Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

GOOD MORNING LADIES!!!! 

My SR just called.  Quarantine is over he’s going back to training but he wants to separate. I told him we are all pulling for him & that they have to break you down to build you back up. They have to know you can handle it in the moment when shit gets real. He’s like you don’t understand mom, you’d have to be here. I said listen you’re doing what your dad & I both wanted to do. You CAN DO IT. He was trying really hard not to cry. Then he asked if I got his letters, I said yes but your talking a lot about video games. I said come on - get your head straight and push through this. I get it....you’ve been sitting in Q for 2 weeks. But he did make friends. I bet they’re just not getting out of Q. He said he got some of my letters. Then he wanted to go bc he was upset. Omg :(

Velvet - hi stranger!!!

NewMilMom & Khawk1290 - welcome! This is a wonderful bunch of ladies - we laugh, we cry and we rally!

Fly - I was so jelly of GL A school moms, lol - they pretty much leave ASAP. Until this group to PIR I did not know they would/could do BST AFTER PIR, lol. I could not imagine doing PIR and then not passing BST. FT is THE best!!!

Kristel - if you make a cheat sheet count me in for a copy, lol. Oh and come to my house, it takes me 4-6 hours to clean my downstairs wood floor. I have not done it since March but luckily it is very forgiving as long as no bare feet touch it! And OMG can I box your kids ears in? A letter just to ask for a Nintendo DS? I am laughing at your amazon story - meh I am at the age I don’t care - I only wear a bra out in public and on my property is not it, lol.

Ugh just now seeing your newest comment - it is so hard on them this year I think - so much added stress with the spectre of COVID  hanging over them threatening to delay their training. Things are a million times better once they leave boot camp - it is such a small blip on their Naval time.


Shanny and Katharine - thinking of you both and your puppies today...I am seeing people reply to Shanny but the posts are not coming to me…

C’s mom - 243? That sounds off..maybe he transposed - 423 would be more like it.423 is PIR 10/29. I am getting my first piece of mail - no form letter but personal letter! The FL is a legal sized envelope; a personal letter is the smaller envelopes.

Kristel:  i am so sorry he is having a rough time. Some of the things I have read about ROM would make me run away from it too.  My son was ready to get separate after the initial quarantine. I don't think he would have made it if he had gone back. But he made it through and graduated Thursday. It will be better when he is back in BC. 

BNMHs. If you have his address send him some encouraging mail. Get his friends to write him-even if they just send you messages to copy and paste into a letter for them. 

C'sMom2020 - Pay close attention to that Division # when you get mail. Even with a ROM that division was slated for graduation in July. 

Kristel2400 - There is a fine line in parenting of tough love and understanding and encouragement - may you have the wisdom to find the words to say to help your SR through. I would encourage you to suggest that he go to chapel if he is able to be there. Even if he is not wanting to go for "religious" reasons, as Anti M said once, "it is an hour without anyone yelling and screaming at you." We really can not put ourselves in their place and understand what they go through. 

B'sNukeMom also reminds us, especially in the Nuke Mom group that separation or re-rating is not the end of the world. 

I am glad that Shanny shared her story! This is a tough time and my thoughts are with you as you write your SR more letters and offer more encouragement to him. 

Girls - thank you so much for all of the things you said. His dad & I have rallied 5 people, to write him words of encouragement today. Navy mom allergies STRONG TODAY. I was allergy free for a lonnnng time til now. Lol thank God I have you. I didn’t get to ask for new division so I hope to god the new letters get to him. Not sure if he would've known the new one now anyway. 

Could someone please help me with a new timeline? Or am I just over thinking bc I’m losing it here?

Kristel - I cant keep up was this a training interrupting ROM? If so add 2 weeks. He hopefully will resume onto the same day of training he was on by being added to the div that is on that same week/day of training PROVIDED there is room in that div, otherwise he will be put back to an earlier day of training. 

So that is the best at a new timeline I can say - the additional 2 weeks to his PIR.

Kristel - as much as we dont recommend the use of a 3rd party app - as long as you keep it generic I might use that with this situation JUST so he can get encouragement even a few days earlier. JUST this one time to get him something to help him through this. I'd even offer to pay for his friends to use it so he gets something maybe by Wed or Thurs?

Thanks for all your in-put.  I had just addressed all the envelopes.  You are right!  I'm wondering if it is Div. 423, because it looks like TG 51 with a PIR of 10/29 had Division Nos. 415 through 428.  Man!  And our mail doesn't come until around 3 p.m.  I wanted to get these out today!  But I can still get the copied and ready to go.  :D

LBF.....Yes, i will do that.  And I figured I was over thinking. My mind is kinda racing. Laughing/crying repeat. They have no CLUE what WE go through. 

P.S. I just realized there’s a calendar on this page  SMH

Kristel - UGH!  You do not know his new div - and with the varying stories about SB letters getting fwdd or not - then ugh is all I can say. Maybe his recruiter will know?

Good Morning Ladies and welcome to our new moms,

Gina-Lee, your links are on page 2. Lol They can get lost when we post a lot. It's all good thou.   :)

Kristel2400- I am so sorry to hear he is feeling discouraged. Yes I would send those letters out and just keep encouraging him and that's it's going to be ok. He will look back on this and say thank gosh it's over. I would use the app just once to help him thru this. HE WILL get thru this.

Big Navy Hugs to you!!!! And I am here for you as well.

C'sMoM2020- Yeah mail is coming. That's awesome!!!  :)

I'm going to the zoo today so I'll be off and on. Prayers for calls and letters to come in today.

LadyBluefire:  So it looks like this is a personal letter.  So I probably won't get the accurate Division number until I get the FL.  Does your #4 SR have the same PIR as my SR (10/29 I believe)?  I was just thinking they might if you are also getting your first personal letter before the actual FL.

C'smom - his personal letter will have the correct address - it actually gets mailed out after the FL. My #4 PIR 10/22. Was your SR an early in the week arrival? I am thinking hurricane Sally is causing mail delays for me

C's mom - duh he transposed his div # I forgot = I bet it is 423 unless his 8s look like 3's lol

C's mom - Katharine got personal letters and no FL and she called the recruiter and they were able to verify for her (the post office had stamped over the div on ALL her envelopes)

Katharine - hoping your headache feels better!

LadyBluefire:  According to the size you told me, this is a personal letter.  And the postmark is this past Thursday, 9/24.  So if the first personal letter gets mailed after the FL, does the FL just take longer to get here?  According to the timeline I had figured out, I thought his FL would get mailed out on the 24th.  I'm thinking, also, that he transposed the 2 and 4, so it is probably 423.  Leave it to my son!  Lol!  I just want to verify.  I tried to call the recruiter, but I don't know if he answers the phone on Saturdays?  It went to voicemail, which wasn't set up. 

My SR arrived on a Wednesday arrival--right in the middle of the week. I believe his PIR is 10/29, so it looks like I'm a week behind you in this whole process.  

Does this sound strange?  I'm almost afraid to read his letter.  I'm hearing so many SRs are miserable and depressed and want to quit.  That doesn't sound like him, but he's never gone through anything like this.  I'm wanting to pray that his letter is good, but I'm reminding myself that I've already covered him in prayers for the time he wrote that letter.  My husband is gone right now and won't be home until possibly this evening.  He said I could go ahead and read the letter (even though the letter is addressed to him), but I feel like I should wait.  I also might want the moral support when we'd have if we read it together.   

I still need to get caught up on everyone else from the last two days.  That's on my agenda for later this afternoon.  And that might get my mind off what will be waiting out in that mailbox!  

C'smom - there must be a delay with our form letters. My son's first day to be able to mail things out was 9/17 so yours being marked 9/24 is about right. I have never had a form letter arrive after the personal letter, lol. Usually I get the FL then the next day or 2 I get the personal. I'd say they are scrapping FLs but I see people in my PIR group receiving theirs.

No matter what the letter says it is just reflective of how he was feeling that day.  I got a sad sack letter from my recruit and then a week went by and nothing and normally I was getting 2 a week. His next letter was very upbeat. They seem to have good and bad days. 

If you can't wait for hubby then maybe call him and read it out loud to him as you read it the first time?

I am anxious for my mailman to come today - another hour at the latest, letter addressed to hubby but i k now it is for both of us...

VintageGal:  my sailor is one that never got caught up in the return to ROM. He did get caught up in 5 or 6 holds with people who showed signs of being sick but they tested negative so he was sent back into BC

I signed up for informed delivery y’all! :)

I could not wait til 2 to check my mail so I drove to my mail box - my knees acting up and a 10 minute walk was not something I was looking forward to - not only did I have his personal letter but I had the form letter as well! It never showed in ID so I don't know how long it has been there as I have not checked the mail in days.

Beloved - I cannot help with Ft McCoy details as my son was at the Great Wolf Lodge. He is eating both bag nasties and regular meals. He said they are not as nasty as he thought they'd be, lol.

His letters were written from 9/2 thru 9/19 and we had gotten the call on 9/17 that made us worry about him being separated and he makes no mention of anything in his letters.

His ROM letters are normal print and his Pdays letter are all caps, lol. He was chow PO for a day and lost the job because he had no watch to tell time. He then was Head PO and lost that because someone left a wash cloth out and he tried to hide it but chief found it. He said both firings did not help his confidence and made him glad he was not RPOC.

Just an observation, from a very long view over years, it seems they hit a low point initially, and the first few letters, or call when that used to happen, can be very down and sad, and homesick.  Even without ROM and COVID, that happened about the same timeframe.  It hurts the mom hearts, but it is part of the process.  Most of them get to the end though, through all the ups and downs.  Don't let the first communications scare you, they're all tough kids, they got this, they just don't always know it yet.

LadyBluefire and anyone else that can help:  Our mail was actually his FL!  Yay!  It was just in a regular envelope.  So I confirmed that he is in Division 423, just as we thought.  But he wrote down two different last 4 digits of the zip code.  Can anyone confirm what that is?  He is Ship 14, Divison 423, zip code 60088-????.  This kid!  He better get more accurate with writing information down if he wants to be a police officer.  Lol!  He's not even home and he's still trying my patience.  I've always said it's a good thing he's so cute!

Also, after the line that says Recruit Training Command, he wrote "USS Arizona 3410 Sailor Drive."  I'd heard that we aren't supposed to write the ship name down.  

C's mom - my daughter was on the Arizona!!

Ship 14
3410 Sailor Drive
Great Lakes, IL
60088-3510

YOU can write ship name if you want, it is not needed

LadyBluefire!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  

C'sMoM2020- that is awesome!!! Yeah. They will be able to deliver it anyways. You can check thou to make sure. 

 http://www.navyformoms.ning.com/group/bootcampmoms/page/ship-divisi...

You can look at this and see if it's on there. 

Ladybluefire- thank you for posting and sharing. :)

C'sMoM2020, LBF got it for you. :) 

C's mom - yw - I can't focus today - so psyched over my personal letters. I am all over the place.

LadyFluefire:  I know what you mean.  I haven't gotten anything done today that I planned to do.  I even almost forgot to go pick up my daughter from work.  But the mail was delivered as I was going out of the driveway, and when we got back, my husband was here.  So I was able to open it and read it.  Now I'm about to leave to put these letters we have ready in the mailbox in front of the post office.   

So my announcement for the day.....  I did not finish mowing the lawn lol but I had a quick message from my sailor!  Like quick. He is ok!  Yes he graduated!  Yes he is a sailor!  Talk next week. It was literally like the 15 second hostage call we all got in the beginning. Just the facts bye

Katharine - I hope you are feeling better today!

Anti M - Thanks for sharing your insight!

VintageGal - Have fun with the clothes shopping!! One of my daughter's wedding theme was green and yellow the other was purple!!

Shanny - So happy for you that you have finally had communication with your sailor!!! WooHoo!

C'sMom2020 - sounds like you got the information you needed!

Partyofseven - hope you had an enjoyable time with family

VintageGal:  my son always tells people I raised him right....  he LOVES hair bands!  His first concert, while not a hair band, was Bob Seger. 

Hello ladies...I have a question/need your opinion. My daughter's 6th grade teacher had her students write letters to my daughter. I thought this was a good idea, but thought just a few letters. Come to find out, there are 95 letters!!! She wants to send them to her in one envelope. My son, who is USMC, does not think this is a good idea. He said it would not have gone well had he received that in boot camp. The teacher checked with her nephew who is a Navy Seal, and he didn't think there was a problem. What are your thoughts? I am so torn! I love the idea, but that is a lot of letters!!!

Shoosh - I would look at what Lemonelephant wrote in the pages above - the Letter Writing one and see if she mentions anything in there. I assume she wanted to send them all in one envelope so they all stayed together!! I would explain to her that a large envelope like that will bring undue attention to your daughter not be a help to her and that sending smaller envelopes with letters would be better. Also, if they are just notebook paper, those flatten out and would not be that thick, even in a large envelope. - Hopefully others can share some insight.

You might ask in your MofD2 group as well, if you haven't already. 

thank you!! My son already spoke to her and explained when he was in boot camp (USMC) it would not have been good.  But then she spoke with her nephew who thinks it would not be a big deal. She is holding off mailing them until she hears back from me. I just emailed her to see if maybe the letters could be sent to the division as a whole, or if they are specifically addressed to her. Holding!!!

Shoosh - We might be crossing our messages here, but I think that info I sent had ideas for sending to a division. I think that is what you are checking on. 

Shoosh,

If I remember correctly I would only send a few to your SR at a time. That way she won't get into trouble. 

How sweet of them to write her thou. I love it when they do that.

Shanny, so glad you finally got to talk to your new Sailor. :)

Glad he's doing good. 

VintageGal- purple's my favorite color to. What pretty colors. My first concert was John Cougar Mellencamp. 

:) 

Katharine- hope your feeling better.

LBF and C'SMoM2400, hope the letters were good. 

The zoo and family time was great. I am beat. Lol 

Shanny- so excited for you! Even a 15 second communication is amazing. Do you know where he goes for A school? Welcome, new Mama's!! Happy Saturday!

Hey my first concert was REM...  then The Cranberries....  i was kind of all over the place. A few years ago I saw Richard Marx and Rick Springfield in "intimate concerts"  translates into tiny outdoor concerts with a bunch of 40 and 50 year old women reliving the 80s

Hi Everyone - 

Happy to hear so many of you got the calls or letters you have been waiting for!!! Still nothing on our end.... Just holding tight to No News Is Good News! Still can't help but hope for a phone call this weekend. We are going on 6 weeks (this Tuesday) of no contact.

Did I read somewhere that Katherine got a letter? I hope so. Seems her concussion must still be keeping her away from the computer. Hopefully she will feel much better soon - probably will take at least a week.

Thank you to all the "gamer moms" for your comments as I try to decide what to do if the "mail me my XBOX" requests comes once my SR is in A school. LBF - I relate to how hard it is when they play games instead of having quality family time. Mine would plane family movie nights, etc, but on HIS schedule, not mine. It must have made you feel a little better that your SR at least had some regrets once he reflected on missing quality time for games - it is a start.

chipmunk - about Shoosh’s post- Sending the letters to a division would be a beautiful idea! 

Partyofseven and Shanny - I love all of those artists <3 My first concert was Heart when I was in fifth grade. I’ve seen them quite a few times since and they’re one of my favorites. 

Shanny - that was my experience when I went and saw Neil Diamond which was awesome of course. It was a very chill concert, but I know those women in the front row were swooning!