I don't know if the OSUT graduations are the same, but if your soldier is graduating from Basic at Ft. Benning soon, you might be helped by the following hints/tips that I put together. My son just graduated 11/06, and these were things that I would have found helpful to know beforehand:

1) Bring the graduation letter you received from the commander. You will be instructed to fold it up and place it in your car window to be used as a 'parking pass' on family day and graduation. You will also be asked for photo ID. Sometimes they asked for ID from everyone in the car, and sometimes they didn't. It wasn't consistent.

2) On Family Day, there is a little tent set up at the end of Pomeroy Field that will have a packet of photos of your soldier taken when s/he first arrived. S/he will be wearing ACUs (looks like camos). You can also buy a photo of the entire platoon, and a video of the graduation ceremony. There is only one packet of photos, so if someone from your family shows up before you and buys the photos, you're out of luck. You can buy duplicates from their website, but I think you only have around 10 days to do so. You must pay in CASH.

3) Bring CASH because all photos & other items are cash-only transacation... bring more than you think you'll need. Better to have too much and not need it than to end up without a photo or video or whatever and not have the cash. I'd recommend $200-300 if you're buying photos and also having family photos taken on Graduation Day.

4) On Family Day, your photo won't be taken (by the pros, anyway). So, dress comfortably because you'll be doing a lot of walking around. For Heaven's sake, ladies, don't wear high heels! Lots of hard concrete, uneven surfaces, a gravel bridge to cross over, etc. My feet had blisters by the time I got home.

5) On Family Day, there is a booth set up behind the building where you will see the Turning Blue ceremony. This is where you would make arrangements to have a family photo taken with your soldier on Graduation Day. Even if you don't want to have your photo taken, you should still visit this booth. They have photos of your soldier in his/her new dress uniform - these are very recent photos, and chances are they'll look a lot happier than in the photo they had taken when they first arrived (mentioned above).

6) Get to both Family Day and Graduation an hour early - trust me on this! You'll need the time to buys the pix, and also to get a good seat (or any seat at all since FD seating is very limited). Whatever you do, please don't be late. There were a few people who showed up late and walked in front of us during the Graduation ceremony which was annoying, especially when people are shooting video. No one wants to go home and see you walking past their camera in their video!

7) You will be able to take your soldier off base after the ceremony on Family Day, as well as after Graduation. There will be a curfew - make sure you get your soldier back on time (or a little early) or they will be punished for being late. Also, make sure that your soldier has his/her ID with them before you take them off the base. They will be required to show it at the security check-point when you return.

8) On Graduation Day, there will be booths set up at the edge of Pomeroy Field (where the graduation ceremony will be held). One of the booths sells a video for $30.00 that will have both the Turning Blue ceremony and graduation day on it. There are also shirts and other items that can be purchased. Again, bring cash.

9) The bleachers on Pomeroy Field are split into two sections with a roped-off area in the center. If your soldier is in the first or second platoon, you'll be sitting to the left of the center (if you're facing the field). For the third & fourth platoon, sit to the right of the center. The closer you sit to the center, the better you'll be able to see the platoons and whatever is happening.

10) I don't know if it's this way all year long, but as you're sitting in the bleachers, you're looking into the sun. The sun beat down on us and made it very difficult to see. So, bring a sun umbrella, a hat, sunglasses, sun block or whatever else you can think of that will make it easier for you to endure the roasting sun.

11) After Graduation, the parking lot will be backed up with cars trying to get out. 99% of the people had no idea that there were TWO exits from the parking lot. There's the one you'll see everyone waiting to go out of, and then there is one to the far right of that exit, too.

Hopefully this info will help those of you heading to Ft. Benning for graduation ceremonies in the next few weeks.

thanks for all the info..
Im heading out this tuesday and cant wate!!!!
is it ok to register your car on tuesday, or does it have to be done on wed. family day??
thanks, katie

I don't know what you mean by 'register' your car. You just drive up to the security checkpoint and if you don't already have the letter in your window, they'll ask you to put it there. Then they'll ask for photo ID. They don't write down any info on your car. I know they mentioned something like that in the commander's letter re: graduation day, but they didn't ask us for any insurance paperwork or anything other than what I've already mentioned above.

thanks...

Great tips dmwalker - thanks! I will print them out and take with me on Tuesday. Unfortunately due to travel arrangements/work schedules, I will more than likely be late for Family Day activities. However, I plan to be there at the crack of dawn on graduation day!! I had been wondering about payment for the pictures etc., I'm glad you brought that up! I am one of those people who never carry cash, so I will be certain to make a trip to the atm before I get there!

Hi Guys,

I was also there the same day as Donna. I was able to say hello!!

Great job, Donna. I was never told to put my letter on the dash board but I did have to show it in order to get my daypass.

Definately get there early. We were fortunate that Kyle was one of the soldiers chosen to jump out of the Stryker and he told us where he'd be standing so he was literally about 15 feet in front of us during his part of graduation.

My computer is being fixed right now but when I get it back I'll post some pic's and video's.

Debbie

How big of a deal is it if I can't get there early for Family Day?? Were there people who came in late while you were there? How was that received? Do you miss much? As much as I would like to, I just can not be there early for that day, I will more than likely be a little late.

The people who came late on Family Day just sort of stood off to the side. It's a small area, so you'll still have a great view and you won't be blocking anyone else's view. So, don't fret about it.

The only real issue that I can think of is that the Turning Blue ceremony is very short and then the soldiers are immediately released to go find their family in the audience. If you're not there, then how will your soldier know where to find you when you finally arrive?