First Care Package

A

Aloha

5-Year Member
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May 25, 2010
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Any ideas on when to send the first package? I understand that sending "Body Glide" is really helpful to the cadets. Any other suggestions? And when have you mailed them. I am coming from the west coast so the mail is REALLLLLLYYYY slow.
 
You can send the first CARE package on I-Day from any Annapolis Post Office. If you bring the shoe box pre-packaged you can write the address on it and drop it off at the closest Annapolis Post Office which is not far from Gate 1. Up the Hill by the circle (I Think). Mail on the Yard is Realllllllllllllllllllly slow although they have their own Post Office.
 
A great piece of advice I got when my son went to NAPS was to get a whole carton of USPS flat rate Priority Mail boxes delivered to my home, FREE, just by visiting usps.com. It's convenient to have them, and the machine @ my post office accepts them, saving me from the very long line I always find there.

I've sent so many (Mid is entering his 1/C year) that you'd think I'd remember what shipment costs, but I don't. It's less than $15.

You should know, though, that even w/ 'guaranteed delivery' I've never had a box reach my Mid @ USNA in under a week. Shipments seem to spend a several days ripening in the Academy's post office.

Re: shipment contents during plebe summer: my Mid appreciated jerky and almonds because he didn't feel as if he was getting enough protein (there were some, uh, problems w/ food service a few years ago, though it seems better now). If you send food, do send enough to share.

I can't believe my Mid is working this plebe summer -- it seems like an hour and a half ago he was going through it himself.
 
Body Glide, clif and granola bars, candy(always a nice morale boost), basically anything that can be eaten quickly with little effort. My mom sends packages from San Diego all the time and I've rarely had problems with the mail service, though they do exist pretty frequently.
 
Body glide, foot powder, tiger balm, single sleeve servings of gatorade, etc, Tide pens or shout wipes, nuts, jerky, photos, snack bars, jelly beans with energy, "emergen-C" packets, home made cookies, ...for plebe summer, I would sprinkle starburst or similar throughout the box.
 
The tiny flat-rate boxes are $4.95 to ship, but they don't hold much. The next two sizes up are the ones I use most often when mailing to my enlisted-Navy son. It is $10.95 to mail those, and you can really load them as long as they don't bulge. In fact, it is pointless not to load them down because that's the purpose of flat-rate, they don't charge by weight.

It is really nice that we will be able to send packages right away during Plebe Summer. Enlisted can receive nothing at all during the first couple of weeks and then nothing but letters until after boot!
 
MIHOSER said:
Can you mail the 1st Care package before you leave home?
Click to expand...
Sure! We mailed one from DTA the day before I-Day. Then drove home to Texas, mailed second one the following Tuesday (I-Day was Wed). You guessed it, he got the second package first! You should be safe mailing from home!
 
The last I knew incoming mail is received at a remote site to be screened before being sent to the Academy. This is a holdover from the 9/11 response. It also is why you are advised to communicate via phone or email, especially if it is something urgent.
 
My mother wants to know if she can send cookies!!! Will they be taken, or are they ok to send? i My son is getting very cranky when we discuss care packages as he is on a mission to play Navy Sprint football and only wants power bars. I would think he would starve on a power bar with all the work they are doing during Plebe summer. I won't send sweets, but what SHOULDN"T I send might be the better questions!!! :confused:
 
cookies are fine, but he'll have to share them probably. Don't send anything that will embarrass them. In plebe summer you don't want attention(good or bad) drawn to you. it's up to the cadre, but packages are often opened in front of all and shared with all, so stick to the basic food items and you'll be fine. Don't give the cadre any ammunition with which to tease your son or daughter. During ac year you can send them all the love letters you want.
 
There are no hard and fast rules about what will be allowed in packages received during Plebe Summer. We had been told that Power Bars would be OK, but after PS was over DD told us that hers were all confiscated. In other companies, they were OK. In DD's company, homemade cookies were confiscated, but they were allowed to others. In general, the cadre need to be able to track the welfare of "their" Plebes, including whether they are eating, and whether they are losing an unusual amount of weight (almost all lose some weight). If the Plebes have too much junk (not meant to offend regarding homemade cookies!), they won't eat at scheduled meals. So, try not to be too indignant about "food" getting confiscated. A lot of it has to do with cadre trying to take good care of your sons and daughters. :smile: Once PS is over, you'll be able to send whatever food/junk food your Plebe desires.
 
About the food.......they eat big meals, lots of Gatorade......my son figured they were eating something like 6000+ calories a day. He went in skinny to plebe summer (last year) and LOST 18 pounds. Mostly the shoulders he had built up lifting his senior year. They do an unbelievable amount of aerobic activity. :eek: Son's cadre did not confiscate home made cookies.
 
Now I am starting to think more carefully about what I intended to send during PS. I got a bunch of funny cards and during his graduation party had the kids write post cards to him which I had hoped to mail to him. Now I am afraid that he might be embarrassed. Should I wait and send these after PS? I would not write any gushy letters, just thought a fun card signed by all would be a boost.....any suggestions?
 
lovethenavy, when my older son was in boot, I heard from a mom who sent her son letters and cards with Spongebob pictures and stickers on them. (I guess it was his favorite character.) She said when her son finally could contact her (which is about three weeks after the start of boot camp), he begged her to stop sending Spongebob because he was teased unmercifully by both the other guys in his division and his division commanders. I will probably just send basic info letters and encouragement during PS. I sure wouldn't want to cause my plebe-to-be any undue stress.

With that said, maybe your son wouldn't mind at all. My older son actually asked me to keep using his nickname (Boo) because he couldn't care less what anyone says about that. He says there are far worse things to be teased about than the fact that he is close to his family. He also told me it would have been hard for him if we would have behaved "differently". Keep in mind he was the first to "leave the nest" and wanted desperately to be reassured he was still part of us, also he and I are very close. You know your son best! Maybe you could tell him the "risk" and ask what he thinks.

I can tell you my younger son would not want Spongebob, or any such thing, on his cards. He is much more serious than his older brother! :rolleyes:
 
Do the cadre open their letters? I have been buying funny cards too. Will they see those?
 
I sent a funny or inspiring (mostly funny) card every day last summer. Son never said anything about being opened, embarrassed, etc. I probably would not do Sponge Bob or perfumed envelopes, but i would send one daily. I put a photo in every one as well, some from growing up years, some of friends, family currently. He could have three on display at any one time and this allowed him to rotate photos.
 
If you seal cards and letters in plain, unscented white envelopes, your Plebe SHOULD be OK. I have never heard my Mid mention anything about interference with actual mail. The older Mids are trying to prevent "contraband."
 
My husband read the blogs and has decided we should put all postcards that were written at the graduation party in a plain white envelope. Isn't this going too far? What is the purpose of post cards from friends if we have to package them in white envelopes? Also, we read we should send the first care package with plastic containers to hold snacks as there are a lot of mice at Bancroft. Is this true? My mother in freaking out. She is the one who wants to bake him cookies.......
 
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