the BIG day – Graduation from Basic!

July 18, 2008 · Filed Under Basic Training, Military Parents · 3 Comments 

Progress and Graduation:

And the countdown continues!  You worry, and hope for that call (by the way, this is something you’ll be doing for a long time!) Progress is hard to judge, since you aren’t getting calls or letters. BUT – the military thought of this.  There are sites for you to check on what the class is doing – see their schedule and wonder how they pack it all in.  There are links to the sites listed below

SSM: Most units have a web page where you can at least access a syllabus of their training regimen week by week and track their progress towards “graduation”.  And whatever you do — if you can make the graduation — DO IT! You’ll never regret it.

Lela:  parents can get a lot of info on what mail to do (or not do) from the websites, as well as training schedules.  The site really helped me deal with the “no news is good news” part of wondering why my son didn’t write.  I looked at his schedule, saw how chock full it was, or that there was a test coming up, and it eased the worry.

GRADUATION!

Finally – it ends.  They are graduating, and it’s impressive! Now – the graduation date can change.. a few times.  Keep an eye on the website!

The DAY:  First, you meet up at the barracks.. and it’s hard to recognize your recruit!    There are rules that the recruit cannot leave post before graduation.  In some cases, they need a “post pass” to be able to leave the company area – on Knox you can hit the museum, or the bowling alley (which was packed with parents, recruits, brothers and sisters, girlfriends, wives, kids… a very happy place) They have curfew, and cannot drink alcohol. Don’t let them get into trouble on the last night.. because they can and have been set back at the last minute.

They have made battle buddies that they may or may not see again, but for that time, that place, they were closer than anyone else can imagine.  They grew up, lost weight, are suddenly amazingly polite and stand at parade rest when talking to you,  they made a huge decision and are making more every day.

The ceremony is done as only the military can do it.  Marching, music.. and then they put their hands up and take that oath.  There were a lot of tears during that ceremony.. a lot of tears and memories.  Remembering that little boy who learned to ride a bike, the little girl getting on the school bus for the first time by herself, the child who went away to Scout camp, all grown up now.  It was a moment none of us will ever forget.

LINKS:

ARMY

http://www.goarmy.com/life/basic/index.jsp The Army site

http://www.jackson.army.mil/ Ft. Jackson

http://www.knox.army.mil/school/194arbde/index.htm Ft. Knox

http://www.wood.army.mil/HQ310/ Ft. Leonard Wood

http://sill-www.army.mil/434/index.htm Ft. Sill

https://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/ Ft. Benning

NAVY

http://www1.netc.navy.mil/nstc/ Naval Service Command – Great Lakes

MARINES

http://www.mcrdpi.usmc.mil/ Parris Island

http://www.mcrdsd.usmc.mil/ San Diego

AIR FORCE

http://www.lackland.af.mil/units/737trg.asp Air Force – Lackland

COAST GUARD

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/capemay/ Cape May – Coast Guard

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OKINAWA – information needed

July 17, 2008 · Filed Under This & That · Comment 

we had a question in the comments section, that needs to be up here, where everyone can see it…

“Now, I have a question for the parent zone, my son is leaving in 20 days for Okinawa and is a bachelor and I would like to know how many pounds he is allowed to send over there. I know it is different then my daughter and son that are married which get to send a ridiculous amount but my son didn’t get the amount in his briefings this week. I was wondering if anyone had a quick answer for me so I could pack a bachelor kitchen. I guess it wasn’t in the briefings as he is the only one going oversees in his graduating class. So, thank you for any advice you can give me about this tropical island.
Nanceoso
Can anyone help here?   Post your answers here, we’ll make sure Nanceoso gets them!

LAW

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Boot Camp Crud – Part 3 of Boot Camp Basic

July 17, 2008 · Filed Under Basic Training, Military Parents · 4 Comments 

The Crud -

Recipe:

Take 30 or so men (or women) from all over the country and all their accompanying germs.

Add: Very little sleep

Stress and tension

Strange food, eaten at full tilt

Physical training and running everywhere

Sleeping in close quarters

Result: The Crud – usually a nagging, nasty, cough/cold, sinus involvement possible.

Your recruit will get sick. No matter how healthy, how prepared with running and physical training – your recruit will get the Crud. They ARE allowed to go to the clinic, but you will find your recruit will not want to – for whatever reason. They are scared that they will miss something important. Don’t worry, if they really get very sick, the Drill Instructor will make them go! One mom sent a LARGE box of bandaids – all sizes.  BLISTERS!  Those new boots will rub in some strange places.

LAW – our son’s biggest request was for cough drops. My husband thought it was for candy – sweet is sweet, but we found out that every one had a cold! His drill Sgt – at graduation- thanked me for sending the box of Halls that I shipped (of course I had to strain to hear him.. he had laryngitis!)

SSM – Navy, Marine or Army (I haven’t heard this from any AF moms) — they all get it — do you know that is why they sleep foot/head/foot head at boot camp? so no one is breathing on any other recruit!! (doesn’t help — they all get it anyway!

Lela: He did send me a note asking for vitamins and sore throat drops.  They get the Boot Camp Crud at Parris Island as well.  Everyone got sick at some point, according to my son.  He also asked for bug spray to try to combat the sand fleas.  According to him, it didn’t work.

So- did yours get the Crud, or something different?  Any other suggestions?

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Let’s get down to Basics – Part Two

July 15, 2008 · Filed Under Basic Training, Care Packages, Military Parents · 2 Comments 

Mail (from home type, multiple)

Mail call is the highlight of the day – and the more mail the better. BUT, and this is a big but, there are rules about what can be sent. Letters, cards, pictures, those are fine. Funny cards can lift the spirits; newspaper articles or the funnies, or the local paper are great. NO Pornography, NO food, NO candy, NO alcohol or other contraband. The packages will be opened, and your recruit will pay the price. Extra PT (physical training) can result, and the heartbreak of watching the drill instructor EATING those goodies in front of the unit, is really adding insult to injury…Things like cough drops are allowed, and in fact are a good idea to send – all those recruits from other parts of the country – all those germs, lots of physical activity and lack of sleep, means their immunity system is down, and they ALL get colds. (But that’s tomorrow’s topic)

SSM: The Army son’s unit also had a contest to see which soldier received the most mail and received the most pictures from home — and our son’s friends certainly got into the spirit of it as he won the most mail and the most pictures contests… However, no food could be sent and the Sgt.s confiscated any food… opening the packages in front of the unit — home baked goods they kept for themselves and destroyed all the rest.  If a recruit received food (or other contraband — alcohol, cigarettes, porn, etc.) the recruit was “smoked” (severe physical training to the point of barfing).

LAW – my son’s request was for cough drops but he loved the cards – I’d send a couple a week, as did his girlfriend at the time. My husband told me – NO food… I so wanted to send a box of cookies, but we knew the rules. Mail call was so important! Any encouraging news, or news about the dogs, the neighbours, old friends, any news at all. But telling him how proud we were of him, really helped him get through it.

SSM: My advice to parents is to remember the military (mom’s) mantra: “no news is good news ’cause bad news travels fast” and to just keep writing those letters, sending funny cards and getting as many of their friends and family to do the same!! Your son or daughter will be sore, tired, depressed, home sick… and they need all the support they can get — even if you don’t hear back from them! They haven’t forgotten you and will call just as soon as they can!

From Lela: [my son] told me that it was heartbreaking to see packages with food destroyed or eaten by the DI’s when they were soooooo hungry.  He did send me a note asking for vitamins and sore throat drops.  He also asked for bug spray to try to combat the sand fleas.  According to him, it didn’t work.  Mostly, he wanted pictures of the family to attach to the inside of his “cover” or hat.  He said it really helped to have them there as a reminder of who he was and why he was going thru hell.  He did tell me that the cards and letters from the family were a real boost, even though he didn’t reply to most of them …. he chose sleep.

Please let us know what your recruit wanted – any good ideas for new parents?  What did your recruit ask you for specifically?

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