Son leaving for bootcamp on Oct 11

[smou]

My son is leaving for bootcamp in about a week.  He is ready to go, and I quess I am also.  Just worried about making it thu bootcamp, probably normal mom stuff. I live out side houston and would love to speak with other moms.

[beckmcs]

Hi smouton.  My son left for BC on August 23rd and I also live outside Houston.  I will be happy to talk to you about my experiences almost 6 weeks into the process.  You will be amazed how quickly you figure things out!  The ladies on this sight are so helpful.

[smou]

Hi, thanks for the reply, I still have a week with him.  He is schedule to go out the 11th, but I guess he goes the night before.  What did you son take with him?  How often have you recieved letters or phone calls? I'm in deer park, but work in houston

[beckmcs]

Yes, you can expect that he will need to check into the hotel the evening before.  Our son had the choice of the recruiter taking him at noon or us dropping him off by 6 PM so we dropped him off.  They do the final swearing in the next morning at the federal building downtown but we did not know that until that evening and decided not to go as we had already said our really good final goodbyes.  Our son took some disposable toiletries and a clean shirt to the hotel.  He also took a long distance phone card, $50 cash, a debit card and his cell phone, contact lenses, some stamps/envelopes/paper.  Everything came home (as expected) in the box except the cash/cards/stamps and envelopes.  I know they say not to bring the cell phone but we had really good contact with our son the day he flew to GL and knew his flight info including that it was delayed so we had a good idea when to expect the "I have arrived safely" call.  Ours came at midnight sharp but I have heard they can come any time day or night.  We got "The Box" with his personal possessions about a week later and the form letter with his address a few days after that.  Some recruiters will share the address they are given(ours did not) but it may not stick.  At that point you can begin writing and should get your first "real" letter from your son at about 2 1/2 weeks in.  They can only write on Sundays so factor that into your expectations.  However, they can receive mail Monday-Saturday so write often!  We received a few VERY BRIEF early calls from our son to get security clearance information.  The only other call so far came at 3 1/2 weeks and was an earned call.  It should have been an hour but someone in his division managed to have a big transgression with the RDC's and it was cut to 15 minutes. To be sure it was 15 minutes of pure heaven!!!  One hint is to write down your questions before the call because I promise you will lose your mind with happiness and not get enough information about their lives at BC.  Hope this helps a bit.  It is a time of great pride, anxiety, worry, and great pride again.  God bless your son for his willingness to serve!

[Elaine-PIR 10/1/10]

beckmcs, I am not stepping on your toes here but I wrote letters, about 2 or 3, that first week my son was gone to boot camp. That way, when I got his address in the form letter I could send them off the next day. That is what I suggest to all moms who ask "When can I write to my son/daughter?" Also, unless they appoint a mail person in the first couple of weeks, no one will get mail until they do. I do agree those calls are the best, even if they are/can be short. I am a year out of boot camp now but I will always remember those tough weeks.

smouton, try to keep those first letters short, number the envelopes so he will read them in order. In the first few weeks they won't have a lot of time to read them unless they do so in the red light darkness, lol. He will find out what that is when he gets there. I wish him good things and please thank him for what he is doing for this country.

[smou]

Thank you both for your replies. I know you can find all the answers somewhere, but I just needed someone to tell me. We are 6 days away from leaving, it's going to be hard not speaking with him everyday. Sometimes I worry about the dumbest things. But I will enjoy the next few days.

[beckmcs]

Elaine, you are not stepping on my toes at all.  Another good idea I heard was to keep a pad around and have everyone in the family (and anyone who stops by) jot down happenings and notes of encouragement and mail that the second you get the address.  It helps them know they are missed and loved by lots of people!