Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

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!

I received information today from Sandbox with my SR recruits address.  How do I know if she was put in FIT?  Her recruiter said that was a probability.

thanks!

Happynurse, I don't know how to tell if your SR is in FIT, I am sorry. 

I saw on one of the facebook pages that your SR will call you if there is a change, not sure if that is true 

Hi Happynurse - I asked my sailor who graduated in May whether or not you could tell if she was in FIT. He indicated that SRs who fail the OPFA are the ones who go to FIT. The OPFA happens in week 8 or 9, I think and they get pulled from their division and placed in FIT until they can pass. SRs do go through an initial fitness assessment, but I think that's just a baseline, not a determination on whether they get pulled for FIT divisions.

He also said to take what recruiters say with a grain of salt. :)

Happynurse -- Breathe!!! She's in a Div and for the time being, No News is Good News!!! IF she cannot pass the baseline PFA then she will call you otherwise assume everything is progressing normally. As mentioned by Diahn, Most of the time if they get moved it's because they can't pass the final PFA.  If she's close on the first one, they may give her "Extra Attention" to help her get where she needs to be. 
Her recruited is being a PITA and needs to have their attitude adjusted.  They may have just been saying that to try and motivate her to exceed standards but that is not always a good way to go about it.  I know it's easier said than done but try not to worry until you have a reason to!

That's correct. My son had stress fractures in both legs 2 times. FIT is a gym class for improving the results of the OPFA.

Happy Thursday

I just met with my son and his recruiter...super nice "kid" but he gave me completely contradicting information from what I received from MEPS about the day he leaves for BC and the swearing in at MEPS...now I am crying at my work desk because I don't know who is right...I will try and work it all out next week, today I need a break....this is going to be a LLOONNGG month for me and I appreciate this group and apologize for my pouting rant.

Danielle - hang in there - you'll get it figured out. Back in 2012 when B left (out of San Diego) his recruiter took him the night before to the hotel.  We went down, stayed the night in the same hotel, took him to dinner (he had a curfew) and then they took him to MEPS in the morning.  We were able to meet up at MEPS the next day and after they did some things we were able to come in, watch them all be sworn in, listen to instructions, watch them load onto the bus and then we were able to follow the bus to the airport.  We chose not to go in to the airport - we said our goodbyes outside the terminal.  B (he was a bit older than most of the recruits) was put in charge of keeping them all together throughout the travel time.  He did text us on a layover and then called later that evening from the phone banks at boot camp - I remember it was about 8pm our time.  It was literally about a 20 second "scripted" phone call and then that was it!

Dinner the night before. The restaurant comped his dinner since he was heading to the Navy!

Swearing in.

Diahn - I had to chuckle!! Your SR is correct, take the words of the recruiter with a grain of salt!!

B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN Thanks.

Eds Mom Danielle  -- I'm sorry they are giving you conflicting info.  What is each party saying.  Keep in mind the Recruiter's job is to do whatever it takes to get the kids to sign on the dotted line.  MEPS job is to qualify them for the chosen job and RTC's job is to train them to be Basically Trained Sailors. (Or as my sailor calls them BS sailors (Basic Sailors but also the other meaning... )They know all the rules but not how it really works yet.)  Often one hand doesn't know what the other is doing or saying.  We hear all the voices and combine that with experiences from those who have gone through it to find something resembling the actual truth of it all.  Of course we don't have a Crystal ball or magic wand to say a thing is 100%b going to be the way we say but more often than not we are right. 

Also this is THE best place to come and rant and pout... We get it and we don't judge!!

Chipmunk -- A grain of salt?? More like an OCEAN of salt!!!  (I wonder if they are Salty they forgot the true meaning of NAVY??
(Never Again Volunteer Yourself)

Happy Friday! I have been using the Sandboxx app to send letters, but i also wanted to send my son small legal size lined paper with self addressed/stamped envelopes. Can this be sent in a manila envelope? I wasn't sure because it's oversized. Or, is there a better way? I'm not sure what's acceptable.  Thank you

To add to my comment below, I understand about nothing musical or glitter, colorful, etc. I just want to get plain paper and self addressed/stamped envelopes to him, 

G'sNavyMom - first of all, I would not go overboard at all, and sending a large envelope will likely draw attention to your SR. 

At the NEX they have a packet of lined writing paper and envelopes that your SR may purchase. I was trying to send a folded up SASE at least to my son in the first one or two letters and he told me not to bother. My son at least really only had about 10 minutes to write, he would say, every Sunday and one week he did not write at all because he had gone to medical for a cough. 

If you want to send something, I would maybe mail him a letter in a legal sized envelope and you can stick in a SASE with one piece of lined paper inside, maybe two sheets. And ask him if he has writing paper and envelopes, or do you need to send him anything. You might stick in a few extra stamps and tell him that if he doesn't need them to share with his shipmates. But otherwise, as much as we want to "help" them out, they have ways to get letters to you. 

Another suggestion is to print off one of the questionnaires and leave it blank on the back side or print lines for him, tell him to use that side to write you a note back.