New Dad

[Ron Cihak]

My son Andrew is leaving August 4th for Boot Camp.  I drop him off at 10AM at the recruiting office.  I am very proud.  He is the first member of the family to serve since my dad served from 42-45 in the Pacific.  He has been around since he was a baby and this is going to leave a big hole.  Selfish I guess.

[Ron Cihak]

Other than a phone card, is there anything I should get him or do for him before he goes?

[Paul Barger]

My son leaves Aug 5th from Indianapolis.I have to drop my son off at the recruiting office at 9:30 on the 4th as well. He is following my footsteps as well as my 3 brothers. He will be missed but bootcamp goes by quickly believe me. It will also make him more mature just as Ronald said below. I am very excited for him I also cannot wait till graduation it will be the first time I have been back at GL since 1978 I am sure alot has changed. Maybe they will be in the same division Ill have to check back with you when they get their assigned companies.

[Patrick J. Doherty]

My son arrived at GL 22/23 July.  His box arrived home the 28th July WITH the stamps and addresses that he brought with him......in addition to everything else I xpected to find.  With that in mind, I think the only items our sons are permitted to keep with them are the cash/driver license/ss card/paperwork for electronic deposit.  yes, his toothbrush even came home, LOL.

Congratulations to you, Ron.....Am still thinking about my son most moments of each day knowing he is in good hands and believing in him.  Ask your son's recruiter to help provide you with your son's address - that helped me get letters in the mail sooner.  His form letter arrived today, July 31, 2014.  Very pleased with the Navy keeping us as informed as they can..  - Pat

[Ron Cihak]

Congratulations on your son. I have heard the only thing he gets to keep is th
e small bible and you can write important addresses and phone numbers in the back. Other than that I guess he needs nothing. I am giving him an old cell phone he can not worry about getting shipped home safely.

[Chuck]

My son Andrew left this past Tuesday. He walked out of the house in a T shirt and a pair of shorts with a stick of deodorant in one pocket, his phone card in the other, and a bunch of required paperwork. As I watched, I thought that, aside from the deodorant and phone card, he had as much with him as when he came home from the hospital after his birth some 21 odd years ago. And I had 21 years of memories.
I received the 30 second "I am here" call this morning at 0130. (His specific statement was, "I am here and having fun").
We'll all deal with this in different ways. I don't expect it will get easier, but I do expect it to will get familiar. In the meantime I will jump on my bike, or put on my running shoes, or hop on the rowing machine and have my own personal time with him once a day, every day. And after that, I'll write. Cheers.

[Ron Cihak]

Great Attitude!  I hope I get there.  My biggest fear is not missing him, it is that he get's out of the experience that for which he was looking.  I have to check and see if there is an online course like "Learning not to worry about your kid 101".

[NavyDads Admin (Paul)]

You're always gonna worry Ronald...the difficult part is dealing with the transition from the little boy or girl you've known for all these years to an adult doing a very adult thing.....whether we like it or not, our kids have grown up!!!!!

[Ron Cihak]

The funny thing is that Andrew doesn't think I believe he is grown up because I still worry about him.  One day when he has kids of his own he will realize that I worry not because I don't trust him, have confidence in him or am not proud of him.  I worry because I love him so much I have no other option.

Andrew is a great young man, never in trouble, no drugs, no carousing, Eagle Scout.  I have all the faith in the world in him. I still worry.  

When he was little we had this little joke.  Every night when I put him to bed I used to hug him so hard and say "I am going to squeeze you down to yesterday size so you never grow up".  It didn't work.  LOL

[Navy Dads Co-Admin Tom]

Maybe not.....but keep squeezing anyways! I wish your SR the best of luck...and Welcome to the Navy family!

[Chris Black]

My son Hunter had his PIR this past March; we saw him then, and we saw him again this past weekend on a trip to Chicago. After six months at GL it is pretty phenomenal to see the change he has undergone. My son is a man now. It was harder to leave him this time than it was after PIR; I'm not sure why. I guess we never stop missing and worrying about them. I am very proud of him, though, and happy that he is doing what he is doing. My biggest fear was that he would regret having enlisted once he got to GL, but he has jumped into Navy life with both feet. Enlisting was the right decision for him.

[Ron Cihak]

That is also my biggest fear.  Want him to be happy.  Thanks for your story. 

[Paul Barger]

My son left Indianapolis this afternoon and just did his phone call home at least it wasn't at midnight. Like others have said it seemed scripted for the most part. He got to talk around 2 minutes and then had to go. And so training begins, there was alot of sad faces seeing him leave today. We get another call in 3 weeks so I have a question. I know alot of you have already gone through this so when he calls after that 3 weeks do they get to talk longer? Things are so different than when I was in basic up there. I would like to talk with anyone else who's kids went up there today because they may be in the same unit, especially your son Ron. 

Paul