PIR DEBRIEFING

[Sassafras Proud Mom of a Sailor]

INTRODUCTION: A place for parents and others who have attended PIR and graduation weekend to share comments, suggestions and ideas that will hopefully make it easier and more enjoyable for other familes who are preparing for their own PIR events.

 

WHAT TO DO: This is an 'interactive' forum, with each person encouraged to start new topics (by posting your comments in the 'blank' at the top of each page) -and- respond to individual posts (by clicking 'reply' on that particular post).

 

ALSO: Over time, I will be organizing some of the posts herein as a sort of 'guide' which will be static -- that is, there will be no new posts to that discussion... thus it will not actually be a 'discussion' but more of a factual and flowing narrative that takes the reader, moment by moment, through happy hours of PIR, covering the basics with good recommendations about what to do, what not to do, and how to do (or avoid) doing it.

 

To get started on this process, it would be very useful to hear from you regarding which posts and/or particular information do you think should be included? Sincerely, I look forward to hearing from you and transcribing our collective wisdom for those who will attend PIR soon.

 

 

 

 

[Celina]

Rose your SR can change the names up to two weeks or so before graduation. He can not take his cell phone or anything else back to the ship, so you will have to meet him the next day at the airport.  Good luck and have fun, in no time your son will be texting you on a regular basis.

 

 

 

[BunkerQB]

HE SHOULD NOT TAKE HIS CELL PHONE BACK TO BOOT CAMP - he'll get punished.

[Rose]

Thank you BunkerQB, good to know. Don't want to get my son punished on account of MOM, ha ha!

[Rose]

Thank you Celina, more good info. I was wondering, I'm sure my son will get his orders on when he will be leaving for A school, right? I'll need to know this so we can send him off at the airport before we make our flight arrangements to return home.

Any and all information is appreciated.

Rose

[Celina]

My son did not get his orders and flight information until the week of pir. My son is/will be  a Corpsman, so we knew he was going to school in Texas. We made our plans to fly out Sunday just in case we got to see him on Saturday, and it worked out. Also Sunday was a good day to go into down town Chicago and see the sights before our flight. It was cold but a fun time.

[bimmer/ship02div914]

My son's PIR was 3/2/2012.  We stayed at the Residence Inn in Waukegan, and were completely happy with the hotel. The staff was great--very helpful and very knowledgeable--rooms and hotel were very nice.  They now have a meet & greet on Thursday evening before graduation, but we arrived in the wee hours of the morning, so cannot comment on it. The breakfast spread they had set up each morning was fantastic--they had a nice selection of hot & cold food. Our room had a kitchenette, which was a nice touch. Instead of driving to PIR, we took the shuttle, and it worked out great. We arrived at graduation at about 7:30am, and the place was packed, so I recommend if you want to be able to have a choice as to where to sit, I would get there earlier.  At the end of graduation it was fairly easy to catch a shuttle back to the hotel.  We ate lunch at Stevens (a steak place in Waukegan, I believe).  The food was great, so I recommend it as a place to eat.  At the end of liberty, we took our son back earlier then he had to be there, so we went to the NEX-nice place to pick up some soulveniers (better to go late then right after graduation when it is packed).  The next day his flight was leaving around 6:30pm (luckily from the same airport we were), so we got to spend the day with him since our flight was late that night also.  It was really nice to get to spend this extra time with him. It was at this point I gave him his cell phone and laptop. He used his phone the day of graduation, but he wasn't able to take it back to base with him.  While at the airport, he was able to take the train into the city, so we toured around a little. It was a great weekend -- short but sweet.

[Moonbeam]

Hi,

We attended out sons PIR on 3-16-12.  We drove up from Cleveland, which took about 6 hours.  Traffic in Chicago is crazy busy!  Take the toll road that goes south of Chicago if you are coming from that direction, unless it's late at night.  We stayed at Springhill Suites in Waukegan.  It was pretty nice.  They have breakfast included, which was okay.  Lots of service men and women were there each day.  

We spent the whole weekend, as our son was on THU for medical.  It worked out well because we got to spend 3 days with him, until he had to be back at night.  We did take him back about an hour early each night.  We took the shuttle which is run by Sarge.  He is a big help and puts on a Meet & Greet on Thursday evening right across the street from Springhill Suites at the Sundance Saloon.  You can find info on this site.  He gives a great presentation with insider info. and also provides food, free of charge for the families.  

Anyway, we used the shuttle which was great, as our PIR was 14 DIV, which is huge!  No waiting in line.  We got there about 7:30 and the seats were pretty full.  We found seats for the 5 of us, but it was one section up from ours.  The PIR is awesome!!  I wish I could go again!  It is really something...and oh how proud we all are!!  Cameras, binoculars, a towel, cushion or stadium seat to sit on would be advisable.  These are metal bleachers...no backs unless you sit in the last row by the wall.  Even with 1074 sailors graduating, I thought everything went very smoothly.  It is wonderful!!  

After graduation, and everyone rushes down to hug their sailor, then a bunch of people head for the NEX, and to pick up photos.  It is a zoo.  LOL  Best thing is if your sailor picks up his pictures previously...so you don't have to.  And if you are flying...you might want to have your sailor have them sent home...so you don't have to worry about them.  We had to wait around there for over 2 hours while our son checked out of his "ship" and into his new "ship".  By then, the place was pretty much cleared out.  

We went back to the hotel and chatted and "chilled" for awhile.  We had been up early after a long drive the day before...all of us were tired!  We brought snacks and some lounging clothes for him in case he wanted to change and relax in them without wrinkling his uniform...plus it's not real comfy.  They can change only if they stay in the room...not in public!  We took him to Steven's for dinner.  He wanted a big steak.  It was very close by and not crowded at all at around 4pm.

Next day we went to NEX off base, and to Gurnee Mall so he could purchase some things he wanted.  Boxers, socks, and tees, are the first things he bought...along with an electric shaver.  We found a Marina restaurant heading up north along the shore, and we had early dinner there.  The owner bought our son's meal.  

On Sunday we drove into Chicago. We would of taken the Metra as the station is right next to the graduation hall, but we were heading home after that. We all walked around downtown and had some of their famous deep dish pizza!  First time in Chicago, and it is really nice!!  Not liking the traffic...but walking around the city was great!  We walked our son to the Union Station and he got a ticket (free for him) to ride the Metra back to the GL base.  It takes almost an hour and a half to get back, I think. He called and said he made it with no problems, and I think he got a kick out of riding the train!  It's only $6.00, which is a real deal. If we were to do it again, we would take the train.  Parking is $$$ and that is after you sit in traffic, even on a Sunday.

The best thing that I was a part of was chatting with other moms, dads, wives, gf, etc. on private group Facebook pages we made.  We found people off the RTC page, but it is changed now.  We had one for our PIR date, and then another one for our own divisions.   Good Luck!!

[BunkerQB]

Thank you for taking the time to writ this. I know it will help many moms.  My sailor finished his 5 year commitment this month. Thank your son for carrying on the Navy tradition. Good luck to your sailor and you in the future.  We have a survival guide and a number of other lists that should help new members. Click on the MAIN tab from the menu bar above, scroll down the middle column. There are a number of featured discussions that pertain the PIR & Boot Camp. Would you please stay and help the newbies?  You writ so well. This site can not function without volunteers. Let me thank you in advance.

[Moonbeam]

Thank you for your kind words, and thank your sailor as well.  This is an exciting new journey for us and I am happy to help others out, as I have and will continue to be helped by others!  It is invaluable to keep in contact this way!

[JessicaB-Sailor Mom]

Tara...have you joined your PIR group yet? There will be info there about what to weat to PIR. BUT remember that your new Sailor will be wearing their dress blues/whites and will look really sharp. You want to dress to kinda match them. Wear comfortable shoes, clothes that you will be comfortable in. You'll be sitting on metal(Cold) bleachers for a few hours. So, I recommend no miniskirts and no really high heels. But, just be comfortable. You'll see all kinds of attire at PIR from very formal to very casual.

[Tara (ship 07 Div 193)]

Thank you so much! I found our PIR group. Very helpful!

[bensmominca]

Thank you so much for the information.  It is a really big help!