My son joined the Army .........

[Retired Navy Chief]

He's not going to be a sailor but that's ok .... he'll be a Parachute Rigger !!

He's really jazzed about his new job ... got a sizeable sign-on bonus and a short stay in the DEP program !!

I get to put him on the bus on the 23rd of this month !!

Cheers,
PISTOL

[NavyMomx2]

Wow, congratulations. Keep us posted on how he is doing.

[KYmom]

Keep us posted on how he is doing. Where will he attend boot camp?
If they send him to Fort Knox and you needs anything I am close by.

[Retired Navy Chief]

I think he said that he's going to bootcamp in Virginia. Guess I better find out the details so we can plan a trip in 8-9 weeks.

Cheers,
PISTOL

[navygirldarlene]

Well if hes in Virginia and he needs anything at all let me know i'll be sure to help...

[ProudNavyGirlfriend]

Yeah, my brother got sent to Ft. Knox as well. I know a lot about that place. And then he got sent to Virginia after his deployment to Iraq to train for black hawks. I don't know much about Virginia though... sorry :(

[Retired Navy Chief]

Well if hes in Virginia and he needs anything at all let me know i'll be sure to help...

I appreciate that ..... but the really cool thing about bootcamp is that once a recruit arrives and the doors of the bus open .... all their needs are taken care of !! (even a few needs that you didn't know you had:biggrin:).



I'm really jazzed for him .... as I am with all of you. You are getting ready to take a HUGE step in life and have so much in store for you.



Cheers,
PISTOL

[navygirldarlene]

lol yeah thats true and i cant wait to leave in october

[ProudNavyGirlfriend]

all their needs are taken care of !! (even a few needs that you didn't know you had:biggrin:).




Haha!

...Like underwear that fits you better than the ones you had, top of the line toothpaste? when regular toothpaste works all the same ;), Egyptian thread count style sheets?

^-^

[navygirldarlene]

lol i dount you get the egyptian sheets lol

[ProudNavyGirlfriend]

Haha, you never know :P They might turn up someday.

[sweetmtn]

Dont feel bad Chief...my oldest joined the Army as well, he went in Infantry to start and was choosen to do Army Honor Guard, which they call, "Old Guard" his graduation date is May 22nd, then on to DC.:biggrin:

[Retired Navy Chief]

I had a heck of a time talking him into joining the Navy and he has been around it his entire life !! then when I finally did get him convinced that it was the best thing since sliced bread ... they couldn't work with his education.

I'm just glad that he saw enough benefit to service in the military to find something that appeals to him in the Army.

I'm pretty proud of him regardless of what service he's in. Like I'm sure my dad (WWII Marine) was when I joined the Navy.

I have 3 more kids and still need to cover the Air Force and Coast Guard .... better get started working on them now, eh ??


Cheers,
PISTOL

[sweetmtn]

Well my oldest didnt want to do the same as his little brother Navy nuke, or the same as his father who was Air Force, so did what his cousin did...Army..kids, as long as they know what they want and are determined. My oldest that just went in is almost 27!

[ProudNavyGirlfriend]

Lol! Sure hope you have fun convincing! :)

It still makes you proud, either way, when they serve our country. You'll be worried a lot, but you feel that initial proudness. :)

[carlylynn72]

Sweetmtn,
What made your oldest son join? My husband is 27 and just joined the Navy...in bootcamp right now. Graduates in 3 weeks...so ready! Sometimes it takes them a little while to realize what direction they want to head, but I feel my husband joined at the perfect time for him. He wants to go career; what about your son? Is he in it for the 4 years or the long haul? Either way, good luck to both you and Pilot's sons. I know they will make you proud!

[antoinette123]

Aww congratulations on your son joining the army :)

[dallasnavywife]

Congrats!!!! Its always a noble thing when someone decides to serve our country. I know you must be so proud!!! :)

[sweetmtn]

Kind of a long story...he originally wanted Marines...he hated his job that he went to college for as a top hard line mechanic for Audi. he did that for 7 years. Felt it was time to move on to his dream...so he enlisted in the Army. He wants Rangers, but has been choosen for Honor Guard while at boot. So will be going to DC after boot.
Sweetmtn,
What made your oldest son join? My husband is 27 and just joined the Navy...in bootcamp right now. Graduates in 3 weeks...so ready! Sometimes it takes them a little while to realize what direction they want to head, but I feel my husband joined at the perfect time for him. He wants to go career; what about your son? Is he in it for the 4 years or the long haul? Either way, good luck to both you and Pilot's sons. I know they will make you proud!

[carlylynn72]

Well, I'm glad he is now chasing his dream! He probably has a much clearer perspective on it all now. Best of luck to him and to yall! So he will be completely cross country from you huh? Is he in DC for schooling or getting stationed? Dont know if the Army works like the Navy??? Have a good one!:)

[ProudNavyGirlfriend]

It might be getting started. That's what my brother did. He is in the army and he went to Texas for 3 years training on tanks and such before he got shipped to Iraq.

Good luck!! :) D.C. would be an awesome place to go, I think.

[sweetmtn]

He's not going to be a sailor but that's ok .... he'll be a Parachute Rigger !!

He's really jazzed about his new job ... got a sizeable sign-on bonus and a short stay in the DEP program !!

I get to put him on the bus on the 23rd of this month !!

Cheers,
PISTOL

Hey Chief...warn him about the Army "SMOKER SESSIONS" that is like major IT for the Navy! My son was just sent to the hospital after a rather hard fall during one! It is usually over and under the racks as fast as the whole platoon can go together! :frown: My son fell from 6 feet up onto the concrete floor on his head :cry: All I got was a letter telling me.:angry:

[Retired Navy Chief]

We dropped him off at the recruiters office last night .... he looked relieved that his life was finally about to kick into high gear !!


We discussed things like "smokers" and such ....... I spent a good portion of my bootcamp under the watchful eyes of the SEAL motivators because of my hard head. He knows what to expect but I do worry about him getting hurt .... but, we all know that this is not going to be a cake walk.

Looking forward to his first phone call & letter.

Cheers,
PISTOL

[ProudNavyGirlfriend]

:) My brother got through it. The boot camps are supposed to be a lot alike.... except less ships and more running ^-^

Hope he likes to run a lot! ;)

[MacSteve]

how about an update pistol?

[Retired Navy Chief]

He's doing fantastic !!!

He made it through bootcamp in style ... came out in very good shape and even picked up a few manners (huh, go figger).

He went through Airborne jump school and his parachute rigging school ... found out what attention to detail is all about .... since he had to pack the very chute that he was jumping with !!

He is now working with the crew that packs the unmanned GPS guided cargo parachutes. He really loves what he's doing in the military .... even though every time he jumps out of a plane he lands in a tree !! That's the luck he inherited from his old man.

Plus .... he's reconnected with a very beautiful young lady who lived next door to us when we were stationed in San Diego (they were boyfriend & girlfriend ... grade school)and they will be getting married next year. Her daddy is a retired Navy Senior Chief .... so she's already a winner in my book !!

They are both flying to Texas next week for a visit .... first time we've seen her since she was a kid. We're very excited to see them both.

See what I mean about life kicking into overdrive when you join the service ??

Cheers,
PISTOL

[KYmom]

Congratulations

[MacSteve]

<insert old crusty jokes here for in laws> :p

Glad to see hes doing so well Pistol, congrats to both of you!
and now you have a drinking buddy :woohoo: :biggrin:

[Eric]

I wish him the best.

[Kristie]

Wow....congratulations...

[michaelhoffman]

That's great to know PISTOL that your son has join navy. Well it's more than a year he is in Navy and I am glad to read the progress he has done. My younger brother is willing to join Navy. I am here to gather more information which could be fruitful to him.

[DK3]

mmmmmm, actualy he joined the Army...

[Retired Navy Chief]

Hmmm .... I guess I'm not the only one who pops the cork on the rum barrel before noon around here !! ;)



He's Army .... but we still claim him !!


Cheers,
PISTOL

[sketch]

That is outstanding. I love the idea of a Military tradition in family. I genuinly hope that when I have a kid, they eventually enlist.

[Retired Navy Chief]

I believe that it has a lot to do with how you perceive your time in the military ... if you truly enjoy what you do and feel you are making a difference ... then it will ooze out of every pore in your body and your kids will pick up on that and want to follow a similar path.

Many of the retired shipmates of mine have kids joining up now ... various services, various jobs and oddly enough, a good many of them join as officers. When you raise a kid in a fairly regimented atmosphere ... keep a clean room, decent haircut, be on time, be where you are supposed to be, do what you are supposed to do, maintain decent grades .... things feel pretty out of place when they experience anything different (like a normal civilian life). The military seems to fit many of them better and they understand what it takes to excel.

I know that not all of my kids will join the military ... if they do, cool & if not, that's cool too ... but I can guarantee that each one of them intimately understands the sacrifices that our military willingly makes and will do whatever they can to support those who are in the military. And that lets me sleep well at night !!

Cheers,
PISTOL

[VaBchMom]

My son followed in my husbands footsteps when he joined the Navy in '07. Hubby only did one enlistment but Michael had been talking about joining for a long time and he was in DEP from April of his senior year in high school and shipped out in November of that year.