My son arrived at RTC on 8/26, and to my great surprise & delight, he called home today. This was not one of the regularly scheduled calls. He's been through the first few P-Days, and stuck on P-Hold as more recruits fill up the division. He said that in spite of being a little homesick, joining the Navy was the best decision of his life. That was extremely gratifying to hear! He shared some impressions with me, so I will pass them along to you.
-My son is very satisfied with the food. Good main courses with salads, fruits, and soups available as well.
-Ship (03) is in good shape and well taken care of. Good facilities. Cleaned daily. :-)
-The initial yelling was not as bad as expected. But when RDCs want to get the SRs attention, they are very skilled at getting it.
-If there are rule violations, the "IPE" can be tough. IPE is a little extra physical exercise that helps ALL the SRs (not just the guilty SRs) learn to follow the rules.
-P-Hold is not very entertaining. It's a lot of cleaning, studying, folding, studying, marching, stenciling and studying. You might have noticed they study a lot. (My SR is looking forward to the other facets of training, starting soon.)
-Days begin at either 0400 or 0600, depending upon what is planned. The "alarm clock" can be abrupt.
- Shots and blood-draws are routine, but not too bad. The Peanut Butter shot stings going it, but it's not as bad as its reputation.
-If your future sailor has time, learn the General Orders, Sailor's Creed, and the Chain of Command in advance. If not, they WILL learn them in RTC.
Seems like a lot of parents say their SRs are homesick at beginning, but it passes once they learn the routine. I hope the same holds true for your SR too. Good Luck!
Replies
Jeremy Day Pesnell said:
I really wasn't expecting her to enlist after high school, but she said she missed her Navy family after I retired, so off she went.
I was there in 1993, right before the change over from three boot camps to one. It has changed a lot since then as well.
Have a good one,
Jeremy
Thank you Greg. I was there in 1981 and it sounds like things have changed for the better. Looks like my Sailor reported week after yours Chief Pesnell. Your pic is small but don't think I saw any stars. Looks like your daughter joined the "family" business just like my son. And your stars will come in time I assure you. If the Navy gave me two, yours are surely in the bag. Still waiting on the form letter here.
Have a great night,
Don
Great stuff Greg, congrats on hearing from you Sailor!
We received our daughter's form letter today; she shipped out on 9/1. She is in Ship 11, Div 362 and is graduating 10/30, so she must be waiting for enough people to get there as well being that she'll be there a little over nine weeks.
I hope everything is going as well for her as it sounds like it is for your son. I was there in 1993 and I don't remember it being so bad.
Great recommendation about the General Orders. I know she didn't have them down going into bootcamp, but she will soon learn, I'm sure of it.
Have a good one!
Jeremy