Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

Yvette -- Do you have your PIR date?  If so you can join the PIR group for your Date range.  We list the Div numbers just to make it easier to find the right group.  The PIR groups are "Closed" groups so you will need to verify that you "Belong" there to join but they are not limited to a specific Div. 
I hope I'm understanding your question.  If not please reach out and ask again.

patti -- I bet you win the prize for the most letters from BC!! (Although I am sorry for the reason!) 
Your dress sounds adorable!!
I am so sorry you had shingles!!! That is Just MISERABLE!!! Folks.... PSA.... If you have not had the vaccine... Get it!!! The Shingles are Miserable!!! I've had them, my mom had had them multiple times and now has Postherpetic neuralgia Interior-ly in her left chest and shoulder.  (She didn't have the widespread skin rash this round.  they were deeper in.)  If you can avoid this misery... Please have this discussion with your medical care provider and follow their advice!!!

I have a question, when I receive a call from my son does anyone know if it is possible to add someone to our call? Not sure if it would hang up if I tried. My husband and are together most of the time on the wkends, but just in case I was wondering if anyone else has tried it. 

Sandra

not sure.. if so it would be on your end.. those landlines are flaky at best.. we used a call recording app and if one of us missed one, only happened once. we could replay it and all the others, what few there are lol..

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

PIR SEPTEMBER 2023

 PIR AUGUST 2023

 PIR JULY 2023

Trey, that is a great idea! Thanks

Sandra -- We didn't want to risk it.  If you have someone nearby who is willing to let you practice with them you can try that first but I have not personally had great success adding folks to conference calls.

belovedbyHim Happy Tuesday Everyone!  I spoke directly to MEPS at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn today.  We are allowed on the base for the formal swearing in and briefing!   They run on the half hour and they run every hour...I asked if, as a USO volunteer, I can wait inside the USO center instead of my car, he said Thank you but no LOL 

Trey that is a great idea...this group sis amazing with how clever you all are!!

I heard/read somewhere that some airports will allow us, the family, to get Gate passes provided by the military so families can wait at the gate with their "kids".  Again, I spoke directly with MEPS at Fort Hamilton Brooklyn and that was a definite NO.

Anyone have different info?

I think most airlines/airports do this for many people.. my friend would do it to see her kids off. I don't think MEPS has that much control over an independent airport. Go ahead and contact the airport/airline directly..

MEPS will always so NO to the Airport.  That decision is 100% up to the Airlines.  You need to ask for a Gate Pass. Your SR needs to tell you their Airline and Flight number.  The Airline can say no, TSA can say No but MEPS doesn't say Yes because then the Airports would be overwhelmed and MEPS doesn't have any control or authority there.  You need to bring your ID and maybe your phone and cash/card but leave everything else at HOME!!  Less really is more in this case!

Eds Mom Danielle - The recruiter told us yes about the airport, then MEPS told us NO. So, we did not go and then I found this site and heard about people staying at the airport with their loved ones. I was really upset, but as it turned out, we actually had other family priorities that day and we had spent most of the morning with our son at MEPS. (pre-Covid). 

Later it occurred to me that the driver from MEPS to the airport, was not really wanting us Momma's to be "babying" our sons. - Mine had never flown an airplane before though. But he did just fine. We would have had to have driven over to the airport and meet up with him prior to ticketing so he could have verified with the airlines for us to get a gate pass. 

For almost every other trip to the airport, until he was traveling with his gf later wife, we got gate passes, including after PIR. But BelovedbyHim, explains the reasoning the best, and definitely go to the airport with just the basics, because you still have to go through TSA!. 

Hello all⚓️I was sent my son's ship and division number along with the Commander's letter via Sandboxx.  Is it safe to rely on this before we've received his letter in the mail?

So my sweet girl left yesterday for Great Lakes.  We got her scripted call at 11:15 last not.  It was short as I knew it would be but still good to hear her voice.  So now we wait until we get her address.  I am ever so grateful for this group and all the info, and support you provide.  Thanks!

Hold on to your rear Happynurse.. here we go.. we got ya!

Welcome PRitz!! This is the best place to post general questions and get tons of support and answers!!

G'sNavyMom -- Yes you can rely on the Sandboxx address.  You DO NOT need to use Sandboxx to write back.  You can use the regular postal service for a whole lot less.  Keep in mind that while You CAN send letters right away, we have not heard of any changes in the delivery procedure.  If you learn something new, PLEASE share it with us.  The normal procedure was that they needed to finish P-days (takes a week) then they need to select and train a Recruit Mail Petty Officer (RMPO) to sort and deliver the mail.  (This used to take another week or 2!) So in the mean time all the letters arriving for that Division along with all the other Div's that are in the same process are getting set aside by the other RMPO's who are further along.  Sometimes those letters are not sorted in the order they were recieved at GL.  Also sometimes those letters just go missing all together.  SO.... All this is to say, Yes Write!! Go ahead and Mail them, BUT Number them and maybe make a copy before you mail it JUST in case.... and realize it may still take 3 or 4 weeks before you get a letter back!! The KEY difference between Sandboxx and USPS is that Sandboxx gets delivered to RTC quicker- ish.  If you write a letter on Monday then Via Sandboxx they will deliver it to RTC by Wed, whereas USPS may not deliver that First class letter until Friday.  Once it arrives at RTC the process is the same for all mail.  If your SR asks for you to mail something from home you may.  But don't send anything unless they ASK for you to! Anything larger than a single stamped envelope must be opened in front of the RDC's so if you are sending an extra letter or a packet to be distributed to your SR's DIV, be sure to warn your SR FIRST!!!

Happynurse -- And So It Begins......

You and She have got this!!! We are here if you need us!!!

Happynurse - We are here for you!!

G'sNavyMom - So glad to hear that your have an address! 

Please tell me when I can sign up for sandbox.  My daughter arrived in Great Lames on Monday 7/24.  I don’t have her ship’s name yet will I need it.  Does she have to sign up before I can?  Thanks for any help you can provide!

Happynurse-- Your SR will need to Opt INTO Sandboxx and then they will send you a text message that will include the address and instructions. (As best as I know... My Experience was in the fleet and it was NOT good.)  You can then decide if you want to use the app to send your letters or not.  Keep in mind that a regular letter costs $0.66 and a Sandboxx letter can cost 6 times that (Or more...I think someone said it's $4.99 per letter?)  If they don't opt in then it can take up to 3 weeks for you to get the form letter and address.

Happynurse-

My son just graduated Great Lakes a couple of weeks ago!

Congratulations to yiur daughter!

Thanks Beloved by him for the great info! 
Patti- Thanks 

G’sNavyMom we don’t have an address yet since she just got there this week but hopefully soon!

thank you all so much

Happynurse, if your daughter signs up you should get the text soon. Then when you register and get in you will be able to see her address, feels good to get that little bit of information. But they still advise not to send any letters until after processing, just in case something changes.

Sandra

Does anyone know if there’s a way to find out if there’s any recruits who don't have family or a support group? I'd love to send letters of support and encouragement to these individuals.

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

PIR SEPTEMBER 2023

 PIR AUGUST 2023

 PIR JULY 2023

All the September training groups are posted now in the September PIR group.  All are only allowing 3 guests.

G’sNavyMom - I doubt there’s any info about that, but I sent little encouragement cards that I bought at Target in a set every time I sent my recruit a letter. He told me that he passed them around to other recruits when he felt like they were having a tough time and it was very appreciated. Maybe try something like that and let your recruit know that’s what they’re for?

G'sNavyMom - you would need to ask your SR this question.  Another option is to send extra letters (maybe even do the questionnaire's) to your SR and let them pass them out.  Be sure to include your address if they want to write back to you.  I did this a few years ago for a young lady that had no family writing to her.  Then she ended up being stationed in San Diego (which is near us) and my husband and I visited her a couple of times.  Went out to eat, took her to see Coronado Island and went to the zoo.  She's back in VA now, out of the Navy but engaged to a Navy guy and we are still FB friends.

Diahn - great idea!  Just remember - no glitter or anything crazy on the cards ;-D

belovedbyHim- thank you so much for this information.  I, along with family have sent my son letters via Sandboxx and USPS as soon as we were made aware of his address. I like Sandboxx because you can see the status of the letter. We patiently wait and pray. I purchased a bundle,  which was more cost effective than individually.  

Patti - congrats to your son and family. How exciting!

Happynurse - I can empathize with how you're feeling. My son has been there for a week now. Best of luck to our recruits⚓️

B’sNukeMom - YES! I should have said. The cards I found were in a pack - black with white letters - about the size of playing cards, so easy to tuck into a regular letter!

Lots of info here, and I think Lemonelephant mentions something about how to go about getting mail to other recruits. You either have to address it to them specifically, or put inside a letter for your SR.  Letter writing and fun stuff/questionnaire

I knew none of these rules and found this site right before PIR. My son received lots of letters with the smiley face stickers on them that used to be mailed out in advertisements for Highlights Magazine!! Thankfully, he did not get into too much trouble for them or the Solar Eclipse sunglasses that I sent to him either!!  LOL

I just got notification that I am getting a letter from my son, first one...so excited. Not sure how reliable SB is but I was able to track it, and its almost here!

Sandra

Sandra - Here's some info on the Sandboxx app:

Sandboxx app while in BC

Remember, it's only to be used during bootcamp!

Yes I read the information, so far I sent one through SB and the other 2 USPS. I plan to only use for BC, thanks for the advise. 

Sandra

This just in, saw on the official FB group for RTC: "

• SAILORS REMAINING AT GREAT LAKES FOR SCHOOL: Sailors remaining at Great Lakes for “A” school Will have the following schedule:

o DAY OF GRADUATION: You will normally have free time off base (liberty) with your Sailor from the conclusion of graduation until about 8pm. You will return your Sailor using the RTC main gate and drop your Sailor off at the RTC Chapel. The Sailor MUST be in his or her barracks by 9 pm, so plan accordingly.

o DAY AFTER GRADUATION: The next day, your Sailor must check into his or her school before being granted more free time with you time off base (Liberty). You will pick-up your Sailor OFF BASE at the Great Lakes National Museum of the American Sailor between approximately 10am and noon and the Sailor can normally remain with you off base until Sunday evening. For more information about liberty procedures, please contact the school house directly:

o Culinary Specialists (CS): Although this “A” school is located in Virginia, these Sailors will remain in Great Lakes for up to one week to complete additional firefighting training.

o Engineering: For Surface Warfare Engineering School Command Great Lakes:

GRLK_SWESC_PAO@navy.mil

o Combat: For Surface Combat Systems Training Command Great Lakes:

scstc-gl_pao@navy.mil

o EOD: For Center for Explosive Ordnance Disposal, please call 847-688-6819 (EOD Sailors ONLY!)

• SAILORS TRANSFERRING TO SCHOOL OUTSIDE OF GREAT LAKES:

o DAY OF GRADUATION: You will normally have free time off base (liberty) with your Sailor from the conclusion of graduation until about 8pm. You will return your Sailor using the RTC main gate and drop your Sailor off at the RTC Chapel. The Sailor MUST be in his or her barracks by 9 pm, so plan accordingly.

o DAY AFTER GRADUATION: The next day you may return through the main gate and pick your Sailor up at approximately 8am in the RTC Chapel parking lot. Once again, the Sailor MUST return to his or her barracks by 9 pm that evening, so plan accordingly.

o SATURDAY MORNING: You may meet your departing Sailor at the airport to say good bye and to give the Sailor any small items he or she may want for “A” School (laptop, a few items of civilian clothing, etc.) but remember your Sailor is already carrying a seabag, garment bag, and back pack!"

Trey, belovedbyHim , Chipmunk

Thank you

Great news about moving up PIR.. wish it could have been us, but we did get the weekend because mine stayed in GL or as he referred to it as 'the frozen hellscape'

Trey, I wish this was in the plans for us as well....My Sailor called it Great Mistakes. Frozen Hellscape sounds good, too :)

Yes, the Navy has a heart after all! ;-D

I'll be posting the October PIR group tomorrow.....with the new Thursday PIR date!

Wow!! This is some great news for everyone!!

Sandra let me wire that question again— lol— How long has your SR been at RTC and had you signed up for Sandbox before you got the notification?

thanks!

Happynurse- He got to RTC 7/12 around 12am, I signed up for SB Friday after he got there on 7/14. The next morning I had a text from SB saying he wanted to connect with me through SB. But I will tell you this, you don't have to be registered to get the text. My husband saw that I got the notification and picked his phone up quick to register and he had the same text, without registering. Your SR gives information of the people he wants to connect with. Hope this helps

Sandra

TravelinMom -- This is AWESOME NEWS for our new moms!! I guess I'll be updating the blog this weekend!!

patti -- We've heard "Great Mistakes" before, I agree... Frozen Hellscape may very well describe it in Winter! 

Trey-- What would they have called in in Summer??

B'sNukeMoM -- it only took 246 years for them to find it....<3

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

PIR OCTOBER 23

PIR SEPTEMBER 2023

 PIR AUGUST 2023

**BEGINNING OCTOBER 5, 2023, RECRUIT GRADUATIONS WILL BE CONDUCTED EVERY THURSDAY (NO LONGER ON FRIDAY), EXCEPT FOR THE WEEK OF THANKSGIVING, WHEN GRADUATION IS ON WEDNESDAY.

I sure hope there's no issues with Sarge changing the dates for his Meet N Greets!