Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

JCNavyMom - Welcome to the group!! Trey gave you some of the basics and so did B'sNukeMom. Reading through the information on this site, especially the Pages in the upper right (click view all) will give you some overview of things. 

Also bookmark this site - RTC Bootcamp website which is also our go to. Be aware that if you are able to attend PIR there are only 2 guests allowed. Masks are mandatory at all inside locations at RTC, and you must show proof of your COVID vaccination which must be 14 days out from the 2nd shot. 

Your form letter with his address should arrive in about 4 weeks, maybe earlier, maybe later. It will have the security form which needs to be filled out with the 2 guests that will be attending PIR. If you don't receive that and have a letter from your SR first, then ask and we can help you get one printed out to return.

Read back through some of the recent posts, we chat on here daily, some more than others so stick around. I will bump a discussion on Blue Candles back into the queue above, some ladies make these to pass the time away. Begin a new hobby, or clean and organize your sailor's bedroom. 

I bumped the  Blue Candle discussion back into the queue above. Here's another that might be helpful - Private Messages - Creating & Sending + OPSEC   

Before I forget to share this information again...  When traveling on Leave it is RARE for your Sailor to be able to make plans more than a month out.  Often Leave is approved last minute.  This leaves you (And them) very few options.  They can book fully refundable flights, They can Book with Southwest who allows for travel changes with no change fees, or they can plan for more expensive flights. (Driving is also an option sometimes...) Encourage your Sailor to join the Loyalty Rewards programs of any airline they fly so they can get those miles.  Most Official domestic travel WAS done on American.  That may or may not change IF they ever resume commercial flights vs Military transport. Also they should be briefed but they get to go through TSA Pre Check lines so no waiting in the Long security lines. They are discouraged from traveling in Uniform especially over seas. Encourage them to Speak to the Gate Agent for Pre-boarding if they don't have an assigned seat.
I hope this helps for those of you who are wondering about what to do for the Holidays if your Sailor gets to come home.

Hi Everyone, and Welcome to JCNavyMom.

This group is awesome for helping us mom's keep it together through the great silence and also offers great tips to keep us sane.  I wrote a letter every night starting the night she left and when we received her address, we mailed 14 letters in one day and she received all 14 a few days later.

We've received one phone call at the beginning of her 4th week.

Today, she called me while I was at work and for a second I panicked and asked what's wrong but remembered the mom's here telling me sometimes they just need information.  And that's what she needed.  She was creating a navy credit union account and needed her bank routing number info.  Since she left, my cell phone has been an extension of my hand but today I was on the phone with the airline company and 2 minutes after I finished the call she called.  Which worked out because I had been on hold for so long I would have hated to hang up with them and start all over, but I pick up every call now because you never know.  

Andi14--Hi, and welcome! These ladies are wonderful with tips and tricks. To possibly help you with the Great Silence, my son arrived at RTC fully vaccinated with his official vaccine card in hand. We received the scripted phone call telling us possible 2 week quarantine. His form letter was postmarked 6 business days later.

All--thanks for the info that if you get a casual call before the "I'm a sailor" call that it usually happens after week 4.

My friend got notified that she was getting her first letter from her Marine recruit.  I said, "Happy Mailman stalking" and this image was her reply!  LOL  Been there, done that.

JCNavyMom - something to consider while you wait for a letter is to poll close friends and family to see who else might like to or would be willing to send encouraging words to your sailor. (Make sure they are prepared to follow your directions regarding what can be mailed.) That way you have a list of people who you can zip off the address once you have it. This took some of the pressure off of me for the days when I couldn't squeeze a letter in or had run out of inspiration and encouragement for the moment. My sailor said it was a fun surprise to get a letter from a great uncle who is his cribbage buddy and had everyone at BC snorting when he read them his grandma's trials with deer in her garden.  It was good for me to practice leaning on people for help and good for our sailor to realize there were lots of people who were thinking of him and wishing him well. You never know who might say just the right thing to your sailor that gets them over a rough spot. Just beware they will share mail and stories from home so you might * or somehow flag anything that is super personal or might embarrass them if read aloud. You know your sailor best as to what those things might be.  I found a joke book in my sailor's room so ended each letter with a corny joke.  After the first couple of weeks the time actually seemed to go by pretty quickly for me. I hope you find lots of happy thoughts and things to keep you busy :)

AgnesB - Such great advice!! I actually had people asking me for my son's address and it did lift a lot of the burden off or me to always have something encouraging to say in a letter. 

Knowing that others are writing does take the pressure off. I sent letters about every other day. I wrote as if they'd just come home from work and I was filling them in about what had happened that day. It made writing easier when it felt more like a conversation. I inserted photos into the letters whenever I could. I also included a page or two of their favorite comics. Then I started adding memes and dad jokes too. I spent hours (and I mean HOURS) collecting them and building the pages. It was fun, helped me feel connected, and they really enjoyed it. 

Something to consider for you 900 Div moms - They have extra items for their performances that they have to keep in their locker, so space is limited. That doesn't mean you shouldn't write! Just don't feel like you have to write constantly.

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

PIR DECEMBER 2021

PIR NOVEMBER 2021

Ladies, This is a Regular Announcement: Please put this information in your Phones:
I have a contact labeled {sailor ICE} with this phone number and text number as the phone number under the contacts, then I have the needed contact info in the notes section. The info in Italics below. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it or have to remember where or what you need! In the event of an emergency I can just pull up the info on my phone and hand it off if I’m not able to think clearly!!

If an emergency (such as a serious illness, death or birth) of an immediate family member takes place then military families can initiate a request for Red Cross emergency assistance. The message will be verified and then delivered. If the emergency requires leave for a service member, the Red Cross will verify the emergency to the service member’s commanding officer. Eligibility for emergency leave will ultimately be determined by them. Throughout the process, the family member will be able to track the progress of the message from anywhere in the world online, by phone, through our mobile app or in person.

To best prepare for an emergency, please have this information ready when reporting an emergency message:

· The service members name, rank, social security number and unit address {SR Davy Jones, 123-45-6789, Great Lakes Naval Training Center Ship 99, Div 1904.} {In Fleet This would be their Ship Name and number}

· The name of the person with the emergency and the nature of the situation {King Neptune, Hospitalized in critical condition}

· The name and contact information for the medical authority to contact regarding the status of the emergency {Doctor Jack Sparrow, Barbados General Hospital, 555-123-4567}

To access these services through the Hero Care Network, create an account and send the message here or send through the Hero Care app by texting “GETHEROCARE” to 90999 or call a Hero Care specialist at 1-877-272-7337.

This is a reason to have the discussion before your sailor leaves or ask in an early call or letter (Reassure them that all is well at home but you have learned you should have asked sooner.) No one likes to talk about the possibility of death but it happens and it’s easier if you have a plan for how to handle these situations. When you can, ask if they want to know about anyone not parent or sibling while in boot camp (They likely will not be allowed to leave anyway), ask if they want to come home if it’s a parent or sibling ( It will be short 2-4 days at most then 2 week Quarantine and a delay in BC training-- Fleet still short followed by quarantine.)

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

MomofJoseph- I love it!! That is so true! lol

JCNavyMom- Good Morning and welcome. I wrote to mine every day twice a day, once in the morning and then at night. I would say good night and then mail the letter the next day. He really appreciated getting those letters as he later said that they really helped him when he would be struggling at times. I told him what was happening at home, with his friends, work stuff that I knew he would be interested in.

I also sent him bible verses and funny jokes.   :)

How are you doing and the rest of our families how is everyone today?

God Bless and enjoy your Sonday and Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Sunday everyone.  For this who have flights booked for your recruits PIR just a heads up that AA just canceled over 1,600 flights.  I myself had an AA flight booked for November that I purchased through the JetBlue website but luckily was able to change it last Wednesday to a JetBlue flight but with the shortage it took me 3 days to finally get through and make the change.  

mustangmom- funny you mention the locker because on our call my recruit said her locker was slowly filling up amd my youngest said so you don’t want us to write you anymore ?   Lol

Good Morning Everyone,

Welcome and I hope your weekend was great and the weather was good.

If you had PIR this weekend let us know how everything went when you get back. Another day closer for some of our families to PIR.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. Someone will answer you.

mytidbiz- Lol that is funny. I bet she said no I want you to keep writing. Lol

have a great day!!

Good Morning All, Hoping everyone is doing well. Well I Know some of you are scheduling to participate in PIR, please be aware that Southwest Airlines and AA are cancelling flights, make sure you know for sure that if using these airlines that they are legit and not cancelling.

with that being said welcome to all the new comers, hoping everyones day is fabulous!

Happy Monday!

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

PIR DECEMBER 2021

PIR NOVEMBER 2021

I remembered something I meant to put in my post about holiday leave:  If your sailors flight is cancelled for any reason they need to contact their Command right away. 99.9% of the time the command will work with them especially if it's weather related on the arrival side.  My sailor chooses to be back a day before his leave is over in most cases just to be on the safe side.  They can also contact the airlines to get rescheduled.  When they do they just need to say they are a Sailor on orders and what is the first available flight and can they also book them for Priority Standby for earlier flights. This does mean they need to hang out at the airport that whole time but the USO is super helpful in most airports and your Sailor can sleep there and get free food there. Your sailor should know who at their command to contact.  As long as they keep in good communication they shouldn't get in trouble.

Good afternoon!!! I am so lost. I have no idea when his graduation is or his division. He was fully vaccinated before he left for BC so does that mean he gets done sooner? I know nothing lol

Holie if you tell us what day he left we might be able to help you figure it out. If you know the division number it would be more helpful. 

Northwoodsmom - LOL I thought about that after I sent the comment. He arrived last Monday (week 1 down). I have no idea what division he is in. How do I find that out? Contact his recruiter?

Hi, Hollie!  I can share my experience for comparison.  My son arrived fully vaccinated on a Monday and I counted that as Day 0.  He had to wait 1 day for his division to form (all this I found out in hindsight) and then he had his P-days and got assigned to his division.  He mailed his form letter on Day 9 and I received it on Day 12 (which was a Saturday).  The form letter tells the division and the graduation date.  

Since I signed up for Informed Delivery from the USPS, I saw the image of his letter before it arrived.  His return address had his division number on it, so I actually knew his graduation date prior to receiving the letter because I looked it up on the RTC website.  I had written him several letters, so I addressed them from the image from USPS, so when the mailman dropped off the form letter, he picked up my letters.  (Monday that week was a holiday so I wanted the letters to go out Saturday instead of Tuesday.)  

I received our first (nonscripted) call on Day 19 and we got our second call on Day 33.  Today is Day 35 and he graduates on Day 58.  (But who is counting?)

MomofJoseph - thank you so very much for the information.

Hollie, right above the comment form wall is the discussion forum, on the top of the list is the blue candle selection. We light them to pray for our Sailors during test and other stressful periods of their Navy journey, some keep them lite until they have boots back home.  There are samples of the ones we made.

Hollie, you are welcome!  I hope you have a similar timeline.  For me Day 9 was the hardest day (not just missing my boy, but some bad news came that day too and I had a meltdown).  These wonderful ladies encouraged me during the "great silence" and I've done pretty well since.  Please let me know if you need anything!  

navy girlfriend - I'm so glad you found us! I'm a Navy wife and now a Navy mom (my 3 oldest kids all joined this year). Having your support is will be important to him.

The timeline will depend on if he was vaccinated, and how long it takes to form the division. If he was vaccinated they will verify that, which may take a couple of days. If not, then he will quarantine for two weeks. The form letter should come a couple of weeks after that. There are a lot of things going on, so be patient and be flexible. Feel free to reach out here with your questions and concerns. There is a wealth of experience here!

Good evening everyone!! Welcome aboard to our new members. Juandeane - I am glad you found the group and joined. This is the comment wall for our group and where we do most of our chatting. Be sure to come here, ask questions, share your ups and downs of emotions and just be encouraged. 

May you all have a restful night! 

navy girlfriend - Welcome also - sorry I have had a long day and I am working backwards through my email messages on my computer. Please know that you are very welcome on this page and we will help you in any way that we can. 

Hollie - You are going to likely need to wait until you receive the form letter to know your SRs PIR date for certain. Unless of course you have Informed Delivery and see the Ship & Div # on it and then look it up on the RTC website like MomofJoseph said. 

Navy girlfriend - we use to count 8 or 9 Fridays from when they left for a possible PIR (pass in review) or graduation date. But there are multiple factors now that are causing delays that we may or may not be able to account for. Hopefully, you will get a letter or call from him, otherwise, do your best to become good friends with his mother. That may or may not be easy but let her know you are not a threat and if you receive a letter you will share any non personal information with her and you would appreciate the same in return.

Hollie -- Welcome! Take a deep breath...... and let it out...... and another one...... and out..... OK, now that we have you breathing again, let’s get you information. You are in the Great Silence. Your SR will still be in P-days or just finished as of today since he’s fully vaccinated.
The Expected timeline will look like this
Day 0 -- Travel, Arrival and "I'm Here" scripted phone call (10/25)

Week 1&2
Day 1-14 -- ROM (Restriction of Movement/ Quarantine-- Lots of studying and waiting) 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) (10/26-11/1)
Day 21-- Complete P days. (Initial PFT & Run) (11/1)

Week 4- First week of training  (Possible delays waiting for additional SR’s to arrive. You will not know about any possible delays until you get the form letter or unless your SR calls home needing more information. During this time, No News Is GOOD News!! That means everything is progressing as expected and there are NO problems.)
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!! (You are looking at PIR around the first of the New Year)
We are hearing that they are adding 2 weeks for “Sailorization” (Training in life skills including budgeting and navigating independent life) We don’t have confirmation if that applies to all SR’s currently or what all is included in that training. So it’s possible that it will take an additional 2 weeks beyond this timeline. 

The recruiter’s job is to get the future Sailor to boot camp. Once they swear in at MEPS the recruiter is done with them. They are not often the best source of information. They are not supposed ot give out any information due to OPSEC and PERSEC. Some will but many will not. For that reason we suggest that you wait and don’t expect info from them. At RTC They also have to train a Recruit Mail Petty Officer to deliver the mail to the recruits. That takes time and usually doesn’t happen till week 2 or 3 of TRAINING (Not including ROM) This is another reason not to rush mail out. Any mail that arrives before the RMPO has been trained gets set aside to be sorted later... Sometimes that later is Never. Do write to them often and number and keep a copy of all your letters just in case something goes missing.

navy girlfriend -- The same information I posted for Hollie will apply to you as well. You don’t say if he’s vaccinated. That will impact his timeline some. Hopefully you and his mom are friends since she will likely need to provide information to you. If he calls be sure he also calls his mom... You do not want to be on the other side of that. DO Be sure to share any non-personal information either in letters or phone calls with her. As uptight as you are feeling, she’s just as tense. work as a team and that will make this time better and easier.

Good Morning Everyone!!

We created the Blue Candle discussion above, so that anyone who wanted could also post a picture there of what they had done, so if any of one make a candle and would like to share a picture feel free to add it there as well as post it here in the discussion. This was especially helpful and comforting to so many of our members during the PIR shut down.

Some volunteer ideas for staying busy are to check into your local USO group https://www.uso.org/, consider joining your local Blue Star Mothers group, Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc, be sure to also check FB for a local chapter near you. 

Some have shared that they volunteer at their VFW. Not sure how that worked but it was available in their area and gave them a way to stay busy and give back. 

Happy Tuesday!

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

PIR DECEMBER 2021

PIR NOVEMBER 2021

RTC still only has one PIR for January listed:

January 7, 2022 TG-06   

(023,024,025,026,027,028,029,030,031,032,033,034,905, 906)

 November 5, 2021

TG-50  491, 492, 495, 496, 497, 498, 499, 500, 913

November 10, 2021

TG-51  603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608, 914

November 19, 2021

TG-52   609, 610, 611, 612, 613, 614, 615, 616, 617, 618, 619, 915

November 24, 2021

TG-53  621, 622, 623, 624, 625, 626, 627, 628, 916

December 3, 2021

TG-01  001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009, 901

December 10, 2021

TG-02  011, 012, 013, 902

December 15, 2021

TG-03 019, 020, 021, 903, 904

December 24, 2021   (No Graduation)

December 31, 2021  (No Graduation)

posted Div. that will be Having PIR

Downloadable version of Map to Graduation Ceremony

Newly graduated Sailors who will attend advanced training (“A” school) in Great Lakes, Illinois will most likely transfer immediately after graduation.  Those who will attend “A” school out of state may depart the following day after graduation. Please discuss liberty with your recruit during their phone calls home and be sure to ask when they are departing Recruit Training Command for their next assignment. Recruit Training Command Public Affairs does not have access to individual schedules. Only your recruit and his/her supervisor know their specific liberty schedule.

*** COVID PROTOCOLS ***
Recruit Training Command continues to operate in a COVID environment in order to protect the safety of both trainees and staff while meeting mission demands. This policy is subject to change as leadership continues to monitor the spread and impact of the Coronavirus. Therefore, the following protocols are in place:

• Guests 12 or older need to provide proof of IMMUNIZATION (14 DAYS POST FINAL DOSE,) in the form of a covid-19 vaccination record card to attend. If you are unable to provide proof of vaccination, you will NOT be able to attend, and will NOT be issued tickets to attend.
• In accordance with DOD and local policy and in order to ensure the health and safety of all, every person attending is required to WEAR FACE MASKS and observe social distancing protocols while inside all RTC facilities and throughout graduation ceremonies inside midway ceremonial drill hall. If you are unable to wear a mask, you will NOT be able to attend, and will NOT be allowed into the facility and you will not be able to attend the ceremony. If this is the case for you, we invite you to watch the ceremony online from home. Please continue to follow RTC social media accounts for updates and check www.bootcamp.navy.mil for the most up-to-date information. For specific questions and inquiries, contact the RTC Public Affairs Office at rtc.pao@navy.mil.
• Each sailor is allowed a maximum of TWO GUESTS on base for the graduation ceremony. No exceptions, and children 2 & under do not count toward the guest limit.

Here are some Ideas for the blue candle you can make them order them, Etsy has some nice ones. or buy a lantern and fill it with lights pinterest has some great ideas as well

when I started out I did something like this