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**UPDATE 4/26/2022** Effective with the May 6, 2022 PIR 4 guests will be allowed.  Still must be fully vaccinated to attend.

**UPDATE as of 11/10/2022 PIR vaccination is no longer required.

**UPDATE 7/29/2021** You now must be fully vaccinated in order to attend PIR:

In light of observed changes and impact of the Coronavirus Delta Variant and out of an abundance of caution for our recruits, Sailors, staff, and guests, Recruit Training Command is restricting Pass-in-Review (recruit graduation) to ONLY fully immunized guests (14-days post final COVID vaccination dose).  

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**UPDATE 11/10/22 PIR - Vaccinations no longer required.

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So im 22 yr old female and i just got confirmation that ive been accepted into the navy and i pick my rating& boot camp date next monday. Im very excited!!! Especially after going back and forth to MEPS for the past 3 months. I had origonally planned to join after i got my BA, but taking care of myself 100% solo and going to school has lead to a trend of unstable places to live and earning my degree at a very, very slow pace (not enough hours in the day since i work full time). So i figured i only had things to gain by just joining now and have a better chance to get where i want in life in a certain amount of time.

However, i want to be completly sure ive thought everything over in terms of preparing for communication with my family (e.g boot camp, a-school).

 This is especially a concern given the fact that I have been estranged from my parents since Nov 09 (reconsolation is most likely not an option, they are less supportive of me finishing school,more supportive of me working to help them pay their debts/support their lifestyle. and im not allowed to see my younger siblings unless i do).

Im expecting my grandparents and aunts/uncles to be supportive, and i plan to announce once i have a boot camp date set. but i want to make sure im not overlooking any reasons in which it would be beneficial to approach anything differently. i just want to be able to plan effectively so i can keep in touch with the family i do have while i make this big step.

I would love to hear your thoughts =) thanks

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Sounds like you have a plan which fits your situation. Doesn't sound easy!

Do you have questions about the amount and type of communication?

Good luck at MEPs! Do you have rates which interest you?

I joined the Navy because my parents stopped paying for college because I kept slacking off (bad boyfriend). Turns out I loved it.
thanks anti m. yes, i want to get a sense of how often i can keep in touch with my family and what i need to figure out in order to determine if i should tell them about the navy sooner. ive done tons of research about the ratings and i have 4 in mind that i would like to do (hm, mc, it, is). im just really hoping i will be able to finish my BA, i have about 1 1/2., 2yrs under my belt already.
Ask if they accept your college credits so you can leave bootcamp at a slightly higher paygrade.

II had two years of college when I went in. I won't lie to you, going to college is next to impossible beyond the freshman/sophomore years. It is very difficult to attend classes while on active duty, location, duty schedule. deployments, being on call.... it is hard. Not impossible, but no piece of cake. You cannot go to college and A or C school at the same time, that's not allowed. I didn't finish until I was out. I did manage to consolidate my existing credits into an AA degree, which preserves them for transfer more easily. Not all Navy schools qualify as transfer credits, but many do. The biggest advantage to the Navy is using the GI Bill after your service. I even got a second BS through the VA voc rehab program, based on my first degree.

Those are good rates, although HM and MC are hard to get right now. You never know when a seat comes open though. Here's hoping you find something soon which suits you!
geez...gotta be honest, thats somewhat discouraging. my recruiters were honest about it being somewhat of a challenge, but also i keep hearing how they have campuses on base, professors that are on ships, etc.
so i thought that it would be about the same pace as i would here as a civilian (given i can only take about 2 classes a semester so i can have enough time to work).
if it is about that same pace, then i would say that plus the security and other benefits are worth it.

&& thanks, i hope i get one of those ratings as well...
Communication during bootcamp is by mail. You MAY get a mid-way through phone call home and definitely able to make phone calls the day Battle Stations (the final bootcamp hands-on test) is completed.

Recruits begin to receive mail after about 2-3 weeks. They can write on Sundays and the mail goes out on Mondays. Our son wrote every Sunday and we raced to the mailbox on Wednesdays. Recruits receive mail daily except on Sunday. My sailor said it was like being 5 years old waiting on the ice cream truck!! Our family and church family sent letters daily so he always had mail to read. He received a big stack at the first mailcall and was thrilled.

He was on hold for a while after bootcamp and was on Ship 5 THU (temporary holding unit) for about 3 weeks then got his transfer orders to Goose Creek. While on hold, we talked to him several times by phone. He actually went to the mall on liberty and bought a cheap prepaid cell because he didn't want us to ship anything.

He is now in A school and we have talked to him on Sunday's mostly but also an occasional evening during the week. He is pretty tied up in classes and since he has a wife and dog there, when he gets home, his time is better spent with them or sleeping than calling us.
oh, okay that makes sense. so i guess my best bet is to make sure i have a set of address's handy lol.
was it during a-school that he was able to buy a prepaid cell phone? i hope to be able to have my cell, laptop and other things shipped to me, but i dont know when i would be able to do so...
He was on hold for a while in THU and got a phone then. Yes, when you get to A school, have someone ship your laptop, cell, camera (record those memories) and some civilian clothes. You won't get to wear the civies until you phase up. My son went out and bought 1 tee shirt, 1 pair of basketball shorts, 1 pair of jeans to wear on liberty when he phased up. He knew he'd be coming home to get my daughter in law and all of their belongings about 3 weeks after that so he only bought the basics.

While in A school you will still have limited space but when you get there, you'll be able to decide what is important for you to have with you then.
IT and IS are very good rates to get into right now. They have great advancement opportunities all the way up to Chief. Although if you are really gung ho on finishing school, getting in and then going onto an officer program may be a great option for you. MC is a small rate, so it can be difficult to get into and advance.
thanks! :)
would you happen to kno how the sea/shore rotation is?
and yeah im definatly going to focus on going officer asap, but i still want a rewarding rating just in case that doesnt happen. my goal is to at least get my BA before my enlistment is overr l
I "think" they are anywhere from 3-5 yrs depending on the paygrade (and sometimes the NEC or special "extra" schools) that the sailor is in. I.e. My husband has a 36/36 rotation, but he is a chief and his rate is an AT, whereas a friend of mine's husband is an AO E-6 and he has a 5 yr sea rotation.
thats always been something thats confusing to me (but of course, i can ask my recruiter, i just keep forgetting) how canone have a "3-5" year rotation when ones 1st enlistment is only 4 years?? i know its a silly question, lol...
Not to mention some enlistments are longer than 4 yrs, though that is the average. But if you had a 5 yr sea tour and reenlisted after 4 yrs, you would just remain on that sea tour for the entire 5 yrs. Rotation date and end of enlistment are seperate from each other.

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