Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

Good morning! Can anyone tell me a good place to purchase challenge coins? Thank you 

Sandra- congratulations on your new Sailor! How exciting⚓️So happy for you and your family

Lara- It is definitely a relief to just know we are so close to being able to se him. I will be honest with you though the 8 weeks have been the longest weeks of my life. I don't want to scare anyone but this is the experience I had. Some people have said it went by fast, but not for me. I received my first call at exactly 2 weeks on a 7/29 Sunday around 4:30, he only had 20 minutes. The second call was at 4 weeks on a 8/12 Saturday at 9:30 am and he had an hour to talk. The Sailor call I got yesterday lasted about an hour, which was great. After the phone call on 8/12 the letters stopped, it was 3 weeks before I received another. I kept telling myself not to worry, that he was just busy. I continued to write him everyday and did not let on that I was worried. When I spoke to him yesterday he said he thinks some of his letters didn't go out. I don't know what happened but thankfully we are almost there. Stay positive, he told me he was doing great physically but mentally he was tired. He misses the outside world, the people he loves. I just reassure him things will be different when BC is over. He has met a lot of good people, but he misses his family. I hope this helps.

Aaahh..thanks Diahn. I was just interested...

patti -- Some volunteer, some are "selected" for their size (body snatchers -- they catch SR's at PIR who may be about to faint), others are chosen for their height.. Sticks or ability to sing.  That is based only on what I have gleaned over the years so don't hold me to it. 
Diahn gave a Most Excellent Answer!!  It's always neat to learn what others have expierienced.

G'sNavyMom -- AT PIR, At the NEX after PIR, or online are all good options.

Sandra -- Thank you for your answer.  You are right. It is different for every person, SR's and their families.  They have SOOOOOO much to do in any given 24 hour period and what they want most is rest, some write a bunch others hardly at all.  (Hopefully the letters show up) For some this is Easy and for others every step is a challenge! There is no "right" or "wrong" way to get there... It just is!  We are here for the Highs and the Lows. 


rmarie25 -- I'll let you in on a little secret.... You'll cope one day at a time.  If you need support we will be here.  If you have to celebrate we will be here.  If you just need to quietly read and process it all, we are here for that too.  It is a lot of unknowns but just remember that when they are at Boot Camp you KNOW exactly where they are, What they are doing and that they are well looked after.  Yes it is stressful, Yes it is hard, Yes you miss them and they miss you but you KNOW they are safe. (In the fleet... .) Just remember to breathe in and Out and that we haven't lost a mom to Boot Camp yet, We won't start with you.

Sandra - BZ to you, your family and especially your new Sailor!!    Congratulations!  Enjoy, you have earned it!

belovedbyHim-

Interesting! I'm surprised my son wasn't selected. It's water under the bridge now..he's 6'2" .  Thank you for the info. 

Enjoy your evening.

patti -- Height isn't always the tallest.  They want "Uniformity" (ish).  It's also possible they didn't need more Sticks the week he arrived. Mysterious are the ways of the Navy.....

belovedbyHim, :) He would not have been happy if he were picked :)

Good Morning All- I am just popping in to post this - I have a lot of family stuff going on, so I am not even keeping up with messages much. 

For those of your with Nukes or others who will be leaving GL and flying out to their A school here is my discussion that I wrote after my son's situation. Be sure to read through all of it. I think people have added additional comments, or anyone is welcome to expound on it, if they have updated information. 

What PIR weekend may be like for those flying out of GL - Navy For ...

If a recruit has a ship date of 10/24, how does the Navy handle PIR and how do they handle Christmas?

Thanks in advance.

cocacola451 -- I'm not sure what you are asking.  If a SR will have PIR the 21st of Dec then it may be held on either that date or on the Wednesday before. (Less likely for Wed). I don't believe there is another PIR till Jan 4 (there is no PIR the week of Christmas.)  If your SR will have PIR on Jan 4 then you may get to have them for the Day on Christmas Day.  If you click on the link above under "what will happen PIR weekend?"  You will find tons of useful info.  If you have a more specific question I'll try and answer.  I'll be off line all day tomorrow but there are others who may be able to answer.

Thanksgiving Thursday and Friday are Hold days.  No advancement in training for those days. 
Christmas Eve and Day are Hold Days, No advancement in training. 
SR's due to PIR the 2 or 3 weeks prior are often "Eligable" to be "adopted out" to Community Groups.  SR's who will PIR the following Thurday from those Holidays can go with family.  IF this applies to your SR you will be notified and given the appropriate forms and dates. 

cocacola451

My SA went in October 6. His Division graduated December 14, because the following week was Christmas week. He ended up graduating in July (stress fractures 2 x in both legs).

He is now attending A School.

Thanks, @patti and @belovedbyHim

If BC continues through Christmas, do SR's get any liberty? Are they able to use a zoom or facetime to contact relatives? I wouldn't think so, but wanted to know "for sure" At the moment, my SR ships on 10/23 for BC, which takes him through Christmas and New Year's, putting PIR the first week of Jan, if I did the math correctly.

Good Morning Everyone  - I will post now but may not be able to check back the rest of the day - so the Navy Mom Posse has already been called upon to come to your aid if need be! - 

Please, Please - acquaint yourself with the information in the pages in the upper right of this group - and view all. If you are on a mobile device, put your screen into desktop mode so that you can move around. We have a lot of information on this group page and it is often difficult to repost the links every time. Anyone can help out to, just copy and paste if nothing else. 

Here is PIR information - PIR Weekend general info - That link is to the page which Lemonelephant wrote and updated some during COVID, so scroll past the first bit to the regular information. The link to my discussion on PIR weekend for those flying out of GL is also in there. If there are broken links, please let us know. 

Also, RTC Bootcamp website - they have updated their site for mobile devices but it frustrates me on my computer - Oh well! That was my sole go to when my son was at BC. I did not find this group until the week before PIR and I started Google searching. 

FB page - RTC - This is the FB page for RTC (Recruit Training Command) 

Other than your SR / Sailor these are the best places to glean information from RTC. 

cocacola451 - I was trying to find information about the Adopt - A - Sailor during Christmas but I don't have it handy.

Anyone can do searches on this site with the search bar in the upper right. 

To answer your question about: If BC continues through Christmas, do SR's get any liberty?  My understanding is that they are only eligible for any liberty if they are eligible for being adopted out, and as BelovedbyHim shared, you should be notified if that is the case.  - I will see if I can reach out to some other moms for anyone who had a SR @ BC during the holidays.  - Mine was there during the summer and he did not even get to see fireworks on July 4th or go out during the big solar eclipse!

Are they able to use a zoom or facetime to contact relatives? This I could fairly certainly say - NO - unless they were adopted out. No cell phones, laptops, or any transmitting devices are allowed on RTC for those attending BC. This is one of the reasons that cell phones were not allowed to be returned to our sailors who went back to the RTC side of the base, before getting on the buses to go to the airports for flying out. Back when they shipped the cell phones home, we had to bring them to the airport and deliver them to them. Even if we were there for Liberty call after PIR, and they could use their phones in our hotel room, they were not supposed to sneak them back to RTC. They were to be left with the parents and taken to them at the airport. 

Now their boxes are returned to them with their cell phones, but I don't know exactly when that occurs. 

BC is a time of a lot of unknowns and that is hard for us moms. I know it is hard for me still even now to not have things happen on my timetable, exactly when I want it to. Believe me - this week has been one of those weeks - and now my grandbaby is early by many weeks, and I am having to jump through hoops and deal with other things that I thought I had time for and would all line out neatly in a row. 

Semper Gumby - Always Flexible. - That is what we are called to be as Navy Moms and other loved ones!

Sandra - Congratulations!!!  I will leave some information for you on your page. 

Lara - Are you getting close to PIR? Hang in there. 

G'sNavyMom - Challenge coins can be bought at the NEX, I think they still may have them for sale before PIR. And some you can find online, but the ones for RTC are available there. 

PIR info - Be sure to take plenty of cash with you. Use your card at Sarge's Meet n Greet (there should be merchandise available for sale there) and keep cash if you need it at PIR. They used to take credit / debit cards, but at some point it was mentioned that they were only taking cash for things like the coins. And the concessions that were outside the Great Hall wanted cash when we were there 6+ years ago. 

Read this discussion above - PIR Weekend Experiences - Post Covid - Navy For Moms (ning.com)  - And anyone is welcome to add a reply and share your experience.  I created that discussion for just that purpose, as well as posting your comments here.

Alright, I am signing off for the day! I am turning my watch over to others.  

Thank you @Chipmunk This info is helpful regarding Christmas. I did try to search through the 2022 feed comments first, but was unsuccessful.

cocacola451 - You are welcome and thanks for trying to search. Going through the feed at the bottom can take a bit. Were you using the search bar in the upper right of this page (at least on a computer?) Sometimes it is a matter of putting in the correct words. I did Adopt a Sailor and got lots - but it is older stuff. Still here I am copying a reply that Lemonelephant posted to someone. 

"Comment by lemonelephant on November 7, 2012 at 2:06am

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

PIR NOVEMBER 2023

PIR OCTOBER 2023

PIR SEPTEMBER 2023

**REMINDER** 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.

My sailor was at RTC for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but during COVID so I don't have much to contribute except he said they had a better than normal meal and got a cookie! The Navy isn't completely heartless :) If your sailor will be there for the holidays you might try celebrating a little differently or incorporating a new tradition. 

Thanks, @AgnesB My recruit will be shipping out on 10/24, which means his PIR could be 1/6. If I understood all that I found (searched a lot), he will be beyond week 8 and should be eligible for the Adopt-A-Sailor program. (Notwithstanding any setbacks in his advancement to PIR). I am roughly 14 hours by car from Great Lakes. However, if there is a chance for us to celebrate Christmas together, I will drive my children there to celebrate with their sibling. My recruit is very young-at-heart. Believing that there could be an opportunity to spend a few hours with his siblings on Christmas Day could be a tremendous motivator to do even better in BC. 

I'm actually thinking about calling the number provided in last year's comments to ensure my information is correct for 2023. Anyone think that would be a bad idea?

Agnes, what we did was put up a small Christmas tree and put his gifts around it just like Christmas Day! I decorated it with red, blue, & white ornaments and lights (4 of July decor). When he came home of a weekend we had Christmas in July!

Lara - Happy Sunday!

Yes, it was my post about my sailor. Contigency plans/ flexibility - all necessary in the Navy. That afternoon, I had to lay down all of my control I ever had over my kids and their schedules. It was not my own anymore to be able to help guide or direct. My son spent all of his time working on getting his orders, just so he could fly out on that Saturday and not be stuck in THU (temporary holding unit) in GL. 

At that time, their cell phones were mailed home. So, we might have had liberty with him on Sunday if he had been staying, but we would not know when he was leaving GL and been able to go to the airport and give him his phone and his Kindle (he is a big book reader.). It worked out, it just was not anything of what I had expected from everything that I read on here about PIR weekend. 

cocacola451 - I know it is hard, but I really would wait. Spend your time and energy focused on making good memories with your son right now. When the time comes to figure out the Adopt-a-sailor - there will be enough time for you to plan to go, especially if you are driving. 14 hours is not far, but it still is a 2 day trip. 

Hi  So my sons "Shipping off to BC" party was a success the house was full of family and friends and a lot of the mom's took me aside and told me "you got this"  That was the best thing I could have heard and it filled my heart.  Taking him to Recuters office in a couple hours and then he will be on a bus and then to GL.

I am trying my best not to cry and send him off on a positive note.  Wish me luck as I am an emotional mess.

good luck KL.. I barely managed to wait until the elevator doors closed before starting to leak.. shock kept us quiet the whole hour and half drive home. So no airport? or hotel?.. You got this.. send him off with love and hugs.. then come cry and vent to us and your family..

Best of luck, @KLsewso !

Thanks so much, @Lara

Yes, contingency and plan b, plan c, etc. I come from LE, and we learn really quickly that expect nothing to happen as planned. (Hugs). Happy Sunday!

I'll be thinking of you and sending prayers to you for stregnth and for your son's success.

cocacola451 -- Bad Idea!! Do NOT call RTC unless it's in a actual Emergency!! These folks are insanely busy.  The Holiday Adopt a Sailor Program is on a "If the Navy wills it" basis.  Yes for a while it has been happening and I have no reason to think they'd stop now, However your SR has Not even shipped yet.  Making Plans as if they are a For sure thing with your SR/Sailor is a risky proposition.  Things Rarely go that smoothly.  You MAY get a 1/6 PIR but you just as easily may have a 12/22 PIR!!   I KNOW we want to be able to PLAN but that doesn't happen with the Navy.  One of their favorite Mottos is "Hurry up and WAIT"  So they want you always ready to go but they will move in their time.  The only time you KNOW something is happening is when it Has already happened.
For example:  My Sailor was changing commands this summer.  He took transition leave so he could get his cats settled and come see us for 2 weeks before he left to join his Battalion.  They are on Deployment and had been for a little while before he would have reported , even without the leave.  He was supposed to leave us, check in with the new command, and leave to join the battalion in a 72 hour window.  Well... Not so fast.  He reported to the command and someone had misplaced his paperwork so they didn't know he was coming.  24 hours down. (He's sleeping on the couch of a Married with kids friend...) Day 2... Still no paper work, Day 3... They find the paperwork but now it's "Expired"(?) and it's Friday.... Weekend comes and goes.... New Week... 2 days spent getting new paperwork filled out and sent off to get approval.... Paperwork comes back.... Need Gear issued, Needs to get signed off on Firearms (He was range master for them previously!) need to get medical clearance because that paperwork is missing!! (He had a physical right before he left his last command thankfully so that only required a phone call....)  A whole week spent on this.  That Friday his Plane ticket is arranged (Civilian)  and he is to leave the following Monday.  What was to be a 72 hour stay has turned into a week and a half.   Sunday he gets a message that the flight has been canceled due to typhoon.  Monday is a Holiday!! Frantic calls to command to let them know and of course NO ONE is answering because it's a Holiday!! He does report into the Watch though. SO finally 2 weeks and a day later he finally departs.  (His friend's wife deserves a Spa week for having him on her couch for all this time and being so gracious about it all!!)  We all expected he would be there for only 3days and it kept getting changed!  The Other Motto You MUST master if you are going to maintain any sort of sanity is "Semper Gumby" Always Flexible!  You are free to make your Plans but know they can change on a dime!! (And sometimes even less than that!)  Decide if you would want to stay for PIR (Jan 4)  where you KNOW you get Thursday AND Friday (and maybe Sat and/or Sunday) or will you go and get Christmas Day only.  It's fine to have contingency plans roughly sketched in your head but until you know dates better, Just be patient. I KNOW It's HARD!! and IT stinks, but it's part of Navy Family Life and just one of the MANY sacrifices we all make!

Lara -- Did your SR not opt-in to Sandboxx and give you the Div # and address? That will tell you the PIR date.  Remember that YOUR SR will have PIR on a THURSDAY not Friday!! (that change happens in October) and that you WILL get Friday as well as Thursday with your SR (and MAYBE, just maybe... Sat and/or Sunday) So plan accordingly!  All the stuff Chipmunk said is still possible and flexibility is KEY but RTC will not be shipping the SR's out on the Friday's so there is that whole day that you are most likely to get (they may still have some last minute paperwork.... but that's not super common) also they get their box back, right now as they are finishing packing up to depart.  They need to be given time to stow their gear... but we don't know how this change will impact that or how it will or won't alter phones.  YOU will get the opportunity to Teach us!! SO.... Please, Spill the beans... when you get them!!! I am excited for you that you get more time (and a little jealous, not gonna lie) I hope it's AMAZING!

KLsewso -- {{{{{BNMH}}}}} It's the hardest, best thing you will ever do for your kids.... letting them go!  I'm glad the party was a success and that you enjoyed your time together.  Now you Hold fast to the knowledge that you did your best, You love him and he loves you and that neither of you are totally alone!!  If you need to cry, vent or just need to know someone "gets it" we are here for you!

Hi everyone.  Happy Sunday!

Lara - thank you!  Doing well.  I participated in my first Blue Star Moms activity today at an Army National Guard Family Day.  A lot of fun to be able to give back to military families.

Our SR’s arrived the same day so I think, barring any setbacks, they should go thru PIR on 11/9.

We are anxiously waiting for our first phone call before we book our hotel.  So funny what you mention about jinxing….I said the same thing to my husband!  

Here’s to hoping all of our SR’s are settling in and getting the hang of things.  And that they are getting stronger each day!  And to all of the Moms who have already walked this path.  Always great advice!

I did see the Sandboxx invite come in and I did add the app to my phone. I did see where my son had a reference of division and ship information as part of an address. But I wondered if it was maybe not necessarily the most up to date information, that maybe it was before he had moved out of processing days. So I’ve been waiting more for a written letter in the mail to tell me his address with the division and ship information. Do you think I should go by what Sandboxx reports?

Hi Lara - As far as I know, the Sandboxx info should be accurate. They don’t get that information until they’ve been sorted into ships and divisions. It was accurate for my sailor - he graduated in May of this year. Just be aware that they will not start receiving any letters for a while - I started writing as soon as i got the address, though - just be sure to number your envelopes so your recruit can read them in the correct order. ❤️

cocacola451- This is also from patti - she posted it in the wrong group yesterday, when I was asking for people to help answer your question. She asked me to copy it over for you.

"My son went in October. Did his PFA, ended up with stress fractures of both legs. He was in RCU. He was asked if he wanted to go home and come back in January.He said No. He was not home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year. He recovered, did his PFA again; stress fractured his legs AGAIN. He wasn't home until the week after his PIR in July. He just graduated BESS (top 7 in his class) & will be starting A School on Monday. 

Maybe you can find out if there are any host families that can take some of the guys in for a Thanksgiving meal."

Be sure to check out the FAQ on RTC website 

U.S. Navy Recruit Training Command > FAQ

There is good information in this page from the upper right  - 

Letter Writing & Fun Stuff/Questionnaires to send to your Recru... - However one of the links is broken since RTC changed their format. 

I was trying to find the actual print out of all the ship address, but I am not getting that quickly. And I have to scoot.

Lara - hopefully this will help some. YES, you may go ahead and start sending letters to the Sandboxx APP, it may still take a bit for them to get it. My understanding is that if you received the Sandboxx information with a form letter included, you may not get a paper mail letter. 

Lara -- Ahhhhh!!! I see.  I need to go double check my blog post.  I thought I'd updated it but maybe not clearly enough.  As has been pointed out, they have changed this process.  Now that information is correct unless you get a phone call telling your otherwise. 
As Diahn mentioned, You can start writing right away but they will not get them for a bit so making a copy and numbering the envelopes is helpful if something goes adrift.  (I wrote a long explanation I believe it was last week if you want more details on how the mail is handled.)
SO... GREAT NEWS!!! You Know his SHIP address, His DIV # and Thus His EXPECTED PIR!!!!  You can use the sandboxx app or you can just use old fashioned Snail mail.  It's early enough that if you mail a letter daily or every other day he'll get them regularly enough to not feel like he's not getting any mail from home.  (Sandboxx is $$$, USPS is not, your choice)  Now, Go forth and WRITE!!!! (oh and make your PIR plans!!! )

Lara-I only used Sandboxx to get his address-I sent all my letters by USPS and I wrote a short letter almost every day and sent a weekly newsletter with photos printed on it of us, his brother and our dogs plus news about his favorite soccer team. I also included encouraging quotes that he then ended up sharing with his division shipmates when they were feeling a little down. 

Moms whose sons have an S.O. Contract headed to BUD/S there is a group for you.

It is called, BUD/S and SQT (Stages of a S.E.A.L.)

Interested:

Send a friend request to NavyMom(J) for more information.

(Click on the highlighted links.)

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

PIR NOVEMBER 2023

PIR OCTOBER 2023

PIR SEPTEMBER 2023

**REMINDER** 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.

Just a reminder if you're looking for something to get involved with you can join your local Blue Star Mothers group.

Here's the link - you can look for a group in your area.

https://www.bluestarmothers.org/

Here's the Wikipedia link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Star_Mothers_of_America

And here's the link to the group on here:

Blue Star Mothers

BabySharkMom - glad you were able to connect with your local Blue Star Moms group!

We just received the "I'm a Sailor!" call with tears rolling down his and our faces!! So proud of him and all of his hard work,  dedication and sacrifices. So proud of his division, too. I've taken a few of them under my wing because of them not having family support, so I've gotten to know a few of my son's fellow division friends through writing back and forth. So proud of all of them! HOOYAH

Wonderful, G'sNavyMom! Congrats to your son and your "other children" in his division. How sweet of you to write to them!

G'sNavyMom- Congrat's that is great news, I am just waiting to see if mine passed the OPFA now. Then we are off to Chicago next wk.

Joe-mom - thank you so much! Lol, my kids joke because I was always involved in their school and activities.  They said, " You were always class mom, team mom, now you're military mom". Made me laugh. However I can help those in need, I will do what I can💙

This has been  quite the journey. As much as you prepare to send your child off , you really don't know how emotional it is until you have to let go. It's been the hardest thing I've ever had to do, while supporting them, encouraging them and being positive with a smile. I've never cried so much before. It has been quite the experience for my son too. Their emotions run every direction, some highs, some lows. It's hard not being able to be there for them. It's amazing the difference I can hear how my son has matured,  just in the weeks he's been at bc. For all mom's struggling, just know you're not alone and we all go through it. Keep writing to your SR! My son said today our letters have gotten him through the challenging times knowing he has love and support at home and he knows he's still cared about even though we aren't there with him. It's been helpful for me/us too💙

Way to go GsNavyMom and Sailor..  BNMHs and BZs too

Bravo Zulu, G'snavymom!