Army Basic Training: Top 10 FAQs About Writing Letters
A few years ago, I had my fair share of questions about writing letters to my soldier while he was at Basic Training. Luckily, I wasn’t alone. Pretty much everything I wanted to know had been asked at one time or another by someone before me. I’ve compiled a list of the 10 most frequently asked questions that a lot of us have had about writing letters to our soldiers-in-training. Are any of your questions on the list?
-
Why Hasn’t He Gotten My Letter?
There is a multitude of reasons for this, but the main answer is usually pretty simple. The mailroom gets overfilled and it takes a few extra days for the letters to get sorted and distributed among the men. But if your not sure if that’s the issue, I wrote a whole post on what could possibly go wrong between his mailbox and yours.
2. Why Hasn’t He Included His Return Address?
If he hasn’t included his return address, it’s almost always because he is still in Reception. That’s the first 7-10 days after your soldier leaves. It’s technically not “part” of the 10 weeks of Basic, but it’s inevitable. Reception is essentially the “in-processing” of Basic, where your soldier is issued his equipment, gets his head shaved, learns basic formation moves, etc. He might be allowed to write you, but you won’t be allowed to write him back, and hence, he won’t have a return address to include. Once he arrives at Basic Training camp, he will be able to share his address with you.
3. I Forgot to Include ___ in the Address. Will He Still Get It?
This all depends on what you left out. If you forgot to include his rank or first name, don’t worry, his roster number will cover for you (or in some cases, the “roster number” is the last 4 digits of their social security number). If you forgot his roster number, but included his rank and full name, it’s a toss up. Out of his unit’s official title, the most important part is his Company information (A, B, C, etc) and his Battalion number (X-XX IN BN <- for example). The Company and Battalion designation are extremely important, but if you forget to add the IN BN after the number combination, your letter will still make it most likely.
4. Do I Have to Wait for the Commander’s Letter?
If you have received a letter from your soldier, that includes his return address and his roster number (or platoon and class information, if that is needed)–then go for it!! Mail those letters! Your letters might not be distributed to your soldier til around the time that the Commander’s Letter makes it to you. 🙁 That doesn’t mean you can’t mail them though. If your soldier has provided you with his return address and roster number/unit information, there is no need to wait for the Commander’s Letter.
5. Can I Send Him Photos?
The details of this are definitely subject to the opinions of each Drill Sergeant. Soldiers are allowed to have pictures of their loved ones, in fact, they may be allowed to hang one or two on the outside of their locker. However, some Drill Sergeants are particular about pictures being sent through the mail. As long as the photos are appropriate, most Drill Sergeants will permit the soldier to keep them. They will order the soldier to open the letter in front of them, however, to sensor the photos. Once the photos have been screened, the soldier will most likely be allowed to keep them. There is only one definitive rule held by all Drill Sergeants: no explicit images are permitted. At all. There is no Drill Sergeant that will allow this, as it is a strict Army rule, across the board.
6. Can I Send Him Something Besides Letters: Cards, Newspaper, Clippings, Calendars, etc.?
This one is much like the question above. It is dependent upon the Drill Sergeant. As a general rule, reading material (besides the Bible and the letters you send) are not permitted to be kept by soldiers. So sending two or three sports articles might not be okay. Most do not allow magazines. Something like a child’s drawing or a calendar diagram (for your soldier to mark off the days) would almost always be allowed. All things– letters, calendars, cards, etc MUST be mailed in a standard envelope, however.
7. How Will the Drill Sergeant Know if I Sent Him Something He Can’t Have?
There may be a temptation to send something the soldier “can’t” have. I’ve heard of people putting gum sticks or thin lingerie in the envelope (not even kidding you). You may wonder, will the Drill Sergeant even know? The Drill Sergeants know to look for abnormalities in the envelopes–extreme thickness, noise, lumps, etc. One time, I had sent such a thick letter, the Drill Sergeant asked my husband to open the letter in front of him, assuming it was filled with photos. It was just a big fat letter! haha I’ve always been too wordy. But even IF you can sneak something into the envelope without it being noticeable, that doesn’t mean you’re safe.
The soldier can get in serious trouble for having contraband, as they call forbidden items. Even if the Drill Sergeants didn’t notice it when it came through the mail, locker inspections happen periodically throughout Basic. A stash of gum or explicit photos could get your soldier in huge trouble. You might be sending him something with the best intentions, but it could have dire consequences. Do not put your soldier at risk of being punished or recycled (having to start training all over again)– just don’t send it!
8. Can I Send Him a Package?
Not to keep saying the same thing–but this is just dependent upon the Drill Sergeants. The simple answer is this: you CAN send them, but he won’t be able to open them without permission (and overseeing) of the Drill Sergeants. If, upon opening, the package is filled with candy, goodies, and other edible contraband, the Drill Sergeants may confiscate the contents on the spot. Some Drill Sergeants have been known to allow the soldier to distribute the sweets among all the men, right then and there, with no leftover-storage allowed. Other Drill Sergeants have eaten the goodies themselves!
When my husband was at training, I sent him his cell phone and charger in a small mailing box (you can read more about phone rules here). He told the Drill Sergeants ahead of time that it would be arriving, and what was in it. While he still had to open the box in front of them, the Drill Sergeants let him keep the phone/charger–thank goodness! Packages are just dependent upon the humor of the Drill Sergeants, as well as the contents of the package.
9. Can I Send Him More Letter Writing Materials?
Theoretically, you can. You won’t get in trouble for sending blank pages, and your soldier won’t get in trouble for having envelopes and paper in his locker. But rest assured, you won’t need to do this. There is a mini store (the PX) that your soldier will periodically have access to. He will get to visit the store at the beginning of training, and a few times a month to restock on permissible needs- paper, envelopes, pens, and stamps included.
10. Is There a Limit to How Many Letters I Can Send Him and How Long They Can Be?
There is definitely not a limit, in quantity or length! As much as you can manage to write, send it. Your soldier will never tire of or get overwhelmed by mail! I talk more about facing personal letter-writing doubts here. I would not hesitate to send as much mail as possible! But keep in mind that about 10 days away from graduation, you might want to stop sending letters, in case they never make it to him. With mailroom delays and the normal length of time it takes a letter to travel, there is a risk that a few letters won’t make it to him before graduation if you send them too close to that time.
There are so many more questions to be answered about writing letters to soldiers at Basic Training, but these are the top 10 I continually ran into during my own soul-searching. Hopefully one of your own was on the list! If you have any more, share below. It’s always fun to see what others have wondered and what answers they discovered. It all helps our Army Family! Thanks for reading and please come back soon. 🙂
13 Comments
A’Mya
Hi, I just recently sent out a letter to my boyfriend whose in basic training. I included everything, but forgot to include the roster number. Is there a guarantee that he will still receive the letter ?
A’Mya
Hi, I recently sent out a letter to my boyfriend whose in basic training. I included everything, but forgot to include his roster number. Is there a guarantee that he will still receive the letter?
April
I just want to thank you so much for this information! My daughter just got to Basic training 2 days ago and i’ve been already checking my email and phone like crazy waiting to get and address to write her! I feel a lil better now understanding the process a lil better!!! Thanks again!!!
Savannah
Hi Jennifer, my boyfriend is at Fort Benning and I just got a call where he gave me his mailing address. The only problem is I was at a red light for the majority of the conversation and now have no idea which order the information goes in or if I even have everything. Mainly my confusion is he said upper something at the start of his address and never mentioned his rank. I haven’t been able to find anything online to what the “upper ” might be and can only guess for the rank. If you’re able to offer any help I would greatly appreciate it seeing as how the rest of his family won’t be able to send him mail until I get this figured out.
Jennifer
Hi! Thanks for stopping by. I’m so glad you got your phone call! I definitely know the feeling of the mid-drive call…ugh..so hard to right down the info! My husband went to Fort Benning for basic too.
Anyone who goes to Fort Benning for Basic Training will start out at 30th AG. It’s the reception battalion. They spend 7-10 days there getting equipment, haircuts, and processing in, etc. Often on the 30th AG Facebook page, they will say what unit the soldiers are being sent to based on their report date. So for instance, a group of guys that report on a certain date together will all end up at the same unit. You can figure out your boyfriend’s unit (if you didn’t get that part of his address) by seeing which group he reported with at AG, and what unit they are sending him to for Basic Training.
30th AG has a couple different companies, and I don’t know which one your boyfriend was sent to…however here is a link to the 30th AG Bravo company. Those guys reported for February 9. You can also check 30th AG Alpha, or Charlie Company, or Delta. He could have gone to 30th with any of those companies, and they will be the ones to send him off to his new Basic Unit.
Once you know his Basic Unit, it will be easier to write him. Because the unit information is an important part of his address. Don’t worry about his rank if you don’t know it! As long as you have his name, they will be able to identify him. And the unit is important simply because it will ensure that it goes to the write training camp (since Benning has a lot of camps).
Also, don’t be stressed that his family can’t send him mail yet! You don’t need extra stress! And when your boyfriend was at 30th AG, he was given a form to fill out and he had to put one address down of his closest family member. The commander will send a letter (with your boyfriend’s address) to that closest family member. And if you’re the person he wrote down, then you will get the letter and be able to share the address at that point! The commander’s letter arrives 2.5 weeks after the soldiers report.
I hope any of this helps. Please don’t hesitate to reach out again if you need anything further! And congratulations on your soldier’s service!!
Jennifer
Also, I have a list of the basic training addresses in this post. It’s not a perfect address because it’s not EXACTLY your soldier’s address, but it’s a good place to start if you’re trying to fill in the blanks!
Also, the “upper case” thing you mentioned…. I”m sure that was his Company letter. Each training battalion is made up of Companies that are assigned a letter. So just like 30th AG had companies (A) Alpha, (B) Bravo, (C) Charlie, etc… Your boyfriend was telling you what letter his company is for his new Basic Training Unit. Also, you can abbreviate company to (Co.) so you could write A Co or B Co on the address and it will mean the same thing as Alpha Company or Bravo Company!
Savannah
Thank you so much! It helps a ton think I have everything figured out now but I still might wait until someone gets the commander’s letter just to make sure I’m not messing anything up that might end up poorly for him.
Phyllis Blankenship
Can my soldiers get into trouble for writing letters after lights out? Will the whole platoon have to perform drills for a soldier writing letters after lights out?
Jennifer
Hi there! While any reasons for drilling are dependent upon the drill sergeants, I think it’s pretty safe to say your solider would not get in trouble for writing after lights out! Writing to home is encouraged and sometimes soldiers might need to stay up a little later to do that. The lights go out simply to mandate overall quiet time, and to encourage good sleep habits. However, there is nothing keeping a soldier from writing letters, taking a shower, saying prayers, etc once lights are out. They don’t get in trouble for taking care of business after lights out, as long as they aren’t loud and keep all their buddies awake! Thanks for stopping by and best of luck to you and your soldier!
Judy Hodosh
I meant to say 2018 not 2017 in the above post
Judy Hodosh
My son had his first letter mailed on Jan 8,2017 with no return address. It is now Jan 25,2018 and we still haven’t received another letter with a return mailing address. Is this normal? Should we contact a Chaplin? He’s at Ft. Leonardwood, Missouri .
Concerned parents
Jennifer
Hi! Thank you for reading and commenting. I would definitely take it as a good sign that he has written you once. Don’t worry that he hasn’t contacted you again, though! The saying “no news is good news” is a very true phrase for Army schools. If something had happened to him (not to worry you), then you would absolutely be contacted by the Red Cross. There will never be an accident or injury at Basic Training in which the family of the soldier isn’t contacted. So rest assured, no news is good news!
The reason he probably didn’t include a return address on his first letter was because he probably sent it while processing into camp. There is a period of in-processesing before the actual bootcamp training begins. During that time, soldiers are able to write letters but they don’t have a return address to share. Once he gets to his training unit (processing can take up to 7-10 days!) then he will have an actual address to share.
The soldiers are freely allowed to write letters at Basic, however the time allotted for that is also the time allotted for laundry, prayer/reflection, and personal workouts. And the first three weeks of Basic, known as Red Phase, are the most intense. It means the soldiers are often busier or more tired than in the other phases, so sometimes they write less.
Don’t take it too hard….it totally stinks waiting for mail. (I’ve been there!) But just rest assured that if you aren’t hearing from him, it doesn’t mean that something has happened to him, it simply means that he is very busy! Best of luck to you and your soldier. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any more thoughts to share!
PS. If you want to send a letter to him, I have the addresses in this post.
Judy Hodosh
Dear Jennifer,
Thank you so much for your wonderful reply! It’s funny that I got a letter from my son the very next day after I wrote you with my concerns of not hearing from him! We were all beyond excited to hear from him and to know he’s okay.
The funny thing is that I was in basic training myself but 35 years ago. It is so different when you’re a mom and worried about your son. Now I know how my parents felt.
Again, thank you for your kind reply.
Sincerely,
Judy