The mega-meta Military family/friends thread

[TexasGrunt 72]

Saw posted by Bama Chick in regards to son graduating Marine Basic, he left on October and this is first time seeing him.  This is big difference from Army, my son started basic in October also but the Army gave them a 2 week break over Christmas.  LOL.    FYI, I was in Army 85 to 92, I have had a few calls with my son and um, lets just say Basic has changed since 85.   I am heading to Ft. Jackson tomorrow for his graduation, after that he is heading out to Goodfellow AFB for Signal Intel training for 6 months.  His recruiter and I convinced him to not go Infantry like I was.

[Bama Chick 28596]

Yeah, apparently Marine boot camp is serious bidness.

Nothing but snail mail from October to January.

No phone calls or anything.

We missed his birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s.

I kept my tree up and we had Christmas this weekend. I couldn’t wait to take it down yesterday.

He flies to Geiger on 2/1 for MCT - infantry training for non-infantry Marines. He’ll be there a month but I think he gets four hours of liberty on Sundays while he’s there so hopefully I’ll get to talk to him a few times.

I’m completely ignorant about military life. The only people in our families that served were an uncle drafted into Vietnam and a great grandad in WW2; neither made it a career and neither are still with us.

I’m doing my best to learn what I can and be supportive without being a helicopter mom lol.

I know he got his Expert Rifle Badge and his MOS is Intelligence.

And I sure do like how he looks in those dress blues.

The difference in his confidence and attitude and bearing is amazing.

He was a bit immature and aimless when he left - not a bad kid, just didn’t have much purpose and was searching.

He definitely left a boy and returned a man.

We had shirts made with our last name on them for Family Day and I had more than one DI approach me to compliment him and tell me some pretty damn cool stories.

I’m pretty fucking proud.

And I think he’s got a filthier mouth than me now lol.

[Guest]

Awesome stuff.  If I could put a day's rep on your post, I would.

Love the feelings you share from a mom's perspective, especially since you kind of have that 'hardass' mindset sometimes, not just all mushy-gushy stuff.

Semper Fidelis.

[Guest]

Today is my oldest son's last day in the Army.

I am excited for what lies ahead, what with his little family and expecting a son of his own in July.  Dude can lead people and somehow they love him for it.  That will serve him well in the real world.  He was a great officer and took his responsibilities seriously.  It has been humbling and proud to watch his path and personal development.  We went to his Captain promotion ceremony last May and his CO tried to get us to convince him to stay in the Army.  It was tongue-in-cheek, but it wasn't, if you will.  The Colonel waxed on  and on about our son's leadership, but more importantly his integrity, character, and commitment to his Soldiers; with nary an eye-roll or muffled "bullshit' in the crowd.

  This part of his journey is in the books.  Can't wait to see what happens next.

[Sawbonz 27521]

Saw my cousin this weekend and her youngest recently finished ranger training and they have to do a night jump to qualify. His main chute didn’t open (did a cigar? roll). He cut it away and deployed the backup chute and it did the same thing.

All he got was a mild concussion. He then completed his night jump 2 weeks later when he cleared concussion protocol. Doesn’t remember the last part of the descent.  Doctors said he probably blacked out at between 1000 and 2000 feet so was completely limp when he hit. Apparently not super rare but a) holy shit and b) fuck jumping out of perfectly good airplanes esp 2 weeks after you almost die doing it. 
 

He’s already been on a couple of deployments and of course can’t say where he went or what he was doing 

Thank you to all on this thread for your and your family members’ service. Y’all will remain in my prayers 

[BillyGoatHill 4312]

On 4/16/2022 at 10:11 AM, Sawbonz said:

Saw my cousin this weekend and her youngest recently finished ranger training and they have to do a night jump to qualify. His main chute didn’t open (did a cigar? roll). He cut it away and deployed the backup chute and it did the same thing.

All he got was a mild concussion. He then completed his night jump 2 weeks later when he cleared concussion protocol. Doesn’t remember the last part of the descent.  Doctors said he probably blacked out at between 1000 and 2000 feet so was completely limp when he hit. Apparently not super rare but a) holy shit and b) fuck jumping out of perfectly good airplanes esp 2 weeks after you almost die doing it. 
 

He’s already been on a couple of deployments and of course can’t say where he went or what he was doing 

Thank you to all on this thread for your and your family members’ service. Y’all will remain in my prayers 

No such thing my friend. Especially if you are a paratrooper.

[Bama Chick 28596]

Update on my Marine!

He finished at Geiger and he’s now at his A School in Pensacola.

Apparently the Marines changed his MOS between Boot and MCT.

He’s now in Avionics but can’t tell me any specifics because of security beyond he will be working on weapons system.

He’s been selected squadron leader and is currently first in his class. He left Boot as a PFC because he had college credits and if he keeps doing well he should get a meritorious promotion to LCpl at the end of A school.

He had to teach a lesson and a Staff Sergeant approached him after class and told him he should consider looking into applying to be a Drill Sergeant and then moving into an instructor position after his fleet service. And then he invited him to join his golf group last weekend.

He’ll be in Pensacola till August or September and then may end up staying there for his next school or could end up somewhere else depending on which platform he specializes in. If he stays at the top of his class he gets to choose.

I got to go down and visit with him and bring him some of his things - civilian clothes, XBOX, laptop etc.

I can’t get over how much he’s changed in his maturity and responsibility and attitude. He’s still the same kid but that kid now lives inside a man with ambitions and plans.

I got him some tech stuff for his birthday and Christmas I saw other Marines and Marine parents recommended - a certain solar charger and power strips and some other stuff I don’t remember at the moment. His squad nickname is now “Best Buy” because everyone goes to him to use and borrow his stuff lol.

I sure do miss him and I never would have chosen this path for him but he is thriving and happy and that’s all we can hope for our kids when they get grown.

I’m so damn proud of him.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

6 hours ago, Bama Chick said:

Update on my Marine!

He finished at Geiger and he’s now at his A School in Pensacola.

Apparently the Marines changed his MOS between Boot and MCT.

He’s now in Avionics but can’t tell me any specifics because of security beyond he will be working on weapons system.

He’s been selected squadron leader and is currently first in his class. He left Boot as a PFC because he had college credits and if he keeps doing well he should get a meritorious promotion to LCpl at the end of A school.

He had to teach a lesson and a Staff Sergeant approached him after class and told him he should consider looking into applying to be a Drill Sergeant and then moving into an instructor position after his fleet service. And then he invited him to join his golf group last weekend.

He’ll be in Pensacola till August or September and then may end up staying there for his next school or could end up somewhere else depending on which platform he specializes in. If he stays at the top of his class he gets to choose.

 

I got to go down and visit with him and bring him some of his things - civilian clothes, XBOX, laptop etc.

I can’t get over how much he’s changed in his maturity and responsibility and attitude. He’s still the same kid but that kid now lives inside a man with ambitions and plans.

I got him some tech stuff for his birthday and Christmas I saw other Marines and Marine parents recommended - a certain solar charger and power strips and some other stuff I don’t remember at the moment. His squad nickname is now “Best Buy” because everyone goes to him to use and borrow his stuff lol.

I sure do miss him and I never would have chosen this path for him but he is thriving and happy and that’s all we can hope for our kids when they get grown.

I’m so damn proud of him.

It's amazing what focused discipline does for a kid. I saw it with several friends of my son as they went from freshman in the corps of cadets at VT to their  senior year, and then military service beyond.

Edited April 24, 2022 by Onboard 2.0

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

Just now, Onboard 2.0 said:

It's amazing what focused discipline does for a kid. I saw it with several friends of my son as they went from freshman in the corps of cadets at VT to their  senior year, and then military service beyond.

 

[You don't know me 1161]

Well, one of my boys shipped off to Army Basic Training yesterday.  We live in Missouri (about 60 miles or so west of STL), but he joined the Iowa Army National Guard.  Sounds odd, I know, but he got a half ride to a college in Iowa to wrestle, so he joined the Iowa Guard.  I drove him up to Iowa City (about 4.5 hours away from us) on Tuesday evening.  We stayed in a hotel Tuesday night, then I took him to the Iowa National Guard Readiness Center Wednesday morning.  He did a little final paperwork and then we said our goodbyes and I headed back home.  They took him to Cedar Falls to catch a flight to O'Hare, then got on another flight there to...  STL.  He waited at the airport there for several hours before getting on a bus to Fort Leonard Wood.  At approximately 9:15 PM last night, the wife and I drove to the commuter parking lot at the exit to our town and watched his bus go by. 

He called last night at 1:00 AM and read "I have arrived safely at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.  I am safe and will call  when I can." click

I was a Marine, so I have a general idea about what he's going through and what's going on in his head.  I worry, but I know that he will be better for this.  We said goodbye to the boy and he won't be the same person the next time we see him.

[You don't know me 1161]

I'm a dumbass...  Cedar Rapids, not Cedar Falls.

[TexasGrunt 72]

My son is Army, graduates AIT on the 4th.  Basic goes by fast.  Heck even the 6 months my son spent in AIT has gone by fast.  He got his orders and he is going to 1st Armored at Bliss.  He is luck, his MOS is Signal Intel so he will be in Brigade S2 or Division G3.  So not to bad.

[Gil Bang 25906]

4 hours ago, You don't know me said:

Well, one of my boys shipped off to Army Basic Training yesterday.  We live in Missouri (about 60 miles or so west of STL), but he joined the Iowa Army National Guard.  Sounds odd, I know, but he got a half ride to a college in Iowa to wrestle, so he joined the Iowa Guard.  I drove him up to Iowa City (about 4.5 hours away from us) on Tuesday evening.  We stayed in a hotel Tuesday night, then I took him to the Iowa National Guard Readiness Center Wednesday morning.  He did a little final paperwork and then we said our goodbyes and I headed back home.  They took him to Cedar Falls to catch a flight to O'Hare, then got on another flight there to...  STL.  He waited at the airport there for several hours before getting on a bus to Fort Leonard Wood.  At approximately 9:15 PM last night, the wife and I drove to the commuter parking lot at the exit to our town and watched his bus go by. 

He called last night at 1:00 AM and read "I have arrived safely at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.  I am safe and will call  when I can." click

I was a Marine, so I have a general idea about what he's going through and what's going on in his head.  I worry, but I know that he will be better for this.  We said goodbye to the boy and he won't be the same person the next time we see him.

where will he be drilling?  Will it be a long drive?

[Gil Bang 25906]

1 hour ago, TexasGrunt said:

My son is Army, graduates AIT on the 4th.  Basic goes by fast.  Heck even the 6 months my son spent in AIT has gone by fast.  He got his orders and he is going to 1st Armored at Bliss.  He is luck, his MOS is Signal Intel so he will be in Brigade S2 or Division G3.  So not to bad.

My kid's 1st unit was 1st Armored.  They had Strykers then, I don't think that they do anymore.  He went to Afghanistan with that unit.  El Paso is pretty decent town.  Better than the average military town IMO.

[You don't know me 1161]

33 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

where will he be drilling?  Will it be a long drive?

He will drill about 30 miles from campus, so not bad at all.  It's a transportation unit, so he decided he wanted to drive trucks.  Can't say that I blame him because it's the closest to campus.  Very short school, so he was able to have a little bit of a summer before basic and he'll be done with AIT prior to the spring semester.  The education benefits in the NG are very good, and he'll be able to start taking advantage immediately.  The state will reimburse tuition up to the rate of a state university, plus he gets the GI Bill from the feds.  That should be enough to cover the part that the scholarship doesn't.  When he was taking visits, he found out that the coach from the school he chose is in the Guard.  They had a nice talk about that.

 

ETA:  I know his head is spinning right now and he's questioning every decision he has made, but that will go away soon.  The first week just sucks.

Edited July 21, 2022 by You don't know me

[Gil Bang 25906]

20 minutes ago, You don't know me said:

He will drill about 30 miles from campus, so not bad at all.  It's a transportation unit, so he decided he wanted to drive trucks.  Can't say that I blame him because it's the closest to campus.  Very short school, so he was able to have a little bit of a summer before basic and he'll be done with AIT prior to the spring semester.  The education benefits in the NG are very good, and he'll be able to start taking advantage immediately.  The state will reimburse tuition up to the rate of a state university, plus he gets the GI Bill from the feds.  That should be enough to cover the part that the scholarship doesn't.  When he was taking visits, he found out that the coach from the school he chose is in the Guard.  They had a nice talk about that.

 

ETA:  I know his head is spinning right now and he's questioning every decision he has made, but that will go away soon.  The first week just sucks.

From what I understand about Army Basic (my kid was a drill a couple of years back), he's probably bored as shit in reception.

[You don't know me 1161]

From what I understand about Army Basic (my kid was a drill a couple of years back), he's probably bored as shit in reception.

Yeah, which leaves plenty of time to reflect on life...

[Texzilla58 4731]

My son is 41 and went into the Air Force at 17. He became a crew chief on a B52 at Barksdale. Got disenchanted about some military bullshit and got out after 8. Moved in with us, got a job, got laid off, then went to full time reserves back in Barksdale doing the same gig. Moved to Cali after ugly divorce and did heavy maintenance at March. Left reserves for the DCMA working at el Segundo in LA inspecting planes coming off the Grumman line. Took an other job moved to OKC got married and then went back to USAF at tinker as a civilian.

I tell his story a lot to parents wanting to force kids to college when theyRe not ready. Mine wasn’t at 17, but they taught his shit college doesn’t like accountability, responsibility, and duty. And now he’s about six hours from his masters. I paid his gi bill; $1800 and he’ll end up with a great education and not a dime of debt. He’ll likely have the AF pay for an mba.

Another friend has a son that went Army ROTC and they paid for undergrad and medical school. No debt no expense. My cousin is a dentist and just retired from the coast guard as an admiral. They paid all her dental school debt at Baylor and she’ll have a hell of a pension.

For kids without a plan, or have a plan and want no debt, there are a ton of great programs with the military to serve and get great benefits for a second career. And they need people right now.

[You don't know me 1161]

The boy called last night.  He sounded good.  He's still in reception, but should be moving to actual basic training today.  He said they have one more shot to get and then they are done in reception.  It blows my mind that they get to make calls from time to time.  When I went through USMC boot camp, I got the one call when we first got there and then I earned one more while I was there.  It sounds like they can earn their phones for a little bit on Sundays. 

@Texzilla58 I have another boy that joined the AF right after high school.  He's been in for 10 years now and the AF has paid for his undergrad and he just finished up his masters.  He still hasn't touched his GI Bill either.  He's really made it work for him.

[Paco 1934]

I paid his gi bill; $1800 and he’ll end up with a great education and not a dime of debt.

What does that mean?

[Guest]

9 hours ago, Paco said:

 

 

What does that mean?

 

Veterans must have been honorably discharged to qualify. Upon enrolling, you pay $100 for 12 months to receive a monthly education benefit upon completion of the minimum service obligation. You are then eligible for up to 36 months* of benefits. These benefits are paid to the you directly.

https://www.military.com/education/gi-bill/everything-you-should-know-about-the-gi-bill.html#:~:text=Veterans must have been honorably,paid to the you directly.

 

I definitely paid the $1200 when I was in.  Maybe they have a different program if you are already expecting to do post-grad. The exceprt above is also related to the Montgomery GI Bill, which is different from the post 9-11 version.

Edited July 26, 2022 by slorch

[TXSG8R 3362]

On 7/21/2022 at 4:47 PM, Gil Bang said:

My kid's 1st unit was 1st Armored.  They had Strykers then, I don't think that they do anymore.  He went to Afghanistan with that unit.  El Paso is pretty decent town.  Better than the average military town IMO.

El Paso is a shit hole, but Bliss got a ton of money a few years ago and is really nice now. Only place I’ve seen a cigar shop on base. 

[williemackgarza 1826]

Man. Thanks to all you and your family’s sacrifices.

[Gil Bang 25906]

On 7/26/2022 at 4:40 AM, TXSG8R said:

El Paso is a shit hole, but Bliss got a ton of money a few years ago and is really nice now. Only place I’ve seen a cigar shop on base. 

He left Bliss for Polk. 

El Paso looked like Beverly Hills compared to the towns around Polk. 

[Paco 1934]

Veterans must have been honorably discharged to qualify. Upon enrolling, you pay $100 for 12 months to receive a monthly education benefit upon completion of the minimum service obligation. You are then eligible for up to 36 months* of benefits. These benefits are paid to the you directly.
https://www.military.com/education/gi-bill/everything-you-should-know-about-the-gi-bill.html#:~:text=Veterans must have been honorably,paid to the you directly.
 
I definitely paid the $1200 when I was in.  Maybe they have a different program if you are already expecting to do post-grad. The exceprt above is also related to the Montgomery GI Bill, which is different from the post 9-11 version.

I didn't remember that. Definitely didn't think somebody else could pay for it, I just remember sixteen different deductions from my $1300 a month pay. Including the completely fictional Marine Corps retirement home.

[TXSG8R 3362]

3 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

He left Bliss for Polk. 

El Paso looked like Beverly Hills compared to the towns around Polk. 

Yea, that’s rough. There’s is a hell of a crawfish place in Leesville near the highway split though, so he’s got that going for him. 

[Gil Bang 25906]

Yea, that’s rough. There’s is a hell of a crawfish place in Leesville near the highway split though, so he’s got that going for him. 

[FartingMonk 3606]

15 hours ago, Paco said:

On 7/26/2022 at 4:24 AM, slorch said:

Veterans must have been honorably discharged to qualify. Upon enrolling, you pay $100 for 12 months to receive a monthly education benefit upon completion of the minimum service obligation. You are then eligible for up to 36 months* of benefits. These benefits are paid to the you directly.
https://www.military.com/education/gi-bill/everything-you-should-know-about-the-gi-bill.html#:~:text=Veterans must have been honorably,paid to the you directly.
 
I definitely paid the $1200 when I was in.  Maybe they have a different program if you are already expecting to do post-grad. The exceprt above is also related to the Montgomery GI Bill, which is different from the post 9-11 version.

I didn't remember that. Definitely didn't think somebody else could pay for it, I just remember sixteen different deductions from my $1300 a month pay. Including the completely fictional Marine Corps retirement home.

The payment went away back in 2005-2006 when we were in our we love the military phase.  It's fully funded by Congress now.

[You don't know me 1161]

Well, tomorrow the boy will be 2 weeks into his military adventure.  He arrived at Leonard Wood on 20 July and went from reception to BCT on 25 July.  The wife got a call from him on the afternoon of the 25th.  She came downstairs and said that he called, but we was a bit of an "asshole".  I explained to her that there was a drill sergeant standing there telling him that if he said anything other than his address or if he went over a certain amount of time, he'd pay.  I also told her that move in day is likely the most stressful day of basic.  She responded "Yeah, I heard someone yelling in the background". 

Moving forward to this past Sunday, he facetimed us at noon.  They got their phones for 30 minutes.  His head is in a good place.  He said that some of it sucks, but it's not horrible.  Said they get smoked from time to time, but even that's not that bad.  He's in tremendous shape from wrestling at a fairly high level, plus the mental strength of that breed is a bit different, so I don't expect this to be something that he can't do.  He will change, but it won't be anything that he can't handle. 

While on the facetime call with him, I could already see some changes in him.  After we had spoke for about 15 minutes, I asked him if he needed to call his girlfriend.  I said that I didn't want to hog his entire phone time.  He responded "But I like talking to you guys".  So that made me feel good.  Girlfriend would probably be upset, but he's just never put any girl ahead of anything of importance in his life.  When his time was running out, I heard someone yelling in the background and he stood up really quickly, yelled "Yes Drill Sergeant!", then said "I have to go".  Click.

Some things that I learned on the call...  The Army has added a phase of about 10 days the beginning of BCT called Yellow phase.  I think it's a semi-quarantine period.  Sounds like all they do is learn about customs and courtesies, drill, and PT.  They should be moving to Red Phase in the next few days.  At that point, he will take his first Combat Fitness Test. 

I'm ready for next Sunday's call, if he gets one.

[mbtex 683]

Son just entered his 3rd year. Currently deployed to the Baltics. 

[BearSchlong 8082]

1st LT BearSchlong jr. of the 82nd is back from Poland and I’m throwing a bbq for him and his bride on Saturday.

[Guest]

Anyone watch the movie on Netflix- "Purple Hearts?"  Watched it with my recently separated from Army son and our wives.  Sofia Carson is smoking hot throughout.  That's pretty much the only redeeming quality of the flick, that and our wives learned what dependapotomus means.

[Texzilla58 4731]

What does that mean?

They had a deal when he finished boot that if you prepaid a lump sum of $1800 up front he would get his GI Bill benefits along with some enhancements when he left. I gladly paid up. His term of service earned his GI Bill but he didn’t have any monthly premiums. So I can say I paid his way thru college! I don’t think they kept that program very long. It would have been in 97-98.

It is the military so be prepared. My son was a crew chief on a B52. We got a call the night of 9/11. “They’re dispersing the Buffs now. Don’t know where I’m going, how long I’ll be there, or when I can call you again.” Mom got hit like a ton of bricks but part of that was just the total shock of the day. Back then I was flying 100k a year and she was pretty freaked out. She loved him being in the Air Force and proud of it.

[Gil Bang 25906]

22 hours ago, BearSchlong said:

1st LT BearSchlong jr. of the 82nd is back from Poland and I’m throwing a bbq for him and his bride on Saturday.

Oh hell yeah.   Don't use the Cornyn brisket recipe. 

[BearSchlong 8082]

On 8/3/2022 at 6:32 AM, slorch said:

Anyone watch the movie on Netflix- "Purple Hearts?"  Watched it with my recently separated from Army son and our wives.  Sofia Carson is smoking hot throughout.  That's pretty much the only redeeming quality of the flick, that and our wives learned what dependapotomus means.

https://www.reddit.com/r/justdependathings/ is pure gold.

 

[thunderlounge 7812]

Got damn some of that shit is rich. BAHopotamus to the next level. 

[You don't know me 1161]

No call from the boy over the weekend. Probably a "you all suck and haven't earned it" type of thing. I told the wife that it is all part of the game and nothing to worry about. No news can be considered good news. I did, however, get a letter from him today. He opened with "Dear Dad, I got all of your letters today. I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry a little. I didn't realize how much they would mean to me." Yeah, it got a little dusty in my office this afternoon. I try to write him a few times a week, just trying to offer words of encouragement. When I went through boot camp my dad wrote me one time. In that letter, he wrote that he was proud of me. First time I remember him ever saying that to me. I know he loved me and was proud, but to read it in his handwriting meant the world to me. I hope my letters mean half as much to my boy as my dad's meant to me. Looking forward to the next call, hopefully next Sunday.

[Gil Bang 25906]

Oh boy, some families are having a rough day. I was so proud when my kid went to Ranger school.

[BearSchlong 8082]

Crap. My boy is going to Ranger School this winter, so that definitely hits close to home.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[TexasGrunt 72]

On 8/8/2022 at 8:22 PM, You don't know me said:

No call from the boy over the weekend. Probably a "you all suck and haven't earned it" type of thing. I told the wife that it is all part of the game and nothing to worry about. No news can be considered good news. I did, however, get a letter from him today. He opened with "Dear Dad, I got all of your letters today. I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry a little. I didn't realize how much they would mean to me." Yeah, it got a little dusty in my office this afternoon. I try to write him a few times a week, just trying to offer words of encouragement. When I went through boot camp my dad wrote me one time. In that letter, he wrote that he was proud of me. First time I remember him ever saying that to me. I know he loved me and was proud, but to read it in his handwriting meant the world to me. I hope my letters mean half as much to my boy as my dad's meant to me. Looking forward to the next call, hopefully next Sunday.

My son was at Jackson and they had a FB page to follow. Psoted pictures of recruits training and gave weekly updates of what they are doing and what they did.  Do they have it for your son's unit?  It was cool to see pics on son in training while he was there.  Also on the phone thing, back in mid 80's when i went to basic they would smoke us bad and had other forms on punshiment, today they take there Sunday phone privelage away instead of smoking them.

[Gil Bang 25906]

On 8/8/2022 at 6:22 PM, You don't know me said:

No call from the boy over the weekend. Probably a "you all suck and haven't earned it" type of thing. I told the wife that it is all part of the game and nothing to worry about. No news can be considered good news. I did, however, get a letter from him today. He opened with "Dear Dad, I got all of your letters today. I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry a little. I didn't realize how much they would mean to me." Yeah, it got a little dusty in my office this afternoon. I try to write him a few times a week, just trying to offer words of encouragement. When I went through boot camp my dad wrote me one time. In that letter, he wrote that he was proud of me. First time I remember him ever saying that to me. I know he loved me and was proud, but to read it in his handwriting meant the world to me. I hope my letters mean half as much to my boy as my dad's meant to me. Looking forward to the next call, hopefully next Sunday.

When my kid was in basic, it was during football season. In basic, there's very little contact with the outside world.

With every letter, I included a summary from every NFL game that I found on espn or somewhere, along with the scores from the college games..  Printed out 3 or 4 pages and included it in the letter.  Within  a week or two, a dozen guys would be surrounding my kid as he opened my letters.  

[mbtex 683]

1 hour ago, TexasGrunt said:

My son was at Jackson and they had a FB page to follow. Psoted pictures of recruits training and gave weekly updates of what they are doing and what they did.  Do they have it for your son's unit?  It was cool to see pics on son in training while he was there.  Also on the phone thing, back in mid 80's when i went to basic they would smoke us bad and had other forms on punshiment, today they take there Sunday phone privelage away instead of smoking them.

This what i used to follow my sons platoon through basic training was able to see him several pictures. Also his platoon had a facebook page.

https://www.basictrainingphotos.com/

[You don't know me 1161]

2 hours ago, TexasGrunt said:

My son was at Jackson and they had a FB page to follow. Psoted pictures of recruits training and gave weekly updates of what they are doing and what they did.  Do they have it for your son's unit?  It was cool to see pics on son in training while he was there.  Also on the phone thing, back in mid 80's when i went to basic they would smoke us bad and had other forms on punshiment, today they take there Sunday phone privelage away instead of smoking them.

Yes, I found their Facebook page just now.  There were several pictures to scroll through and found 1 and possibly another with him in it.  Thanks for the push.

Yeah, things have definitely changed since I went to boot camp.  They do still get smoked, at least according to the boy.

[You don't know me 1161]

39 minutes ago, mbtex said:

This what i used to follow my sons platoon through basic training was able to see him several pictures. Also his platoon had a facebook page.

https://www.basictrainingphotos.com/

Thanks for that link.  I found one picture of him there.

[You don't know me 1161]

And the wife has found several more that I didn't see.  Imagine that.  She's like "I can tell that's the back of his head" and there's like 100 backs of heads.

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

When my kid was in basic, it was during football season. In basic, there's very little contact with the outside world.

With every letter, I included a summary from every NFL game that I found on espn or somewhere, along with the scores from the college games..  Printed out 3 or 4 pages and included it in the letter.  Within  a week or two, a dozen guys would be surrounding my kid as he opened my letters.  

On Sundays, if we were good boys for the week, we could buy the San Diego Union-Tribune at morning chow.  I knew Batman was the smash hit movie of the summer, and I read the sports section all the way through and kept up with baseball.    Sunday mornings were great-  Go to chow.  Go to church. Do laundry on the outdoor sinks( only time of open discussion all week,) uniform prep,  and then noon chow.

[Gil Bang 25906]

7 hours ago, You don't know me said:

Yes, I found their Facebook page just now.  There were several pictures to scroll through and found 1 and possibly another with him in it.  Thanks for the push.

Yeah, things have definitely changed since I went to boot camp.  They do still get smoked, at least according to the boy.

My kid was a drill sgt at Jackson two years ago, and he says yes, they smoked them, but not as much as he got at Benning 10 years prior.

[Gil Bang 25906]

12 minutes ago, slorch said:

On Sundays, if we were good boys for the week, we could buy the San Diego Union-Tribune at morning chow.  I knew Batman was the smash hit movie of the summer, and I read the sports section all the way through and kept up with baseball.    Sunday mornings were great-  Go to chow.  Go to church. Do laundry on the outdoor sinks( only time of open discussion all week,) uniform prep,  and then noon chow.

As old as you are, you were lucky, because the UT was a pretty solid paper in the old days.  It's dogshit since Doug Manchester bought it and ruined it. 

But, Nick Canepa is still there. 

[Gil Bang 25906]

6 hours ago, You don't know me said:

And the wife has found several more that I didn't see.  Imagine that.  She's like "I can tell that's the back of his head" and there's like 100 backs of heads.

Moms. 

[Gil Bang 25906]

30 minutes ago, slorch said:

On Sundays, if we were good boys for the week, we could buy the San Diego Union-Tribune at morning chow.  I knew Batman was the smash hit movie of the summer, and I read the sports section all the way through and kept up with baseball.    Sunday mornings were great-  Go to chow.  Go to church. Do laundry on the outdoor sinks( only time of open discussion all week,) uniform prep,  and then noon chow.

Curious: how was chow?   My kid actually sort of bragged about chow at Benning.  Said it was perfectly decent food, and that there was plenty of it.  My Dad was at MCRD in '60 or '61 (I will clear this up tomorrow) and he remembers the chow being quite good. But he was a poor-ass kid from Pettit TX

Edited August 12, 2022 by Gil Bang