Fort Bragg, NC!!

Hello all!

A lot has happened since my last blog post! The Rhodes family and I went down to Fort Benning, GA the second week in February to see Seth Turn Blue (where he gets his Infantry cords) and graduate from Basic training. He looked so handsome in his dress uniform!!

After he went and checked in for Airborne School and served his first shift, we all got to hang out with him for a couple of hours the night of graduation, and the afternoon afterward. We all had to go home on Saturday afternoon, but it was probably good for Seth to have a little while to relax before starting Airborne School! 

Originally he thought he was going to have a few weeks of Airborne Hold (basically where they sit around and do nothing but PT while waiting for the next session of School to start), but he ended up starting Airborne the Monday after graduation. The first week they did ground jumps (off of walls and the like), the second week they did tower jumps (these crazy towers (think big power line type towers - I'll try to find a picture) that they basically put you into a harness/open parachute, pull you up this tower, then drop you...), and the third week he finally got to do his five jumps out of a real plane! ("But it was only at like 1200 feet, so it really doesn't count, AND it was static line...") Oh well, it seems pretty exciting to me! Upon completing Airborne School, he got some patches to put on his ACU's!

The towers... 

His patch!

After he graduated Airborne School, they bused him up to Fort Bragg, NC, where he is now. He has spent the last week doing paperwork and "Welcome to the base!" type briefings. Needless to say, he's anxious to get back to doing something, instead of just sitting around doing paperwork.


I'll keep you all updated as I hear more information, and I'll post on here what I'm allowed to post (they get awfully picky about putting up secret information on the internet...)


Oh, and for anyone wondering, Seth should be stationed at Bragg for the next year and a half to two years. And as soon as I get an address for him, I'll post it on here.


Have a good night everyone!

Graduation

So, it's been a while since I've posted on here. Sorry for the delay. 

Seth came home for a few weeks over Christmas and New Years. I hope everyone was able to see him if they wanted to.

I talked to him on Sunday, and he sounded like he was doing...well. After flying back to Georgia a few weeks ago, he has been pretty much constantly working on getting his PT scores back up to where he feels like they should be, since the Army bases pretty much everything on PT scores.

He sounded a little stressed out about it, but I told him that he's the most determined person I know, and that if anyone can do it, he can. He "Turns Blue" (when he gets his Infantry cords three weeks from yesterday (Thursday, February 9), and graduates from Basic three weeks from today.

His sister, Rachael, and I are meeting his parents and his brother down in Olive Branch, MS to drive to Georgia for graduation. If you have any well wishes for him, or have anything you'd like for us to bring to him, please give it to me no later than Sunday, February 5.

Also, if you are planning on sending Seth any letters (the address is in a previous post), make sure you get them mailed NO LATER THAN FEBRUARY 1, or else they won't get to him before he graduates. Also, don't forget that stamps go up to $0.45 on Sunday (January 22).

After graduation, Seth is supposed to spend (I believe) three more weeks in Georgia for Airborne training, before moving up to Fort Bragg, North Carolina for SFAS.

If you have any questions or anything, you know how to reach me. Have a great weekend!