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And He's Off!

Posted by Blake Owen on December 1, 2014 at 2:52pm in General Discussion

My son shipped out today and I should be getting that short call around midnight tonight.

Thanks to NavyDads.com, Navyformoms.com, Navydep.com and Reddit I think I am thoroughly prepared. I wish this much information was around when I went through RTC in 1980.

My check list for the trip is almost complete. I'll book my room as soon as I get the form letter. I am looking forward to going to Sarge's meet and greet. The prospective PIR date for him is 1st week of February.

It's 74° down here and it's 19° at Great Lakes. Oh My! LoL

FYI, I downloaded an app for my Galaxy Note called "Another Call Recorder" (ACR) that automatically records phone calls sent or received. It will backup to cloud service. The cool thing is you can send the file to other family members so they can listen to the phone call. I have been testing it out for a few weeks and it has worked perfectly so far.

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Replies

  • Blake Owen December 11, 2014 at 9:30pm

    I know what you mean Patrick. Looks like they are making everyone cram everything in the box and send it home. Even his underwear! I used to change his dirty diapers so figured I'd be okay picking them up. LoL

    You should get that form letter from him soon. If this is all he's ever wanted to do then he will do well. He will more than likely excel in training. It will be over soon and you be seeing him march through the roll up door at the drill hall!

    Patrick Alex Abercrombie said:

    My son shipped out from Tennessee on 04 Dec. We got "the box" on Tuesday, 09 Dec. It was a little disconcerting to get everything that you last saw him in and with all packed into a box. Anxiously awaiting the first letter from him. Hard on us, but this is all he has ever wanted to do. Can't wait for PIR

  • Blake Owen December 11, 2014 at 9:22pm

    Oh my, that last part made spit coffee on my screen. LoL

    Jim Weintraub said:

    Mike,

    I also received "the call" last night. He called around 9:30 pm. And like yourself, we were happy to hear from him. I think the call lasted about 1 minute. 

    I'll assume today he is enjoying a lot of yelling and such. Hopefully all the yelling I did over the years helped him prepared for basic. (just kidding). 

  • Patrick Alex Abercrombie December 11, 2014 at 12:18pm

    My son shipped out from Tennessee on 04 Dec. We got "the box" on Tuesday, 09 Dec. It was a little disconcerting to get everything that you last saw him in and with all packed into a box. Anxiously awaiting the first letter from him. Hard on us, but this is all he has ever wanted to do. Can't wait for PIR

  • Jim Weintraub December 10, 2014 at 3:44pm

    Mike,

    I also received "the call" last night. He called around 9:30 pm. And like yourself, we were happy to hear from him. I think the call lasted about 1 minute. 

    I'll assume today he is enjoying a lot of yelling and such. Hopefully all the yelling I did over the years helped him prepared for basic. (just kidding). 

    Mike said:

    Jim;


    I hope your call came last night, ours did around 10pm local. It was clearly a reading assignment, but still good to hear his voice. 




    Jim Weintraub said:

    Hi Mike,

    My son is also off to Great Lakes today. He is flying out of Charlotte, NC around 4:45 eastern. I can't wait to get "the call" this evening. I'm not sure who is more excited, my son or me!

    I have a question for you. Where did you find the predicted PIR date? I'd like to go ahead and book a room as well but was waiting until I have more information. Thanks. 



    Mike said:

    Well, my son will be getting to Great Lakes later today. I dropped him off with the recruiter yesterday; he spent the night @ a hotel not far from MEPS & the airport.
    Now it’s wait for a call, a box, and a letter, we are confirmed @ Navy Lodge on the predicted PIR date and will make flight reservations after PIR confirmation.
    This is a GREAT site for information thanks admin guys for setting it up and keeping it current. Reading about what Great Lakes is like now is awesome for me; I reported there in January 1977 & retired almost 13 years ago.
    I currently work on the Norfolk Naval base and can tell you the youth of today are much, much better prepared than I ever was. Well, at least much smarter than I.

  • Mike December 10, 2014 at 9:33am
    Jim;

    I work on the Norfolk Naval base, a few months ago I had a sailor come thru my office who had just finished his shore duty tour pushing boots @ Great Lakes. Because of the federal holidays 12/25 & 12/26 along with 1/1 & 1/2 being non-training days & based on my sons arrival date of yesterday (12/9), he predicted Feb 13 for a PIR. Its still a guessing game, so I am prepared for either 2/6 or 2/13. The Navy Lodge has always treated me well so I'm going with them for lodging.

    I hope your call came last night, ours did around 10pm local. It was clearly a reading assignment, but still good to hear his voice. I'll arrange flights when the letter comes confirming a date.




    Jim Weintraub said:

    Hi Mike,

    My son is also off to Great Lakes today. He is flying out of Charlotte, NC around 4:45 eastern. I can't wait to get "the call" this evening. I'm not sure who is more excited, my son or me!

    I have a question for you. Where did you find the predicted PIR date? I'd like to go ahead and book a room as well but was waiting until I have more information. Thanks. 



    Mike said:

    Well, my son will be getting to Great Lakes later today. I dropped him off with the recruiter yesterday; he spent the night @ a hotel not far from MEPS & the airport.
    Now it’s wait for a call, a box, and a letter, we are confirmed @ Navy Lodge on the predicted PIR date and will make flight reservations after PIR confirmation.
    This is a GREAT site for information thanks admin guys for setting it up and keeping it current. Reading about what Great Lakes is like now is awesome for me; I reported there in January 1977 & retired almost 13 years ago.
    I currently work on the Norfolk Naval base and can tell you the youth of today are much, much better prepared than I ever was. Well, at least much smarter than I.

  • Jim Weintraub December 9, 2014 at 3:25pm

    That's what I was thinking but figured I'd go ahead and book a room with the understanding that I can always re-book upon more accurate info. 

    Blake Owen said:

    Guessing a PIR date is a crap shoot. My son's recruiters and I agreed that he would probably PIR on Feb. 6th. His Form letter proved us wrong and he is graduating two weeks sooner than we thought.

  • Blake Owen December 9, 2014 at 3:17pm

    Guessing a PIR date is a crap shoot. My son's recruiters and I agreed that he would probably PIR on Feb. 6th. His Form letter proved us wrong and he is graduating two weeks sooner than we thought.

  • Jim Weintraub December 9, 2014 at 2:49pm

    Hi Mike,

    My son is also off to Great Lakes today. He is flying out of Charlotte, NC around 4:45 eastern. I can't wait to get "the call" this evening. I'm not sure who is more excited, my son or me!

    I have a question for you. Where did you find the predicted PIR date? I'd like to go ahead and book a room as well but was waiting until I have more information. Thanks. 



    Mike said:

    Well, my son will be getting to Great Lakes later today. I dropped him off with the recruiter yesterday; he spent the night @ a hotel not far from MEPS & the airport.
    Now it’s wait for a call, a box, and a letter, we are confirmed @ Navy Lodge on the predicted PIR date and will make flight reservations after PIR confirmation.
    This is a GREAT site for information thanks admin guys for setting it up and keeping it current. Reading about what Great Lakes is like now is awesome for me; I reported there in January 1977 & retired almost 13 years ago.
    I currently work on the Norfolk Naval base and can tell you the youth of today are much, much better prepared than I ever was. Well, at least much smarter than I.

  • Blake Owen December 9, 2014 at 2:41pm

    I figured as much when I saw my son's DEP shirt in there. He wasn't planning on keeping it because he wore it out. The Navy will change policies over night and twice on Sunday then reinstate them the next day.

  • Jay Thompson December 9, 2014 at 2:36pm

    update on "The Box".....it arrived today with every single item he left with inside. So much for the plan of tossing everything. Without actually speaking with the boy, I'm guessing he wasn't given a choice (no independent thinking from a recruit?) and he just shoved everything in the box. I did tell him to do what he's told, go with the flow, find the path of least resistance, etc so for anyone out there thinking of doing what I did and have your son toss everything upon arrival...forget about it. That hideous sweater he wanted to get rid of? Nope. He's stuck with it. His Aunt will be soooo happy (snicker)

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