2. Where did your soldier attend basic training?
Fort Jackson

3. When did he attend basic training?
November '07 - February '08

4. How often did you hear from him? (Phone and letters)
My husband wrote me every day.  I got a lot of letters, but I often didn't get them in order or in a very timely fashion.  I even got one letter dated January 1st about three weeks after he graduated!  This is because it is the drill sergeant's responsibility to take the mail bag to be mailed.  They don't do this every day, so I often got a stack of letters all at the same time after waiting for a week.  Don't panic or think that something is wrong. 
Make yourself available on Sunday!!!! I cannot stress enough how horrible it is to have stepped away from the phone for an hour and come back to find six messages from my husband.  They occasionally get to call at other times, but mostly they will call on Sundays.  You should definitely wait by the phone, because they don't get to call every week, and they don't have very long to talk.  Also, as far as I know they were allowed to use their cell phones to call home.  If he has one, make sure your husband brings it.  There are a limited number of pay phones and a lot of people wanting to use them. 

5. How long was it before you heard from him the first time?
I heard from my husband the first weekend after he got there.  He called me, but was only allowed to talk for a very short time.  If I remember right this was mostly just a "hey, I'm alive" call.  However, he did write to me while in reception.

6. How long did it take to receive a mailing address for him?
I received a mailing address within the first week.  THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!!  Write the address correctly or he will get in trouble!!!  However he tells you to write the address, make sure you do it exactly that way.  If you don't, he will be doing a lot of push-ups. 

7. Were there any restrictions on what you could send him?
I sent him a LOT of pictures.  I don't know if this is the same for all the companies at Jackson, but he was only allowed to have wallet-sized pictures, so I cut them down.  He loved getting them, though, so this is probably a good idea.  They aren't allowed to have any reading material other than your letters and stuff that they are given there.  I tried to send my husband an article from the newspaper, but they wouldn't let him have it.  The best thing to send if your husband didn't bring a cell phone or if they aren't allowed to use them is a phone card.  Also, they always need stamps and envelopes.  Although they can buy these things at the Shoppette, they only get to go there once in a while.  It's no fun to stop getting letters because your husband has no stamps.  Also, I sent my husband about a million cards.  I made some, I bought some.  He loved it.  I sometimes sent one long letter and a card and an envelope full of pictures all on the same day.  They love to be the one who gets the most mail, even if they have to do push-ups for it. 

8. Were you sent information about family day and graduation?
Yes.  However, if you are like me and have decided to move to your husband's AIT base, at this phase in the game you are probably overwhelmed with packing and stuff.  I didn't get my graduation package until after graduation because I moved and it had to be forwarded.  This isn't a big deal, though.  Just keep in touch with your soldier, and believe me they will make sure you're there.

9. Did he have a family day? If so, please describe.
He did have a family day.  Be prepared to be patient.  I am not patient and actually knocked several people down trying to get to my husband.  This is what happened-
They tell you to get there very early to avoid long lines at the gate.  This is a good idea.  Another good idea is knowing exactly where you're going before you get there.  There are signs everywhere, but if you somehow get lost people are not very nice about helping you.  That is something you might as well get used to with the military, though.  A lot of people act like if you don't already know everything there's something wrong with you.  Once you get to the field, you will probably have a lot of time to kill.  If it is winter bring a blanket or coat.  I'm from Nebraska, and I assumed it would be warmer in S.C.  It's not.  You will be cold.  Eventually, a lot of people are going to talk FOREVER.  You will probably not care what they are saying and will want them to shut up, but you might as well listen, because some of it is useful information.  After that, I think was when they set off a lot of smoke bombs and hundreds of soldiers came running out of the trees.  You will probably not be able to tell which company your soldier is in unless he lets you know.  That's not a bad idea, because I ended up being on the opposite end of the stands from my husband's company.  They'll yell some things which will probably not be understandable from where you are.  Then they'll tell you which companies are which and allow you to go down to them.  They are not allowed to move until you come to claim them.  Now, I just want you to be prepared.  You are probably going to cry a lot, so don't wear too much eye make-up.  The thing to do, even though it's difficult, is to try to get away from the field.  They aren't allowed to show too much affection in uniform, and I'm sure you'll want to be all gushy.  After the ceremony the pretty much let you go wherever you want on the base.  If you have a hotel in town I believe that they will allow them to go off-post with you until, I think 1800.  You drop them off at their barracks for the night, but you'll see them the next day at graduation.

10. Please describe the graduation ceremony.
The graduation for my husband's company was held inside because the weather was nasty.  It was fairly short.  I think they just came in, sang the Army song, presented some awards and let them go.  You'll definitely want to assign a meeting place with them the day before, because I had a terrible time finding my husband afterwards.  Now, my information at this point will only be helpful to those of you who are transporting your husband yourself.  I met mine back at the barracks where we waited in line to be released.  This was a long line, but fear not because it moves pretty fast.  After that, much to his consternation, I made him stay on post with me for five minutes so that I could take pictures of where he lived.  Then we left post, and the very first thing we did was to get him a giant meal at Applebee's.  He definitely needed it.  My husband lost about 20 lbs. in Basic, and he was scrawny to begin with.  I think this is because they only give them about enough time for one bite of food at every meal.  No worries, though, he gained it back pretty fast at AIT.  My husband was allowed to stay with me overnight before I had to take him to his new barracks.
Oh!  Also, you'll want to make sure you have a good camera for family day and graduation.  You probably won't be able to get very good pictures of your soldier, because they're all in formations and you won't be able to get very close.  However, I took a disposable camera, and in my pictures you can't see anything at all.

11. Is there a website for his basic training unit? Is there a place to see pictures of his training online?
Yes, there's a website.  You can Google "Fort Jackson" and find it easily.  It's not hard to navigate, but it's also not super useful.  You'll probably find out most of the same information from your husband as it becomes relevant.  They do have a nice timetable of what your soldier is doing in reception.  Also, this is where they'll post graduation dates.  You can order a cycle book with pictures of his training, but we didn't.  We were told that there probably wouldn't be anything in it with my husband.  I think most of the pictures are old and they just fill in the spaces with a few new ones.  You can also order a video of the graduation, but they're expensive.