june 13th

[Lauren]

my boyfriend left for boot camp today and i never even imagined it would be this hard to see him go. im total wreck and i need to know if there is anything that is going to make the time go faster or any easier. when will i be able to start sending letters or even find out when he graduates?

[bret's girl]

It's definitely hard, but it gets easier. Write him starting today; you can send all the letters when you get his address (or his parents get it, depending on where he sends the official letter about graduation). I think I had 12 that i'd written when I got the letter, so about a week and a half. Write alot! Whatever your hobby is, do that alot too. I read an entire series of 16 books in the two months Bret was gone. His first real letter probably wont come for two to three weeks because they only have certain times when they're allowed to write. Dont worry; he misses you as much as you miss him. The biggest difference is hes in a whole new place with a completely different routine and stuff. Join the groups for girlfriends, boot camp girlfriends, navy girlfriends whichever or all of them. When you get his PIR (graduation- Pass In Review) date you can join the group for that. I wish id known about this site during boot camp! Haha. I spent alot of time googling navy, Recruit Training Command (or RTC- wikipedia has a pretty good timeline for what hes up to each week), battlestations 21 (the final test, there's a couple of cool videos about it), and whatever else I could think of. The search feature on this ste is pretty cool too. You can search for specifics and previous discussions or groups that exist will come up. Do you know his rate? You can google that too, or search it on here. Mostly, just stay busy and know you're not alone!

[Jasmine<3]

I boyfriend left on tuesday, and yeah it was hard. The  shock of him leaving goes away gradually with each day. My bf mom got his first call the day he left. She also got the box and letter over weekend. I got my first call from him on Saturday I was too excited because everyone was saying the second call normally takes places around three weeks. His call just brighten my whole day even thought it was for like three day.  I've been writing letters every day which helps just got the address so will be mailing tomorrow. It will get better trust me, and besides you got to stay strong for him. We got his address and PIR all in the same week he left, but we live in Illinois so it be longer if you don't

[Sailor's gf (Ship 10 Div 261)]

wow, you got a phone call that fast?! Lucky! :)

[Jess_0411]

Its hard, but it gets easier. Think of boot camp as your crash course before deployment. Because trust, deployments are way worse. At least while he's at boot camp you know he's safe. If you don't have a job, get one. I work the typical 8:30-5 as a paralegal, but when my husband deploys, I like to pick up part time retail jobs. Get together with your friends. They are a great support system, even if they don't 100 percent understand what you're going through. But if they are friends, they should care enough to not only listen, but to help you get your mind off of things. Find out if they have any 5ks or half marathons in your town while he's gone. It gives you something to train for and do, and it sets a goal for you to focus on so you're not counting down as much. And write him everyday. When my husband deploys, I sit down and type one really long e-mail about my day and let him know what all went on. He likes it because he still feels as though he is up to date with my life. I also include sports news, what's going on with his favorite band, and info on what movies are coming out. When they are in boot camp or deployed, they are 100 percent cut off from life as they used to know it. Any information you can give them about the outside world is always appreciated. And most importantly, keep your head up and smile. Three months of boot camp isn't all that bad when you compare it to 6-14 month deployments to the middle east. So count your lucky stars and keep in mind that it will all bee over soon.

[meaganeric-02/11/11]

my boyfriend leaves for bootcamp november 1st, but before he made the decision to join we went to talk to his recruiter together, and he promised me that Eric would not be going anywhere near the middle east...but after reading this post i just got very nervous...was the recruiter lying to us?

[Soon2bNavyWife]

It is hard like the ladies just said but it will go by quickly, tomorrow will be 2 weeks since my Fiance has been gone but only 44 more days to go. I just sent my first letter to him (a test letter) I have written him every night since he has been gone because it makes me feel closer to him. I know it sucks but it will be over before you know it, or so I have been told.

[Danyelle, Navy Wife :)]

write to him every day. even if you don't have his address yet. I think it may take about 2 weeks to find out when he graduates, etc. Keep busy too. Writing and keeping busy were the two things that honestly helped me through the process of my husband going through boot camp. Oh and N4M. :) Also, there is a boot camp facebook page that is really active, it's ran by the people at RTC. It's official. here's the link if you didn't already know about it.

http://www.facebook.com/NavyRecruitTrainingCommand

 

There is also a lot of info on this page,

http://www.bootcamp.navy.mil/

 

Good luck! You're SR will do well :) He needs your support to help him through. Mail is better than Christmas to them.

[m3]

Actually, after 2 or 3 weeks all SR get to write on tuesdays and thursdays also! SO maybe you will start getting more letters soon! although my husband did say a lot of people chose to iron or do other things during their writing time....just a heads up!

[Lauren]

Thank you all so much. I have found that writing everyday makes me feel better and spending time with his family. I've been working as much as possible and spending the remainder of the time with my friends. I still cry and of course miss him a ton. but this site has been very helpful. now i am just extremely excited to be able to see him. and his mom got the formal letter last week sometime so thats also a big plus.

[navygirl813]

my boyfriend has been gone for over a month now and is graduating july 15th. it's been really hard but it does get easier. once the letters start coming & going you'll feel a lot better.

[Jess_0411]

Megan- to be bluntly honest, yes, the recruiter was more then likely lying. In four years my husband has done three deployments, two of them to the Middle East. And next year he gets to go on a fourth deployment, his third to the Middle East. You will be hard pressed to find a guy who has served four years and hasn't been over there yet. However, depending on what your boyfriend is going in for and where he will be stationed, your recruiter could be telling the truth. But I wouldn't count on it.

[meaganeric-02/11/11]

Thank you for the honesty Jess, I really didn't trust the guy to begin with, but being a sailor is what my baby really wanted to do so the best thing for him is to have my full support....He's going to be a construction mechanic and he's actually in the reserves, and after A School he's stationed in New Hampshire... I don't know if that helps his chances of not going over there at all?