No 1st phone call???

[Stephanie (S-PACT/Yokosuka,JP)]

My son left yesterday for Great Lakes. He called me from the airport from his cell phone and quickly told me his battery was low (I guess he didn't take his charger) and that he would call when he got there. He also said that he was told they would get there at about 1AM this morning. There were 8 of them flying out together. I stayed up until 3:30 because I didn't want to miss his call. Well, here it is 3 in the afternoon, and still no 1st phone call yet! I've got all kinds of scenarios going through my head! I've read they typically get off the bus and check them in, then allow them to call. Has anyone experienced a later phone call upon arrival?

Thanks,

Stephanie

 

[IndyMom]

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but this does sometimes happen. You can call his recruiter to see if he can check.  Keep your phone with you at all times, but they could let them make a call at any random time. If he didn't arrive I am sure you would have heard about it ...sorry...know this doesn't help much.

[bnb&bmbmom (Ship 02/ Div 929)]

My son arrived at Great Lakes on Wednesday evening, by bus from St. Louis. He called around 7:30 pm from his cell phone. It sounded like he was reading a script. VERY short and no I Love You! Even though it wasn't much, it was enough to give me piece of mind. I hope you get a call soon!

[Jenn (Proud AO Mom)]

It does happen once in a while that an SR doesn't get to make the "I'm here" call home.  Could be there were too many guys in line for the phones and he didn't have a chance to use one - especially if his cell phone died before he got there.  He made it there - you would have heard if there was a problem.  The new motto for Navy moms going through boot camp (and beyond) is no news is good news.  You will always hear if there is a problem - if you don't hear anything it is business as usual - although I know it's hard not to worry.

[MomSeanEM2]

Sometimes they ask if they want to make that safe arrival phone call. My son said yes but it was very short. They are standing over them. They basically read from a card saying I arrived safely and you may get a call halfway through. We got a call half way through and that was it. My sons RDC was not generous and made every excuse why they were not aloud. Somebody isn't listening. Some tried to tell the others to stop "f" ing up because they would like to make a call. No such luck in my sons division he had some real winners and the RDC was real hard on all of them. Hope that is not his case. Some RDC's when my son went through BC were more than generous.

[johns_momma]

My son arrived in GL Wed night by bus from Indianapolis. I got a short robotic 10sec (maybe) call saying, "I'm here, I'll call in about 3 wks, you'll get my stuff in a box soon, gotta go."  Although I broke down the minute he hung up, at least I got to know he had a safe arrival. Hang in there! I'm sure they'd have contacted you if something was wrong. Hoping you get a little peace soon!

[Stephanie (S-PACT/Yokosuka,JP)]

Thanks for your replies. Funny.. I told myself this afternoon that no news is good news. So I guess I'm already in Navy mom mode! My rational mind tells me he's ok and I'll hear something soon enough. If they stand over them when they call, he may not have wanted to call. He's a pretty quiet kid and kind of unsure of himself. He has a lot of growing up to do, and I'm certain that he'll do it in the next few weeks pretty quickly!

 

Thanks again! So happy to be part of a supportive group in a similar situation. :)

Stephanie

[Mike's Mom (S-PACT/Yokosuka,JP)]

My son left 7/17. We never got the "I'm OK" call. We got the kid in a box on day 5. We just received yesterday his form letter and a personal letter. He complained that he had not received any letters from us despite the fact that I got his address from the recruiter on day 3 and have been mailing at least a letter a day since then. You will find that everything is different for everybody. I thought I would go NUTS before I heard from him. All I wanted was to know he was OK. Hang in there, it does get better! But it's not easy. Stay with this group and they'll help get you through.

[Stephanie (S-PACT/Yokosuka,JP)]

@Mikey's Mom,

Thanks for telling me your experience. I hadn't seen any one else who didn't get "the call." That makes me feel a little better. Kind of. I cannot for the life of me imagine why he would have called me from the airport before they took off and then didn't call after he got to GL. It just doesn't make any sense to me. I even sent him with pre paid phone cards in case he needed to use them. However, his last year of high school he was all about being ready to get out into the world and be an adult so I am kind of wondering if it's just him trying to seperate himself and be an adult. Now I'm worried that he will never write. :(  I really, really miss him and hope to goodness that things go really well for him there.

[Jenn (Proud AO Mom)]

@Mikey's Mom - Don't worry - he will get your letters.  It takes them about 3 weeks before they see any mail from home.  After processing they still have to choose and train an SR from the division to handle the mail - so there is always a lag.  That's why even if you start mailing right when they leave they still don't get the letters any earlier than those who wait for the form letter and address from their SR.  Some moms think that the RDCs hold mail to punish the SRs but that isn't the case - it is just a longer process.  I'm sure by the time you get his next letter your mail will have caught up with him.