Thomas....adjacent to where the RTC/PIR ceremony entrance is...there is a train station parking lot very close to a walk-thru gate into the PIR ceremony complex. We arrived at 0530 and parked in that train station lot for $3.00, which is good for the entire day, and then around 0600-0615 we lined up at the walk thru gate where security personnel checked our IDs. By doing this I wound up being the 4th person into the PIR hall and literally had my choice of seating. It should be noted that this will only benefit those "invited" by the Sailor on his authorized guest list....which is verified at a secondary checkpoint. You may want to locate the gate/parking lot the day before PIR to get your bearings...that's what I did.
If you don't mind waking up with the catfish, this should get you a great seat. Congratulations to your Sailor....enjoy!
We arrived at 0555 and there were 4 cars ahead of us. The new process is quicker but we wanted to be able to see and talk with our recruit before the ceremony.
We arrived @ 7:30am and I felt like we should have arrived at least 30 minutes earlier. What we missed out on was the best seating, the ones right in the middle. The lower level center sections were pretty full but we got a decent seat upstairs. They have some refreshments available inside, drinks and snacks.
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Thomas....adjacent to where the RTC/PIR ceremony entrance is...there is a train station parking lot very close to a walk-thru gate into the PIR ceremony complex. We arrived at 0530 and parked in that train station lot for $3.00, which is good for the entire day, and then around 0600-0615 we lined up at the walk thru gate where security personnel checked our IDs. By doing this I wound up being the 4th person into the PIR hall and literally had my choice of seating. It should be noted that this will only benefit those "invited" by the Sailor on his authorized guest list....which is verified at a secondary checkpoint. You may want to locate the gate/parking lot the day before PIR to get your bearings...that's what I did.
If you don't mind waking up with the catfish, this should get you a great seat. Congratulations to your Sailor....enjoy!
We arrived at 0555 and there were 4 cars ahead of us. The new process is quicker but we wanted to be able to see and talk with our recruit before the ceremony.
We arrived @ 7:30am and I felt like we should have arrived at least 30 minutes earlier. What we missed out on was the best seating, the ones right in the middle. The lower level center sections were pretty full but we got a decent seat upstairs. They have some refreshments available inside, drinks and snacks.