One of my nephews has enlisted in the Navy and goes off to Basic Training right after Labor Day. We’re very proud of him, and I’d like to get him a good going-away gift.
I’m looking for ideas for things that he’ll really appreciate and find useful (even if he doesn’t know it yet!). I know we have a lot of Dopers who are military, ex-military, or military family members, so I’m hoping you can advise a clueless newbie military family member.
I realize that he’s extremely restricted in what he can bring with him to boot camp, so gift ideas that he won’t be able to use until afterwards are fine. Price is really no object – I can get someone to chip in with me if something costs more than I can spend.
In case it’s useful, here’s some information about my nephew: He’s 20, he’s totally into music (and skateboarding), and he’s signed up to be trained as an electrician.
Any ideas?
A phone card so he can make long distance calls. You can get them at Sam’s or Costco fairly cheaply.
And give him my thanks.
He won’t be able to use much of anything until after Basic Training. I’d wait and give him something then, when he’ll really appreciate it.
While he’s in Basic Training, the nicest thing you can do is write to him very, very often. I was so happy my family wrote me often, and proud of them for it, too. They really went out of their way to do it, as none of them is the type to write a letter more than once a year, ordinarily.
I agree with bluethree. Right now the best thing you can do is write lots of letters. Mail call was always one of the highlights of the week when I was in boot camp, and it sucked when you didn’t get anything.
After boot camp he’ll probably be sent to a training school, which is less restrictive than boot camp, but there still may be things that are off limits. Phone cards are always good though.
I thought of one thing…it’s not really exciting, but…
When I was in Basic Training they took our group picture about 3/4s of the way into it and then we had the option of buying them or not. At one point they also offered us the opportunity to buy a rubber floor mat that had our unit’s insignia on it. So you might want to let your nephew know ahead of time that you’d be willing to buy him whatever Basic Training paraphernalia shows up.
I bought two copies of my group photo, and I’m glad I did, since one went with my stepmother when my dad got divorced.
I wish I had better ideas.
Wait until he gets back and then take him out for some new clothes that fit. He will gain a little muscle and a lot of confidence.
Thank you all so much for your suggestions! And ivylass, I’ll be sure to convey your kind words. Thanks, too, for letting me know how important it is to write my nephew often – I’ll be sure to do that, and to encourage the rest of my family to do so as well.
Does he have a hard drive MP3 player (i.e. iPod)? It’s more of a gift for somebody who will be stationed overseas, but would work fine for limited foot-locker space in training too. You said he likes music. That could easily mean he has at least 200-300 CDs, which are one or two large CD cases. Or one tiny iPod. The choice is really easy. An entire music library that can literally fit in ones pocket.
Write to him in Boot Camp, definately. A prepaid phone card will also come in very handy for him. Anything else you want to give him had better wait until after Boot Camp. He won’t be allowed to take anything with him for basic training – Only Mostly Dead’s suggestion of an iPod is an excellent one for once he starts his A-school (job training), but he wouldn’t be allowed to keep it with him in Boot. If he did take it with, he’d just have to pack it up (along with the civvies he wore on the trip) and mail it home.
Cookies!
Writing is nice and I appreciated it, cookies in Boot camp were a huge hit. Send more than you think because they will be shared around. Make sure you package them pretty hardy, I remember eating some like popcorn because there was nothing but crumbs.
Another little thing, my then girlfriend sent some newspaper clippings. I was in boot camp when my beloved Buffalo Bills won their division title for the first time in my lifetime. The fans stormed the field and tore down the goalposts. Seeing that picture on the front page of the paper brought me a huge smile and a nice little piece of “home.”
I have given new enlistees postage stamps as a gift. I would also suggest a watch but make sure it is rugged and not expensive.