New Recruit

[MarineDAD92]

I can't say enough good things about graduation, our son graduated in January and is was freakin cold, but we didn't care one bit.

If you all haven't made reservations yet, do it now. We went through VRBO and rented a nice house for 3 nights so the whole family could stay together. It ended up being cheaper too.

There is lot's of advice for Family Day and Graduation out there on the parents sites, so I won't dwell on it too much aside from this:

There are a couple times when you are not going to want to be holding a camera. The first is when your new Marine enters the all-weather facility on family day. Let someone else take the pictures and you just soak up the moment. The second is on grad day, when they all march on to the parade deck and do the left face. You won't want to miss the sight of 500+\- Marines executing this with precision.

Good luck to you and your recruits!

[Cpl Heglar]

Hey Dad,

When I graduated I was the only one in the platoon that did not utilize bug juice. My fellow recruits told the Drill Intructors on me. I told them I did not want to smell like crap around my family. Big mistake! I had sand fleas crawling up one side of my nose and down the other. Sand fleas in my ears and all over my arms and scalp. The DI's threatened to keep me on the island if I killed 1 flea or flinched any at all. By then I had enough discipline not to move. I beleive if a bomb would have hit the parade deck I would have still been standing at attention.

My father asked me if I was broken out or did I have a rash. I responded no those are bites and hugged everyone and took them out for scallops and prime rib. My check out of boot was 864.00 dollars lot of money in 86!

Cpl Kevin D. Heglar
USMC

[JaysProudDad]

CONGRATS NC DAD! My son graduated from Parris Island MCRD on Oct. 22, 2010. I think I know how you must feel now and the mixture of pride and concern is unique to say the least! Your main part in this now is to keep the letters coming! Write as much as you can and make sure your message is always supportive and encouraging even if he sends you a letter that might express a little doubt or pain. Some, not all recruits go through that phase and most come out of it eventually, just keep it upbeat and leave out the "we miss you so much, your auntie cries every night" stuff and " don't worry if you get dropped we still love you" stuff.

What I did was got a copy of his training matrix (recruitparents.com has the link)and used that to gauge my questions and let him know I was following his training and always passed along my belief in his ability to become a Marine and there was always a purpose behind every aspect of his training and that it was important even if he didn't know it yet!

(I know you probably have every intention of being supportive in your letter writing and I'm just letting you know this from my experience, thats all. The other point that goes along with this is be careful who you let write him too (like ex-girlfriends, etc..)

ALL THE BEST TO YOUR RECRUIT!!

[MarineDAD92]

Cpl Heglar,

Yeah, kinda glad all we had was the cold. The sand fleas were pretty minimal during my sons boot. They had some really cold weather for the crucible though. Scallops and prime rib....nice. We had a kitchen full of various leftovers from pizza to chinese....I think my son ate most of it.

Letters:

If you receive a "homesick" letter, chances are it will be written friday or saturday. That's when the first and second phase recruits see all the families around for graduation and it gets to some of them a little bit. By 3rd phase they are just ready to graduate and the letters are all pretty positive.

Funny, I kinda miss the letters (writing and receiving). Texting is so impersonal but more immediate. I also know LESS of what is going on with him now than I did in boot camp. Opsec and all that stuff.

[NCdad]

Thanks, Jaysprouddad
My recruit finished Phase one yesterday and we have been getting positive letters from him once a week. We are counting the days. I write 2 or 3 times a week updating him with Sports scores of teams he follows. And follow the matrix as you suggested to keep a fresh set of questions ready. He has lost 12 lbs since arriving but states he is in the best shape he has ever been in. I keep it positive and include Marine quotes I have found online. Thanks for the support on HERE!!!!!

CONGRATS NC DAD! My son graduated from Parris Island MCRD on Oct. 22, 2010. I think I know how you must feel now and the mixture of pride and concern is unique to say the least! Your main part in this now is to keep the letters coming! Write as much as you can and make sure your message is always supportive and encouraging even if he sends you a letter that might express a little doubt or pain. Some, not all recruits go through that phase and most come out of it eventually, just keep it upbeat and leave out the "we miss you so much, your auntie cries every night" stuff and " don't worry if you get dropped we still love you" stuff.

What I did was got a copy of his training matrix (recruitparents.com has the link)and used that to gauge my questions and let him know I was following his training and always passed along my belief in his ability to become a Marine and there was always a purpose behind every aspect of his training and that it was important even if he didn't know it yet!

(I know you probably have every intention of being supportive in your letter writing and I'm just letting you know this from my experience, thats all. The other point that goes along with this is be careful who you let write him too (like ex-girlfriends, etc..)

ALL THE BEST TO YOUR RECRUIT!!

[NCdad]

Phone RINGS tonight Hello DAD from the other end (PI SC) I got a real good CFT score so I get a 5 minute phone Call!!!! My recruit sounded good and excited said everything is going great and looking forward to Graduation and seeing us
He said they were handed out graduation packs to mail home today so they are on the way 1048
He said he bought Ticket for SOI WEST where he is heading after Boot. He sounded hoarse BUT Really up beat!!!! Made His Mom's and my evening.

They embark on Crucible next week. Graduation July 15th

[Apache]

Welcome aboard NC Dad

[MarineDAD92]

What a great way to kick off the 4th of July weekend! Best of luck to him on the Crucible.

[chulaivet1966]

Phone RINGS tonight Hello DAD from the other end (PI SC) I got a real good CFT score so I get a 5 minute phone Call!!!! My recruit sounded good and excited said everything is going great and looking forward to Graduation and seeing us
He said they were handed out graduation packs to mail home today so they are on the way 1048
He said he bought Ticket for SOI WEST where he is heading after Boot. He sounded hoarse BUT Really up beat!!!! Made His Mom's and my evening.

They embark on Crucible next week. Graduation July 15th

Very cool...best to your son and earning The Title.
I would guess you're quite a proud father.
Carry on...

[Brittany0614]

Phone RINGS tonight Hello DAD from the other end (PI SC) I got a real good CFT score so I get a 5 minute phone Call!!!! My recruit sounded good and excited said everything is going great and looking forward to Graduation and seeing us
He said they were handed out graduation packs to mail home today so they are on the way 1048
He said he bought Ticket for SOI WEST where he is heading after Boot. He sounded hoarse BUT Really up beat!!!! Made His Mom's and my evening.

They embark on Crucible next week. Graduation July 15th

Congratulations on the phone call! Have a happy Fourth!

[Tennessee Top]

Phone RINGS tonight Hello DAD from the other end (PI SC) I got a real good CFT score so I get a 5 minute phone Call!!!! My recruit sounded good and excited said everything is going great and looking forward to Graduation and seeing us
He said they were handed out graduation packs to mail home today so they are on the way 1048
He said he bought Ticket for SOI WEST where he is heading after Boot. He sounded hoarse BUT Really up beat!!!! Made His Mom's and my evening.

They embark on Crucible next week. Graduation July 15th

We were just at MCRD PI last month for Family Day/graduation. Everything/everybody we saw were extremely impressive.

PM me if you have any specific questions about the schedule of events, etc; will be glad to help if I can.

[NCdad]

Thanks all for the replies- we are heading down to Beaufort Wednesday the 13th getting up early Thurs for Moto run and bring a requested picnic lunch for my son

[foreverproud]

NCDad ...

You all have a wonderful Family and Graduation Day! Best wishes and congratulations to your son!

[JaysProudDad]

NCdad, enjoy the whole graduation experience!
If I can give you a little tip for your Family Day picnic, go to Elliot Beach.
It is an out of the way picnic area that will give you and your family a quiet way to enjoy the moment (the eateries on PI will have you waiting on line which wastes time for catching up, etc..). If you want to have your lunch catered look up Island Butlers or BBQ Joes. If you call and pre-order they will meet you at Elliot Beach with your picnic lunch.
Anyway, it's just a suggestion. We did that and we were so glad we did because it really felt like a private time for us and the secluded spot fit the bill nicely!

All my best to your new Marine on that day and always!

[NCdad]

Thanks for the suggestion- I had heard about Elliot beach and was going to head there -

NCdad, enjoy the whole graduation experience!
If I can give you a little tip for your Family Day picnic, go to Elliot Beach.
It is an out of the way picnic area that will give you and your family a quiet way to enjoy the moment (the eateries on PI will have you waiting on line which wastes time for catching up, etc..). If you want to have your lunch catered look up Island Butlers or BBQ Joes. If you call and pre-order they will meet you at Elliot Beach with your picnic lunch.
Anyway, it's just a suggestion. We did that and we were so glad we did because it really felt like a private time for us and the secluded spot fit the bill nicely!

All my best to your new Marine on that day and always!