Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

SO@gonavy! -- YAY!!! Phone calls are AWESOME!!!  Boot Camp is in a new transition phase with the authorization of Sandboxx but the recruits still need to opt-in and the Navy treats all the recruits as Adults and they DO NOT care about the parents even a little bit!!  The delay is not uncommon for the fall/winter PIR dates.  There are a bunch of "holidays" and depending on where in the week they fall that can impact their PIR date.  I did a quick count and it looks like they are on pace when you add in the holidays and the Thanksgiving holiday. 

SO@gonavy! - I am so glad that you got a call. Do you know how to find his address now that you have the Ship/Div #? 

If you aren't signed up for Informed Delivery - USPS you might want to look into that and you will see when letters are arriving. I am sorry that things have been so frustrating. I think since the Navy decided to have Sandboxx help them with informing parents, and so no longer is paper mail sent that it is less organized than when my son was in. 

Did you find the Form letter to print and send in? 

When my son was at BC, we were sent a Family Brochure which listed hotels, etc. With more people being online, this information has been moved to completely paperless, I believe. And the information can be found at this website. 

navylifegl.com/rtc

As you scroll down / up the page, you should see accommodation information as well.  If you have this already, great!! Maybe it will be a help to someone else who is having questions and difficulty getting answers. 

SO@gonavy! - So happy you got the call!  Whew!  What a  good feeling.  Take care!

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

PIR: DECEMBER 2024

PIR: NOVEMBER 2024

PIR: OCTOBER 2024

Hi! Would anyone know if they received a phone call from any recruit who arrived on 9/10? 

We only received a letter but it did not have the division number. So I am completely out of the loop with graduation information. 

thank you!

Happy Thursday and Happy PIR Day!

Watch today's PIR live:

LIVE PIR OCT 17, 2024

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

PIR: DECEMBER 2024

PIR: NOVEMBER 2024

PIR: OCTOBER 2024

Lachelle - What information did your letter have? Did it have an address for your SR?  

Heartbreaking news - The Navy identified the 2 aviators who died in the EA-18G Growler crash last week.  They were based out of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

Fair Winds and Following Seas Lt. Serena Wileman and Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay Evans.  Both women were 31 years old.

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

PIR: DECEMBER 2024

PIR: NOVEMBER 2024

PIR: OCTOBER 2024

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®

Happy PIR Day everyone!!!

Congratulations to all of our new sailors!!

Happy Thursday and Happy PIR Day!

Watch today's PIR live:

LIVE PIR OCT 24, 2024

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

PIR: DECEMBER 2024

PIR: NOVEMBER 2024

PIR: OCTOBER 2024

Awesome PIR today. We were able to see our sailor performing. YAY YAY

bhmom - So happy for you and your family!!! Yay! Yay!  Great emotional happy day!  

bhmom -- That's Awesome!!! Go glad you got to see him!

bhmom - Were you watching online or did you get to go to PIR? 

I had meant to mention this morning that watching PIR online, either live or on the replay, a week or so before your PIR date is a great way to get a feel for what to expect when you are able to attend you own PIR. 

Yah! bhmom.. glad it was a great time.. when you come back down from that high give us a rundown please.. always helps newer moms and keeps us older ones more up to date and let's us share the excitement.

Let's Go Dodgers!

Information for after graduation:

WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER GRADUATION

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

PIR: DECEMBER 2024

PIR: NOVEMBER 2024

PIR: OCTOBER 2024

B'sNukeMoM- those pics are awesome. Beautiful family 

Seahawks12, BelovedbyHim, Chipmunk - thank you! It was a great great day! Thanks for cluing us in to watch the PIRs before our sailor's PIR. My daughter is div 938 so got to see lots of her in the latter part of the ceremony. I still don't understand exactly what her role is but she was 1 of the 2 with the recruit review commander in front of the Drill Division Commander running the ceremony? Not sure I got that right but that was the best I could get from the commentary in the video. Sorry, still trying to figure out all this!   The ceremony was amazing though. I am definitely watching the future ones. It is so cool to see everyone so focused. I am so proud of all our recruits (and grads)!!

Trey - Thank you! Still riding the high and grinning ear to ear. It was just so good to see our daughter and wonderful to see the ceremony itself unfold. The rush of sailors and parents meeting up at the end..wow! If that doesn't make you cry, I don't know what will!

bhmom - the 900 division SR's will perform in the 2 PIR's prior to theirs.  My son was also in a 900 division.  He was a "body snatcher".  Tasked to catch anyone that may pass out lol.  So glad you got to see her and hopefully you'll see her in next weeks PIR too!  Woohoo!

This is my son (in the middle) when we walked into the hall.  I was NOT expecting to see him standing there and you can imagine I about lost it lol.

This was at the 12/21/2012 PIR

Best Best Day!!!  Ok, had to share. Watched (livestream) our girl perform at PIR on Thursday and just got off the phone with her. She and the div passed their final fitness test so they were allowed to call home. My husband just got back from yet more weeks of travel and I haven't talked to her in weeks so was it was perfect. We weren't in the door an hour before the call. She says she was the assistant adjunct. Still not sure what that means but she loves it which is all that counts. 

Thanks so much for letting me spew. Hearing the new level of maturity in her is amazing. Hoping everyone else is having a fantastic day!

bhmom - I am so happy for you!!! And congratulations to your new sailor gal!!

Oooh, congratulations! I can feel y'all's excitement! 

I have questions...

1st, how are we supposed to dress? I see people in jeans, one of my coworkers said they went in jeans and shirt, another said they went in with a suit. We go in November and I believe it gets nippy or downright cold by then in Illinois too. 2nd, are we allowed to take pictures before the ceremony, like if we get there early, or during the ceremony?

Thanks,

bhmom -- Wait... Are you telling us that You have a Sailor??!!

Squirrel Run -- This is a "Formal" Navy event, However it is also cold there.  You would be fine in Nice jeans/ Pants and a nice shirt/Sweater.  I have seen folks in Jeans and a T-shirt and I've seen them in Church clothes!! You are sitting in bleachers for the majority of the morning (About 4-5 hours) so keep that in mind as you are deciding what you want to wear. We don't know what the weather will be then so check closer to when you leave and let that be part of your decision making.

hi Squirrel.. wear what you want, most people keep things clean, no holes, etc.. it is a large area inside and at least one of the bay doors in the back is open to let the sailors inside so would dress with layers maybe so you can regulate.. The bleachers aren't the most comfortable lol. we sat at the back wall so we could lean back on the wall. there are podiums with the division number so you will sit in the section of your sailor and play Where's Waldo Sailor edition.. they ALL look alike, was kinda weird actually

Squirrel Run - It looks like the ladies answered question #1 for you, so I will just jump on to #2. YES, you may take pictures of the ceremony. Although, at least when we were there, you were only allowed to stand up when everyone stood. Otherwise, you had to be seated, even if you were at the very top against the back wall. I don't know if Trey had the same experience with that or not. So, just be mindful of others around you as you are trying to take pictures.  

As for pictures before the ceremony, the new sailors will not be in the drill hall. And you will not be allowed to go outside and find them like you might be able to at a regular high school or college graduation. All pictures with you sailor will have to be afterwards. Sitting at the top was beneficial for seeing everything very well. However, it made us one of the last ones to get down to the floor after Liberty was called and our son was waiting for us. He had to go take care of trying to finish getting his orders all dealt with so that he could fly out afterwards. 

As I shared the other day, watching a PIR on a replay will let you see the ceremony ahead of time to have an idea of how it runs. PIR stand for Pass In Review and it is what would typically be considered an inspection of the sailors, but in this case, there is a lot of extra fanfare. Watching the replay lets you fast forward through the ceremony. 

Also, Phoenixmom used to always recommend taking a seat cushion or a sweater to sit on. NOT a folding stadium seat, and a see-through purse. I think she bought a clear cosmetic type of a bag, that way it was easier for them to do a search. 

Here are links to a couple of our PIR discussions from above - 

PIR Weekend Experiences - Post Covid

What PIR weekend may be like for those flying out of GL  (This one is primarily what my experience was like 7+ years ago with my Nuke sailor and some comments.)

I love the pics! They look so put together! 

Chipmunk, Trey belovedbyHim, thanks for the great advice as always. You guys are a godsend! A week and half we will be there for our girl's PIR. Time can't go fast enough..