Feel free to ask any question from travel, to hotel, to taxi, airport, PIR DAY, after, etc.

Wow what a day. I'm still on such a proud mama high.



You can meet your child at the airport and hang out with them. Go to the service desk get a security pass and spend the day with your Sailor. They can get their phones, laptops, items purchsed yesterday in a back pack to take to FL. If your Sailor is A School in GL then the rules are different.



So what is your A School experience for your sailor going to be like? Well, my daughter graduated and had PIR for Ship 12 DIV…

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Graduation was so great. It really was. Emotional and a few snafu's but a brilliant moment in time. I'm very proud of my girl and her mates.



Now what do we do?



Your graduate can only go within 50 miles of the base.



Ask your Seaman how they are feeling. Remember they haven't been on the civilian side for 2-3 months and it is overwhelming to some.



Bring their cell phone they will want to take pics and post to family and friend or call family like… Continue

It's finally here. I get to see my girl graduate. I'm so proud of this kid. As you have read she is my stepdaughter. We are tight. She is just as important to me as my own own son. I love this strong, smart, steadfast girl to my soul. Being able to go to her graduation was a blessing. I was blessed to have her boyfriends mom and his sister in law come as well. You only get whose on the list so if you think extra family is coming in because they show up it won't happen. They walk you to chapel… Continue

Week (8) of Training

Graduation/Pass and Review. Aside from everything mentioned above, part of your training has been in drill and ceremony. That portion of your training will come in to play here, where you march proudly, shoulders squared and with a bolstered confidence before friends, family, and thousands of supportive individuals from all walks of life. There is nothing like it in the whole world.

What happens after boot camp?

After (PIR) Pass and Review, your newly capped… Continue

Week (7) of Training

At this point, you're nearly finished with boot camp. Excitement sets in and now you're ready for the final test: Battle Stations! Battle Stations is a twelve hour event held to test your entire division on how well you've absorbed everything you've learned thus far. If you are present at the call for Battle Stations, this means you have successfully passed all academic and physical challenges presented to you up to this point, and are ready for this final… Continue

This too was a great week. My girl got to call again. So Week (6) of Training:



Fire fighting training, and shipboard damage control classes. This week you will learn how to put fires out, how to properly don fire safety gear in case you must fight a fire aboard the ship, how to open and close watertight doors, and operate fire fighting equipment. This week also finds you and your shipmates inside the gas chamber, being exposed to tear gas while you and everyone else recites name and… Continue

Week 5 was a great week. I received a phone call from my girl. I was able to talk to her for about 40 minutes. We were able to cover the who what where how and when things were happening. Best of all she could report on her achievements and passing of her tests. She was really proud to have gotten a leadership role and it put her at a higher rate. She passed her swimming and was really studying hard. If there is anything I can suggest is that your recruit study before they leave for boot camp.… Continue

Hello all,

It finally came.  Her first letter home.  She had some free time to write a couple letters on Sunday April 2nd and it arrived in Washington on Thursday April 8th so that should give you some time frame of postal transit.  

She wrote to me and her boyfriend and his family.

She said week one was a tough one because they are processing so many recruits.  She is not a fan of showering with 85 women but she finally was going to get to take a real shower now that…

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Hey all,

I forgot to add this link.  It has a break down of what the recruits are doing in weeks 1 - 8.  It may not be exact but I liked it.

http://www.greatlakesnavalmuseum.org/en/the_museum/exhibits/basic_training.aspx

Loves,

Mama Howdawg

Hello all,

Mama Howdawg sharing some of her day with you all.

Well my girl has been in the Navy for 15 days.  Only 39 days left.

I still haven't heard from Sami but the Navy says that "No news is good news" and I am happy with that.  I miss her everyday and this is the longest we have gone without talking.  I pray for her safety and courage and determination each day and that she is focused and becoming the woman she desires to be.  I am very proud of her.  

Since…

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Hey all,

One thing I did not do when my daughter left was to make sure she had a phone card to call home.  After the initial arrival phone call your recruit will need a phone card to call home.  I live in a small community and most places do not carry them anymore but Fred Meyer carries them in all their stores in the electronics department.  Your child can bring $20 worth of calling card.  That's 300 minutes of phone time.  Please look at this link to familiarize what you can send.…

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Ah yes here we are again...

So far I've sent off my recruit to boot camp, received the phone call and also received the "The Box".

It was P-4 and I was so excited to get the smelly clothes and contraband from the kid.  Just like college...sending laundry home to mom. LOL...

I have forgotten to mention the NavyforMoms.com website.  I spent so much time on the website getting familiar with how the process goes, getting links for all my family and friends to look at and to…

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Hello all again...

So my girl shipped out 7 days ago today at 1:45 p.m. PCT on March 21st, 2016.

Her plane left Washington State, changed in Colorado and finally arrived in Chicago Illinois about 10:30 p.m. est.

She still had her cell phone on her so she called as soon as she landed and before she could get on the bus while it was still "safe". LOL.

Once the recruit gets on the bus they make their way to the RTC.  It took about an hour and a half.  Once they…

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Oh boy!! Here it is - shipping out...

I previously wrote that after the final swearing in the recruits got finger printed and got their packets.

Recuits can only take a minimum amount of items.  The closes on their backs, their wallets, an ipad if they want for the flight and their cell phones.  In the next blog "The Box" we will talk about all these things.  Most important if you are a Navy recruit remember you have to ship this stuff home so only take what you are allowed.…

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Hello again,

I hope you are all well and making it through.  This blog will talk a little bit about my girls final MEPS day, official swearing in and shipping off to the RTC in Great Lakes, Il.

Sami had to be in Spokane the day before to ship.  She was required to be at the hotel provided by MEPS in the afternoon.  She had to check in with the MEPs reps at the hotel and be assigned her room.  There seemed to about 15 kids there for signing up and shipping out.  Some of the kids…

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Hello all,

My name is Hallie and I am a proud mentor/friend/step-mom of a new recruit.

This is going to be quite the adventure.  The adventure has already started.  Every persons journey is going to be different. I can only share what ours has been so far.

Once my girl signed up, and because she was 20 she pretty much handled everything on her own.  Our kids want to be adults and handle as much as they can on their own.  The decision to go into the Armed Forces is such…

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