Delayed entry

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Permalink Reply by Irene McClure on July 30, 2008 at 5:35pm

Hi Jackie,My daughter Heather Delayed entry.First let him enjoy his senior year that is also a big time for him. Then about april kind of get your self a little ready step by step. I don't know if your recruiter does this-Heather went to the recruiter office every Thursday for training and meetings. Then she would work out in the local gym and would run at the local park at least once a day. Then before she left she would run 2times a day. They went to ahotel the night before leaving and went to spend some time with her we had a couple of her close friends go with us and went to dinner-sat around and stayed til about 9 that night and then she called the next night for about 15 seconds( the shortest call ever for her). The only thing she took with her was a very small back pack-the clothes she wore-PJ's- another shirt-clean under clothes-travel size deoderant-toothpaste-shampoo-body wash.That's it-then we get it all back with in a weekexcept her travel size stuff.Then with in a week we had her new address and wrote her- that will be very important to the kids. We would send a picture or two nothing bigger than a 4x6. No food-no big packages- they have little space to store stuff. Enjoy your time with him now. I know your a proud mom. Make memories for him now. Take pictures.Good Luck! if you have any questions feel free to ask. this isa great site. We support each other. I have pic's on my site-check it out.

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Permalink Reply by Carol McCord on July 30, 2008 at 11:12pm

Heather took a back pack? All my son took was the clothes on his back and a shaving kit with toothbrush, soap, 3oz shampoo and deoderant. And pretty much all that came back to us in a box! :)

Seriously, when your recruit leaves for boot camp you will probalby drop him/her at the recruiting office and when they get to BC they will be required to call you and let you know they arrived (but it's a 10 sec. script so don't plan to ask questions). About a week later you will get a box with all the civilian items they took ... with some navy literature including brief information and the address where you can write your recruit. Always include the ship/div. number. Write your recruit often. They have limited contact with the outside world and really appreciate the letters. Don't expect too much contact from your recruit. They only have time on Sundays to write letters and that's also the day they take care of all other personal matters ... ironing, etc. Phone calls are even more rare. Oh, and the first time they get chewed out by a commander ... expect the next communication to have a blue note. Don't worry. They will likely get over it before you do.

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Permalink Reply by Theresa on July 30, 2008 at 6:13pm

Devon,
Great advice but I don't understand "the referrals". My son doesn't tell me anything. He's also a DEPer and leaves in Oct. Thanks
Theresa

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Permalink Reply by Karyn (Michael's mom) on July 30, 2008 at 6:28pm

Theresa, referrals means that the more people your child gets to the recruiter and sign up also, the higher rank he can come out of boot camp with. I think if they get a minimum of 3 (if I remember right) they get E-2 (higher rank, more money).

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Permalink Reply by Sheri on July 30, 2008 at 7:16pm

Hello, You will get a phone call once he gets there. One thing I would suggest is that if your son is going to do the early program during highschool at the recruiting office before he goes in, is to really watch the paper work. My son faithfully went in all during his senior year in order to be up one rank when he went to Aschool and because him and his buddy didn't get the right papers signed, they didn't get the advance. They still learned alot, but it would have been nice. That was the first lesson on making sure your papers are in order always! Boot camp was hard, but it went by fast...at least for us. We live in Chicago, so my husband would stop outside the base and watch the guys march just looking for a glimpse of our sailor. Letters are what we got (no emails) and a rare phone call if he earned it. Dave's only got less than a year to go, of 5, so boot camp seems really far away, however I will tell you one of the best moments in my life was graduation, along with my vet husband and WW2 vet dad...bring kleenex!

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Permalink Reply by Debbie on July 30, 2008 at 7:31pm

My daughter just signed her papers a couple of weeks ago and still has to do her senior year of high school. When does your son leave for bootcamp? What job did he pick? My daughter leaves August 19, 2009. She will be going to AC (Air Traffic Control 'A' School). This site has wonderful information. Also search the internet there are other great sites out there too. There is a ton of info out there. Good luck...

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Permalink Reply by Jackie on July 31, 2008 at 11:02am

He leaves Aug 18th. He will be a mechanical tech working with the turbines, ect. He has a part time job now where he welds and such so it will be right up his alley!

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Permalink Reply by Andrew's Mom on July 30, 2008 at 7:33pm

Hi my son is also in DEP--he leaves 30th Sept--this is all you need--I have had more support and information from this site than I ever thought possible--BUT--dont be afraid to call his recruiter. My son has to spend 8 hours a month with the recruiter--and call in every Monday after the weekend to tell them he isnt in jail LOL---He never tells me anything, so if i have a question and need it faster than I can get it here--which is rare--I just call his recruiter--he is always very helpful and as far as i know doesnt think I am a crazy lady!!---Welcome aboard--this is a great site

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Permalink Reply by Jackie on July 31, 2008 at 11:04am

Our son said that the 1st Mon. of every month he has to report to his recruiter. I will get to meet her on Friday. I already have my questions lined up!

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Permalink Reply by Julie (Riley's mom) on July 30, 2008 at 8:39pm

I can't really add to the advice, everything everyone has said is right on target. This site has answered so many of my questions about what to expect. My son also DEP'd, he leaves for boot camp next week. I'm really happy for him and proud of him, but I feel so sad too. I'm really going to miss having him close by.

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Permalink Reply by Kellie on July 30, 2008 at 9:22pm

Our son was in DEP for 4 months before he went to boot camp. Your son should have to chek in once a week with his recruiter and there are a few classes he has to take as well as PT. It is good to be in DEP though because they will be more prepared for boot amp when they go. Make sure that when he goes you go to his swearing in ceremony. It was wonderful and the pictures helped over the first few days. Usually they go to a hotel the night before they leave and then once they are at the MEPS and are sworn in you can't take them to the airport but you can meet him there and go to te gate to see him off. (just ask the airline for a boarding pass) The phone call may or my not come once they get to boot camp. We got a 33 second phone call the Sunday he went. The box is the clothes they mail home. (Be prepared to cry)Then after that we have been getting one letter a week.(they can write on Sundays). I hope this helps.
Kellie

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Permalink Reply by Kristen - Maryssa's mom on July 31, 2008 at 1:30am

My daughter is also in the DEP program and graduated high school in June. She leaves for bc Spet 8. She was told by her recruiter that if she passed a test based on information in the book she was given that she would start as an E-2 instead of an E-1. Was anyone else given this information or know if it is true?
Kristen

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