Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

belovedbyHim - All good! Figured life was doing other things. :) I am so, so excited to see my girl!!  We already called Anastasia's and confirmed they are doing takeout.  She wants to stay in and have TG dinner in her sweatpants. She's staying in GL so we get even a little more extra time!!  I am hopeful for Christmas but not counting chickens before they hatch because I have heard so many different things.  Still prayers raised and fingers crossed!

Rosanne - Enjoy every moment of your time with your daughter!!

Here's the link to watch today's PIR:

LIVE PIR 11.18.2022

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

PIR JANUARY 2023

PIR DECEMBER 2022

PIR NOVEMBER 2022

Everyone please welcome  momofnavydaughter to our group!

B'sNukeMom - I have my RED on!! 

Chipmunk - thanks!

Welcome momofnavydaughter!

Good morning everyone!  Welcome momofnavydaughter!

Welcome to all our new members!

Be sure to scroll back a few pages and you'll find lots of valuable info posted. Also read through at the top of this page "Answers to Common Questions". 

As of now masks are no longer required and proof of vaccination status is no longer required to attend PIR.

And of course, feel free to ask any questions you may have!

Here's a video posted online (6/13/22) that shows the 10 weeks of boot camp:

What US Navy Recruits Go Through

And if you are interested in seeing what happens during the "Confidence Chamber" aka gas chamber here is a video link:

Boot Camp Gas Chamber

Happy Friday all!  Welcome monofnavydaughter!  Congratulations to all the Sailors graduating today!!

welcome to momofnavydaughter.. hugs to graduating sailors and moms..   have a great weekend.. always here for questions..

Welcome momofnavydaughter  and NewNavyMomof1 

Hi Ladies, I just need a bit of advice for I am so undecided about what to do as far as hotels are concerned.  It is hard for me to decide between the two.  I have two places that I have booked.  I have to make a decision on one of them by tomorrow.  One is the Navy Lodge (basic room - no kitchenette) and the other is the New Townplace Suites- Marriott (w/kitchenette) out in Waukegan off of Lakehurst. The Marriott is a bit more in price and it is farther from the base.  My daughter would need to be back on base at night.  If I choose the Navy Lodge, then I might say, "Boy, I sure wish I had that kitchenette" or vice versa.  Same thing for taking her back and picking her up morning/evenings, I might say "Boy, I sure wish I had a hotel closer" ☺ The thing is do I plan on cooking?  Not really.  However, it good to have that option, and anything for my daughter.  I asked my daughter and she doesn't care which one I choose, ha ha.  She just wants us there.  Ugh, maybe, I should change my name to "Undecisive MOM" LOOOL ☺ ☺.  

P.S. I will also have a rental car

Navy Lodge - appr 1.9 miles from PIR

New Townplace Suites - appr 4.9 miles from PIR and "A' school

Any thoughts will be appreciated!  Thanks!!

Bootcamp0924 my number 1 would be ) does my daughter need to get away from all the Navy stuff for a half a day or not. She seems not to care but deep down she might.

2) am I use to winter driving, winter's in Chicago can be a mess, if your not use to snow and a storm comes in it will only add to your anxiety. 

3) price, does it play a part in your decision. If not I would go for comfort. You want more room and a comfort of a having a kitchen go for it.

You know your family better than any of us, go with your gut.

Bootcamp0924 - I am not going to help any, because my thought is go for the time constraint consideration. You have very little time with your sailor. If your sailor has to be back by that evening, you will need to leave early and make sure she has time to get (walk) to where she needs to be actually checking in for the night.

You can always check out local eating areas, there was a small restaurant near our motel which was almost as close as the Navy Lodge (5+ yrs ago) and we just went over and ordered pizza and took it back to the motel while our sailor hung out with is brother.  You can also have food delivered!!

I also wanted to be as close as possible to RTC for getting there in the early morning. 

So, I go cheap - at least I did when we went to GL, and I wanted to be close. I knew nothing about this site, and I don't recall if the Navy Lodge was listed in the brochure that they mailed to us at that time or not. But this is where we stayed. - Red Carpet Inn - Great Lakes You can Google it. - Yes, it is only a 2-star hotel, and they only had a simple pastry continental breakfast, and they messed up our reservation for the shuttle ride, so we ended up driving. But that proved to be in our best interest, with my son's situation after PIR. 

For us it worked out, because in the end, we left our motel at 0100 on Saturday morning to drive to O'Hare airport and then head on home. If I had paid extra just to have a nice breakfast and an extra cozy bed, to have left it so I could spend more time with my sailor at the airport than I had after PIR (My PIR weekend ) I would have been upset. 

There was / is a restaurant nearby -   Flanagan's Sports Bar   they have dine-in, but we ordered pizza and walked back across the parking lot to the hotel and ate in our room. 

B'sNukeMom - You have a Great Weekend as well! 

NewNavyMomof1  - Welcome Aboard!! This is the best place on our group page, to come ask questions, post any comments, say hello, and share how your BC journey. We are here to support you. 

Welcome newnavymomof1!

Whew!  You guys are good! Thank you guys so much!  Thank you for providing your thoughts/experiences.  I will take it all into consideration before making my decision.  I will keep everyone updated ☺ #I GOT THIS - LOL

Welcome to the group NewNavyMomof1!!

NewNavyMomof1 - Be sure to keep your phone close by you and your ringer on loud. Answer all calls, as you never know exactly how your SRs call will come in, especially with using their calling card. My son's calls came on Saturday, but that is not the same for everyone!!

Bootcamp0924 - You are welcome!! And YES, you've got this!!

Bootcamp0924 -- Lots of missing information.... Will you be with her for a Major Holiday?  A kitchenette may be useful.  Is she staying in GL for A school?    Driving in Winter is no joke but they cannot walk from the Navy Lodge back to base.  While it is closer, it's not always easier.  There is NO food nearby so you HAVE to leave even just to pick up fast food.  That is where I stayed all those years ago but we only had the day and didn't really sleep much the whole trip! (Left Thurs am early came back Sunday night/Monday am early! Slept 15 hours the whole weekend!! )

NewNavyMomof1-- If this Friday is your 3rd Friday then I'd keep your phone charged, close and LOUD!! Week 4 seems to be the most common week for the first phone call home and with the holiday coming up, it just increases the odds. It's not a for sure but.... *Fingers, toes, arms, legs, eyes crossed*.  You are looking at a PIR after the first of the year.  IF you scroll up on this page you'll see the Estimated training timeline.  You didn't mention exactly when your SR left (and that's fine) but using that timeline may help give you an idea of what they may be doing.  (Keep in mind that if they left on a Thursday or Friday, your first Friday likely is the following week) The holidays may also delay training so while 10 weeks is normal, for SR's beginning training that overlaps all 3 Winter holidays, you may have 11 weeks total before PIR.  If your SR chooses to "Sign up" for Sandboxx you will get their address and DIV (And thus PIR) information quicker.  You DO NOT have to use the Service but your SR does need to Opt in upon arrival.  This is a recent change and there is a whole bunch of information about it in the September pages if you want to scroll back.  There may also be information above in the Sandboxx pages.

Hi, NewNavyMomof1!  That is so exciting that a letter is on its way.  Hope it arrives quickly, AND you get a phone call soon!

Bootcamp0924 - we stayed in the Navy Lodge with a kitchenette.  We were there over Thanksgiving and used the kitchenette as a buffet for the T'giving meal we bought from Cracker Barrel.  We were with our Sailor for 5 days, and if we were in a room with no kitchenette, it would have been great.  We drove to Wakaugan for meals often, but we liked being near base for drop off AND for pickup!  They were supposed to be free to leave at 8:00, but several times he would text us at like 7:15 or 7:30 and say, "They are letting us leave now." and we'd hop in the car and be there in 5 minutes to pick him up.

belovedbyHim -  Thank you kindly for sharing your experience ☺. I will be there for the Thanksgiving Holiday.  Also, she would need to be back on base by a certain time. It would be great if she can get overnight liberty for Thanksgiving.  If/when the weather is bad, staying at the Navy Lodge just might be the best option.  That'll allow me to get her back safely and quickly. 

MomofJoseph - Thank you kindly for sharing your experience too ☺.  We will be there for 5 days and we will probably do something along the same lines for Thanksgiving day. I am looking forward to anything and everything with her!

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

PIR JANUARY 2023

PIR DECEMBER 2022

PIR NOVEMBER 2022

Be sure to RSVP for Sarge's Meet N Greet.  Remember, PIR is on WEDNESDAY this week so the Meet N Greet is Tuesday. Here's the link:  

Sarge's Meet N Greet

I've been having continued issues with the bootcamp.navy.mil website - very frustrating!  Anyone else having issues with it?  I've reached out to RTC for help so hopefully I get an answer soon.

Reminder:

PER RTC FACEBOOK PAGE....(Regarding Thanksgiving)

Divisions set to graduate 11/23 will have the option to spend Thanksgiving day with their family before being shipped to A school.  They will not transfer until Friday or Saturday of that week.

B'sNukeMoM️MMN -- Yes. Page not available.  I have a couple of other websites that I frequent that are also down.  I've been following up with them on their FB pages (At least those that have them.) I'm sure there is something more to it.

Good Evening!! I have been on a little this morning, later today, and now, but I have not had any glitches. Sorry. 

For those of you getting ready to head to RTC  may you have safe travels!! 

Just a reminder - once you have a sailor, or have been to PIR, please feel free to come join us in the Beyond BC group. 

If you have a daughter in BC or serving be sure to come join the Moms of Daughters 2 group.

If you would like to join the Christian Navy Moms please come and request to join. 

Here is the link to the Group Page where you may search for groups on this site. 

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

PIR JANUARY 2023

PIR DECEMBER 2022

Here's the link to today's PIR in case you missed it:

PIR 11.23.2022

I heard back from RTC and they confirmed "the new website is experiencing connectivity issues and causing us much headaches."  I'm glad to know it's not just me - and you BelovedbyHim!

I found a work around so I can at least get the info I need.  Hopefully RTC will get the issue resolved soon!

Oh!! So, it was the RTC website!! I had not been on that one for a bit. I thought you meant N4M. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

For those of you with your new sailors, enjoy every moment!

If you have not changed your sailor's status to Enlisted on your profile, be sure and do so. And be sure to come join us in Beyond BC. 

When you have a chance, be sure to share your PIR experience here in the comments and up in our discussion. 

Happy Thanksgiving! Thinking of everyone here who has a sailor in boot camp during the holidays. Our sailor left for RTC the week of Thanksgiving 2 years ago (believe it or not time does fly). Due to his job we hadn't spent Thanksgiving with him in awhile, but Christmas was tough. Try to find ways to include your sailor in whatever you are doing. I think someone on here did a "flat Stanley" kind of thing with a photo of their sailor. A new tradition might help you look forward to the festivities. 

B'sNukeMoM -- I'm so glad to know it's not just us. 

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

PIR JANUARY 2023

PIR DECEMBER 2022

Welcome Bri -- Please introduce yourself and let us know where you are on your BC Journey.  This page is what you all make of it.  The more you ask or share the more we know what you need and how we can support you through this time. 

Bri - Good evening! I just got on my computer and saw you had joined this group and the Nuke Moms group and you had posted a comment!! - So, you are starting out strong here and that is good. My son is also a Nuke and that is probably one of our most active groups for rates on this site. 

You have a bit of time before PIR, but be sure to look at my discussion above,What PIR weekend may be like for those flying out of GL                    - 

Bri-- Glad to have you here and happy to help.  If you look above on this page you will see a timeline that will give you an idea of what your SR (Seaman Recruit) is doing.  There is also a section above and to the Left side that is titled "Navy Speak", that will help you learn the lingo. 
Right now you are in what we call "the Great Silence" it's that first 3 weeks of nearly no communications.  Depending on if your SR opted into Sandboxx you may or may not have an address, DIV and PIR date.   As you are counting the Days that your SR is in, remember that you need to add a Hold day for Thanksgiving.
The 22 would be Processing Day 1 (P1), Wed would be P2, Thursday was P-hold, Friday would be P3, Sat and Sun would be P-hold days as well.  Monday will be P4 and Tuesday will be P5.  Wed should be be Training day 1.  You are looking at PIR most likely the first week of February. If he's in a Push Div he may be the last week of Jan. but the Feb date is the most likely. 
If your SR did not opt in to Sandboxx you can expect to get the form letter in the mail in about 3 weeks from departure ( Most likely the  second week of Dec) since the letter is not mailed till the last processing day or first day of training.  We advise that you keep your phone handy and your ringer on LOUD and answer ALL calls while your SR is in BC.  Any calls that come in now are usually for more Information and your SR cannot visit.  Those calls are made with their Instructors present so while I suggest asking for Div number if you don't already have it and be sure to tell him you love him, just know they will be brusk and not sound like themselves.  The first "Social" call usually comes in week 3 or 4.
We are here through the good times as well as the hard times.  Feel free to laugh, cry, vent or celebrate (We really love to celebrate both the big and the little things!) so share as you wish.

Welcome Bri!!!  Glad you've joined N4M!!  This group was / is so helpful to me in my journy. My son left for BC on 7/11 and finished on 9/23. It was (and still is at times) a bit of an emotional roller coaster - but I got a lot of peace from learning all that I needed to know from the Moms that have gone before me. 

Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving!!

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

PIR JANUARY 2023

PIR DECEMBER 2022