Navy Nukes

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Comment by James B on June 12, 2015 at 12:58pm

Ron,

We took our sailor out for some quick sightseeing and nice dinner after graduation. We went to the Lake Bluff area a little south of the base so she could actually see the lake before she left. They have been at Great lakes and in the Navy for over 2 months but have not even seen the Lake. They all leave at some stupid time in the morning and have long layovers so we got a room at the Airport Hilton. That was a bit pricey but it worked out nice. There is an underground hallway from the hotel to an elevator that takes you right to the gate. The hotel was nice and she was able to invite a few of her friends to the hotel where they got access to the business center and  computers and such. We brought her tablet and cell phone which is not a problem. Since we had quite a wait until their buss rolls in, we were able to search out the correct gate and know how long it took to get there and such with help from the hotel staff. When the bus arrived from base, they all piled out and the fun starts. I was in the Navy many moons ago and now travel all the time so I got a kick out of all those new sailors being let loose. It is somewhat organized as they put a few of them in charge of getting everyone going to the same spot on the plane at the right time but don't really tell them anything just give them tickets and a flight number. So the leaders are leading packs of sailors from one terminal to another carrying all their gear and clumping in groups hoping the ticket counter open up and they were "coached" to the correct terminal. It was still real early in the morning and counters were not officially open but you could tell the United staff was not overly eager to take on that many sailors just yet so they let sailors muddle around for a long time. We gave our sailor her phone and went back to the room and she called as soon as they were finally ticked and released a little after 6:00am. They can't leave the Airport but since the Hilton is in the Airport there was no problem for her and a few Nuke friends to come back to the Hotel. The other sailors went to the USO or just wondered around until they had to muster back up to wait at the gate before the flight. It was worth the extra money just watching the sailors go from bootcamp to the Hilton. They went from getting screamed at by petty officers to receiving "Thank you for you service" from civilians. Just don't make the mistake I did and do valet parking at the hotel $$$. Good luck 

Comment by Ron Fordham on June 12, 2015 at 12:18pm

Charlie, thanks a bunch. I read where the sailors go to the airport all at once between 1 and 3am no matter if their flight is early or later that day after graduation. We'll get her flight info after PIR so we can follow then too. Then hopefully we can meet her at the airline sales counter before going through security and get a pass for us, her brother and her boyfriend to accompany her to the gate. REALLY happy to hear about that starbucks! We'll pray for a later flight that day for our sailor. You guys are awesome to answer all this for us newbies.

Comment by Charlie Knotts on June 12, 2015 at 11:30am

Ron,
We had lunch after PIR, we also had a quick dinner before they had to return to GL. We followed them to O'Hare and got a snack at the USO around 2:00 in the morning.
The airlines gave us a gate pass so we could see our son off. I think the flight left at around 8:30. There was a Starbucks at the gate so you can get a cup of coffee after being awake for a couple of days.

Comment by Ron Fordham on June 12, 2015 at 11:16am

Rocco. Oh my gosh.... More stories of what to expect the better. But it will be hard to top that one, I'm sure... wow. 

Comment by Rocco A Cavallo on June 12, 2015 at 10:40am

I'll throw in my two cents after graduation we grab some food at Great Lakes Naval station until my son got things settled. Well he also got married that day at the Waukegan court house followed by dinner with he and his bride at Cheese Cake Factory. His orders were to report at around 2 am for the bus to Ohare with a flight to Charleston at 4 pm needless to say it was a long day at the airport as we spent that time there rather than leaving. Eventually he was on the plane with his phone and other electronics for Nuke school. As for us we stayed on for the 18 inches of snow that weekend before flying home to Florida. Probably too much information and I hope I didn't bore you but probably many similar stories to ours. Good Luck and thanks for being part of the Navy family!

Comment by Ron Fordham on June 12, 2015 at 10:05am

Charlie, did you have lunch right before the flight? or was that after PIR? And I assume we won't know how much time we have for what till we see her after PIR and find out what her schedule is for the day, and when her flight schedule is for Charleston. 

Comment by Ron Fordham on June 12, 2015 at 10:01am

Charlie, Joe, thanks for the info guys. We'll take the phone and pray the flight stays on schedule... we'll save the other stuff for when we see her again in about a month or so when we are allowed to take her car to her.

Comment by Charlie Knotts on June 11, 2015 at 8:45pm

We went with our son to the airport and gave him his phone, some underwear and a couple of personal items he wanted.

We also took some other sailors out to lunch and the mall in Gurney. We ended up carrying stuff to the airport for them as well. 

Wishing your daughter all the best. My son graduates from power school 7/10 and then is off to Ballston Spa. It isn't easy but he has enjoyed his time there and met some really great people.

Comment by Joe M on June 11, 2015 at 7:43pm

@Ron Fordham:  We had no issues with such items, as long as they can fit in their carry on bag and are ok with TSA.   The only concern (and not sure if true) was they would have problems if they had to return to RTC (i.e. flight cancelled) where such items were prohibited.

Comment by Ron Fordham on June 11, 2015 at 9:07am

Hi, newbie here. i have a quick question. Once our daughter graduates from boot camp. I've heard different stories of what she can take to "A" school in Charleston. When we meet her at the airport, can we give her her small iPod sized laptop and phone to take on the plane with her to "A" school? Are there any restrictions on what she can take with her from the airport, like a small bag packed with "goodies" from her mom including her small go-pro camera, makeup, small amount of clothes etc? These answers might be on the site but I fear it would take hours to find it. Hopefully you guys can tell me these answers that I can pass on to my wife! 

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