Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

Hi everyone.. Just popping in to see how everyone is doing.. My sailor is halfway through his C school now. I still find myself a bit sad and a little melancholy that he is grown and doing his life.. Very proud though.. If anyone wants to chat about empty nesting I'm here.. 

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

PIR APRIL 2023

PIR MARCH 2023

Good Morning Everyone!!

Did we get any mail? Any phone calls? 

My mail usually arrived on Thursday from my SR. 

I hope all that were in the storm areas are safe! I know we also have some areas that received a lot of snow and maybe ice as well. 

Be sure to start writing letters if you haven't already, and then you may mail them when you have an address. 

This is from one of our pages of information in the upper right corner. - Letter writing and fun stuff/questionnaire

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

PIR APRIL 2023

PIR MARCH 2023

Good Morning !! 

How are we doing today? The sun is trying to peak between the clouds, so I must get busy but I wanted to say hi. 

Are we writing letters? I know it can be tough to know what to say when you are missing your SR. I usually just tried to tell my son things that were going on at the house, we were preparing for a 2nd wedding of the summer. I also had others who wanted to write and send cards of encouragement to my son, so that helped me out a little. I did not feel like I had to do all of the writing. 

I shared song lyrics from some of his songs he liked, and I wrote out some of our favorite scriptures as words of encouragement to him. Something that I did not do as often as I might have, if I had thought about it more, was to tell him how much I appreciated him working hard and being diligent to do well. Often when our SRs or sailors do a job well-done, it is not noticed or appreciated as much as when they make a mistake or don't do well. So, I am learning that even if no one else tells my son that I appreciate him and his hard work, that I must continue to do that throughout his Navy time. 

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

PIR APRIL 2023

PIR MARCH 2023

REMINDER FROM THE US NAVY RECRUIT TRAINING COMMAND FACEBOOK PAGE:

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,).

WELCOME CENTER ADDRESS/GPS: Navy Exchange (NEX) Burkey Mall, 2650 Green Bay Road North Chicago, IL 60088 (Do NOT use generic terms such as NEX, Recruit Training Command or Naval Station Great Lakes).

ATTENDING THE GRADUATION CEREMONY

ARRIVING: Once the gates open to the public, it will take some time to clear security at the gate, so please plan accordingly. Visitors 18+ will be required to present valid photo ID (driver's license, state ID card, passport, military ID card). Minors, who can't produce one of the forms of ID listed above, must present either a school ID, driver's permit, copy of birth certificate, or Social Security card.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

• 6:30 am: RTC gate opens to guests.
• 7:00 am: Ceremonial drill hall doors open to guests.
• 8:45 am: All guests must be seated. Ceremonial drill hall doors close, no further entry for guests.
• 9:00 am: Pass-In-Review commences.
• 9:20 am: Divisions arrive.
• 10:30 am: Pass-In-Review concludes.

*Please plan on arriving at least 1.5 hours before the ceremony, which begins promptly at 9:00 a.m.

Hi, BC moms!  Hope y'all are doing well.  My younger son is a senior and is considering joining the Navy like his brother.  I can't bear the thought of going through bootcamp again!!!  I hope y'all are hearing from your recruits and are keeping busy to help pass the time.  (I'm reliving memories from BC days and hoping that all is well with y'all.)

MomofJoseph -- This time will be better!! You KNOW what to expect and you KNOW the timelimes and It's not Covid Craziness!!! And the most important part of all is that you will have all of us right here to cheer you both on!!!

MomofJoseph - I second what belovedbyHim said. And... lucky you, you'll get to experience PIR again! That's a day I wish I could relive. It sounds like you've raised two wise, independent young men. Way to go!

MomofJoseph - Even though it is hard, you are not the only one who has had more than one child go into the military, and so I hope that offers you some comfort, that you are not alone in this either. 

And yes, we will be here, and you will be there for others as well! 

MomofJoseph - I think it's kind of exciting that your younger son is thinking of joining.  I tried to convince my youngest to follow his older brother but he was like, nah, I'm good lol.  He chose the "straight to college" route which worked out for him.

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

PIR APRIL 2023

PIR MARCH 2023

Hi all!  Sorry I've been a little out of touch but just wanted to drop in and say welcome to all the new Navy moms and give a little encouraging "hang in there"!  Anyone here have sailors graduating tomorrow?  If so, congratulations!!  

Thank you to all of y'all for your kind support!  If I do go through BC again with my younger son, I know you'll be here for me and that gives me much comfort!  :-)

And joe-mom, thanks for the perspective regarding PIR.  I actually didn't get to experience PIR live (we watched it on livestream).  My husband and my father-in-law went in person and my younger son and I stayed at the hotel.  (Long story....)  Anyway, it would be cool to experience PIR in person.

MomofJoseph, I really would love to go, missed ours because of Covid. From what I heard they are full of emotions and beautiful. Definitely not the same on a screen but at the time I was so thankful for whatever we could get!

MomofJoseph -- There is a really unique feeling being in the drill hall during PIR!! I'm so sorry for all of you for whom Covid took that opportunity away! Of course it's still 10000000000000000000000000000000...*%(*just keep adding 0's) his choice to serve or not.  If he has any doubts better to wait or not than go and face that challenging environment.  Even the kids who are "For Sure" wanting to serve have had their moments when they questioned what the He** they did!!  (There is that old saying that NAVY stands for Never Again Volunteer Yourself!! My son keeps telling me that and then he goes and re-up's twice so far!!! HAHAHA!!! Silly boy!)  Just know it's all good either way!

REMINDER - NO PIR today or 3/10/23.

Good Morning Everyone!!

How are we doing? 

For those of you that feel like this time of silence or not hearing from your SR is one of the hardest things you have ever gone through, that is okay. What is important to remember though, is that as hard as it is for us, it is also hard for our SRs and later our Sailors. 

There may be many times during their service that they will be without any way to communicate to you. They may be able to receive an email from you, but then not be able to reply for various reasons. This time while they are in BC is a time of training for them, but it is also a time of training for us as well!

Stay strong, hold the course, reach out here if you need to, but know you are not alone. 

Hi All!

Well, we did hear from our son, yesterday! He has been in RCU since December.  He is now in Phase 3 of recovery, but my question is, does anyone have any idea of his approximate graduation date? What happens next? Anyone have any experience with this? 

Patti - so glad you heard from him!  Unfortunately you will not know his graduation date until he is placed back into a Division. Once he is cleared to return to training, he'll be placed in a new division based on where he left off. Once he is assigned to a new Division, then you can look up his PIR date on the RCU website.

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

PIR APRIL 2023

PIR MARCH 2023

Patti...I meant you can look up the PIR date on the RTC website.  Here is the link: https://www.bootcamp.navy.mil/Graduation/Training-Group-Graduation-...

You just have to know his new DIV number once he's assigned to it. He will get a call to tell you when he's cleared and going to a new division.

Thank you! You have cleared it up for me. Thanks!

Patti, I am so happy you have finally heard something. Tow months is a long time. The best news is he is moving forward and will be heading to a new division. Everyone's experience is so different and that is why they say" Sempre Gummy" stay flexible. Even after BC they can experience setbacks however preserving through these build character and as my son's commander told him makes better Sailors. God Bless you and your son as he strengthens and preservers.

Thank you, Northwoods Mom!

Semper Gummy - I LOVE it!

He is persevering and building a good future for himself.  I guess, I'm just edgy, as we have a wedding coming up and he's in it. His older sister wants him in the wedding party.

patti -- Semper Gumby is going to be KEY!!!  As for the Wedding... We make our plans but the Navy has a way of throwing Monkeys into the wrench!  His sister may need either be willing to be UBER flexible or accept that he may not be there for her planned event.  There are TONS of reasons why he cannot get back in time. This should not stop you from making plans and trying to include him but just be aware that his life is not his to control any longer.  Sadly, for as long as he is in, It's Navy First and foremost and everything else will be and remain a distant second.  
I am glad that he was able to call and hopefully he's back on track quickly and able to be home for his sister's wedding!

Tootie - Thanks for sharing!! I appreciate your knowledge with regards to RCU. How is your son doing?

Patti - The summer my son went to BC, his oldest sister was getting married a couple of weeks before he left. He was able to be in that wedding, his younger sister got married the week prior to his PIR. He was not able to be in that wedding and we did not even trying to figure out a picture of him or anything, we just knew enough ahead of time that it was not going to happen. 

Some people will make life sized poster pictures of their military loved one in uniform if they can't be there in person. Others just know that they have a loved one serving in the military and leave time did not work out. 

I don't know when the wedding is planned and how close you all would have been to your son's A school for him to have gotten leave, but there can still be restrictions as to how far they can travel at the beginning of their A school. I share that, to just keep in mind, again - Semper Gumby as the others shared. 

Proudmomof2 - That is wonderful news!! I know you are proud of your son and you can't wait to see him!!

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

PIR APRIL 2023

PIR MARCH 2023

Chipmunk - thank your for asking, my son is doing well - although not thrilled that he had to move back in with his parents for 6 months lol!  But he is doing all the right things to heal and be ready to go back in July.  It's so nice having him home for a while!

Tootie - I am sure that readjustment was a little difficult for your son, but I am glad that he has a positive outlook. I don't know if he is able to work with a physical fitness trainer or not while he is home but that might be something to look into, during rehab. And also, working on proper running techniques to help prevent any future injuries. 

Proudmomof2 -- I don't know why but I didn't see your post!! Congratulations to your son!!  I'm sure that your heart just swelled with pride!!! That's just awesome!

Tootie-- How's the saying go.... God laughs when we tell Him our plans.... I'm sure your son didn't think he'd be back home and he really did try his best!! I agree that if you can swing it, working with a trainer to rehab and hopefully prevent future issues would be well worth the time and money.  Please remember to share as the time grows closer to his leaving to remind us.

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

PIR APRIL 2023

PIR MARCH 2023

May Everyone have a Wonderful Weekend! I am wearing my RED!!  Some Fridays, I just wear a regular red shirt but when my son went out to the fleet, the FRG (Family Readiness Group) had t-shirts for sale. One in particular was a Remember Everyone Deployed shirt with our ship on it. So, whenever my son's ship is out floating on the waters, I like to wear that shirt as well. 

A word of caution - there are text spams, at least I assume they are spams - but I receive them every so often for different ships that are offering discounts on T-shirts, or hoodies. Be sure to delete and block those. Most FRGs associated with the various commands will do their own fundraisers and will have shirts for sale as well. 

Good Morning everyone!! I enjoyed a little bit of Spring Break time with my grandbabies, now it is back to my regular routine. 

How is everyone adjusting to the time change? I recall one time change my sailor was standing the night watch. I don't remember how they "split" the difference, I just recall, he was hopeful his replacement did not forget. 

Good Morning, All!

 My SR is hoping to be graduating in April, if all goes well! We are looking forward to this! It's been a long time coming, so prayers and positive wishes....please! 

Thank you!

Patti - that's great news!  I'll be praying all goes well!

Patti - Sending up prayers for you and your SR. That is very good news!