Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

Hello londack86 and AxolotlMom! The BC experience is a bit different for every mom, but for me, it started off slow (missing my son terribly and writing letters like crazy) and then flew by in the last few weeks. Sandboxx was great for weekly updates, but we mostly sent letters through USPS. I couldn't get enough of "Navy stuff" while my son was in BC - read a lot of content and watched a lot of YouTube videos. PIR day arrived before we knew it, and it's still one of my favorite days ever. You have much to look forward to! Prayers for both of you, and for your sailors.

Thanks everyone for the confirmation about Sandboxx! Sent a few letters out the last few days, will be trying to send a letter a day while she’s in BC, rotating in letters from dad and siblings, especially drawings from the littles (toddlers) who she was really close to and loved to color and create art with. I see a letter in the mail today with informed delivery, so that made me tear up a little. Can’t wait to see what it is, even if it’s just a form lol. 

oh yeah. I loved informed delivery and seeing those rare BC letters come in..

Please join me in welcoming Thunder#10 to our group.

Thunder#10 this is the best place on our group page to post your hellos, ask questions, and just share where you are at in your Navy journey with your loved one. 

londack86 - Whoop!! Whoop!! for a letter!!

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

PIR APRIL 2024

PIR MARCH 2024

PIR FEBRUARY 2024

day one...she got to GL late last night. I missed her call >:(  I was sick and was asleep...but on the bright side i have her voicemail of the scripted call...we did text while she was at the airport so i'm not too upset...she sounded soooo sad on the phone though. now maybe that's me overthinking it. 

AxolotlMom -- Don't read too much into it. They are told to read fast and that may be what you are hearing, the change in tone.
I hope you are feeling better.  Try and count weeks not days or you'll make yourself crazy.  Come here for support and encouragement and remember YOU raised a Strong Child!! So strong that they are willing to SERVE!!! Only 1% of the population is even willing to try!! Well Done Momma!!

AxolotlMom - BelovedbyHim is right, it's a pretty emotion-less call. They're also SUPER-tired, so that probably came through in her voice. You have several more (and better!) calls to look forward to. All the best to your sailor!

Happy PIR Day!  Live feed isn't up yet.  As soon as it is I'll post the link.

AxolotlMom - I remember that call vividly! I was traumatized by it! Ha! I had not found this group yet, so I didn’t have any idea what to expect and my boy sounded so scared - I didn’t sleep the rest of the night. Just remember that it’s intentionally chaotic when they arrive and they’re completely befuddled by the time they make that call and they only have like 15 seconds to get through it. Stay strong, Mom - she’s going to be great.

PIR is streaming now:

LIVE PIR 2.22.2024

AxolotlMom - You are not the only mom who has missed answering that scripted call. So, you are in good company here. I thought it was an automated call my son sounded so robotic like. 

I write emails a lot and so my son's picture would always pop up when I sent him an email. I started writing my letters in email messages to him, just so I could see his smiling face, but also it was another way to keep those communications available for later. Once I had his mailing address, I printed out those emails and then sent them to him. I still usually wrote a handwritten message as well.   {{{{BNMHs}}}}

S.O. Contract:

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.)

USPS Informed Delivery - Sign up and receive an email from the US Postal Service showing what mail you will be getting each day (if available in your area).  

Informed Delivery®

click on the link

Be sure to RSVP for Sarge's Meet N Greet.  

Here's the link:  

Sarge's Meet N Greet

Here's the link to the 900s Division group:

900s Division

Here is my discussion on the Sandboxx App - click on the link:

Sandboxx app while in BC

**Only to be used while in boot camp.

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

PIR APRIL 2024

PIR MARCH 2024

If you all want to see a carrier returning from deployment the San Diego Web Cam is live right now with the USS Vinson returning:

San Diego Web Cam

Thanks guys!  I do feel better about things now. I ordered my RED shirt today so i can show my support for the deployed. Things are quiet at home now, but i have two boxer dogs and two axolotls to take care of now, so that helps. :)

I got three letters in the mail today!!!🥹. I was having a hard day at work and that put an instant smile on my face. 

AxolotlMom -- This Navy journey is a lot like the Ocean... Lots of ups and downs.  Sometimes it's smooth sailing and other times you are lost in the fog and still other times your are tossed about in a tempest!! However through it all your Navy Mom Community is there as a beacon to help you navigate or an anchor to help you hold fast!  You are not ever alone in this Journey!! We get it when others around you just don't quite!

londack86 -- 3 Letters!!! WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP!!!! That's worth Celebrating!! Congratulations!! I hope your SR is doing well!

Awesome letters londack.. sweet..

AxolotlMom, londack86, Darlene, - Like BelovedbyHim said, this Navy journey is a lot like the Ocean. It takes a bit to get our bearings and if your SR is your only child, it seems to me like it takes the wind out of your sails a little more. For me, I still had children at home and a wedding for one of them to help plan, that kept me busy but after BC, when I found this site, I spent a lot of time here. I had better communication with my son than while in BC, but he was going to classes and as a Nuke, they studied a lot of hours! I still could not just call him up and say hi, let's chat, anytime that I wanted. 

My best advice, stay busy, give yourself grace and time to adjust as you figure out how to refocus your time and energy elsewhere. And stay connected here. 

As for receiving letters, I hope you all get at least some communication but know that, at least from what my son told me, they weren't allowed to write except on Sunday. I don't know if that is changed and sometimes you have SRs writing when they are supposed to be sleeping. So, just FYI, it is not always that easy for them to write. Mine would say he had 10 minutes to write. 

I guess no news is good news. I know she's busy and is doing what she needs to do. Glad i found this site :)

Indeed. words you will use many times..glad you are here axolotmom.. just keep writing..

Happy Monday!

And yes, yay for letters!

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

PIR APRIL 2024

PIR MARCH 2024

quick question...is sandboxx worth it or should i just send letters via snail mail?

AxolotlMom - I never saw the value of Sandboxx outside of getting my son’s address early. It’s much more expensive than regular postage, it is not a secure communication, and if you’re sending letters regularly, your sailor will be getting regular mail. That’s just my two cents, but my son said he got letters most days once they started getting their mail. (I wrote something every day - so he got letters almost every day).

AxolotlMom - I am glad that Diahn replied to you. Sandboxx wasn't something that was a "thing" when my son was at BC. So, he just got snail mail from myself and friends of ours that also wrote. They don't have a lot of room to store their mail, and they still have to wait for someone to be trained in their division to deliver mail to them, so that takes a bit, but once that occurs, they have daily mail call, and can get letters daily like Diahn mentioned.

The one time we suggest using Sandboxx is if your SR ends being held back for any reason and then you can get some quicker communication to them, mostly as words of encouragement. 

True.. we did use Sandboxx but it was newer at the time and didn't send us his address. It gave us a chance to write a running tally and include a photo that is printed on paper for him to see home stuff. we also did snail mail for regular pictures a few times.. but stopped of course after boot.

I have the May 2024 PIR group posted now.  Here's the link:

PIR MAY 2024

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

PIR MAY 2024

PIR APRIL 2024

PIR MARCH 2024

AxolotlMom -- If you do decide to use Sandboxx, Please be sure to use all your "Letters" while they are in Bootcamp.  It's a great resource if your SR calls to tell you they are setback for any reason... You can get letters of encouragement to them in 2-3 days instead of a week or if they are injured but outside of that very narrow purpose, Don't use it.

My Son was a Sailor in the Fleet when Sandboxx first came on the scene.  Because of his job they travel almost exclusively by plane.  When he was finishing his first Deployment and because they fly they don't all fit on one plane so typically they come in waves.  We were going to CA to be there for his Homecoming.  We got a phone call telling us they had been delayed and didn't know when they would be home.  We missed getting to see him, on what to date has been the only time we have possibly been able to make it for a Homecoming celebration, all because a Girlfriend decided to send a Booty Call Sandboxx letter to her boyfriend complete with timeline!! That young man's plane was part of the first wave... They got to sleep in an airport hanger in a cold climate on the floor for 4 days and 3 nights (till the food in the vending machines ran out ...) The Sailor to whom the letter was addressed was razzed and got a new one chewed out by both Shipmates and Chiefs alike.  Not sure what happened to her.  Sandboxx is NOT OPSEC or PERSEC so do not use it for any reason outside of Bootcamp.  Better to not even sign up other than to get their address.  If you write regularly they will be getting nearly a letter a day or every other or whatever you are able to do and they will be just fine! 

Axolotmom - I also had used Sandboxx only to get his address early and then looking at their weekly updates. I tried to write nearly every day, and that helped me feel like I was connecting with my Sailor. I noticed my Sailor wrote a little bit many of his days and so his letters would be dated with each day he wrote and a few short sentences and then the next day he wrote a little more, etc. I don’t think they had much time to really write. 

Your mom strength is shining throughAxolotmom, Darlene, and londack86!!

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

PIR MAY 2024

PIR APRIL 2024

PIR MARCH 2024

Happy Thursday - no PIR today.....

I think the Navy really missed out... Leap Day PIR's ... A 4 year contract really takes 16 earth years to complete!!!

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

PIR MAY 2024

PIR APRIL 2024

PIR MARCH 2024