Any moms with sons arrival in Chicago 7/14?

[NavyMom1013]

My son arrived in Chicago on 7/14/2020.  We haven't heard from him since 2100 on 7/14.  Is that the "I'm here" call?  Or should we receive another call after the quarantine period is over???  Any advice would be great.  I'm new to the military family life.  I am missing my son greatly.  Do the tears ever stop flowing???  Does this get easier???

[belovedbyHim]

Catherine -- I'm so sorry to hear this.  Yes they get very discouraged but the RDC's know this is not anything the recruits can control.  They are trying to test and catch it early but some still somehow slip through.  I too have an opinion but I try and also keep it to myself.  Keep writing!!! They will forward all letters to him.  You may want to remind him that when he gets off ROM he'll want to tell you his new address.  This is a very short time in his Navy career and while they are excited to move on one of the Sad truths is that there is a lot of Hurry up and WAIT.  Covid has changed things a little but encourage him to make the best use of this waiting time, it will make things easier in the future. 
If you share your story on the Main boot camp page some of our other moms who have had kids go through this recently may be able to give you more insight as to what to expect.

[4korcan]

Hi Catherine, just read your post. Yes, division 328 is in ROM. My son is in that division. He is so depressed.  They are moved into a newly developed, but extremely cramped up space (graduation hall) and not able to do anything! I too am wondering how the kids caught this virus after the initial seclusion. And I too am worried about more of them getting sick. I haven't been able to sleep since we heard the news last week on thursday. Keep praying ladies.....

[belovedbyHim]

4korcan -- You may also want to join us on the main Bootcamp page as well.  There have been a few moms who have had experience with going back into ROM.  They may be able to offer advice!  When you get there you just have to scroll down a bit to find the comments.  Keep writing letters, They WILL get them even in ROM!! They forward them so you don't need a new address, yet.

[Catherine]

Just thought I would give a recap and an update in case it helps anyone:

1. Son arrived in Great Lakes July 14, 2 week hotel quarantine

2. Moved to ROM around Jul 29 (Div 327) , scheduled graduation 9/10

3. Bunkmate tested positive, moved to 2nd 2 week quarantine Aug 15 with 6 other recruits

4. Returned to RTC  (Div 363) around Aug 29, scheduled graduation Oct 1

Letters we sent to his initial division address did get forwarded to him in ROM but it took a week or more, since apparently they are limiting number of people in mail room to sort due to covid. He was really down  during his one quick call  to tell us he was going back into ROM and it broke my heart that the encouraging letter I mailed to him after the call didn't get to him for 7+ days.  We received a couple letters he sent from ROM (took over a week to get to us) and he was in better spirits,  thankful there was a library cart available to get books to read and also enjoyed chatting with other SRs  when they could.  Breakfast and lunch were bag meals and dinners were MREs.  He was looking forward to getting back to RTC. Said he expected to be busy and need sleep (more than staying up to write) so warned me that we might not hear from him until graduation.  Fine with me, am happy he is taking care of himself and prioritizing sleep!

Never received a form letter when he got to his new Division but his recruiter was able to tell us his new ship and div numbers so i could figure out where to mail letters.  I will send a couple more encouraging letters but won't mail any to him in those last 10 days of RTC because don't think they will make it to him and they won't forward on to A school. 

Have gotten no phone calls from him (other than the ROM one) so the next one should be the "Im a sailor" one. During this time of Covid they don't seem to be letting Ss go sit in the phone rooms and make calls as much as before. We sent our SR with a phone card, but it hasn't been used (am assuming the quarantine call was on the Navy).

When sending letters I always include an extra page of a cut and pasted crossword puzzle or word search (general or naval ones can be found on one) in case he wants to do it or give it to another SR. In my first letter, I also included an extra "Dear recruit" letter with some encouraging words and  news that I asked my son to give to someone he saw that did not get mail that day.  

So, not sure why his 2 week quarantine in boot camp pushed his graduation date out 3 weeks  but there you go.  If all goes well, and there is no re-visiting ROM, his time in Great Lakes went from being there around 8 weeks to now around 11 weeks.

So, if you aren't getting mail or calls from your SR don't worry about it.   And as I've learned from the wonderful Moms who regularly post on here, remember that  "no news is good news".

[4korcan]

Catherine, thank you for your update. 

We share similar experiences. My son also was a 7/14 arrival with original graduation date 9/11/20. His entire division had to go to second ROM on 8/11/20 (division 328), so he did not have to change divisions. We received two very short phone calls from him during ROM, first one to tell us they were back in ROM and the second one .....well this one is funny: we must have written something in our letters making him think that we thought there would be a graduation ceremony, so he called to say that there wouldn't be one and to make sure we wouldn't be making any travel arrangements :-). This one was a bonus as I was able to get few extra "Love You" s out before he had to go :-). 

He wrote 3 letters during his second ROM....first two were so down, it broke our heart. But the 3rd one was great, he was looking forward to getting the RTC on (he seems to love the actual training aspects of it...so far he has had no problems with the tests and already got his E2 status....yeahhhh). He was very happy about friendships he formed and his AROC position ....he loves music. As for the second ROM experiences, he said the living quarters were so tight and many were having hard time doing this twice and in such cramped space.

His girlfriend just received a letter on Friday, which he wrote after the ROM. She said he is so happy to be out of ROM and loves the training.

Letters had been hit and miss as we just received a letter he wrote on 8/10/20 on 9/4/20...almost a month after he wrote it. And I don't think he is getting all our letters either -(

He has not told us his new graduation date (I am hitting my head for not asking him, when he called). Only that it's pushed.....I hope it is not pushed as long as your son's !