Preparing for PIR
Hi everyone,
I posted this in the forum for my daughter's PIR, but someone suggested posting it where others can see as well.
I attended PIR a month ago for my son and am about to go again for my daughter. These are some helpful hints for anyone going to PIR. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, or add your own suggestions! I hope these help you as you prepare to visit your new sailor!
Helpful Hints for PIR
1. Take your camera!
2. Wear comfortable shoes. You will walk ¼ to ½ mile to the ceremonial hall.
3. Take a Tide stick
4. Take cash to the PIR. If you want a drink or a shirt, cash only
5. Get to the base early. I recommend being there when the gates open or soon after.
6. Be sure if you take your own car, that there is nothing in it that could be confiscated. Alcohol, knitting needles, scissors, etc.
7. Take a change of clothes for your sailor to wear if they lounge in the room. Outside the room, they must wear their uniform, but they will want to be comfortable if they are relaxing.
8. Remember, they cannot take laptops or cell phones back to the barracks. If they are grad n go, you can give to them at the airport.
9. If you plan to sight see, work your way toward the base. The traffic in Chicago can be horrible. Plan to have your sailor back to base with plenty of time to say good bye and for him/her to walk back to their ship.
10. If you plan to shop, Gurnee Mill Mall is great! Not too far from base.
11. Take them some goodies! Remember, they haven’t had sweets in 8 weeks! I took my son peanut M&Ms
12. Look online at what all there is to do before you go. You may be able to get discount tickets. We went to the Museum of Science and Industry (they have the only U-Boat in the US). If you want to go on any of the tours for the museum, you really need to reserve a spot beforehand.
13. As you are getting close to the base, there are three lanes. Stay in the middle lane. The right lane will end before you get to the base and it is hard to move over. The only time I had a problem with traffic to base was going to PIR. All other times, there was no problem.
14. Be sure to take change with you if you will drive in the area. There are toll roads. The tolls I paid varied from .50 to 1.00. If you get in the wrong lane and can't pay, or don't have any cash, don't worry. You can actually not pay twice without getting a ticket. Also, you can go online and pay the tolls you missed within a week.
I posted this in the forum for my daughter's PIR, but someone suggested posting it where others can see as well.
I attended PIR a month ago for my son and am about to go again for my daughter. These are some helpful hints for anyone going to PIR. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, or add your own suggestions! I hope these help you as you prepare to visit your new sailor!
Helpful Hints for PIR
1. Take your camera!
2. Wear comfortable shoes. You will walk ¼ to ½ mile to the ceremonial hall.
3. Take a Tide stick
4. Take cash to the PIR. If you want a drink or a shirt, cash only
5. Get to the base early. I recommend being there when the gates open or soon after.
6. Be sure if you take your own car, that there is nothing in it that could be confiscated. Alcohol, knitting needles, scissors, etc.
7. Take a change of clothes for your sailor to wear if they lounge in the room. Outside the room, they must wear their uniform, but they will want to be comfortable if they are relaxing.
8. Remember, they cannot take laptops or cell phones back to the barracks. If they are grad n go, you can give to them at the airport.
9. If you plan to sight see, work your way toward the base. The traffic in Chicago can be horrible. Plan to have your sailor back to base with plenty of time to say good bye and for him/her to walk back to their ship.
10. If you plan to shop, Gurnee Mill Mall is great! Not too far from base.
11. Take them some goodies! Remember, they haven’t had sweets in 8 weeks! I took my son peanut M&Ms
12. Look online at what all there is to do before you go. You may be able to get discount tickets. We went to the Museum of Science and Industry (they have the only U-Boat in the US). If you want to go on any of the tours for the museum, you really need to reserve a spot beforehand.
13. As you are getting close to the base, there are three lanes. Stay in the middle lane. The right lane will end before you get to the base and it is hard to move over. The only time I had a problem with traffic to base was going to PIR. All other times, there was no problem.
14. Be sure to take change with you if you will drive in the area. There are toll roads. The tolls I paid varied from .50 to 1.00. If you get in the wrong lane and can't pay, or don't have any cash, don't worry. You can actually not pay twice without getting a ticket. Also, you can go online and pay the tolls you missed within a week.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Melinda Q on -
There are some really great tips here! I went to my older son's PIR December 2006 and there are some things here I had not thought about. Now we are preparing for our youngest son's PIR on 3 October. As far as the Tide Stick, after 1 October they will be graduating in Dress Blues....Bring a lint brush or roller!
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Permalink Reply by G-Man's Mom on -
This information has been great - my son PIR's on 10.10 and I can't wait. Knowing this information about the dress blues it good to know. I was expecting him in dress whites and already bought my tide stick from another post I read. Guess I'll have to go get a lint brush. Makes since too since fall/winter season will be upon us by October. Either uniform is going to be breathtaking!! Thanks so much!
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Permalink Reply by Dawn Russell on -
I would ask him which uniform. It probably will be blues. Here in Florida, they will still be wearing their whites. It is based on the region. But, my guess is the blues.
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Permalink Reply by Paula on -
Man, Lady you are my HERO! I do believe you have answered every question that my friends and I have asked. Just one more, how does seating work there? Do they seat you or can you chose? Is it better in the front, middle, sides? HELP
Thanks in advance!
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Permalink Reply by Dawn Russell on
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They have guys standing with signs for each division number. You would sit in front of the sign. When they march in, they circle around and will face the section with thier number. As far as where to sit, I sat on the lower level about mid way. If you get their early enough, you can have your choice of where to sit. If you get their after about 7:30, you will have to find an empty spot.
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Permalink Reply by Cherie on -
Seating is first come, first serve - bleacher seating. (there is handicapped seating in front of the bleachers.) We got there pretty early and had to wait in line to enter the hall. When you get in there, you'll need to remember your sailor's division as the hall will be divided by divisions. You'll obviously want to sit in the section in front of your sailor's division. We actually sat in a front row of the bleachers, but I think any seat is going to be equally as good. Make sure you bring a camera, kleenex and COMFORTABLE shoes! There may be a lot of standing, walking, and comfortable shoes are important for the ladies.
ENJOY!!! I think my son's PIR was probably one of the absolute proudest moments of my life. Oh - also, since we were sitting in the front row, you're one of the first to run down to the floor after the ceremony to find your sailor in the crowd!
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Permalink Reply by Dawn Russell on
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I would not dress in jeans. For a woman, I would suggest dress slacks and nice top. Unless you are very comfortable walking in heals, wear flats or low heals. The ground you will be walking on is uneven and it is a bit of a walk. For men, dress pants and nice shirt add a tie if you want. I'd say about what you would wear to high school graduation.
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Permalink Reply by Lynne Meeks on -
When we were there in June, I saw pretty much any kind of dress. I did dress in capris and nice top. Do be sure to wear flat shoes, the walk is uneaven into the drill hall and a little bit of a walk. Enjoy every minute of your weekend! It is an experience you will never forget!!
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Permalink Reply by Brenda on -
Thank you so much for the info, my son is graduation on the 19th and we will be attending. He will not be getting his orders until the 16th, but thinks he will be staying at Great Lakes. I'm wondering if we will be able to spend more than just Friday afternoon with him? If he is staying there, can we bring any of his stuff with us? Or will we just have to ship it to him once he is in the dorms? We don't plan on going into Chicago, but hope to see some things closer to the base in Lake County. I sent for some info, do you recommend any sights or great places to eat? Thanks again to all of you for your help.
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Permalink Reply by Dawn Russell on
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We went to the Silo the night before and the food is good (look on the event page for PIR 9/26 for a link to their site). The Gurnee Mill Mall is HUGE and has everything! There are restaurants in and around it. You can look it up on the web for what all it has (even has an ice skate rink). What school will your son be going to? What will his job be? If he stays in GL, from what I understand, he will have to move out of BC barracks on Friday, but will have leave the rest of the time, unless he has a watch. Your grad packet should give you info on when he leaves boot camp. They can't take stuff back to bc like cell phones or civies or lap tops. they are still considered in boot camp, though graduated, and must follow the same rules. If he will be moving to GL school that weekend, you should be able to give him some stuff. Also, Six Flags is near by. Some like to go there. Hope this helps. If you have more questions, just ask!
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