Graduation Weekend Question

[caylex 9/279]

I'm sure this has been addressed many times over, but I am getting conflicting information.  Last week I talked to my son's recruiter and was told that my son would have the weekend of PIR off. He said that my son would have most of the rest of PIR day off, the majority of Saturday and even a little on Sunday before having to be at the airport.  Well, I've seen posts about SRs leaving a few hours after PIR.  And just now on RTC facebook, there were several people that said they usually fly out very early on Saturday morning, as early as two or 3:00 a.m.!!  

 

I understand that it depends on where you are going, but why can't things be a little easier to understand. This is the 2nd time the recruiter has gotten our hopes up, WAY up, only to discover he is wrong again.  First he told us that my son would get to come home for five days after graduation.  Then he said he'd have the weekend with us in Chicago....  :(

[lemonelephant]

Unfortunately, Recruiters do not always stay up with the changes that happen at the RTC and mistakenly give out outdated info or maybe it is that they believe that things are still as they were when they went through, which they definitely are not.  The Friday and Saturday Departures just changed this spring and even some of us moms on here continued giving the wrong info until recently because unless changes are pointed out, we don't always catch them.  The Recruiters should look over the RTC website every now and then and also the Family Guide.  If your Sailor is going to A School out of state, you will have Friday from the time Liberty is called until that evening with him (unless he has to stand watch and then you may have to interrupt your time with him for that).  He must return to the RTC that evening in time to get back to the Ship at the designated time.  He will know when he meets you at PIR when he will leave for the airport and which one he is going to.  You will then be able to meet him at the airport as Sparkeys_Piglet said and you can also give him a black backpack with his cell phone, laptop, snack foods, and other things he might want to take to A School.

You've mentioned in another Discussion that your soon-to-be-Sailor will be going to San Antonio.  What rating (HM or MA) will he be?

[caylex 9/279]

Thank you for answering me, even though I was desperately hoping for a different answer.  My son is going to San Antonio for A School for MA.  It is so hard to handle these disappointments, especially since we are not even 3 weeks through BC.

[lemonelephant]

My Sailor is also an MA. Add a small bottle of baby shampoo to that black backpack when you send him to A School.  Join the Group, San Antonio MA's, and check out the Discussions, especially Break down week by week and you will see the reason for the baby shampoo.  I also suggest MAA Moms.  You may want to consider New MAA Mom's and/or Security Sailors ( I am also a member of this one, but find that it has not been too busy of late.).  I guess you are learning early that things can and do change.

[caylex 9/279]

thank you!  I will check those groups out.  I had not thought that far ahead - LOL

[ebigirl]

caylex 9/279,

I totally understand your disappointment regarding PIR weekend. My son graduated in May and they decided to start this new program while he was there! I was a wreck, and mad that I had spent so much time booking hotel rooms etc. and then had to re-trace my steps and do it all over again!!

As lemonelephant stated things can and do change, on a dime. I'm not making any excuses for anyone, but this policy change is rather new. It still hurts when we find out we might see our SR for 8-12 hours (IF you meet him at the airport) rather than just the weekend.

I have chatting back and forth with another parent about hotels and what to expect at PIR (graduation). It's under the "Forums" tab at the top of the main page and under "General Information", then "good hotel for graduation" started by Darius. Your welcome to read through it to see if any of the information hekps you.

Hang in there and remember the military's motto: Hurry up and wait!! :(

[bturner]

just keep praying and he will be okay

 

[bturner]

your son has to put in to be off that weekend .unless he ha his orders already. the recruiter doesnt know anymore than  you do. only your son has to give you info on his where abouts.

 

[lemonelephant]

I agree with you on the last part about the Recruiter not knowing when a Sailor will leave once he has entered the RTC.  (The Recruiter knows when the Recruit leaves for the RTC and what ship/division the Recruit is in at the RTC and where the Sailor will go following BC for A School and sometimes when the Sailor will start A School, but usually not when he will leave the RTC.)  I have to disagree with your statement that he "has to put in to be off that weekend....."  The Sailors aren't able to "put in to be off" immediately following PIR, except for those who have PIR at Christmas due to A Schools shutting down.  They have Liberty and the amount of Liberty will depend on when they fly out.  The procedure changed this spring, so most who fly out of state now leave the day after PIR, although a few families may be pleasantly surprised to find that they are able to have longer with their new Sailors due to flight availability issues that would delay departure.  The Sailor would know this when he/she meets his/her family following PIR.

[bturner]

oh ok  what's your sailors name and I would look for you on friday, so we can meet

 

[BunkerQB]

Send a friends request. After she accepts your request, you can use the Navy 4 Moms private message system to send a message. To compose a message, click on INBOX, click COMPOSE, select person, write your message, click send when done.

DON'T DISCLOSE YOUR REAL NAME HERE. This is a public site. Have fun. Congratulations. Tell your sailors to be a hearty "JOB WELL DONE!"

[Boys R Us(ship07/div303)]

I can SOOOO relate to your post. Here is the answer...The leaving on Sat. morning thing is new! Some recruiters may not know about it yet. I was at my son's recruiter yesterday and he said that they just recently recieved the notification that Sailors will no longer be staying in Chicago for the weekend. They WILL ship out on Sat UNLESS there are some problems getting him a flight. Your recruiter may not know this because it's very new. My recruiter even showed me the notice they recieved. Trust me I am just as disappointed as you! We had such high hopes of spending a couple of days with our son and now I am just SO damn bummed!!!!

[lemonelephant]

It's strange that this change apparently happened sometime between March and May from things Moms have posted recently--I'm not exactly sure when, but I didn't see anything posted on N4M about the change until the middle of July or at least it didn't register with me until then--and yet the Recruiters are just now getting word of it. (I did find a mention of Saturday departure in a post in March, but it still stated that those staying in GL were Grad-n-Go.  Apparently the word got out in some groups in April about the change based on a search of the groups, but this was not out in the Forums.)