Ship 12 Div 183

[Libby(CJs Mom)]

We received the letter today saying our son is in this division.  Anyone else have a loved one here?

[barebrass]

Grrrrrr......I have changed my vacation/time off request twice now....the recruiter thought for sure it would be the 14th then the 'form letter' saying the 7th - which I thought was a week or so early and now this??

TeacherMom did your son indicate they were having 'problems'? Wonder what is going on?? Things that make you go 'hmmmmm' lol Well it will be what it is - all 88 of them can't be having problems...or can they??? I guess we can only wait to hear from them to see what is going on....although I must admit the waiting is hard, I am a bit compulsive and like to have my plans made in advance but we can only do what we can do.

On another note, has anyone ever stayed at Key Lime Cove? My granddaughter and I are staying for several days after PIR - the water park at Key Lime Cove sounds like fun - in a letter I wrote to my son I asked him what he thought so will probably wait to make firm plans till I hear from him. If he doesn't like the idea we can always go after his week-end is over.

[Teacher Mom_Ship12Sailor]

barebrass...in my son's letter he stated that the division was have trouble listening and following orders. He did indicate that he would be getting his wisdom teeth pulled on Monday and that he had not been in trouble. Although, he did say he was terrible at folding laundry. He also stated that he may get to call on Easter Sunday around 3:00.

[barebrass]

We received a couple of letters today! He says they are struggling as a division and they pay for it! He says they just need some more time together. He says one of his problems is they only get a few minutes to eat and if he leaves any food on his plate their RDC gets mad screams at them for wasting tax payer $$ - but he says he is getting better at finishing his food....If there is any noise during meals, they as a division have to get up and leave. But he is still hungry. He has always been a real thin kid but a huge eater and usually eats 4 meals a day - and gosh is he cranky when he doesn't eat. He says he can take everything they dish out but not being able to eat or finish is the hardest. Guess he will have to learn to eat faster! And he is not one of the better marchers - he said he was carrying a flag but RDC fired him because his marching sucks...lol But he did say he was trying to get it back. In both letters he talked about the uniforms and how nice they are and how great he looks in them and how proud of himself he is.

Both letters were very positive, he says he has great shipmates, got his wisdom teeth pulled - not as bad as he thought, chief doesn't like him so he stays out of his way lol, they have done some marching outside and its cold but not too bad.

So now I feel confident that he will finish bc (yea I did have some slight doubts lol). It was nice to get the mail from him and to hear how positive he sounds.

[Teacher Mom_Ship12Sailor]

Glad to hear you got a letter...where are you from barebrass and how old is your son. Our sone is 21 and from Illinois.

[barebrass]

I am originally from San Diego but now in Louisiana - been here about 5 years. My son has been living in San Diego for the past 3 years so he has been away and on his own for a while now. He will turn 24 on the 12th of May - his present this year is he gets to be a sailor! He was actually born on Mother's Day so this year we will celebrate his birthday on Mother's Day since we will be in Great Lakes at that time. My granddaughter and myself are going to Great Lakes on Thursday and staying for a week. Figured we'd make a short vacation out of it. My son will be staying in GL for A school so I am hoping he will get the week-end with us.

Are you close to Great Lakes? Your son is lucky to be used to the weather - our form letter, short phone call, and these letters all talk about the cold! But I really wonder if you ever get used to it??!!

Well I hope these kids learn alot and end up being very successful sailors! And we are so looking forward to PIR and Great Lakes!

[Teacher Mom_Ship12Sailor]

Barebrass...we live in Southern Illinois. Our son will be going to A-school in Texas. We are also planning on leaving on Thursday and returning on Sunday. If the date is changed a week or two we may stay longer, I will not be teaching by then. I am also very proud of these young men and women, not sure I would be strong enough. How old is your granddaughter? By May the temperature should be to bad. Our daughter was in medical school in Chicago and always complained about the cold weather.

[barebrass]

Where in Texas will your son be going to A school? What is it he will be doing? My son is doing ET or FT (I think that is what he told me - not so used to all these abbreviations). I believe he told me he would be in Great Lakes almost a year for schooling. While I realize getting done as soon as possible is the goal for these kids, it really would be more convenient for me if it were a couple of weeks later....lol My granddaughter is 16 and lives with me - school is not out until the 21st so she will miss a week but does well in school and will get work to do while we are gone so it won't affect her much. And this is special and so important to my son there is no way we could miss PIR! And I haven't been to Chicago so this will also be a nice vacation - I am looking forward to our visit.

Where did your daughter do her residency? Has she finished? I worked for a residency program in San Diego for many years! Loved the 'kids' who came through our program. Guess I am showing my age...but I really enjoyed all the 'kids' I met who came for interviews and/or joined our program.

Well I am hoping to get a phone call today - he used to drive me crazy calling all the time and now I want him to call - lol - I can hardly believe they are half way finished - it really has gone by quickly. Will you all go to the reception at the Ramada? Our group seems to be quiet - hopefully they will share when they get either phone calls or letters - I will be anxiously waiting to see if the PIR date changes....but I hope not....hopefully just the RDC's way of motivating.

[Teacher Mom_Ship12Sailor]

Barebrass,

I think our son said San Antonio for master-at-arms. Our daughter is doing her residency in Decatur, Il. She attended Univer. of Chicago and transfered to Springfield program. Her husband is doing his reisdency in Decatur also.

I am also holding my phone close today hoping for a call also. Have a great Easter and look forward to hearing from you and you son soon.

[Tracey]

I got the first "Real" letter from my son on Saturday. It was short and sweet. He said he thinks he is adjusting fine, he had been sick, but got put on full duty again on 3/29. I'm glad I got a letter finally from him. It was a great Easter present. Anyone else get a letter yet? Or a phone call?

[Libby(CJs Mom)]

Got a quick 5 minute call from our son right after Easter dinner yesterday. It was the first we had heard from him since the first week. What he said echoed a lot of what others have posted on this discussion and others - general struggles as a division with the whole following orders thing, lots of yelling, etc. He did say he had scored well on his personal inspections.

He said today (4/5) would be Day 2-4. He had been getting our mail, and he managed to get a couple off, although they haven't made it to us yet. It was a short call, but is was really good to hear his voice. We'll be checking the mailbox for those letters.

[All for Spike]

We got our first letters this weekend....my youngest was thrilled!!!!!!
He stated the same about some of the recruits not pulling their weight and some people being slower than others....put overall sounded positive saying they all need to learn to work together. He didn't mention any delay in PIR and to date we havent received any calls except for the night he arrived.
Isn't there some place to check on the PIR change, I remember hearing about checking the PIR on this site ...anyone know where ?

[All for Spike]

http:www.bootcamp.navy.mil/families.asp lists division 183 PIR as 5/7/10 still