Thought I was ready after reading all the previous posts for the PIR. I was not.
Nothing prepared me for what I experienced. My boy had become a man in every sense of the word. The pride I felt was overwhelming.
A dry eye...not that I saw, certainly not mine.
I actually sought out his CPO and the division petty officers to thank them.....could not believe I did that, but I did.
Now for the pass along stuff.....lots of local hotels for the taking. Make a reservation early...we stayed at the Hampton in Gurnee....8 monutes from the base.
8 duivisions graduated..no problem with extra guests....security was there, but getting through the gate took no more than 1/2 hour....BUT...get there early if you want a good seat.
Dress is any way you want to go....but this is a military base.
Cameras are no problem in the review area....your sailor wants off the base...plan a day. Unless they know Chicage the Navy Pier is the place of choice....quite expensive...even parking is $24
Flying into O'hare is not really an issue except for Chicago traffic...its 24/7 and can cost you an hour in any direction.
Bring plenty of tissues and hugs.....and enjoy your sailor!
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Have her hold off until she gets to where her A school is, and then ASK FIRST.. she does not want many unsats (unsatisfactories) to hold up the priviledges she can get.
Oh yeah... inform your new recruits that it is NOT ok to dye their hair during their liberty after PIR, one of the girls my Son knows did Fri night and, IIRC, lost all liberty for the rest of weekend. They are government property now.
Son's PIR was 4/30/10. Stayed at Residence Inn Waukegan/Gurnee. Flew into Milwaukee instead of Chicago... Smart way to go. Observation deck at Willis(Sears)tower is awesome, especially the glass overhangs, which jut out 4' from building... at 1300 feet up. Driving in Chicago sucked, and this was a Sunday. Son informed me he heard Navy pier was lame and didn't want to go there.
Went to Cubs game, trust me go with the parking at devry university... only $6 per vehicle and includes shuttle both ways for everybody in truck(we had 7). Interesting note: A guy jumped out of a concession line at Wrigley field just to shake my son's hand and thank him for his service.
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Went to Cubs game, trust me go with the parking at devry university... only $6 per vehicle and includes shuttle both ways for everybody in truck(we had 7). Interesting note: A guy jumped out of a concession line at Wrigley field just to shake my son's hand and thank him for his service.