This site is for mothers of kids in the U.S. Navy and for Moms who have questions about Navy life for their kids.
FIRST TIME HERE?
FOLLOW THESE STEPS TO GET STARTED:
Choose your Username. For the privacy and safety of you and/or your sailor, NO LAST NAMES ARE ALLOWED, even if your last name differs from that of your sailor (please make sure your URL address does not include your last name either). Also, please do not include your email address in your user name. Go to "Settings" above to set your Username. While there, complete your Profile so you can post and share photos and videos of your Sailor and share stories with other moms!
Make sure to read our Community Guidelines and this Navy Operations Security (OPSEC) checklist - loose lips sink ships!
Join groups! Browse for groups for your PIR date, your sailor's occupational specialty, "A" school, assigned ship, homeport city, your own city or state, and a myriad of other interests. Jump in and introduce yourself! Start making friends that can last a lifetime.
Link to Navy Speak - Navy Terms & Acronyms: Navy Speak
All Hands Magazine's full length documentary "Making a Sailor": This video follows four recruits through Boot Camp in the spring of 2018 who were assigned to DIV 229, an integrated division, which had PIR on 05/25/2018.
Boot Camp: Making a Sailor (Full Length Documentary - 2018)
Boot Camp: Behind the Scenes at RTC
...and visit Navy.com - America's Navy and Navy.mil also Navy Live - The Official Blog of the Navy to learn more.
OPSEC - Navy Operations Security
Always keep Navy Operations Security in mind. In the Navy, it's essential to remember that "loose lips sink ships." OPSEC is everyone's responsibility.
DON'T post critical information including future destinations or ports of call; future operations, exercises or missions; deployment or homecoming dates.
DO be smart, use your head, always think OPSEC when using texts, email, phone, and social media, and watch this video: "Importance of Navy OPSEC."
Follow this link for OPSEC Guidelines:
Events
**UPDATE 4/26/2022** Effective with the May 6, 2022 PIR 4 guests will be allowed. Still must be fully vaccinated to attend.
**UPDATE as of 11/10/2022 PIR vaccination is no longer required.
**UPDATE 7/29/2021** You now must be fully vaccinated in order to attend PIR:
In light of observed changes and impact of the Coronavirus Delta Variant and out of an abundance of caution for our recruits, Sailors, staff, and guests, Recruit Training Command is restricting Pass-in-Review (recruit graduation) to ONLY fully immunized guests (14-days post final COVID vaccination dose).
FOLLOW THIS LINK FOR UP TO DATE INFO:
**UPDATE 8/25/2022 - MASK MANDATE IS LIFTED. Vaccinations still required.
**UPDATE 11/10/22 PIR - Vaccinations no longer required.
RESUMING LIVE PIR - 8/13/2021
Please note! Changes to this guide happened in October 2017. Tickets are now issued for all guests, and all guests must have a ticket to enter base. A separate parking pass is no longer needed to drive on to base for parking.
Please see changes to attending PIR in the PAGES column. The PAGES are located under the member icons on the right side.
Format Downloads:
- Graduation Info
- PDF – 2.7 MB
- PNG – 2.3 MB
- JPG – 3.4 MB
- Printable PDF – 2.0 MB
Navy Speak
Click here to learn common Navy terms and acronyms! (Hint: When you can speak an entire sentence using only acronyms and one verb, you're truly a Navy mom.)
N4M Merchandise
Shirts, caps, mugs and more can be found at CafePress.
Please note: Profits generated in the production of this merchandise are not being awarded to the Navy or any of its suppliers. Any profit made is retained by CafePress.
Navy.com Para Familias
Visite esta página para explorar en su idioma las oportunidades de educación y carreras para sus hijos en el Navy. Navy.com
Badge
Labor Day weekend trip during A-School Questions!
Hello!
My boyfriend will be graduating on August 1st, and immediately reporting for A-School in Great Lakes. During one of our phone calls he said he wants me to fly there for Labor Day weekend. I have looked at all flights from all airlines, to both airports, and looked at countless hotels but I'm so confused on what my plans should be. I've heard they have to be back to the base by 10pm, but I read somewhere else that past a certain point in A-school they can leave for the weekend and come back. What is true? If anyone has any travel advice for me that would be amazing!
- Trip would be fly in Thursday or Friday (which is better? do they have school on friday?) and come home Tuesday
- I would prefer to fly Southwest because of the price, even though it only flies to Midway
- I will be 21 when I get there, so renting a car could be a possibility
-What are some must see or must do attractions?
I appreciate any feedback that anyone has! Thank you so much!
Views: 622
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Anti M on
-
About four weeks at TSC, he should be in phase two liberty. That means he does have a curfew, and yes, they do have Friday school. He will be in four section duty, so he will need to put in a chit so he doesn't have a duty day that weekend (no leaving base if he has duty). Here are the liberty phases, he may not even know about them yet!
https://www.facebook.com/notes/training-support-center-tsc-great-la...
What there is to do will depend on what you like to do. Chicago has everything you can think of. I loved the museums, the shopping, and the good restaurants.
-
-
Permalink Reply by nicolel818 on
-
so i looked at a calendar, and labor day weekend would be the end of the 4th week. I also looked at that facebook link you shared (so informative!) so is it possible that he could be allowed to be away over night, as long as he is in good standing and passed everything? and is labor day treated like normal school and they have the day off?
-
-
Permalink Reply by abuon18 on
-
Yes they will have Monday (Labor Day) off of school but they may have duty, so like Anti M explained if he hasn't gotten his chit approved he may have to work. So make sure you're on him to get that chit in! There was a time I planned to visit my husband in A school & they denied his weekend liberty chit (but e was able to appeal it & it ended up getting approved thankfully!) so just be aware that they can and do deny them so it's really important that he gets it in right away. My husband's to denied because it was also a holiday weekend (Veteran's Day) and too many other people had already requested it.
-
-
-
oh my goodness!! that is probably the most valuable information that I need to know. thank you so much!! i will make a point to write about it in every letter and remind him in every conversation we have to drill it in his brain. I'm not spending $600+ to spend the weekend by myself!
-
-
-
Remember, he can't put in the chit over on the RTC (boot camp) side, it must be at TSC (A school side). Usually they want it in two weeks out, but he should ask right away when he can put it in. He also needs a second chit requesting you to be his liberty buddy, I'm sure you don't want two other guys hanging around in your room!
Whether he can spend the night out depends on if he has earned his phase three liberty. He will need to step up to get it.
They always have federal holidays off if they do not have duty.
-
-
-
this is all so helpful!! you two are amazing!! and calming my nerves a little bit for this trip. it's all out of my hands I guess, I just have to worry about getting myself there and the rest is based on what is happening on his end.
-
-
-
Yes there is not much you or he can do until he gets to his A school. Once he's there they will tell him about the liberty phases & what he needs to do (a lot of how quickly he phases up depends on how much he works towards it). Don't buy any tickets or book any hotels until he's out of boot camp & he has a better idea of what's going on.
Also a train ride into Chicago was only an hour or maybe less so I would get a hotel close to base & we would take the train in. Saved a ton of money since hotels tend to be more expensive in the city. -
-
-
I already have a hotel in mind that is close to the base, I believe it is a PIR weekend so I'm going to see what their cancellation policies are in case something happens, but since it is a PIR weekend and Labor Day weekend I might just go ahead and book it just to have a spot.
I found some AMAZING prices on Expedia for flights, so it's going to really bug me not to get them just because I dont feel like I'm going to come across those prices again. I'll look into refundable tickets or buying some insurance on them for anything that might come up.
The train is such a good deal!! And so lucky that there is one so close to the base, makes life that much easier and enjoy the trip more!
-
-
Permalink Reply by Fur&FeathersDVM on
-
Consider booking a ticket now through Southwest. If you end up having to cancel, every Southwest ticket is at least able to be canceled for you to get airline credit back with no penalty. (Some of the higher fare tickets are able to be canceled for a full refund)
My husband is stationed at RTC and we have spent a lot of time out and about exploring the area! The train will be an excellent resource for you. For $7 you can get an all weekend train pass allowing you to go wherever you want along the train line as much as you want (and sometimes for a holiday that borders a weekend, the holiday is included in the weekend pass. For example, the 4th of July was a Friday but because it was a holiday it was included in the weekend pass). There is a lot to do all along the train line, not just down in the city itself, depending on what you are looking to do. The train ride into Chicago is about an hour and 15 minutes from Great Lakes, longer on weekends if there is something going on downtown and passenger load is heavy, but not too bad.
There are amazing restaurants all over here. Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Highwood, and Highland Park all have fantastic restaurants and little shops right by the metra train stop. If you tell me what type of food you like, I can give more specific recommendations. :) Of course downtown Chicago has lots of great ones too! Many of the museums in Chicago are free for active duty military- Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, Chicago Art Institute, and the Museum of Science and Industry are all free for military. Skydeck at Willis Tower is also free for active duty military, which is a glass balcony out on the 103rd floor of the tower where you can look out all around. You will still have to pay for your ticket but at least he will get in free! :) There is a fantastic architecture river cruise through downtown Chicago that is really great. It tells you the history of Chicago and there are refreshments served. It's such a fun way to see the city in 90 minutes. Tickets for this can be purchased at ITT on base (which your boyfriend could get once he's in A school) at a significant discount. I think tickets are normally $42, on base they are $22. Millennium Park in Chicago is a great tourist stop and is not too far from the downtown train stop. There is a great theater scene here too if you like plays and musicals!
-
-
-
To: navyprincessDVM
I prefer to fly Southwest so I can get my rapid rewards points, problem is they only fly to Midway :/ So that would mean a car service would cost more and I dont know how comfortable I feel renting a car.
Sounds like the train is going to be my best friend, I love it! I think going to Willis Tower would be so much fun! I was also looking into going to a White Sox or Cubs game since they are both home that weekend and we both love baseball :) Also Navy Pier looks like a lot of fun. We are definitely not picky when it comes to food, we love trying new places and having a great food experience! So whatever your favorites are let me know!
Thank you so much for all of the great tips!
-
-
Permalink Reply by Emily-aaronsgirl11 on
-
Fun fact: Southwest doesn't have change fees. So if you were to book a ticket now and find out you can't actually go labor day weekend, you can change your ticket to a later date and the only thing you would pay would be the difference in fares. For example, if you changed the flight to two weeks later and that ticket was $50 more than the one you originally bought, you would only pay the extra $50 and not anything more. All other airlines have change fees in which you pay the difference in fare plus an extra $100 or so for their trouble. *I think* that Southwest will even refund you money if you change to a cheaper flight. This is true even with their cheap "wanna get away" flights, so you don't have to pay for a refundable ticket.
Link: No Change Fees
A fun fact from the FAQ section on Southwest.com: "Not all reservations are refundable, but they are all reusable? Should your plans change, all of our fares can be applied to future travel on Southwest Airlines, as long as you cancel any Wanna Get Away or DING! Fare segment prior to the flight's departure."The train will be your best friend. I'm not entirely sure where Midway is in comparison to the train station, but there's a train that goes straight into Great Lakes, very, very close to the A school base and hotels. It'd be much cheaper for you to take the train into Great Lakes and then a taxi to your hotel compared to renting a car, especially at 21 (I'm 21 also... and dated my sailor from the time I was 15.. I feel your pain there). Anyways, look into that train line for sure!
Edit: Looks like there's a train that goes from Midway to downtown Chicago. And if you google map it, that bus would get you within walking distance (like 4ish blocks) to the Ogilvie Transportation Center which you could catch a train to Great Lakes from. Sounds a bit complicated, I know, but the walk wouldn't be bad as long as you flew in during daylight hours. Good luck!
-
-
-
Thank you so much for that advice. I'm going to college in Colorado so if anything I'll have a credit to use later and fly somewhere else and like you said reschedule the trip.
I'll have to research the train routes and their times, and keep in mind when I fly in. There's becoming a lot of moving parts to this trip haha
-
© 2024 Created by Navy for Moms Admin.
Powered by
