PHONE CARDS

[NeNe's mom]

MY DAUGHTER LEFT FOR  GREAT LAKES ON SEPT 28TH IVE ONLY HEARD FROM HER ONCE BUT MY QUESTION IS ARE WE SUPPOSE TO SEND THEM PHONE CARDS IN ORDER FOR THEM TO CALL?

[Aliott1200 (Ship 10, Div 256)]

Hi NeNe's mom. They say it's a good thing to do. However, my son bought his own phone card and used very little. He was only allowed to call 3 times. They really don't have too much phone time. I wrote my son a letter and asked if he wanted me to send him one, but he said it was easier for him to buy it himself. Start writing the letters and see what your daughter wants? Good luck.

[Sandy's_sailor son]

Hello NeNe's mom. The answer to your question is Yes. There are only pay phones in boot camp. When my son was in boot camp I sent him 3 phone cards. My son used up his minutes quick because every time he used his card, he was charged for 30 minutes. (even if he only talked for 1)

I am assuming from your question that your daughter is in boot camp. Welcome to the Navy family.
You should be getting a form letter in the mail soon from the Navy. Make sure you keep that letter because it contains a password that you will need for her graduation. Also her address--(ship and Division number) and PIR date.

[Toni (T's Mom)]

unless they have a cell phone they will need a phone card or they can call you collect. The Navy doesn't provide phones for them.

[jodia-Proud Mom Of A Sailor!]

I would go ahead & buy one, but be sure to activate BEFORE you send it!!!! They usually have only a few minutes to talk, and activating the card can take up too much precious time. She cam always use it when she goes to school after BC if she doesn't have her cell phone for a while. Make sure you include the instructions on how to use the card, or write it down for her....sometimes it's kind of hard for them to think!!!! And she'll be nervous & excited to be calling you.
Good luck to you & your Recruit!

[SM312]

Your daughter can buy a phone card at the NEX. She will not have her cell phone until PIR weekend. The only communication you have for awhile are the letters you write and receive. Actually I learned to write letters again.

[Sunny-Meg's Mom- Ship 09 Div 013]

Hi NeNe's mom! It's my understanding that they can purchase phone cards there from the NEX, but I've also heard they are difficult to use. My suggestion is to go to Wal-Mart, you can buy a 500 minute ATT calling card for $25 and put it in her first letter. My daughter tested hers out before she left and it was very easy to use. No....they won't use 500 minutes of talk time, but there is a connection fee that deducts minutes from the balance every time you use it. One of the recruits that left yesterday only brought a 30 minute calling card and when she tried to use it at the airport payphones (her cell phone died) she didn't even get to talk to her parents and she lost 10 minutes off the card. My daughter shared her cell phone with her to keep in touch with her parents AND when they got to GL to make "the call" home. That being said, your daughter will need a calling card to make future calls home to you!

[eurekamom]

We bought our son a card with lots of minutes on it. We activated it, and mailed it to him. It worked out just fine. The difficult thing about the phone calls is you never know when they will come, and you (and the sailor) will not know ahead of time how long they will be able to talk until right when they get to call! Our first fun call was 15 minutes, the second one was a half hour, and the third call (a reward call) was for an hour.

Make sure you keep the cards and letters flowing to them. Sometimes when I ran out of things to say (not too much can happen from day to day sometimes), I would put in funny quotes from our son's favorite tv shows (www.IMDB.com is a GREAT web site), cut and paste interesting stories from the internet, and I combed through our old photo albums for pictures I thought he'd enjoy. Big hit!

[JessicaB-Sailor Mom]

Nene's Mom here is the link to your PIR group http://www.navyformoms.com/group/pir111910

[hisartistmom]

My son left for GL on Oct. 5th. He has not gotten my letters, but those of his brother and uncle. Are letters all he can get or can I send him a care pkg of some sort and if I can send him a pkg..what items can I put in it? I am new to this ..but find it very helpful.

[MomSeanEM2]

hisartistmom - Is he in boot camp or A school at GL? If still in bc they can't receive care packages. My son is in A school and I sent him a care package with little debbie oatmeal cookies and some soup. I usually ask him when he calls what he would like me to send. He loves to call and before he even says hello he says "can you send me such & such. LOL I have to laugh when he sent us a package of things he no longer needs from bc & A school and he told me boy mom it is expensive to send packages. I had to laugh and tell him yes it is very expensive and I know first hand since I sent you 5 BIG packages over the last 4 months. Kids are funny.

[Renick ET]

Kids are funny, fer sure! My son will ship to BC on 12/15 and I can so hear him telling me that postage is expensive. I've heard they can use their debit cards to buy phone cards at the NEX. I also been told to purchase the picture package from PIR that includes the yearbook. Mine is AECF so will he stay at GL for A school in either case: FC or ET? he wants et... Thanks for your wealth of knowledge!