Ryan's Navy Boot Camp Experience

[Richard H. Hughes, III]

Thus far we've had only one call from Ryan and no letters. The letters are expected to arrive any day. If Mama can hold out until one arrives, it'll be a miracle. The phone call came on 8-15, five days after he left home. It lasted a whole one minute forty three seconds thanks to one of the other fellows angering the sarge. Ryan didn't say whether or not it was he who did the angering. Ha. They were all promised a ten minute call initially.He said that for the first couple days he wondered what he'd gotten himself into. How many times have you heard that? When I asked him if he had regretted his choice to join, he said emphatically that he loved it!

[Lee]

So far, your son's experience is pretty common as you will learn on this site. All it takes is one person to screw up and the phone calls are the first thing to go. My son wonder about what he had gotten himself into, but he used much more colorful language to describe his first few weeks at RTC. Hang in there and write as often as you can. They can only write on Sundays, but one of the biggest thrills for these sailors is getting letters from home no matter how mundane they may be. I always triedt o find encouraging things to send my son as well as quote from famous military personnel which he said really help. Hang on for the time of your life as a parent of a sailor!

[cotysmom]

Ryans Dad,
My son graduated a month ago and he said the same things that Ryan said but, he says that he loves it as well. He will be fine and let me tell you I waited and waited to get that call from Coty. It was right at four weeks when the call came in and we talked for about fourty five minutes. I could just tell by the way that he had sounded on the phone that he was developing into a man. It might sound crazy but, it is true.
Ryan will be kept busy and may not be able to write much. I think that I had gotten maybe four letters out of the eight weeks that Coty was there. I wrote him everyday and he said that he looked foward to those letters. Although going to work and coming home is not an exciting life, he loved every letter that he got. He told me that when he would get his letters, it was much easier to tolerate. The Navy Dads have been great and walked me through being a new Navy mom. I did what they said and only wrote uplifting letters and cheerleading notes. Believe me, it was what he needed. He told me that there were times that he doubted he could make it and the words in my letters would come to his mind and he just couldn't give up. He is now in MA school in Texas and is loving it. I sent his cellphone to him about a week after he arrived and he calls four to five times a week. Hang in there, write great letters and get ready for the most amazing thing other than his birth and that is hearing his voice for the first time in weeks. You came to a great place for encouragement.

[Raul Azpiazu]

Congratulations! We are anxiously waiting for that initial call. What day did he arrive at Boot Camp?