cell phone question

lcsguthrie

2016 Appointee
5-Year Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2012
Messages
17
Should a cadet bring his/her cellphone to I-day? The instructions to appointees says your stuff will be put in low security storage, and I was wondering if i will even get the chance to use my phone before parents weekend. Or use the cleats you are told to bring?

Also during BCT, what can be received besides written letters? Are pictures allowed?

Thanks for any help and advice!!!
 
You will get a chance to use your phone to call your family during Doolie Day In. I believe that will be the afternoon of either July 14 or 15. My son recommends you remove the battery when you put it in storage, and remember to bring your charger.

My son said the cleats were helpful during intramurals to avoid turning an ankle. He said two of the options are soccer and football and the cleats can be helpful. I have also seen where others did not use them, so it may be personal preference.

I do believe they tell you not to have pictures sent. I did send my son a letter that was written on paper where I printed a picture of him from Webguy. He said he did many pushups, but he got a kick out of the picture. My son did say some of the funniest stories were when classmates received pictures or singing cards. He said often even the cadre would crack up. Of course this may depend on the squadron and the cadre you are assigned, but it does make for great stories on the other side of BCT.:thumb:
 
Pictures will be taken, along with any other contraband, but you will get it all back at the end of basic. Your cell phones are almost the same, where it is up to squad discretion when you get you phones back once you get to the academic year.
 
Let me get this correct. You're saying that if I print a picture on a letter that the cadet will be penalized? Whew, glad I know that ahead of time. Seems that they're being punished for something they can't control, though. I'll have to alert his friends and relatives about that.
 
Let me get this correct. You're saying that if I print a picture on a letter that the cadet will be penalized? Whew, glad I know that ahead of time. Seems that they're being punished for something they can't control, though. I'll have to alert his friends and relatives about that.

Unfortunately, this might be true. It all depends on the cadre in your child's squadron. Some will require pushups, flutter kicks, etc for a picture, others might not. Best be safe and not include any, but really, if its not this issue, the cadre will find something "wrong" (imagined or real) with every basic at some point during BCT and require extra "training". Its part of the process of tearing them down to build them back up the AFA way.
 
Mail

Do the cadre members go through their Mail? When we send Mail do we send it to their po box or their squadron?
 
Do the cadre members go through their Mail? When we send Mail do we send it to their po box or their squadron?

Send their mail to their PO box listed on the Instructions to Appointees. It will be your son/daughter's mailbox all 4 years. For the time in Jacks Valley, it may make it easier for the staff to sort mail if you add the squadron to the envelope, but it will still get there if you don't. My letters all got there, and sometimes I remembered the squadron and sometimes not.

Legally, cadre are not allowed to open anyone's mail. But they will stand there at mail call while the basics open mail and will confiscate anything not allowed--pictures, sticks of gum, etc. You'll get pictures etc back at the end of basic if they are taken away.

One thing I did last year that my son appreciated. Basics won't necessarily be taken to their mailboxes every day (and they don't go anywhere without cadre), so I numbered my letters (I wrote almost every day during BCT) in the return address so my son could read them in order. That way events, updates, changes to things, etc would make sense. He probably could have figured everything out, but its a simple thing and he mentioned he appreciated it. They are generally exhausted and not having to think too hard about a letter from home was a plus! :shake:
 
The cadre will let you read the mail usually before they take it away.
 
Didn't read it from me, but I have heard of parents placing photo's in the letters akin to a watermark on the paper, in other words very, very faint!
 
Many of us sent photos, over the past couple of years, printed off of WebGuy (my daughter is a rising C1C and will be working first Beast doing those 5:00 a.m., under the lights calisthenics). Our family sent photos during Beast, but we waited until they were at Jack's Valley -- we knew it was against the rules but did it anyway -- her cadre -- three years ago -- mostly thought they were funny and didn't punish her. It was not the end of the world, but that was her cadre at that time. My daughter tells me that last summer (2 years after her Basic) no cadre in her group confiscated letters or photos -- but it is always cadre, year dependent. Should you send lots of photos: probably not. Can you send a couple in your letters: maybe/probably. Will your Basic get extra push ups, etc.: who knows -- maybe. Depends on the cadre, the squadron, how well the group is doing at the time -- flights that are doing better (meeting expectations) will maybe get more leeway. All things that you can't control. No matter what -- if your Basic is trying hard, it's probably not the end of the world. If your Basic is struggling or not trying --something you may not or probably won't know -- it may draw more negative attention. You can't know and your almost Basic can't predict at this point. If they try hard -- they will probably survive and a couple of photos, that give them an emotional boost, won't matter to their overall performance/career one way or the other.
 
My parents usually included a comic strip in each letter. I didn't get to keep them (until after basic), but I did enjoy reading them when I opened the letter. Funny letters are a big boost. (My flight never got extra pt for that kind of stuff.) Frankly, I don't think most flights did, and I'm not sure if it is allowed. There was some mini-controversy about cadre having pt for mail time. (As with many things, I think it was overblown at the time.)
 
Mine is a big sports fan so I updated him with his baseball team's scores and sent him the standings in each division.
 
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