Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

love4Leo25 - the anxiety is real! 
yes, the ship/div that they are in now 

So far we don’t need a test for domestic flights 

at this point we don’t want to hear from them until at least Monday. That is when I am expecting a particular call.
until then now news is BETTER news! 

Partyofseven - Thank you so much for the scriptures you post.  I’ve really loved seeing them and I’ve passed several on to my SR, as well, in our letters.  I appreciate them!

Good evening. I am trying to be strong but my heart really hurts right now. I have not heard from my daughter in two weeks. I did not get the "I'm here" call. Can someone please help calm my nerves? I am trying my best to think positive and not worry. I have wrote her letters but the only thing I have received was the letter about her graduation. Thank you in advance.

God'sPlan - I know it is hard not hearing from them. Just remember no news is GOOD news. Everything is okay. Try to stay busy. I am a worry wort by nature and, even though my son is one of the older ones (25), it is still hard to not hear something. You now have your Navy Family and we are here for you!

Hey God’s Plan - I’m sorry you didn’t receive the I’m here phone call.  That must have been very stressful!  The firm letter was such a relief for us because we knew when our SR should finally be finished.  The silence is hard to get through.  Our SR quarantined for 16 days plus 2 hold days before he started his processing week.  So we received his form letter 28 days after he left for boot camp.  His first call came 32 days after he left home and his first letter came after 45 days.  It is incredibly hard to wait for word from him.  The ladies here suggested that I start writing him right away so I could have something to send off right away once I had his address.  It’s a long one sided conversation… lol!  I also have really appreciated the informed delivery from USPS.  It’s easy and free to sign up for and they send you pics of what’s coming in the mail every day.  It’s a long long wait.  We received another phone call on Dec. 26.  Today, he’s been there 52 days with 21 to go. 

Hang in there!!!  The ladies here are SO supportive!

Welcome to our new members!! The silence is hard - but it is preparation for the future for us and for them. I had the blessing of having my sailor home for a bit but now it seems to be back to waiting to hear from him since I have not gotten text replies, but I know he is also working hard. 

There are a few other groups to join if you would like - 

Christian Navy Moms 

 and

Prayer Wall - 

Also, I recommend waiting until you have received the "I'm a sailor" call before joining the Beyond BC but it is a place where you can continue to hang out with those you have gotten to know on the BC Mom group.

For those with female SRs - Moms of Daughters 2

Also be sure to join your PIR group as well. 

Thank you so much your encouraging words really lifted that burden off of my chest. Prayer and staying busy has helped out a lot. I am going to stay strong and trust God. I will sign up for the USPS. I hope everyone have a safe and Happy New Year.

Only 5 days left until my flight to PIR .. 

I have a logistical question about seating…

my SR is in the First div of the training group so I am going to assume that when the stand in formation that his div will be at a far end .    Will they be to the far left of the bleachers or the far right?  I know it will be almost impossible to find him but I would like to atleast sit in front of his division… 

any suggestions and the best “seating area” to do that.?

JCNavyMom: There are signs on the drill deck with division numbers on them indicating where that division will be standing for the duration of the ceremony. Your division will be the first to march in, will march past all the bleachers to the far end of the drill hall, turn and march all the way back to where there sign was. Thus, if you are seated in the bleachers, they will be standing all the way to the left. Hope this helps.

SuzyChicago: THANK YOU!! 
that is perfect!     

SuzyChicago - Thanks!! I hope you had a wonderful holiday!

JCNavyMom - and others - I highly recommend that you watch one of the previous recent PIR's just to get a visual of what you might expect. The links are posted on Recruit Training Command Home Page (navy.mil) and I think they have the video reply available. Feel free to fast forward but you can get a quick overview of the ceremony that way.

God'sPlan - When my son went to BC it was during the summer, so I did not have to deal with missing him around the holidays as well. This is a difficult time to have your SR at BC, so the busier that you can stay with projects or helping others is good for you. Also, there are video links posted in the upper left of this page, if you are viewing this site on your mobile device, we recommend putting it into desktop mode to view the page easier. Those videos will give you an idea of what your SR is going through and that helped me to focus my prayers for my son on something specific than just general. 

From all of us seasoned Moms and members who stick around this group, I want to thank those of you that are newer here for reaching out and replying to each other. This site is kept active only as long as we all interact and reach out to each other. However, as we all know the Navy is as unpredictable as is life, so when some of us have our own sailors at home or other family issues going on, we might not be able to reply as often as we usually do. 

I appreciate each of you! May you have a Happy New Year!

For those of you getting ready to travel to PIR, my prayers are with you as I am seeing news posts about delays and such. I encourage you to be at your airports early for check in. Remember you must wear a mask at all times, and if possible, I would even plan to leave a day early to arrive in GL, so that if there is a delay in your flight you still have time to pick up your ticket and rest. PIR day is long and tiring. 

For those whose new sailors are flying out to their A school, they may only have that Friday with you and then will leave way before the rooster crows for the airport or whatever means they are being transported. Others who are flying out, might actually be in THU (Temporary Holding Unit) and you could possibly have the weekend with them. It is really hard to know in advanced, so if you can plan for your travel to be extended to accommodate those possibilities, I highly recommend it. 

Once your sailor goes to A school, maybe C school, and then the fleet (- if a Nuke even different), their visitations and leave times will be dictated by whatever the local command allows. So, if you are able to attend PIR, I highly recommend it. 

Good Morning Everyone and I hope everyone's New Year Eve's was good. 

Welcome to all of our new members to our group. We are glad that you are here. No question is ever dumb and someone will answer you!!

Remember staying busy is key, start writing now so when you do receive your form letter you can mail those letters off right away. It's ok to cry and miss them. They are missing you as much as you are missing them.

Keep your phone on you at all times and those ringers on loud. You just never know when a call will come thru. When mine was in, I told my students that if a call came thru from Chicago that I had to answer it. Sure enough one day I got a surprise call I told my students to continue working while I talked to my son. It was the best thing.  :)

HappyintheValley- Good Morning and you are so welcome. I also sent mine bible verses while he was in and it really does help them, especially when they may be feeling down or missing home. It does get better. And yay for the calls and letter. It won't be long now.

God'sPlan- Good Morning and it is ok. The first couple of weeks of silence are hard. I always tell our new moms to try and stay busy and keep writing her it really does help.

It will get better and we are here for you!!

That USPS app is the best. You can see what mail you have coming every day!! I love it!! 

JCNavyMom- Whoo hoo you are getting so close and like SuzyChicago said you will see everything when you get into that hall. Get ready for the best experience in your life. It truly is a great performance and when those doors open up and they all start marching in it is the best!!!

Make sure you have your vaccination card, and your mask. As Chipmunk said if you can leave early I would since so many flights are being cancelled. Hopefully all these storms will settle down and it will be ok.

Also, your loved one is going to be the best to get your information from and they will know exactly how much time they will have. Remember early is late and you want to make sure you have your loved one back to base on time!!

One step at a time is what I always say and just enjoy the time you have with each other!! 

SuzyChicago- Good Morning and thank you for sharing that. I hope your holiday was great!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

My recruits PRI Day is Feb 11, 2022. Is there a group for this graduation day?  Also, when we get our first call after 3 weeks of BC how long will they be able to talk on the phone?  Thank you!!

Angela - the PIR groups are now just by the month, so feel free to join the PIR February 2022 group.

Also, phone call times vary - usually anywhere from 30 - 45 minutes but maybe longer, and sometimes shorter. If you have trouble hearing, ask your SR to first try to push the cord into the receiver a bit. If that doesn't work, then ask them if they can try to call from a different phone. 

Also, if you do not receive a call in 3 weeks, don't panic. There are many reasons why a SR may not be able to call and also there is no guarantee that they will be able to make that 3 week call either. 

The Updated 2022 Expected timeline will look something like this:
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) Unless they are Fully Vaccinated (2 weeks after final shot) in which case they skip straight to Week 3.

Week 3
Day 15-21 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 -10 -- 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 11 & 12 -- Stressful!! They have all their final inspections, PFA, Drills, BS21 and Tests. This is the lead up to the end!!

So My dear Bootcamp Moms... I need something from you...
Can you please let us know on here how closely this lines up to your Sailor's experience?  My Sailor was in BC 8+ years ago and much has changed since then.  We (the Experienced moms) can only go off what you can confirm for us. 
Can anyone confirm dental?
What is happening in weeks 6-10? Where are they slotting the new Sailor For Life module?  Is that happening sooner or later in training?  As you are writing to your SR's you can ask them.  If you are willing to ask and share with me you can either post here or if you are not comfortable sharing publicly you can send me a Friend request and PM me the information.  This will allow us to continue to help other new moms by helping to reduce some of the worries that come with not knowing what is happening.  While I'm not giving detailed information, having an outline does ease some of that worry.  Thanks.

Thank you, Chipmunk!! 

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

Angela- Welcome, we are glad that you are here. How are you doing? Once you join your PIR group that one is a little more private than this one. 

As for the phone calls they really do vary. They can be as short as 10 minutes or as long as an hour. It just really depends on how full the phone bank is and how your loved one's division is doing.

BBH- Welcome back and thanks for posting that. It will be good to have updated information from the ladies.   

God Bless and have a great Sonday everyone!!

God'sPlan - Not receiving the I'm Here call would have been terrible. I'm sorry for you to have that extra stress. Our sailor has been in a year, was at boot camp  holidays last year, so I can relate. He left right before Thanksgiving. He was a firefighter prior to joining and usually worked Thanksgiving so was used to not spending that with him but Christmas was hard. I ended up taking the money we would have spent on him for gifts and made a donation to his old station for their food bank/coat drive charity he had been involved with. They were appreciative & helped me feel connected to him so felt like a win. If you can stay busy it does help. The time between Christmas and PIR in Feb actually flew by. Hope it does for you as well. Take care!

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

PIR FEBRUARY 2022

PIR JANUARY 2022

B'sNukeMoM️MMN -- I've been Loving the Snoopy pictures too!

Hi! My SR left on Oct 26th, he was fully vaccinated but he still had to ROM because of the holiday hold.. He is in the first Div of the first training group to graduate after the Holiday hold and in 2022. 
belovedbyHim - mine talked about dental the second week after ROM.  His weeks started on a Wednesday, so I am still working that all out in my head..lol…still not sure what day/week is actually on.  They didn’t pull his wisdom teeth but that is VERY unusual. PIR is this Friday !! My flight is only days away!! I have a link I will send to you. I started sending to my SR in the mail and he said that it was pretty accurate to what was happening. 
When I connect with him on Friday.. YAY!!…I will compare notes and give an update.  

It took 4 and 1/2 weeks before I got the first phone call. I had the form letter by 2.5 weeks so I could send him letters. All in all Friday will make it a 72 days process. 

My SR's PIR is also this Friday and I can't wait!! I haven't spoken to him or received a letter in a while. In all I received the "I'm here" call, a 5 minute call and two letters. Some lucky loved ones received "Christmas" calls and was hoping for that but nothing. It has really been the "Silence" lol. I just remember that no news is good news and hope to get the "I'm a Sailor" call.

I wake up at 3 am every morning for work and I'm asleep by 9 pm so I'm at work most of my day. That's what keeps me busy.

love4Leo25-Hey,  Yes, no news is good news and you are almost done. Communication will open up a bit more after his PIR and when he gets his phone back. I know it's been hard.

That sounds like my work schedule up at 4 and back home by 7 at night. It's long days but it does keep me busy as well. 

For the I'm a Sailor call keep your phone on you at times and that ringer on loud. I did not get mine until I was in Chicago and he called me that Thursday night. My friend kept saying are you sure you want to go since I hadn't heard from him. I was like yes I'm going. There was no way I was going to miss it!!! Lol I had already learned from the other ladies on here and in my PIR group that his division was on schedule to graduate.

make sure to answer every call that comes thru and if it's a telemarketer then you can hang up.   :)

JCNavyMom- Hi and thanks for posting and giving us an update. And yes please let us know after your PIR how everything went. Then we can celebrate with you ladies.

Give him a hug from all of us and it won't be long now.

navygirlfriend- Hi and I'm sorry his PIR got pushed back. I'm glad you were able to talk to him on Christmas Eve that is the best. Prayers for him and everyone else to finish strong.

Happy Monday and Welcome 2022!

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

PIR FEBRUARY 2022

PIR JANUARY 2022

For new members who might be considering using the Sandboxx App while your SR is in boot camp - please read my discussion regarding it.  Here's the link:

Sandboxx app while in BC

Be sure to sign up for Informed Delivery.

USPS Informed Delivery - Sign up and receive an email from the US Postal Service showing what mail you will be getting each day (if available in your area).  Here's the link:

Informed Delivery®

Per Sarge......

UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE - ALL MEET AND GREET EVENTS ARE CANCELED!

OMG.   I CANNOT sit still….

ARE WE THERE YET?  ARE WE THERE YET?
Of all the times that my boys have been annoyingly anxious and excited when they were kids …. Now its me!!!… 

Are we there yet?

The USS Lincoln made history today as it leaves on deployment with the first ever woman to lead a nuclear carrier in US Navy history. 

BZ to Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt.

Fair Winds and Following Seas!

JCNavyMom - keep your phone handy!  The call could come at any time ;-D

Div 23 mom also and got my call an hour ago. Officially a sailor. Sorry I haven’t shared much, rather private but I have read everything and this group helped me tremendously. I am also dealing with a senior (younger son) in high school and all the college drama while my oldest is in bootcamp so I’ve been juggling. Timelines were pretty much in line with the others only my son was vaccinated, well beyond his 2 weeks and still had to quarantine. He was at BC almost 5 weeks before we heard from him. Also wanted to mention I tried joining my local Blue Star Mom’s group, paid the fee and never heard from anyone. I’m hoping to get that support soon. 
Thank you again to everyone!! :)

BZ JCNavyMom and MAV!

WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP!!!! ATTENTION ON DECK!!! WE HAVE A NEW SAILOR!!!

Congratulation to JCNavyMom  and her Sailor!

WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP!!!! ATTENTION ON DECK!!! WE HAVE A NEW SAILOR!!!

Congratulations to MAV and her Sailor!