One month and counting

Posted by Jeff Lawson on July 17, 2015 at 5:25am

My son has one month now until he goes to MEPS and then off to Great Lakes on the 18th.  He is incredibly excited and we are for him as well!   Then he'll be off to Lackland AFB for A school for his MA rating.

Poor guy is getting 3 teeth pulled today but we agreed it best now instead of having it done during basic and possibly putting him a couple of days behind (and also in case there were any complications).

Now is crunch time for him - tying up loose ends, spending time with friends, etc before he ships out.  Is there anything we should be thinking of regarding him tying up any loose ends (financial, etc) that we may not have thought of?  I hate for him to get to Great Lakes and then think "oh crap, we forgot to do that".  Thanks in advance.

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  • Jeff Lawson August 11, 2015 at 5:06am

    2474941089?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024My son ships out to Great Lakes exactly one week from today!   He's starting to get a "little" nervous, but overall the excitement outweighs that - a lot!   Reality is setting in for him as he begins to pack up his room and say "see ya later" to many of his friends.   He got ME a going away gift of this license plate frame, which I will proudly display on my ride.  Secretly this has started to become somewhat heart wrenching, but I'm sure not going to let him know that.  We've had some great discussions (and will continue to) about responsibility, service, working hard and his love for this country.  Like all of you, we are extremely proud of Scott and are excited for this new adventure in life.  He has his last DEPS meeting today too.  Thank you all for contributing to this site and for the interaction you allow a nervous dad to bring to the table.

    P.S. - I watched the USS George Washington (CVN 73) pull into San Diego yesterday via live camera feed and THAT my friends was incredibly awe inspiring!

  • Navy Dads Co-Admin Tom July 28, 2015 at 3:26pm

    Do they fingerprint in more than one room????....LOL!

  • Jeff Lawson July 28, 2015 at 12:09pm

    My son just go to work after missing half a day at MEPS to get his fingerprints.   As he was walking in, either his recruiter or MEPS called him and said, "You need to go back.  They (whomever 'they' would be) told him the wrong room to go into and he has to go back to MEPS immediately to get re-printed.  I have NEVER in my life seen such a runaround for a kid trying to join the Navy.  HOPEFULLY the remainder of the journey will be smooth.    Fingers crossed.

  • Jeff Lawson July 28, 2015 at 10:16am

    Down to 3 weeks!   Three weeks tonight my son will be pulling into Great Lakes to begin the journey and he is so excited!  His last day working will be Friday, so he'll have a couple of weeks to continue studying and working out, visit friends, tie up loose ends, sell a motorcycle, pack up his room for storage, etc.

    To say this entire process has been smooth would be a complete understatement.  He started out last October visiting a recruiter at a different office who never turned in any of his paperwork and provided him with bad info.  Once we switched recruiters we were off and running...........well, ok........waiting.   We've had other frustrations along the way like MEPS losing or not completing all paperwork, DEPS meetings that last about 20-30 minutes, and today.........another set of fingerprints because MEPS couldn't read all of them from months ago.  It wouldn't be so frustrating, but it always happens in the middle of a work day.   Like I tell my son, "Welcome to the US Government"!

  • Brad July 21, 2015 at 3:44pm

    The weaponry is minimal at Boot Camp. Better time spent learning his 11 general orders and Navy Chain of Command.  

  • Jeff Lawson July 20, 2015 at 1:54pm

    Yep, running is the one thing he is concerned about.   Once he gets healed from the oral surgery he'll be cramming on his running for sure.

    Tom L said:

    ....and run.....that gets a lot of the new Recruits.....

  • Navy Dads Co-Admin Tom July 20, 2015 at 12:42pm

    ....and run.....that gets a lot of the new Recruits.....

  • Jeff Lawson July 20, 2015 at 10:58am

    Teeth pulled and recovering.   My son is familiar with weapons and we are going shooting towards the end of the month with the same or very similar weapons he will find at Great Lakes as well as a couple in A school. 

    He has a gym membership but hasn't used it much.  I've also given him countless links and hard copies of GO's, etc...    But I'm just the dad.  What do I know?   He'll figure it out, even if he has to study extra hard and play catchup at basic.   Thanks for the replies.

  • NavyDads Admin (Paul) July 17, 2015 at 9:41am

    He can start some studying- General orders, etc: http://www.bootcamp.navy.mil/pdfs/Recruit_Trainee_Guide_rev_A_July_...

  • Jim Sokol July 17, 2015 at 7:24am
    Hello Jeff, be sure your son is starting a routine exercise program including swimming. This will help make the physical aspects much easer at Great Lakes. If he's not already familiar with weapons, get him exposure with hand guns to help him ribbon through his training. All the best ahead!
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