall them not being allowed to use the bathroom until lights out. I am asking my #1 about that.

You should be able to see your son at least in the fleet. Where is he going to A school?


Ugh  I am being bad being on here, lol - I did attain my one goal of finishing the kitchen as far as Kon Marie goes. Now I must move onto the laundry room then the "Harry Potter closet aka mini cramped garage" I also have to go to UPS and mail my son;s camera off - he is missing it so and he is THU for A school til October.

Kristel2400,

Hey, I am so glad you posted!! Whoo Hoo Yay for letters. I am so glad he is sounding better.

I swear reading your post brought me right back to when mine was in bc three years ago. They don't realize what they are getting into as far as missing us and home. They don't want to believe it when we try and tell them.

But they do. That's the good part of it. I think some of the kids get sick anyways because of all the vaccines they get. That's a bummer about his run and I'm sorry they failed him like that. And that he had an issue with his rack inspection. He was probably like can I get a break.  :)

I'm glad you had the letters ready and that you heard from him. 

Big hugs!!!

Shanny- I know 2 days left whoo hoo!!!!

Just a reminder to mommas waiting for the "I'm a sailor!" call: if your SR is in the last group to do battlestations during the graduation week, you won't get that call until sometime Friday night! 

My SR (now sailor!) marched PIR last Thursday (9/17) but did not have battlestations until Thursday night so no call until after 6 pm on Friday!! We watched him in the video before he was officially a sailor! He said in his phone call "that was weird..."

He was held back 3 weeks for failing his run but he finished strong! It didn't matter how long it took, I was never so proud in all my life as when I watched him march with his division!

RedRover:  thank you for that reminder!  Just read that there are more divisions in this PIR than any other in recent history because of whole divisions being moved because of COVID and ROM.  There are 1100 in one PIR FB group I am in...  I don’t know if they go in order or just randomly as far as the division numbers that go in. But so far, there has not been a single division to receive/make the I’m a Sailor call

Hello everyone I’m on my lunch and I checked the RTC Facebook page. I’m not on Facebook but I go on the link that is on the Boot Camp website. There are new pictures of the recruits doing different tasks. Go in and see if you see your SR!

 Kristel2400 - as soon as I’m done with work I want to go in and read what you posted. My son had to go back into ROM yesterday. It was a super sad phone call. He was devastated.  I saw that you wrote about your sons experience with ROM. 

So it was just posted in my PIR group that a division that was supposed to go through BS yesterday was cancelled because they failed yesterday’s inspection. And now they can’t do BS until after everyone else goes through...  this is crazy

RedRover, Thanks for the remainder about the phones calls. It was great to see you on here and for sharing.

Shanny- Oh my gosh 1100 in one PIR group. That is a whole lot. This latest info is it pretty accurate from the mom I mean? If so, I feel bad for all those SR's. I don't know. You really can't say anything yet since we don't have all the information about what goes on there.

I know that your SR will have lots to tell you when he does get out of boot camp. Remember No news is good news and let's wait and see what happens!!!

Hugs!!! 

Katharine,

Just checking in with you. How is the day going? How is the laundry room looking?

Kim/Troy:  I wonder if our SRs might be in the same TG or Division when they get assigned.  Our SR should have had his first day of P day on the 17th.  I counted 8 Fridays after his arrival (9/2), and it came to 10-30.  I read somewhere that graduation (or at least the video we see) is usually 8 Fridays after they arrive.  I believe his last P day would be tomorrow.  I put in my calendar to start looking for his FL 9/30 thru 10/8.  Also, how did you have an address for him for P days?  And why does it change after P days?

LadyBluefire:  Thanks for explaining P days!  

To all:  You all talk about Navy allergies.  And I'm wondering what is wrong with me.  Several weeks leading up to him leaving, everything and anything would set me off crying.  I didn't even know what I was crying about half the time.  I thought the day he left would be really hard.  He, my husband and my daughter went out for coffee and cinnamon rolls beforehand.  Then we took him to the parking lot of the recruiter's office.  Then we just said goodbye.  It seemed kind of anticlimactic.  It should have been a bigger deal.  No tears from any of us.  It wasn't until that night when I went to brush my teeth and his toothbrush was missing that I started crying.  Then I started laughing!  So I was laughing and crying.  I was a mess!  But I've been fine ever since then.  Maybe because I'm so caught up in the "doing."  Being on here and getting information, writing him letters and getting other things ready to send to him, driving my daughter who has epilepsy to and from work and doctor's appointments, taking my 92-year-old mother who has dementia to appointments and calling her and trying to get her medical and financial stuff taken care of, and doing the rest of the household/family stuff.  But . . . I'm sure when I get that FL, I'll be dealing with Navy allergies!  But I'm constantly thinking of him and praying for him all the time.  I'm always wondering what he might be doing right this minute.  I'm wondering how he is holding up.  He is usually a laid-back, not bothered by anything, even-keeled kid.  So I hope he stays that way through this, but I worry that he might not be doing well emotionally and psychologically.  But I know God is with him.  This is probably also a time he is maturing spiritually!  At least, I hope it is.  I always pray that God will make him into the man He wants him to be!

Whew!  Sorry that was so long!  Lol

Partyofseven:  the 1100 in the PIR came from the admin...  I was wondering if she meant 1100 in the FB group for they PIR or in the PIR but then she said to contact her about official pictures after we talk to our SR because she has 1100 to help in this group so make sure if they didn’t order pictures before asking for help ordering. 
as for the delay and rescheduling of this one division’s BS, it was reported by 4 different parents/loved ones that they received calls and that was what they were told because it may delay their PIR into next week but that it depended on if they passed inspection Thursday morning. But they still wouldn’t have had BS yet?  Like I said, not my son’s division but still...  he has had quite a few post their SR went into ROM this morning due to COVID exposure. So ready for this to be done

Redrover0628 - awesome and weird about the marching before BST 21, lol. I feel for those who have to march right AFTER BST 21 and how tired they must be! You are right about being proud and somehow  I feel prouder for those who go through setbacks because it is a strength of character to deal with all of this this year!

Vintage - I think ROM is harder on us parents then the kids when all is said and done. Us not knowing what is going on is very difficult to process emotionally. At least when my first 2 were held back it did not affect their PIR. That was probably how RTC discovered they could condense training and cut it by 2 weeks.

Shanny - BST 21 is scheduled weeks out and if one has to delay they have to put them at the end. I just am glad it wasn’t your son’s div! When a div is pulled from BST due to 2 week ROM their slot does not get filled with a div that was set to go the day after them. 

C’s mom - count 9 Fridays not 8 but 10/30 is 9 Fridays, lol. His PIR should be 10/29 and video on 10/30. Your son’s last P day will be this Weds and Thursday will be his first day of training. Weekends do not count. You are right about the FL arrival window. You’re welcome but my account of P days was from before 14 day ROM so who knows how accurate that is, lol. Haircuts are in there too.  Addresses can change after P days if they have a set back. The recruiters get their address as soon as it is assigned but it is not set in stone til they move to the ship and of course things happen anytime and that could change at any time.

Glad you got all that out - I bet it felt good to say all that. Navy Allergies have no rhyme nor reason. Sounds like you are so busy you do not have time to miss him sometimes which is good. When I get the dinner plates out I get sad - seeing 3 pathetic little plates on the counter vs the 7 that would cause loading issues. For some reason going from  4 plates to 3 was the hardest. Making normal sized dinners and seeing all the leftovers gets to me too, lol.

I just saw DRESS WHITES on the photos from RTC FB page - trying to make sense that they went from blues to whites when they usually transition from white to blue this time of year, lol.

So now I wonder if I will have a dress white photo for #4? 

I made it to UPS and I organized the laundry room/half garage, lol. Now I can be lazy!

14 TG and 90 per TG is 1260 RS so 1100 in this TG is not out of the range of possibilities

that should read 90 per div not TG - 

ugh SR not RS 

C'sMom2020,

Hey, That was very heartfelt. There is nothing wrong with you. People handle things differently and that's ok. I was a mess when he was gone. I had him late and he's my baby.

I still have my moments but I am a lot better than what I was. I feel like our kids go thru different stages of their lives and we go thru them as well. They never tell you how  hard it is  to let them go. It's a process that's for sure. Lol

I do the same thing what is he doing now when he was in there. It's natural for us to worry about our children. And we will rejoice with you when you get your fl. 

Kristel - I just asked my #1 and she said in reference to the bathroom - you can go when you need to unless you are getting "beat" or doinng a task that can;t be interrupted

- I said you were told he had to hold it 14-16 hours a day and she just said "Noooo - There's no way - They make you drink a ton everyday - There's no way he can drink 64 ounces + and not have to pee"

I had to go back and forth cause she said my ? was vague because I said "lights out" - she was getting hung up on that part vs can they go when they need to go? lol.

LadyBluefire:  I can relate to you, just in a different way.  Our older three kids are triplets, and our SR is three years younger.  When the older three graduated HS, they left for three different colleges.  We went from a table set for 6 to a table set for 3 in a matter of a week or two.  That was hard. But we knew we'd see them at Thanksgiving and when we visited them at school.

I also looked at the bright side then.  Less laundry, less groceries to buy, less clutter around the house, the bathrooms stayed cleaner, etc.  But, oh!, I loved it when they came back and brought all the clutter, etc.  Lol.  

I think with my SR, I'm in a little different situation than all of you.  He is a reservist--at least right now.  He's mentioned signing on for active duty after A school if the economy and police officer situation isn't better.  So I know I will see him again January or February.  But I've never had a child leave and have no contact with them for several weeks and know we wouldn't see them over the holidays/birthday, and possibly for 5 or six months.  

But I'm so proud of him.  This isn't something we saw coming before March!  

partyofseven - No letter today. I re-asked his recruiting office. I tried the avenues the wiser owls suggested with no help.

DavesMom I am considering sending a bunch of letters to the divisions it could be. 389, 391, 393. From what I have seen 392 is girls. I will check the FB page and see if there is any more info I can glean on arrival dates, and which ones are girls.

I do not think it is 389 but it could be 391, 393, 394. I stalked the Facebook page and did a search for 390, 391, 392, 393, 394, 395 ..... and I searched for 18 because he went into ROM on the 18th. There are no 18th arrivals from what I could see for 389 or 390 .... they started on 391. 392 is girls. 395 is all the 19th. So I sent Sandboxx letters to 391, 393, 394. I heard that if the letters are undeliverable, Sandboxx will refund the fee. I told him I REALLY  needed him to send me a letter, even if it is blank, just so I can get the address. I now have 9 envelopes on my desk, with 35 letters. I want my desk back!!!!

Katharine - what a mess! Yeah see if you can glean which group of divs arrived on your SRs day of the week - that might narrow it all down. Worst case scenario you should be getting your call this weekend if all goes well and you can reassure him you have not forgotten him AND get his bloody address!

C'sMom - yeah  I am enjoying the less clutter but I'd give that up for seeing them! I went from 14 loads or so of laundry a week down to 4 so that was nice, lol.
I only recently clicked about not seeing them on holidays and then my pity party went from feeling sorry for me to feeling sorry for them not being home on the holidays.

Sending my last 2 off to RTC was harder because I knew I was sending them off not knowing when I'd see them again.

I could not imagine triplets - bless you!

My 3rd SR had a triplet in his div. 

Hi everyone!  I'm not on much but when I am it seems no one else is...just the way my days go!  Hope you are all doing well.

Question-I see so many recruits being pushed back from COVID and other things.  How does that affect the start of A school?  Aren't they set up to arrive so the start of school will align?  I never thought about it until today.

Katharine- with an earlier in the week arrival I can not imagine him being outside of the range of divs 388-394. Of course with his PFA that can change - if there was any setback he could be in the later divs - one mom in my 4ths TG had her son set back from the first few div to the last div near the end of P days. 

Maybe send a tentative letter to all 13 divs? lol but you will probably hear his voice before he gets any of them!

LadyBluefire - I am sure he had no trouble with his PFA ... his recruiter tested him a week before he left .... he was below 9 for his run, over 100 for his curlups and pushups. His next level of swimming was lifeguard training when he stopped lessons. I also know he is not in 392 or 400 .... those are girls! I think 396 might be too but I stopped checking after before I got there. I read comments on 393 .... several parents got letters saying they WOULD NOT be getting calls until the "i'm a sailor" call ..... wonder who did what to get that punishment.

Katharine:  I am still so frustrated for you!   

I didn’t get a call until the Saturday of week 8. The lost of things that caused that are long...  someone sneaking out of the barracks, someone writing letters to their girlfriend while on watch, issues in quarantine with someone leaving their room to run down the hall in their underwear, someone drinking mouthwash... 

@lady....it’s not that bathroom action, it’s the other. Check your DMs. Also I FORGOT ALL ABOUT losing the advancement  god that sucks  I’m not reminding him of that one. Or that he’ll have to redo his test but he should know that sooooo he’d better get it right next time.

@vintage...Im so sorry to hear that you also got that call. It is a sad one. I can give you more info, just reach out or at the top of this page try searching on quarantine or ROM & you should see it but if not DM me. 

@party....sorry for the flashbacks! No matter how hard I would warn him about just being away...he wasn’t going to hear me. 

@shanny.....girrrrrrl your in the home stretch!!!!! Woooohooooo! I’m so psyched for you !

I absolutely love the pics that they post on their FB site. Do the girls braid each other’s hair?! They looked great. Now that’s a TEAM. Go girls!!! I hope one day I’ll see my SRs pic there too but I’ll be happy just to watch him graduate online. I’m grateful that we are able to do that. Being there would be fantastic but I couldn’t imagine if they weren’t streaming it. This mama would be 1 foot from the edge! I love reading your stories and past experiences. Please keep sharing. Love & hugs to you all.❤️

Coley:  i am not sure on how A School works. We are looking at a delay right now because Pensacola is still trying to clean up from the hurricane. Their Facebook page is still saying essential employees And base residents only and only one gate open...  

Kristel2400,

No worries. It brought back good memories so it's all good. Now you've got me curious about the other that you qere saying? 

Coley423, Hey it's good to see you on here and posting. With COVID things are different but even when they get to A school sometimes they have to wait before they can class up. Mine had to wait about 2 weeks before his class started. So it really just depends. 

Thanks Kristel2400 & Shanny!

I'm new and not on here much but feel for you Katherine not knowing your son's address. I am so sorry and frustrated with you. One thing I've learned reading comments and stories is that everyone has had a different experience. I'm guessing COVID is solely to blame for that. I sure hope you hear something soon. The waiting drives one crazy, at least it did for me.

I don't know how things work with getting addresses from recruiters or if this helps anyone. My SR recruiter said I could get the address from him. After 3 1/2 weeks, I never received a FL and we are in week 5 and we still have not received a FL. But after 3 1/2 weeks I went ahead and contacted my SR recruiter and he gave me the address. I asked if it was going to change and he said it shouldn't because it had a graduation date attached, so I assume if it didn't it wouldn't be a trustworthy address? And it was the correct one fortunately. I know that doesn't help when you can't get any info from a recruiter or the main office either. All I can say is hang in there. It's so hard I know.

We received a letter from our SR yesterday! Her letters all seem to be postmarked on a Wed or Thurs. I also 'THINK" I saw her in one of the pics today on the RTC fb page. Most people think so, so we will just say it is her. hahaha :)

Hang in there moms! We CAN do this! 

Okie Mom:  I think part of the problem she is having with the recruitment office is her son’s recruiter is no longer there. If it is like mine, he has returned to the fleet. The recruiters in the office here told me that those files can’t be accessed by anyone else in the office  unless they are higher ranking (hope that is the correct word). I received help because I received a letter but couldn’t read the division. (Never received a form letter). So I sent a picture of the return address to the recruiter I talked to and he passed the picture around the office and everyone agreed on the address but first I posted it here and everyone agreed here too. This has to be frustrating for her. I would be a blubbering mess. I was a mess when I hadn’t heard anything too

my letters were always postmarked Monday and I received every one on Thursday. Except Labor Day week then it was a day later. 

Evening everyone! It has been a long day and I don't know how much time I will have on here for a bit but I will do my best to answer what I can remember. I did read all the comments in my email while waiting for my son tonight -but not sure if I will recall all of them. 

Kristel2400 - I would do some Google searching. I just did and had several different things come up. I don't know what my sailor found, but while he was in A school, we actually had a conversation about how he learned a better / faster way to take care of his daily needs. 

C'sMom2020 - I have shared with you some of my situations and I think we are similar. I wanted so much to talk to my mom and share my sadness with her when I dropped my son off with the recruiter who took him to MEPS but she was no longer here, so I called my sister who has two in military service. She understood both my sadness and my pride and let me talk and share. Then one lady in our church was always checking on me, because her son was actually deployed at that time. I had those few understand that this was different than when my girls went to college and my husband had been reserves so I knew how important it was for me to stay positive. Other than that first night, I don't recall any tears, but I did need to know what he was doing and needed those calls and letters from him, but we were very busy getting ready for another wedding, so it balanced me. We all deal with the separation differently and it is okay to cry or not to cry there is not right or wrong. 

Coley423 - as stated - when they get to A school, it is likely they may or may not need to wait to "class up", so the command deals with the flow as it comes from RTC. And sometimes the sailors are held at RTC because there is something going on at the base that can not allow new sailors yet also. 

LadyBluefire - thanks for commenting often today.

Redrover0628 - thank you for sharing!! That is interesting that they were still receiving Sandboxx in ROM because we understood that that they were not. Did you and Starry Nights friend each other - your sailors should have been leaving about the same time. 

Katharine - Prayers and hugs again !! - I would suggest you let others in your FB groups know that you have no form letter and ask them to write to their SR and let them know that they need to share among each other that if not address - No mail can be sent. 

A school happens when it happens.  They can be there 2-12 weeks waiting.   BC is training for Navy life in sooooooo many ways.  There is a lot of Hurry up and wait in the Big Navy too.  It's best to embrace the wait.

  Sorry if I sounded short. On my phone and it's hard to see or type.