On an average, the boot camp side of the base receives about 2,000 letters A DAY. Not the entire base, just the boot camp side. When the mail gets there, it is broken down by Battalion. There are 3 Battalions, so after they are separated, the mail is then forwarded to the Battalion it is addressed to. At the Battalion, the mail is then broken down into the Company it is to go to. 1st Battalion Companies are Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta. 2nd Battalion Companies are Echo, Fox, Golf, and Hotel. 3rd Battalion Companies are India, Kilo, Lima, and Mike. When the letter gets this far, it is THEN broken down into the Platoon Number your recruit is in.

Depending on the time of year, there will be from 6 to 8 Platoons in each Company. When the mail is broken down into the Platoon number, THEN it is sent to that Platoon, for the Drill Instructors to hand out to your recruit. Generally, your son will write you on a Sunday morning, when they have 3 hours of "free time." It is mailed to you Monday, and you get his letter to you, on a Wednesday or Thursday. Now YOUR letter to HIM, can take 7 to 10 days to get to him, because of the four steps it has to go through, to be delivered. EACH step, can take a day OR two, therefore, 7 - 10 days for a letter from you, to get to him. You mail a letter on say Monday. It gets to San Diego on Wednesday, to the base Thursday, then starts through the four
day cycle get to him. Sunday, there is no mail delivery, so there is another day. NOW you see why it takes 7 - 10 days for YOUR mail to get to THEM. He might write, "How come no one is writing me," and you have been, this is the reason.

SUGGESTION. Use ONLY white envelopes, no blue, yellow, etc. Put NO "smiley faces," lip stick "kiss" or ANYTHING on the envelope, except his address, and your return address. One other thing you CAN do, that will be OK. When you seal the envelope, on the back, at the "V" on the bottom of the seal, put a small 1, on the first letter. The second letter, a small 2. On the third letter, a small 3, etc. This way, if one letter HAPPENS to pass another, he will know the sequence they have arrived in.