Very few people are familiar with the level of patience required to wait for a letter from boot camp.

Hollywood Walk of Fame status patience.

Phone calls are possibly even harder to wait for.

And yet year after year, thousands of American families, spouses, parents, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc. find themselves checking the mail constantly and keeping their phones at the highest volume.  Everything is second place to that one, first letter.  Or to that 30 second phone-call.  (Sometimes a little less than 30 seconds).

If your loved one is heading off to Basic Training, you’ve probably done all the research on how often you will get to contact him or her.  Hopefully you’ve made plans to write letters every day. Maybe you’ve even researched the possibility of visiting your soldier.

But have you ever wondered….

when your soldier can contact you?

What if the answer was almost every day?

Because, it kind of is.

Before I get ahead of myself, let me explain the types of communication in Basic Training.  There’s essentially 3 categories: contact that is pre-determined, contact during free-time, and contact based on reward.

I mean, any kind of contact is good.  While the saying “no news is good news” can definitely be applicable in the Army, for family members “all contact is good contact!”  (amiright?)

When Will I Hear From My Soldier at Army Basic Training?

1. Pre-Determined Contact

The Army always strives to keep families in-the-loop.  Nobody wants to leave you in the dark!

So, when soldiers process into Basic Training, they are always required to fill out a contact form for their closest-to-kin (this can be a spouse, parent, roommate, etc).  Whichever address the soldier provides, that person or family will receive communications from the Commander about Basic Training, Graduation Day, etc. I talk more about those letters in this post.  The Commander’s letters are “pre-determined,” meaning they are scheduled points of contact for families every training cycle.

As far as pre-determined contact from your soldier goes, the closest thing to a guarantee is the infamous 30-second phone call.  It’s basically the briefest phone call you’ll ever receive during which your soldier will have the chance to tell you that he or she has safely arrived at bootcamp.  It usually occurs within 48 hours of saying goodbye.  Unfortunately, there is no “pre-determined” letter from your soldier, but we’ll get to letters next!

2. Contact During Free-Time

This is the best news yet– your soldier gets a little free time (like an hour or two) almost every evening.  Yes, some days are much busier than others.  But the Drill Sergeants know rest is key for training.  During those times, your soldier is absolutely allowed to write you letters (no phone calls).  Even during In-Processing (the first 7-10 days) and Red Phase (the first and strictest phase).

But don’t be alarmed if you don’t hear from your soldier.

It doesn’t mean he or she is hurt, or that they aren’t “allowed” to write.  Just like there are mail delays for the soldiers receiving their mail, there can be mail delays with their mail getting out (though usually not as bad).  Keep in mind, your soldier has limited free time and may be using it to study, sleep, or improve physical fitness.  If you’ve been writing to them, chances are the first thing they do during free time is read their mail!

Moral of the story: once your soldier arrives at bootcamp, you can expect them to begin writing you.  While you won’t necessarily be able to write them back right away, they can write to you.  It obviously varies from soldier to soldier, but you can potentially receive your first letter a week after their departure!

3. Contact By Reward

This is the fun category.

At the Drill Sergent’s discretion (meaning it’s TOTALLY different for every platoon), your soldier will receive phone privileges.  Obviously, there is no “guarantee” that your soldier’s Drill Sergeants will decide to give anyone access to their phones.  But ordinarily, the Drill Sergeants give the soldiers a few opportunities to call during the Basic Training cycle.  Sometimes, it’s just out of the goodness of their hearts.  Other times, it’s because your soldier or his/her platoon has excelled at something.  Often, the nights before Family Day and Graduation Day your soldier is able to use the phone.

Since you (and your soldier) have no control over your abilities to talk on the phone, it’s best to stay prepared!  Keep your phone with you as best you can.  Try to keep the volume on when it’s possible.  Sometimes, you’ll get the call in the middle of the night and it can go for hours.  Other times, it will be a 15 minute phone call on a Sunday afternoon.

Now that soldiers don’t have to use payphone (thank goodness for personal cellphones), you will often have more of a “window” of time to talk.  Sometimes the drill sergeants will give the soldiers their phones for few hours at a time.  So if you do happen to miss their call, don’t worry that it’s all over.  Try calling back or texting.  The drill sergeants will NOT answer the phone for your soldier, nor will they read any of your texts.  When phone time is over, the soldiers turn their phones off themselves, and turn them back in to the drill sergeants.  All texts, voicemails, and missed calls will sit there on your soldier’s device, untouched, until the next time they have phone access.

Bottom line: don’t over stress about the potential of a phone call, but realize it is a possibility.  Nothing feels worse than missing that call!

But When Can I Expect to Hear From My Soldier?

As with everything else related to contact and Basic Training, there isn’t an exact answer.  However, there are some general brackets of times that you can expect, or begin to expect contact.

• >48 hours post-departure from you:  30 second phone call
• Day 7-10 post-departure, you can begin to receive letters (note: no return address)
• Week 3 post-departure you can begin to receive letters with the return address
• Weeks 3-4, you will probably receive contact from the Commander
• Week 4+ you can begin to hope for phone calls (normally no calls are made before 4 weeks)

Again, this can be different for everyone.  I’m generalizing the expectancy periods because they are “windows” of time to anticipate contact.  If you experienced a different contact schedule, please share it in the comment section below!  We all learn from each other’s experiences.

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If you’ve been sitting by the phone or checking the mail with extreme dedication, you can only imagine how your soldier feels when the Drill Sergeants announce mail call.  As badly as you want contact, they want it even more!! So if you haven’t written your soldier a letter today, minimize this screen and go write a letter!  (I have a guideline on how to do that here, as well as my favorite stationary supplies for the job). Then come back because I have another Army post coming out next week.  🙂  Thanks for stopping by!

Read next:

What to Expect at Army Basic Training Graduation Day

25 + Best Military Gifts for your Soldier

 Army Basic Training Letter Writing Myths