Hi. I'm wondering when to expect that Welcome letter my son told me to be looking for in the mail. Since he had arrived in the Reception batallion on June 12 he's called me oneX that was Father's Day. I keep looking for the Welcome letter; how long will it take? I'm getting impatient, I want answers. You know I was okay when my son was only down the road from me because I knew I could get in touch with him usually at any time but now this is SO SO HARD not being able to just shout out at him! I love and miss him so much allready. But I was strong for him and I know he's going to be fine; I'm hoping he won't be TOO comfortable though and at least think of me again to give me a call ya know? There's 1 thing I know about my son and thats how much he has always been fully charged for a challenge and excells in it too so I'm sure he's probably even having fun with this allready!

My son left for Benning June 4th, and I haven't got my welcome letter yet either....I think I read somewhere you get it in about 3 weeks. Hope that helps. I know it's VERY hard. I just keep reminding myself that this is only basic training & he is still on US soil. That always helps ease my mind. Just getting information from other posts & from the friendly people on this site has helped alot!

Hey Mom2the...

Our daughter left home on June 9th and we got 2 voice mails when she got there and two very quick calls about 7 and 10 days later. We did get one letter from her, and a postcard stating she was there and we would be getting a letter soon with the address and when graduation will be.

I, too, am inpatient!!! I hate not knowing what is going on.

She did tell her dad last Thursday that her phone card ran out and she borrowed a cell phone to make the call. Buy lots of minutes on phone cards to send to your recruits. That's all I have to say about that (LOL).

By the way, where do our "kids" get their stationary from?

Excuse the spelling please! That should read stationery. Thankyou!

My son is in Ft Benning. Left June 4. Joined his unit the next week.The letter came to Iowa on friday but I was working so technically I got it Saturday. It gives you info on the company, commander, training, etc. Got his address and a list of websites, one of which, is the site for his company. So now I will be going there everyday looking for pics to be put up from his training. No new ones yet. Got a "Love you" "Miss you" and "be sure the girlfriend gets his address!" LOL!

Hey Mom2...Kayla took a bunch of stationary with her. However, the letter she sent was written on her own paper but mailed in an Army envelope, so she must have bought some at the PX.

No news yet since Kayla got to Basic on Friday. I suppose they have little time those first couple weeks. Was hoping for a call on Sunday, but since her phone card ran out the week before (send LOTS of minutes), she probably had no way to call even if they got phone priveleges.

Wish I had her address to send her more phone minutes! I can't stand the waiting and not knowing what's going on!

Hi mommy3k
I wish I had known they could take their own stationery I would have sent PLENTY with my son~ but he had told us he was only going to be able to take the least amount of items possible that he would receive everything he needs from them... I'm really concerned to that his Dad (whom he and I have been divorced now for 13 yrs) will find out things before I do since, much to my dismay, my son has stuck closer to him than me since then So far, I'm planning to write him as often as I can once I learn his address. This is how I improved our relationship after his Dad and I divorced by keeping after him... but now he's so far away it's making it much more difficult for this loving worried Momma

One other thing I'm doing is sending her self-addressed stamped post cards so che can jot quick notes to me. You can buy plain post cards at the post office that already have postage on them and add your address to the front and send them to him...hopefully he'll get the hint!

Well, we finally got an address! It is just a form letter with the address on it. I finally got to put some letters in the mail!

Are your letters all so full of the blues? He even said he misses our restrictions! Do you suppose he has gotten a hit on the head already? It takes 5+ days for mail to make the trip so I just started sending one about every other day so there isn't a lag behing.

Hi bookermom. I have only received that one letter from reception so far. I'm getting kind of bummed about that. At least I got the address yesterday. Knowing my daughter, she's probably sleeping as much as she can (instead of writing). Hoping getting letters from us will inspire her to write.

Part of me is so glad to see the letters and part of me wishes none of them had come. It is all so full of I miss you, I miss Iowa (although that seems to surprise him). Although when I talked with our neighbor, happens to be his recruiter, he did comment on the "tough guys" sometimes take it the hardest. Well, I certainly had a MR MACHO the last year or so. We have had our issues, and I knew if he didn't follow thru with this, his future was in question. But all 4 of my boys are kinda "momma" boys. We share everything. And his letters make me share his pain. Oh ok.............now I sound like him!!!!!!!!1 We are saving them all but won't tell him that right away when he gets home. We'll put them together and let him look back someday at his journey.

I am so excited! My daughter just called and I was actually here to get the call!
For all the parents with kids in basic right now...she sounded really good. She just finished her first week of actual basic (after 10 days at reception). She said the DS were really bad at first, but they have been "nicer" the last couple days.

Kayla said they had a really long run yesterday. She said she wanted to quit several times during the run, but just kept praying and trying to make it through. Guess what? She was named female recruit with the best (something?)!!! It was something like best follow-through or something like that. OMG...I can not be so happy and proud as I am at this very moment!!!

Anyway, the call was qick as usual. She kept saying she had to go and every time I asked a question, she answered it, but said "I have to go." The background noise was a bit loud...lots of ppl on the phone it sounded like. However, the sound quality was pretty poor (she called our land line, so it wasn't a cell phone issue with the sound on our end).

Kayla asked if we had sent letters. She said some ppl were already receiving letters. I told her we just got her address yesterday and that two letters went out yesterday and one today.

My girl is sounding strong and seems to still have her positive attitude. Last question I asked was did she go to church on Sunday and she said "yes" and then the phone went dead. Hope I didn't get her smoked too much!

She also asked if I'd gotten her "letters" (plural). We've only received one real letter, so maybe one will arrive tomorrow!

Sorry to go on and on, but I am so freaking happy!

Hi mommy3k! I want to share in your joy and say hallelujiah! I'm very happy for you! I'm still waiting for the 1st letter. I found a website for nagging questions from military family and called them to ask whats going on. The man I talked to said to give it probably another couple of days. My fingers scan every inch of that mailbox daily!

Any news yet mom2?

I have an update:
Had my second call from our daughter in Basic Training at FLW. (reminder-she started basic on June 20 after 10 days in reception).

She sounded really good! I think I raised a soldier! She said she is in Bravo group for running (second fastest group) and got best female run time for some run they did. Her platoon mates selected her to be the female to do something or other on the bayonet course. She was nominated for a coin on Thursday, but didn't get it. She said she was honered to just have been nominated.

She had received our care package and nothing got her smoked and she got to keep it all. In fact, she said it is OK to send packaged candy, but no home-made baked goods. They have 3 minutes to eat what they can and the rest gets saved so that everyone can share it on certain days they might get awarded a treat as a platoon.

I sent her cell phone and she used it to make this call. So glad I don't have to worry about that anymore! She said she needs more baby wipes because they have no time to shower. But she also said "Mom, you really don't need a long shower to get your body clean." LOL...this from a child who is in the bathroom a good half hour each morning before school!

The "bad" news is she is on profile for 3 days because she went to sick call yesterday and had to have an ingrown toenail removed (ouch) Funny thing is she was more disappointed about not getting to do Leadership challenge course (or something like that) tomorrow. She said she will have to do it next summer when she comes back for AIT.

They did the gas chamber on Thursday. She said her mask worked well and she is really good at holding her breath, so it was OK until she got out of the chamber and forgot there would be lingering gas outside the door. She took a big old breath and then the coughing and gagging ensued! She was laughing about it, so it must have been OK.

I sort of yelled at her for not writing. Yesterday, we got a letter that wasn't really a letter...It was 3 letters inside one envelope for us to deliver to her friends and grandparents. I was really disappointed. I must admit, I opened the one to her grandparents...had to know what was going on. In that letter, she said the DS never push them farther than they can handle and that her platoon's DS are "really amazing people." She thinks they are the best 3 DS in the whole company.

She said that everyone is around her age, and there are four people there she knows from back home, which is nice. She also asked her grandma to send her a washcloth, bandaids, and stamps.

After I complained about the lack of mail, she said she really has not had time. She wrote those three letters last Sunday, as that is the only time they have any free time at all. Then she said, "even though I don't have time to write much, will you please keep writing me every day?" Awwwwww...of course I will! She said she got like 6 letters yesterday and her care package and that was cool. The call today was actually around 5 minutes. Not bad! You could hear drill sergeants yelling in the background every now and then.

Thanks for listening to me rant...I know you guys won't mind. I also hope to ease others in their journey through basic with their son or daughter.

Kayla's mom

WOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hello friends! To UPDATE you all on my situation with my son: Yesterday when my hubby and I returned from out of town, upon checking the mailbox I found not one but TWO letters from my son Robert!!! He says in the letters that some other guys in his platoon had been goofing off and everyone had to pay the consequences for it! He apologised and says it's been tough going especially in the beginning with the DS's getting on them to weed out the weak links but that he held strong and thanks me for my prayers!!! He said his platoon went through the gas chambers June 26 and to look for pics on soldierschapel.info under his platoon~ which I did but I don't see his face in any of the shots but if that's in fact his group, I'm super glad to be able to watch them all collectively In his next letter, he seems more relaxed his writing is smoother, he says the DS's have "gotten a little easier on us so we're not as stressed out"... he also tells of Basic Rifle Mgmt. competition they'll be having and that if their platoon wins, they'll be able to "...get 20 minute phone calls home and pizza." He goes on to say, "I hope we win, I really want to talk to you and dad both, plus the pizza would be freiken awesome." And to top of an allready wonderful letter, my son ends it with, "Anyways, I Love You Mom, thanks for your prayers. Robert"
I'm ECSTATIC full of JOY JOY JOY and now am getting ready to mail a letter and phone card to my son!!!

Yay mom2!!! I am so happy you got two letters! Isn't it nice to hear from them and have a little bit of an idea what is going on?

I hope you get to have those phone calls soon and that your son gets his pizza!!!

Thanks so much for the update. I love reading about everyone's kids and what is going on with them.

Kayla's mom

YAY I'm jumping with Joy again today!!! I pulled 1 more letter from the mailbox today! But I am a tad concerned because my son says he still hasn't received mail from us, but I guess he doesn't know I've only just received mail from him this weekend. Well, I called his base to make sure I print the correct address and they said yes so hopefully he'll be getting mail from me either today or tommorrow since I put it in the mail on Tuesday. The postal lady said it should only take 2/3 days?

I'm so PROUD of him while at the same time I became teary eyed when he says, "...they finally managed to break me, they had us running up and down this big hill non stop and I just cracked. Everything is ok about it though and I learned a good lesson, no matter how much they **** you off you just gotta laugh and agree. Anything other than that and they won't hurt you, they hurt your platoon instead. There is no way im going to let my Battle Buddies suffer for my failure."


He also says he's been attending church services and enjoying them. Praise the Lord, God is good!

mommy3k, how's Kayla doing?

My son is at Ft Benning and we in Iowa. He said it is nearly a week to get mail from up here and his postmarks say about the same. The first few weeks when all his letters said it "sucked", they came every other day. Now, after his last letter with all the junk food requests to bring to graduation, they stopped. Either it got better in the next phase or they've been really busy.