Hi everyone, its Sarah. I posted earlier on behalf of Brandon. Now I'm going to give everyone an update on the life of the other half, me.
Well, this evening is my first time back at home in St. Paul since last week. I went to Litchfield with Brandon for "homestations activities" which consisted of signing up for medical insurance and other important stuff. Despite the military's seeming lack of organization, they really DO have a lot to offer for families of deployed soldiers. Which reminds me, the reason Brandon has not yet received his orders for mobilization is because they are updating the computer system and somehow he didn't get switched over before this update began, thus, he is stuck on the one side. So, until that update is completed, he's without orders. We're not concerned though. He still has two weeks of WLC before he needs them.
I got minimal sleep the morning Brandon left, but managed to drive three hours back to Cambridge, go to a garage sale, set up a computer at my mom's, attend a wedding rehearsal and dinner, and still squeeze in some Z's before the next part of my weekend. Saturday, I woke up early, did my hair for the wedding in which I was a bridesmaid, showed up at the Salon, videotaped the bride getting her new do, then to the church, pictures, the wedding, the reception, more pictures and THEN...deep breath...I took off for Walker, MN where my cousin was having a graduation party. I stayed there and chilled out and fished and hung out with family and stuff, and finally returned home today.
This past week has certainly been an interesting one. My work was so kind to give me several weeks off to spend with Brandon and prepare for his deployment. I return to work tomorrow. I'm both dreading it and looking forward to it. I have truly enjoyed this time off and still have so much to take care of at homewith paperwork, laundry, and whatnot. However, I miss my coworkers and it will be good to stay busy.
I have never felt anything like what I felt the day Brandon left. In fact, it wasn't until I had brought my mother home from the farewell and I was on my way to my friends' wedding rehearsal that I really started to feel the absence of my husband. Unlike other drill weekends and summer AT, he won't be coming home anytime soon. Although, he and I are able to talk pretty regularly so far, I still have this awareness that part of me is missing.
One thing I know for certain though, is that God has a lot to teach us during this time and He will not leave us. I have always known during other times that we've been apart that God is always there waiting for us to make HIM our "security blanket." Well, I have no choice but to do that now, and that's good; hard, but good. I'm looking forward to how we will grow in our walks with God and in our relationship with each other. Although its tough without each other, and we haven't felt the worst of it yet, I'm confident that we'll pull through and be stronger for it.
28 May 2007
Mississippi
On Friday morning, the 25th, at 3 a.m. Brandon boarded a bus outside of the Litchfield Armory with about 18 other soldiers. They were lead by a fire truck and several motorcycles filled with veterans of war days gone by. The families, including ours, stood watch and waved as they departed for the airport, where they would fly to Mississippi for WLC (Warrior Leader Course).
The soldiers were split into two groups as there were two seperate flights going out to bring them to their destination. Brandon was chosen to be "chop commander" over one of the groups. This meant that he had to keep track of about 8 soldiers, convince airport security to let them keep their boots on when passing through (regulations these days requires passengers to remove shoes for screening), and basically just make sure everyone got there ok. Already, he's been given opportunity to exercise leadership.
He will more than likely blog more about the details later when he is able to access the internet.
They all arrived safely in the warm, muggy state of Mississippi. The first night, he and some other guys ordered pizza.
The next couple days they woke up at 0450 (4:50 am), and attended classes until about 2030 (8:30 pm). One thing that Brandon was concerned about was his PT test; a physical strength test in which he does sit ups, push ups, and a two mile run. He had been out of shape and unable to train over the past year due to a back problem (that is now back to about 98%). He was not required to pass this test to graduate the course. However, he would be given a "marginal," meaning, he was less likely to be promoted in the future. He took the test this morning and I'm so excited to tell you all that he PASSED! He even shaved a minute off of the minimum requirement for the run!
That is the news I have thus far. I will probably be blogging about life on the home front sometime later this week. Thanks everyone for your prayers!
The soldiers were split into two groups as there were two seperate flights going out to bring them to their destination. Brandon was chosen to be "chop commander" over one of the groups. This meant that he had to keep track of about 8 soldiers, convince airport security to let them keep their boots on when passing through (regulations these days requires passengers to remove shoes for screening), and basically just make sure everyone got there ok. Already, he's been given opportunity to exercise leadership.
He will more than likely blog more about the details later when he is able to access the internet.
They all arrived safely in the warm, muggy state of Mississippi. The first night, he and some other guys ordered pizza.
The next couple days they woke up at 0450 (4:50 am), and attended classes until about 2030 (8:30 pm). One thing that Brandon was concerned about was his PT test; a physical strength test in which he does sit ups, push ups, and a two mile run. He had been out of shape and unable to train over the past year due to a back problem (that is now back to about 98%). He was not required to pass this test to graduate the course. However, he would be given a "marginal," meaning, he was less likely to be promoted in the future. He took the test this morning and I'm so excited to tell you all that he PASSED! He even shaved a minute off of the minimum requirement for the run!
That is the news I have thus far. I will probably be blogging about life on the home front sometime later this week. Thanks everyone for your prayers!
21 May 2007
The Countdown
The time is ever decreasing before my time as a 'free man' ends. For those of you that do not know yet, Sarah and I will go over to Litchfield this Wednesday by 0800 hours in the morning. It is about a 2 hour drive so we will be waking up super early. Wednesday and Thursday we will be doing a whole bunch of Homestation Activities, things that involve getting Sarah registered in a bunch of different Army systems, and all sorts of stuff. I will be released from Army stuff by 1400 hours on Thursday, in which time I will be able to spend the rest of that day with the majority of my immediate family. Then I have to report back to our Homestation at 2200 hours and sleep there on Thursday night. The reason for that is because I will need to be up UBER early! We have an Equipment Loading formation at 0230 hours, and by 0300 hours we load ourselves up on the bus and head out for the airport. By 0645 hours I will be in the plane awaiting take-off.
One extremely frustrating thing, that probably a bunch of people don't understand, is that I still do not have my MOB orders. These orders are extremely important. It lets my employer, my students loans, credit cards, mortgage company, etc., know that I am being deployed. There are certain things that, by law, all of these 'entities' need to do or cannot do. I am the ONLY one in my platoon that DOES NOT have his orders. It is extremely frustrating, and I am seriously contemplating writing an email to our governor, or our congressman, and see if there is anything that can be done about this. One of the most IMPORTANT things, that can now not happen, is getting Sarah signed up for FULL coverage from the Army health system. She will still be covered under some coverage, but if anything WERE to happen, we would still need to pay for some of it. Even if I were to get my orders TODAY, it would be too late, because the application for FULL Army health coverage needs to be filled out by the 20th of this month...Sunday...and it is now Monday. They basically say that we now have to wait over a month before we can get her under full coverage, and that there is nothing that can be done about it.
If anyone is wondering what the times mean, it is really simple:
1400 hours = 2:00 PM (12:00 plus 2:00 = 14:00; pronounced 'fourteen-hundred' hours)
0000 hours is Midnight (pronounced 'zero-hundred' hours)
0300 hours is 3:00 AM (pronounce 'zero-three-hundred' hours)
My next post will be in Mississippi; time and date unknown.
One extremely frustrating thing, that probably a bunch of people don't understand, is that I still do not have my MOB orders. These orders are extremely important. It lets my employer, my students loans, credit cards, mortgage company, etc., know that I am being deployed. There are certain things that, by law, all of these 'entities' need to do or cannot do. I am the ONLY one in my platoon that DOES NOT have his orders. It is extremely frustrating, and I am seriously contemplating writing an email to our governor, or our congressman, and see if there is anything that can be done about this. One of the most IMPORTANT things, that can now not happen, is getting Sarah signed up for FULL coverage from the Army health system. She will still be covered under some coverage, but if anything WERE to happen, we would still need to pay for some of it. Even if I were to get my orders TODAY, it would be too late, because the application for FULL Army health coverage needs to be filled out by the 20th of this month...Sunday...and it is now Monday. They basically say that we now have to wait over a month before we can get her under full coverage, and that there is nothing that can be done about it.
If anyone is wondering what the times mean, it is really simple:
1400 hours = 2:00 PM (12:00 plus 2:00 = 14:00; pronounced 'fourteen-hundred' hours)
0000 hours is Midnight (pronounced 'zero-hundred' hours)
0300 hours is 3:00 AM (pronounce 'zero-three-hundred' hours)
My next post will be in Mississippi; time and date unknown.
08 May 2007
Extracted Wisdom
So today I had all my wisdom removed...ok, so technically it was just my 4 wisdom TEETH. Talk about weird! The last thing I remember is I was talking to the doctor about the different type of weapons we will be using over there. Then I started feeling light headed, tried to keep talking but I couldn't think of the words to finish my sentence, and then I was told to lay down on a bed with a pillow and my mouth was filled with gauze. Talk about strange! I've never had to have any type of operation done on me to where I needed to be put 'under', but it sure was nice. One second your sitting in the dental chair, next SECOND your resting on a bed!
I do have to say though, I am sore... and I will probably only get more sore as the time goes on. I have to take 3 things of Ibuprofen, 3 times a day, for 3 days, and then take some Tylenol with Codeine when the pain gets really bad. I've already had to take the Tylenol once so far, but hopefully things will begin to taper off. I'm just thankful that I was able to get them done NOW and not down in Camp Shelby! The Army doesn't put you 'under', they simply load you up with Novocaine, wipe the blood off your forehead that might splatter on you while your awake, and then give you 3 days before your up and training again! NO THANK YOU!
Anyways, in about one week I have another dental exam where they will fill 3 - 4 more cavities. All of this work, by the way, is paid for by the Army; thank you taxpayers! (and, of course, my own tax money)
I do have to say though, I am sore... and I will probably only get more sore as the time goes on. I have to take 3 things of Ibuprofen, 3 times a day, for 3 days, and then take some Tylenol with Codeine when the pain gets really bad. I've already had to take the Tylenol once so far, but hopefully things will begin to taper off. I'm just thankful that I was able to get them done NOW and not down in Camp Shelby! The Army doesn't put you 'under', they simply load you up with Novocaine, wipe the blood off your forehead that might splatter on you while your awake, and then give you 3 days before your up and training again! NO THANK YOU!
Anyways, in about one week I have another dental exam where they will fill 3 - 4 more cavities. All of this work, by the way, is paid for by the Army; thank you taxpayers! (and, of course, my own tax money)
05 May 2007
Mobolization Orders
Finally! The day has arrived where I have received my individual mobolization orders for the WLC (Warrior Leader Course) school I need to attend. May 23rd and 24th will be my 'Home station activities' days. That means Sarah will come with me over to the Litchfield Armory (which is where the unit I am deploying with is based out of) where we will go over paperwork, get her a Military I.D. card, and all that fancy jazz. They will be putting us up in a hotel over there because we live outside of a 50 mile radius from the Armory, so that helps save on gas and time. Then on May 25th is the day I leave for my WLC school. I will say my final goodbyes to Sarah, and any other family members that think they can make it over there that day. I will be transported to the airport where I will be flown, in a round about way, to Camp Shelby, Mississippi. (Also known as the 'Armpit of America' because of the humidity, blah)
Once I am in Shelby, I will have a few days to wait before I take my first P.T. (Physical Training) Test. For many of you that didn't know this, I was having some really nasty back problems. These problems resulted in me not being able to do any P.T. training for... well lets just say a VERY long time. According to the Army standards for this course, you are required to PASS your P.T. Test in order to complete the course. Having not done an P.T. for a VERY long time, I was extremely freaked out. (My back problems have since been fixed and I have been operating at 98%! But only for 1 month, so my P.T. still bites.) By me not passing this test, I would have been forced to stay down in Shelby for the length of the course, and that would not be any fun. However, I just learned this weekend that the Army has changed the P.T. standards for all Leadership schools (Which is what WLC is) meaning that you now DON'T need to pass your P.T. test in order to graduate the school! Talk about a HUGE sigh of relief! I have only been able to train for about 1 month so far to get my 2 Mile run time up to 16:35. Push-Ups and Sit-Ups are no problem, its all that dang running that gets me. Let me just say that I am nowhere near that. Now, however, I have some more time to get ready for the test!
The WLC school is approximately 2 weeks long. The graduation date from the school will be on June 9th. I will not be returning after the school is over, which was a possibility before. (We were hoping I could come back because there was a possibility that the Main Body was deploying later in June. That would allow me a bigger 'Family Day' with the Unit, but that did not happen) The Main Body will be arriving at Camp Shelby on June 7th so I will join up with my Unit right after I graduate. From there we will begin training, training, and still more training. We will be training as close to non-stop as possible. One of the last Units to be deployed to Iraq spent 6 Months training here in the States before they went to Iraq. We, however, will only be training in the States for a MAXIMUM of 90 days! That means we need to cram 6 months worth of training into anywhere from 2 1/2 - 3 Months. Add to that the fact that we are in America's Armpit, and you have some wonderfully warm days and nights!
Talk to everyone later!
Once I am in Shelby, I will have a few days to wait before I take my first P.T. (Physical Training) Test. For many of you that didn't know this, I was having some really nasty back problems. These problems resulted in me not being able to do any P.T. training for... well lets just say a VERY long time. According to the Army standards for this course, you are required to PASS your P.T. Test in order to complete the course. Having not done an P.T. for a VERY long time, I was extremely freaked out. (My back problems have since been fixed and I have been operating at 98%! But only for 1 month, so my P.T. still bites.) By me not passing this test, I would have been forced to stay down in Shelby for the length of the course, and that would not be any fun. However, I just learned this weekend that the Army has changed the P.T. standards for all Leadership schools (Which is what WLC is) meaning that you now DON'T need to pass your P.T. test in order to graduate the school! Talk about a HUGE sigh of relief! I have only been able to train for about 1 month so far to get my 2 Mile run time up to 16:35. Push-Ups and Sit-Ups are no problem, its all that dang running that gets me. Let me just say that I am nowhere near that. Now, however, I have some more time to get ready for the test!
The WLC school is approximately 2 weeks long. The graduation date from the school will be on June 9th. I will not be returning after the school is over, which was a possibility before. (We were hoping I could come back because there was a possibility that the Main Body was deploying later in June. That would allow me a bigger 'Family Day' with the Unit, but that did not happen) The Main Body will be arriving at Camp Shelby on June 7th so I will join up with my Unit right after I graduate. From there we will begin training, training, and still more training. We will be training as close to non-stop as possible. One of the last Units to be deployed to Iraq spent 6 Months training here in the States before they went to Iraq. We, however, will only be training in the States for a MAXIMUM of 90 days! That means we need to cram 6 months worth of training into anywhere from 2 1/2 - 3 Months. Add to that the fact that we are in America's Armpit, and you have some wonderfully warm days and nights!
Talk to everyone later!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
