Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

My discussion above Private Messages - Creating & Sending + OPSEC  explains how to set up a friend request and send PMs (private messages). If you are not comfortable posting in the open group, this is an option. Also, some of us have our profile pages open to members, but moderate our comment wall on our personal page, so you may post a question there as well if you would like. 

Joining your PIR group is another way to ask questions more privately. B'sNukeMom posted the links a few comments below. 

We have our first February PIR listed:

February 4, 2022 TG-10 (071,072,073,074,075,076,077,078,079,080,081,082,910)

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

PIR JANUARY 2022

PIR DECEMBER 2021

2021 CHRISTMAS ADOPT-A-SAILOR

Recruit Training Command will resume our annual Christmas Adopt-A-Sailor program.

Recruits graduating January 7, 2022, have the opportunity to spend Christmas Day in the local area with their immediate families or be adopted by local civic organizations such as VFWs, American Legions and churches.

Thought a few of you Ladies would enjoy seeing the winter weather we are enduring. If you look close you can see my poor blue lantern hanging in the yard.

Northwoodsmom-- Did you get a snow day today?  Can you please send some of that moisture over here?? Yesterday started out Nice enough but then a cold front blew in and the temps dropped 30 degrees in just about 2 hours.  We were hanging lights on the house during that.  And then just because we haven't had enough fun we had a small fire start just as the winds did!! Thankfully they were able to get it out but it could have been a disaster!  We still haven't had snow in Denver.  Setting daily records for the latest ever snowfall and the longest Denver has ever gone between snow events. 

Okay, ladies!

Final stretch here...besides the excitement and anxiety of being in the same room as my son in 3 days & 17 hours (but whose counting)...

Weather reports are calling for snow here the day we leave. Not as much as Northwoodsmom, but drivers in our area always seem to forget how to drive when the first flakes fall each season. Ack!

Elina, I can just feel all your excitement. Prayers for safe travels and give your Sailor a hug from us. Enjoy your time together!

Elina -- Have you gotten your call??  We are waiting on pins and needles for you!  Hopefully you have left extra time for weather. Just go slow, assume every one is snow stupid and leave extra space and know you have out prayers for safe travel!

Is there anyone here that has a SR PIR January 21st?

Elina-- {{{HUGS}}}!! Your call will come soon and YES No News is GOOD News right now!!

Elina, thinking of you. That wait seems to last forever but your phone call is on the way. Good thoughts are pouring in!

Birdie's mom - If you haven't done so yet, be sure to join the January PIR group. Sometimes we have several in one PIR on this site and at other times we don't. A lot of people will find the FB groups, but I am not on FB, so I was glad I found this site. 

Thank you guys!!

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday!

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

PIR JANUARY 2022

PIR DECEMBER 2021

We have our first February PIR listed:

February 4, 2022 TG-10 

(071,072,073,074,075,076,077,078,079,080,081,082,910)

Just a reminder for new members - please read this info regarding the use of the Sandboxx App while in BC:

Sandboxx app while in BC

Yes , yes, yes…. The Sandboxx App is awesome.  This is a great way to get your letters to your sons/daughters ASAP. You can only use it while your recruit is in Bootcamp.  My son just finished bootcamp and I have to say I used Sandboxx every day. Before we left after his graduation, he handed me a huge stalk of letters, and guess who they were from?  ME!!!!  We are such moms.  I kept him up to date on everything back home. The app prints out your letters along with any photo you attach and they receive the letters within 1-2 days. They will have to hand write their letters to respond back since they don’t have access to Sandboxx or the internet.  Not only does Sandboxx send your letters, they also give you a weekly update on what your recruit  will be doing.  It really helped me during the silence. You new moms, believe me we all know what you are going through and it’s no fun. Please look into Sandboxx, each letter you send is approx $4.24 which equals 1 token or you can purchase small packages that include several tokens. They also offer other things. Hope this helps you ladies out during your bootcamp experience.  (I became a Sandboxx Pro…Lol)

WOOOOP WOOOP Sailor in  the House! CONGRATULATIONS!

Elina, huge congratulations. So happy you got that call and will be hugging your Sailor very soon. God wrap his arms around you and your family as you travel to Great Lakes!

Susan, first thing I did was place my son in God's hands. Just as much for my sanity as for his protection. Then I read everything I could get my hands on about boot camp. Then I got busy making things, everything said Navy or I Love my Sailor on it. I made my Blue Light Lantern, I made refrigerator magnet, Division Anchors, Proud family ribbons and everything in between.  You really need to keep your mind busy along with your hands. When I wasn't busy I cried, probably cried while I was busy too, I do remember pricking my fingers alot through tear filled eyes. Actually I was a mess but we both made it. I was told by another Navy Mom that you are going through Boot Camp too, maybe it's not physically but mentally it is brutal. Give yourself some grace, cry when you need to, come to this site for knowledge, encouragement and support. We all have been where you are now and we have never lost a Mom yet. Prayers for your anxious aching heart! Let us know how we can help.

All Hands!Attention on Deck!! We Have a Sailor!!!
Elina -- Congratulations.  Of course they don't get why we'd be nervous.  They don't really think about failing and what that could mean.  They also don't understand how desperately we want to know they are good! I'm so glad you can breathe again!!! Are you leaving tomorrow?  Happy PIRing!!

Yeah! New Sailor.. such a great feeling that it's almost over, just travel and hugs left...

the yellow/red ribbon is for signing up during 'wartime'. I think new recruits now won't be eligible because we ended Afghanistan.

It was so hard getting through ours being gone for boot. I would sit and stare because I just didn't know what to do now. It got a bit better over time. but was never great.. cry when you need to.. come vent here. if your PIR group isn't very active, mine was not, I was only one I think, there is usually a FB group. I only FB for GL A school group now because I know stuff before he does lol. 

SUSAN--- {{{{{HUGS}}}}} First things first... Take a Deep breath in.... Now let it out..... Repeat..... and  again..... What you are feeling is 100000000% normal!! Hear that?  You are NOT going crazy or being a Helicopter mom or a failure or any of the other things that others are saying!  I am going to leave some info on your page to help you get a feel for what to expect.  Of course you can ALWAYS come here and ask, cry, vent, celebrate.... This is a HARD transition and doing it over the holidays just adds another layer of emotions over the whole thing! 
I Promise that you will get through this. We haven't lost a Mom to boot camp and we Won't start with you!!

Mine is on the A school side now and still doesn't get how desperate we can be for information and conversation. It's okay though because he has to learn to be an adult and we have to learn to be okay with it and us.

Elina - I cried harder about your getting the "I'm a Sailor" call than I did for mine!  :-)  Here is a link to the wartime ribbon.  (For me, when I hear "ribbon," this is not the image that comes to mind.)  https://www.medalsofamerica.com/national-defense-service-ribbon?gcl...  The dimensions are 1 3/8 inches by 3/8 inches.

Susan, I don't think anyone said this yet, but I wrote my son letters even before I got his address.  (Suggestion from the great Moms on this site!)  I tried to keep mine upbeat because I didn't want to make him miss home.  Someone on this site suggested I number them, so that when I got his address, he would know what order to read them in.  I did that initially, but then I started numbering them by the days since he arrived at boot camp.  Every letter started with "Today is day __ since you arrived at BC."  Once I got his form letter, I would say, "Today is day 15 of BC; it's 43 days until PIR".

Also, sign up for Informed Delivery from the USPS.  You will get an image of his letter before it is delivered to your mailbox.  I was able to address his letters from the image, and when the mailman dropped off the form letter, he picked up the letters from me.

I agree with the other moms about our being in boot camp training too.  We are being trained to know that "no news is good news" and that we need to always be flexible.  I had hoped that once BC was over, things would be more normal, but my son has been a Sailor for 14 days, and it's ridiculous how many things have changed during that time!  But some of them have been REALLY good so I'm not complaining.  :-)

We are here for you, and please reach out here, or by PM if you need anything!

BZ to your new Sailor Elina!  Enjoy PIR ;-D

Susan-- Was your SR Fully Vaccinated?  That will adjust his timeline somewhat.

Welcome Susan!  I agree with everything Momofjoseph said.  I added the date on the back of the envelopes. The first few weeks were sooo hard but the moms in this group were a big help.   

Elina!  Congratulations.   I’m so happy and excited for you.   Safe travels!!!   

Just a Heads up ladies... It looks like we have 2 Susan's who have joined us.
Welcome to Susan and SusanPhoenix.

This reminds me of the time we had 3 active Momma Bear's MomaBear, Mommabear and Momma Bear!)

We'll try and  keep you both straight but please forgive us if we do mix you up.  I promise it's not on purpose.

Welcome, Susan! BC is a rollercoaster of emotions. You have come to a great place for support. These women have shared my joys and my sorrows, and I am very grateful for each and every one of them.

The "great silence" when they first arrive is challenging. Write so your son knows your thinking of him. When it gets to hard to stay positive in your letters, pour it all out here.. They are wonderful "listeners".

Elina - Congratulations to your new sailor!!

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

PIR JANUARY 2022

PIR DECEMBER 2021

Hey guys I hope everyone is doing well. I have a question I work in a middle school and was wondering if I had our art class make some holiday cards, could I send them to my daughter ship house for other SR?

BelovedbyHim--thanks for the welcome! I originally signed up as just Susan, but added Phoenix to differentiate my name. Somehow a nickname just wasn't coming to me then. I already appreciate all of the advice and encouragement I've found on this site! It's great to be able to know approximately where my son will be on his way to Great Lakes and what today will be like (he's arriving there today sometime). That way I can pray more specifically for him about what the day's challenges might bring :-)

Birdie's mom - it's my understanding that mail must be addressed to a specific SR.  So you could mail them to your daughter and she could give them to her division mates.  Or, your daughter could send you the names.  But they cannot be sent to a generic "SR" without a first and last name.

SusanPhoenix, have you been to this website?  https://www.bootcamp.navy.mil/recruits.html  There's lots of info there about P-days and such.  Also, I signed up for Sandboxx (and used it sparingly), but they have info about each week.  (Although the timing of some of the info is a little off.  I would write my son and say, "Good luck on weapons training this week," and I'd get a letter that would say, "I am so excited about weapons training; it starts next week.") 

Birdie's mom - MomofJoseph is correct - mail needs to be sent to a specific SR.  So send them to your daughter and she can hand them out.  You can put them in a large envelope - and she will have to open it in front of the RDC just so they can make sure there isn't anything they aren't supposed to have.  Also, make sure there is NO GLITTER on the cards!  That will cause problems for her.

That is a very thoughtful gesture for you to do - I'm sure there are many SR's that unfortunately don't get any mail...

Thank you momofJoseph would you happen to know how many cards I should send. I appreciate all your help.

Birdie's mom - I think someone else might know better than me.  My son had a small division and I think there were like 68 in there.  I'm not sure what a normal division size is.

Birdies mom, I also work at a school. The grade school made valentine cards for all of my son's division. I would say it was about 80 of them. I mailed it to my son in a large goldish brown envelope. He had to open it in front of his commander's but then he was allowed to pass out the homemade cards. I made sure that nobody used glitter and explained to the students why.