Welcome to boot camp. Here's a few things that will help you out in the first few weeks.

How will I know that my recruit has arrived safely?
You will get a very short (5-10 second) call from your recruit soon after s/he arrives at RTC Great Lakes . It sounds like they are reading from a script "Hi (Mom, Dad, Honey), I arrived safely. You will get a box of my things in the mail in about a week. I can't talk, I will call again in about a month. I love you. Bye." This call may come as late as 2 am, or as early as 5 p.m.

If your recruit brought his or her cell phone with them you will be able to talk and/or text while they are at their hotel, a little at MEPS, at the airport in your home area, and at the airport in Chicago. They may be in the Chicago airport USO for several hours waiting for the Navy bus that transports them to boot camp. They will eat dinner at the airport (the Navy gives them a "food chit" to pay for it). As soon as they get on the bus, they have to turn off their phone.

Recruits who have their cell phones are usually allowed to make that last call home on their own phone.

When will I get my recruit's address?
You may be able to learn your recruit's division assignment and address from his/her recruiter. If your recruiter can not find the information, you may have to wait until your form letter.

What is The Box?
The first thing you will get is "The Box." Warning: this is a FedEx box of dirty laundry, clothes they have been wearing for 2-3 days and their cell phone and anything else they brought with them. Open with caution, sometimes it reeks. This box arrives 4-7 days after their arrival in boot camp.

The ONLY things they will be allowed to keep are their wallet, a small religious medal (it must be the same size or smaller than dog tags), a small religious text (Bible/Torah/Book of Shadows, etc), a tiny address book and possibly writing materials. Everything else goes in The Box.

Some RDCs do not allow even the address book and writing paper, they have Navy stationary for recruits to use. Put an activated phone card, a book of stamps and basic addresses and phone numbers in the wallet, just in case. Forget the list the recruiter sent of items that recruits can have, even tiny shampoo bottles will be sent home.

When will I get my recruit's graduation information?
The form letter usually arrives 7 to 10 days after your recruit's arrival at Great Lakes. it has a lot of information including the exact address, your recruit's PIR date, and about six lines for your recruit to send a short note home. It also has tourist and hotel information for the Great Lakes area. Keep this letter in a safe place, it also has the internet password for your graduation parking pass.

When will I get *real* mail?
Recruits will not be allowed to write home for their first week or two. Igot my first real letter about a week and a half after I got the form letter. Your letters may not catch up to them for about three weeks, so those first few letters may ask why you're not writing. don't panic, it will get to them. Date your letters so your recruit knows when they were sent.

They are only allowed to mail letters out on Sunday (they actually get sent Monday), so expect your letters Wednesday or Thursday, and on weeks with a post office holiday, Thursday or Friday. Unless you live very close to Chicago, then it's Tuesday/Wednesday.

When will my recruit get to call home?
You will probably not get another phone call until about four weeks after your recruits arrive, unless they call to get more information for their security clearance. They probably won't be allowed to chat at that time, they are to give you a list of items they need, and a phone number to fax it to.

Your next phone call will at the end of Week 3, which is actually their fourth or fifth week - the first week is processing and does not count towards training. Recruits have three guaranteed calls during boot camp: the "I'm here" call the night they arrive, the "I'm still alive" call in the 3rd week of training, and the "I'm a sailor" call in their 7th week. Any other calls have to be earned. Some divisions earn a half-dozen calls, others never earn an extra call.

How can I get in touch with other moms/girlfriends/wives from my recruit's division?
As you learn your PIR date, look for a PIR group to join. You will have between 7 and 15 divisions per PIR group. Since there are usually only 5-10 moms from each division, and groups are at about the same level of training, you will find better conversations among PIR groups than just a single division.

Also, don't discount your recruit's brother divisions for information. Brother divisions are other divisions on the same day of training. Because of limited time and space for classrooms and training buildings,divisions start training on different days, 2 or 3 each day.

For example, Div 001, Div 002 and Div 003 all start day 1-1 on Monday. On Tuesday Div 004, 005 and 006 start day 1-1, etc. Divisions who are on the same day of training are "brother divisions." They get to know each other a bit.