Just got my ship date today--I'm leaving December 14th, so that means I'll be spending the Holidays in Basic training lol I don't mind at all, but what exactly happens on Christmas in Basic? I have a friend in the (Ch)air Force who said that people in Basic during the holidays get to go home for Christmas then have to come back....That makes no sense whatsoever..If you sign up for boot during the holidays, then you had better be prepared to work through the holidays, right?

I don't expect anything more than a "Merry Christmas, now get back to work." lol, but do they give you a day off? Maybe just a day to yourself? How about a lump of coal under your pillow?

The Coast Guard has a program at Cape May called "Operation Fireside" that recruits in later weeks get to attend on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day...HOWEVER, since you will only be in the beginning couple of weeks of training you will probably not get to participate. Expect a regular training day...maybe something special in the galley on Christmas day, and maybe a church service...but otherwise the Company Commanders will have a special present for you!  Feliz Navidad!

Here's an article

http://www.capemaycountyherald.com/article/18165-operation-fireside-food-mind-body-and-soul

What more could a recruit ask for the Christmas in Cape May with their CC's and fellow recruits...

Congrats on your shipdate mOngoos3...enjoy the adventure!

Pepperdoggie: What special present should I be looking forward to?

Hahaha pepper nailed it how it is. My company had Thanksgiving at someones home, but we were the earliest company able to participate, and I remember the junior companies having a normal work day.

Posted By m0ngoos3 on 07 Sep 2010 04:44 PM
Pepperdoggie: What special present should I be looking forward to?

Bright and shiny, weighs about 9 lbs, with a pointy thing on the end. 9 pounds of fun.Doesn't come gift wrapped, either.

sorry to be a "grinch", but you'll probably be spending Christmas doing training.  I was there for thanksgiving, Christmas, and New years, and I was only there for 2 weeks at Thanksgiving and we didn't get to do fireside for that because we were the junior company.  Our company got it for Christmas, but the junior company at the time didn't get it...

Things have probably changed, but don't get your hopes up.  Hope for the best and expect the worst.  Thanksgiving sucked for us.  We were with the CC's all day doing close order drill and sea bag drills.  They made a good lunch in the galley (turkey, ect), but the only "free" time we got was 1 hour to write (not call) our family and tell them Happy Thanksgiving.

I don't think mongoose's expectations are too high. I think he is looking at this pretty realistically in the presumption the only "special" treatment will be a lump of coal. Think Full Metal Jacket, you can sing Happy Birthday to the Baby Jesus. Just another memory in what will hopefully be a long & happy career in the CG.

Mongoose, we'll be in the same boat together! It's okay! I'll be heading out November 16th. So, I'll expect a normal workday for all. It can't be much worse than the 16 hour miserable civilian job last Thanksgiving while missing my family. At least we'll all be in it together. Christmas is the big one for me. But I'll just look at it as the first of many. Welcome to Adulthood.

NoRegrets,

You'll be out of luck for the Thanksgiving treat but for Christmas, you will be able to participate in Operation Fireside. You will probably enjoy that. Families from around the Cape May area take in recruits and let them celebrate with their family. It might just be you or it can be you & a shipmate or two or I know the VFW and the American Legion open up and will take in 10 or 15 recruits. They feed you a big family dinner, you get to watch some tv, I don't think I have heard a recruit say their host family didn't allow them to use the phone to call home and talk for the holidays. By all accounts, it is a great program and well received by both recruits and host families.

Awe! That sounds absolutely amazing. I love people and would definitely admire those willing to open their home during the Holidays for complete strangers. That sounds amazing. My first niece will be born around the first of the month... the last of 5 babies this year. So, I'm hoping someone will write me with news at some point. If I were able to attend Operation Fireside around Christmas do they offer some sort of church service as I have read they do on Sundays?

Old Guard: I am a "she" lol

I am for sure being realistic about this lol I signed up with the full knowledge that I was going to miss Christmas, I'm not expecting any special treatment My husband and I are going to celebrant an early Christmas. I'm sure my gifts will consist of Sports bras, long underwear and maybe a trip to the spa to get my legs waxed LOL MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!

Mongoose, I am so sorry! Do you know how often I get called a "he"! I know the feeling! My mistake for assuming you are a he!

I have had my legs waed, oh no!!! I do bikini wax, that doesn't hurt half as much as legs! OMG, I thought I was going to die with a leg wax! I swore I would braid the hair on my legs before I would ever wax again!!!!! Holy moses!!!! But hey, if you are a glutton for painful punishment like that, boot camp will be a breeze! HAHAHA

Lol it's no big deal It's a tough being a woman in a man's world, but I enjoy a good challenge lol

I used to wax my legs regularly when I could afford it, and yes it hurts like the Dickens, but it will be so worth it when I don't have to worry about shaving during the 2 most stressful weeks of Basic lol

All this talk about waxing makes me want to have the fire recruits wax the fire truck...lol

noregrets...awesome news on the shipdate!

capt, your fire recruits must have a ton of fun hahaha!!!

I try...evil grin...to give them all the fun they can handle...HAHAHAHAHA