Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

Welcome to all of the new members to our group. Please be sure to come share where you are at in your Navy Mom journey. This is the best place to post, ask questions and share so we can get to know you!

Happy Thursday ladies!  It warms my heart to hear about all of the phone calls and letters.  I love reading all of the stories and information everyone shares.  I am loving on my son every minute of every day.  I’m constantly hugging on him and he just shakes his head while rolling his eyes.  I told him to get over it because he is going to miss me too! LOL….

We are on the countdown until he leaves in 2 1/2 weeks.  My little California boy is going to experience his first ever winter while at boot camp so that should be interesting. 

Have a great rest of the week!!

For our Thanksgiving moms-- Your sailor will know the rules they have to follow.  They may be able to tell you more when they call home next or you can also write and ask them.  For all Liberty it's 50 miles.  My Sailor lived in CA on the coast and his Aunt and Uncle (My sister's family) lived 58 miles away.  He had to get special permission to visit them on the weekends.  (LA area so it was granted but they could have said no.)

Good Morning Everyone,

Jrdsmamma- Hey and yes he will. You enjoy all that time you guys have together and make those memories!!  :)

How is everyone else doing? We love to hear from you so come and post when you are ready for our newer members. No question is ever dumb and someone will answer you!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR BRAND NEW SAILORS ON A JOB WELL DONE!!! MAY GOD PROTECT THEM TODAY AND EVERY DAY AS THEY BEGIN THEIR NEW JOURNEY!!!

ON FRIDAY'S WE WEAR RED TO REMEMBER EVERYONE DEPLOYED!!! 

HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE!!!

Good morning everyone. I replied to Ink424 in her discussion above. I would encourage all of our new members, please come post your questions and comments down here in the comment wall area. More of our members receive email feeds with these posts and will see your questions, especially since some of our "seasoned regulars" are busy with family events or jobs at the moment and might not reply as quickly.

HERE IS A BREAKDOWN OF BOOT CAMP IN TIMES OF COVID  (as put together by belovedbyHim)

Day 0 -- Travel, Arrival and "I'm Here" scripted phone call

Week 1&2
Day 1-14 -- ROM (Restriction of Movement/ Quarantine-- Lots of studying and waiting)

Week 3
Day 15-21 Arrive Onboard RTC and begin P-days (P-days- Initial Processing Days) including 2 days of P-hold (Weekend)
Day 21-- Complete P days. (Initial PFT & Run)

Week 4- First week of training 
Day 22-- Begin training and mail form letter out. Look for it to arrive around 1-2 weeks later

Week 5 -- First inspections and tests (Dental May be this week or next... Not Confirmed)(Form letter/ Personal letters usually arrive this week)

Week 6 -8 -- More training, Drilling (Flags and Marching), Fire Fighting training, Marlinspike (Line handling- How to tie up a Ship to the Pier) and weapons lessons, Confidence chamber( May or may not be happening yet, we don’t know for sure).. Warrior training in here somewhere.

Week 9 & 10 -- Stressful!! They have all their final inspections, PFA, Drills, BS21 and Tests. This is the lead up to the end!!

Some of this may be a little earlier if your loved one did not have to quarantine but things are still just iffy so this is a starting point for those whose SRs (seaman recruits) just left. 

Be sure to sign up for US Postal Service 

Informed Delivery - USPS

You can check on letters coming in the mail. Until you hear from your SR be sure to write them encouraging letters, number them and have them ready to send as soon as you receive their mailing address.

Good Morning everyone.  So happy it's Friday and really hoping we will receive a phone call this weekend.  This past Wednesday makes 4 weeks our daughter has been at boot camp and still haven't received a phone call.  Grateful for the letters we've received though.  

How is everyone else doing?

Good Morning Ink424 and welcome again.   :)

I replied to your discussion question as well. Please let us know if you have any other questions.    :)

We are all here for you and we have all been there where you are right now.

We just celebrated my son's 4 year anniversary for his PIR. :) We all know how you are feeling and it's ok. 

Big Navy hugs to you!!!

mytidbitz- Good Morning, I hope you receive a phone call this weekend to.  You are now at the half way mark. Whoo Hoo. Now you can begin your countdown.   :)

We have parent teacher conferences all day today so I will be on and off. 

It's good to hear from you!!!

Happy Friday!

Be sure to join your PIR group. Here are the links:

PIR DECEMBER 2021

PIR NOVEMBER 2021

PIR OCTOBER 2021

Good Morning Everyone and welcome.

We are glad that you are here. How was everyone's day yesterday? 

Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions and someone will answer you!! 

Have a wonderful day and enjoy your weekend. Prayers for everyone to receive calls and letters today!

Hi everyone.  Still no call but we have a letter coming today.  Unfortunately it’s not our regular postman so we can’t stalk him.  Can you believe he decided to take a three day weekend while my recruit is at boot camp?  Lol

Hope everyone is having a great day.  

mytidbitz - How dare him!!! I can always tell when my regular postman is not on duty!

Just a reminder for those of you that now have a new sailor - Be sure to change their status from at BC or otherwise to Enlisted!!! 

Also, please feel free to come join us in the Beyond BC group. 

Cda2202, good morning!  Part of this depends on if they have to quarantine. For me, I counted the day he arrived in Illinois as day zero. He did not have to quarantine, and I received our form letter on day 12. But thanks to this group, I learned if they arrive later in the week like Thursday or Friday, it could take extra time as they wait for a division to form. My son arrived on a Monday and he had to wait one day for his division to form. Then they go through the processing days, or p days, and then they get assigned to a ship and mail their letter. At that point they will know their graduation date.  

If you have not done so already, I highly recommend signing up for Informed Delivery from the USPS.  My son's letter came on a saturday, and Monday was a holiday. Because I had informed delivery, I got an image of his return address early that morning. I addressed all the letters I had written, and put them in the mailbox, waiting for the mailman. So his letters were able to go out on Saturday, instead of Tuesday!

Cda2202 -- I just left information on your page.  Was your daughter fully immunized? (2 weeks past her 2nd shot)  If NOT then she would have been in Quarantine for 2 weeks before even starting anything. 

The Expected timeline will look like this
Day 0 -- Travel, Arrival and "I'm Here" scripted phone call (Oct 5 or early morning 6th)

Week 1&2
Day 1-14 -- ROM (Restriction of Movement/ Quarantine-- Lots of studying and waiting)(Oct 6-19) Unless they are Fully Vaccinated (2 weeks after final shot) in which case they skip straight to Week 3.

Week 3
Day 15-21 Arrive Onboard RTC and begin P-days (P-days- Initial Processing Days) including 2 days of P-hold (Weekend)(You are here! She is through day 3 of P-days and this is the P-hold Weekend)
Day 21-- Complete P days. (Initial PFT & Run)

Week 4- First week of training 
Day 22-- Begin training and mail form letter out. Look for it to arrive around 1-2 weeks later

Week 5 -- First inspections and tests (Dental May be this week or next... Not Confirmed)(Form letter/ Personal letters usually arrive this week)

Week 6 -8 -- More training, Drilling (Flags and Marching), Fire Fighting training, Marlinspike (Line handling- How to tie up a Ship to the Pier) and weapons lessons, Confidence chamber( May or may not be happening yet, we don’t know for sure).. Warrior training in here somewhere.

Week 9 & 10 -- Stressful!! They have all their final inspections, PFA, Drills, BS21 and Tests. This is the lead up to the end!!

We have heard that some SR's are having an additional 2 weeks added for "Life Skills" Training.  We have not yet had confirmation that Every SR will have these 2 weeks added or if they will happen before or after PIR.  Also There is No "Parents Weekend" like the USMC. While USMC is part of the Department of the Navy, that is one of the few things they will have in common. 

As for PIR weekend-- There will be more details in your Form letter but basically you and your husband (Or who ever will be attending PIR) Will need to show your Immunization card to pick up your tickets. Currently only 2 people are allowed to attend PIR.  You need to be 2 weeks past your second injection unless you have the J&J (Just 1 shot)
You may be close to Christmas so keep your schedule flexible-- You may have extra time with her there if she's staying in GL for A school.  Your PIR would be on a Wed. due to the holiday weekend.

Cda2202-- It's ok that you didn't know more.  The Recruiters job is to get the kids to sign on the dotted line and ship off to boot camp, They will do and say just about anything to make that happen.  Some of the stuff is close to a flat out lie but not quite.  Once the Kids ship out then the recruiters job is done and due to OPSEC and PERSEC they are not supposed to give out any additional information.  Now there are some who are honest, caring and will go the extra mile to make sure the recruits family is in the loop and has their support and information but they are rare.
I'm not clear on how or when they are administering the COVID Vax.  It may be when they get all the other shots or they may be doing it separately. Either way they will be completing it before they leave since they are no longer giving them a choice. 

I'm glad that this information helped ease your mind.  There is a TON of information on this site so read as much as you can and feel free to post your questions, your fears, concerns, sadness and celebrations!! We chat here and get to know each other.  Once the Dec group is formed you can join that page as well.  It's closed and there are some things you can talk about there that we don't talk about here.  (BS21 for example) 
You raised a strong kid who is willing to serve her country, that means she has a strong Momma too! You got this!

MomofJoseph - Thanks for popping on earlier and sharing information. We are grateful for those of you who have recently gone through PIR or have loved ones at RTC to share what information you are learning and posting as well.

BBH  & Cda2202 - B'sNukeMom - just created the December PIR group last week, I think. There are a few members already - here is the link - PIR December 2021

Good Evening Everyone,

Thanks BBH I was not able to answer her and Sundays are usually our busy days!

MomofJoesph- Thanks for posting and sharing and helping her out. :) 

Cda2202- welcome to our group. We are glad that you are here. Sometimes the recruiters don't give out much information to the parents which can be disheartening.

Some moms have laminated their cards and taken a copy with them just in case. You might want to do that if you want.  :)

Don't worry, we have all been there and I'm glad that your mind can rest easy a little bit. 

And welcome again.   :)

gio0525 - I was going through my email feed and I saw you asked some questions last Wed. I don't know if any of them have been answered yet or not. - I do have a question though.   My son's PIR is Nov 24th and his A school is in GL.  I'm aware they have to check into their school right after graduation and that will take several hours.  Since they will have liberty the whole weekend, do they have to stay within a certain amount of miles from the base?  Do they have to check in daily and spend those nights on base?  And does my son have to request a CHIT if we will be staying in town.? 

Did you receive the answers to these questions that you needed? I think B'sNukeMom posted some information from SuzyChicago, but I wasn't sure. 

Hey Chipmunk,

MomofJoseph and B'SNukeMom did post that information from Suzy. And for mytidbitz too. 

It's good info to for us to have.   :)

I saw it also.   :)

Cda2202 - you must show proof of vaccination status when you pick up your tickets for graduation.

STEP 3: Pick up your tickets for the graduation ceremony

TICKETING: Everyone who is planning on attending a graduation ceremony MUST personally obtain a ticket, which will be distributed at the Recruit Family Welcome Center the week of your recruit's graduation. Tickets are free of charge, but you must have valid photo ID to obtain your ticket (driver's license, state ID, military ID, passport, or, for minors, a student ID, driver's permit, SSN card, birth certificate,) AND you MUST also have your COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card. Once you receive your ticket do NOT lose it, as this will be the only ticket you will receive. These tickets are not transferable and are the only means to access the base for attendees.

Cda2202 ---My son arrived in GL on October 5 as well. He was fully vaccinated upon arrival so only quarantined 24 hours. His form letter posted on October 14. (My son is slated for PIR on December 10. ) If your daughter needed to quarantine the full 2 weeks, I would anticipate your form letter mailing on October 27. 

Fingers crossed that you hear something by the end of the week.

Good Morning Everyone and welcome to our group. We are glad that you are here.

B'sNukeMoM MMN- Hey and thanks for posting that. It is so appreciated.  :) Please be safe out there today and this week while we have this crazy weather.

For all of our California families and going across the country to the east coast please be safe out there during this extreme weather. I will be keeping everyone in my prayers.

Elina- thanks for sharing and posting. That's what helps all of us when we share with each other.   :) 

How are you and our other newer moms doing? 

After many ups and down these past few months, my son left yesterday. I’m proud. Scared. Sad. Happy to have found you all and to read your posts. Thank you for answers to my questions and the comfort of sharing this journey. 

Good Morning Moms!  We received our 1st phone call last night! Thanks to this group I was ready when I heard her sobbing.  I knew that could happen because they get emotional when they hear our voice.  Then my husband started crying so he got the look, and I whispered stop it.  LOL  

She's doing well, gained 5 lbs.  But said you have so much time to overthink things at BC that she was worried we weren't missing her and we assured her we are.  And she said her RDC's (is that what they're called?) are supportive, especially the females.  Although they do yell and "beat" them. LOL

We spoke for 45 min and at the 30 min mark I was able to add her best friend on the call, well my younger daughter added her because I was afraid of messing something up.  

For general info for the new navy moms: my recruit arrived on a Wednesday, fully vaccinated, but had to wait until Monday for her division to fill and so far she says those 5 days have been the worst part of BC because it's too much waiting around.

Lastly, is it normal that after speaking to her I miss her even more now?

Only 30 more days to go.

My SR graduates Nov. 5th for reference.  In a letter he advised that his was the last group to go through an eight week BC.  So it sounds like that’s the cut-off and subsequent groups will be 10 weeks long.  Just an FYI because I know there’s been some discussion on this.

Good Morning from soggy Northern CA! We got over 6 inches of rain here yesterday in the foothills.

For the new moms, sometimes the form letter doesn't come. My daughter was supposed to receive hers after the swim test, but never did. I had two other kids go through BC before her this summer, so I knew when her letters started to arrive and there was no form letter still, that I should download the form and send it to her.

https://www.bootcamp.navy.mil/graduation.html#guestSection

Be sure to join your PIR group. Here are the links:

PIR DECEMBER 2021

PIR NOVEMBER 2021

PIR OCTOBER 2021

Ging - Thank you for the information! Still no “official” updates about moving BC from 8 to10 weeks on the RTC pages. 

mytidbitz -- You passed your test.
 Yes it's normal to miss them even more after they call because you had just started adjusting to no contact.  This is one of the dips on the Roller coaster!!  Yes they are called RDC's (Recruit Division Commanders)
Funny that your Hubby was the one who broke down.  I'm glad she got to talk to everyone though.  Yep the down time is challenging them on mental toughness.  You'd be surprised how many break during this time.  I'm sure you reassured her that you would always miss her when she was not home but that you support her choice!
{{{HUGS}}}

Ging-- That's helpful to know.  Hopefully our moms with PIR after you can confirm 10 weeks Vaccinated or 12 if they have not had the shot.  Once I get confirmation I'll update my timeline for everyone.

Partyofseven--I'm hanging in there, and my extended family thinks I'm nuts because I've sent 9  letters so far.

I'm surprised how much better I am feeling after getting the form letter last week with a PIR Date and Div#. Kudos to all you ladies for developing such a wonderful site with lots of information. It helps me feel connected a bit with what he is doing. I'm using the "no news is good news" mantra to get through my day (and lots of prayers).

To any new moms--if you haven't watch the Navy documentary about "Making a Sailor", I highly recommended it. It's on the official Navy YouTube channel. While it may make you teary, it may also help you realize how ready your son/daughter is (because we're awesome moms ;-) ).

Hello everyone! My son is on the "older" side of recruits but it is still hard when knowing you have no contact for a while. He left for MEPS this morning and is on plane to BC as we speak.

Elina - thanks for the reminder about "Making a Sailor".  We also have the videos posted here on Navy for Mom's.

Here's the info for anyone that is interested:

All Hands Magazine's full length documentary "Making a Sailor": This video follows four recruits through Boot Camp in the spring of 2018 who were assigned to DIV 229, an integrated division, which had PIR on 05/25/2018. 

Boot Camp: Making a Sailor (Full Length Documentary - 2018)

Boot Camp: Behind the Scenes at RTC

Hollie - welcome!  Be sure you keep your phone handy as you'll be getting a 30 second phone call this evening letting you know he made it to boot camp.  It is a scripted call but you can talk over him and tell him you love him, you're proud of him and he's got this! 

Hang in there - you've come to the right place!

Elina- Thanks! I must say I am pretty disappointed in the recruiting office my daughter went through as far as communication goes. She was told there would be no extended quarantine so she left without being vaccinated as they told her it would be given there with no issue or delay (as far as adding 2 whole weeks to the 8) I kick myself now for not pressing the issue but the balance of being a mother to an adult child who is learning to navigate things themselves is a skill I am still learning - Ha! I am grateful to this group for the details and info!!

Anyone elses son/daughter arrive Oct 5 that was not vaccinated and sat for the 2 weeks? Hoping she wasn't alone, I feel pretty guilty that those days were long and lonely and of course no communication coming to her :-( BUT I know she is tough and have no doubt she pushed through! 

Also does anyone use Sandboxx for sending letters in BC? I'd love to hear your experiences if so!

Thanks all!

One more thing, am I reading correctly that Bootcamp is now 10 weeks long, or 12 for those who were not vaccinated? I can't believe this wasn't relayed to those leaving.

I definitely am struggling with all the gaps in info, I tend to do fine no matter the circumstances as long as I have a base line.

Cant say it enough, I am so glad to have found this group!! THANK YOU

Cda2022 - Yes GING shared with us that after PIR date 11/5, all recruits will have an additional 2 weeks of BC. I was told by my son’s recruiter that he would be impacted as he doesn’t go to BC until 11/9. It has been very difficult to get any info but am very glad to have someone else confirm.  Hang in there!

Hollie - My oldest had just turned 24 when he left in June. My second oldest had just turned 22 when he left in July. My oldest has a buddy at A school about the same age and they refer to themselves as the co-dads. They basically keep everybody on track and out of trouble. They both had issues dealing with all the 18 year old "kids" just out of high school. I had to remind my 22 year old that he was one of those "kids" once!

Cda2202 - They are adding Life Skills or "Sailorization" to the end of BC. I'm not sure about my oldest, but the other two had these classes as part of their A school indoc. It's supposed to help them adjust to being in the fleet.

Being a parent to adult kids is a challenge. I'm surprised that the recruiter told her there wouldn't be quarantine. That has been a thing for a while now. My middle son did the full two weeks of quarantine. He did as much as he possibly could to prepare for BC while he was waiting. He had an RDC who was willing to answer questions, and so he made the most of his time.