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This is more of a catharsis than anything else today, lol. Our youngest son is heading to Ft. Leonard Wood in Missouri today for his Basic Training, so my wife and I are having a bitter/sweet day so far. He will be going into the 82nd Airborne after jump school in Georgia and eventually wants to enter the Army Rangers. Our oldest son is in the Marines as an Electronics Tech for fighter jets and is on overseas deployment right now. Very proud, but very nervous at the same time. I just want to thank any of you who are or have served to defend our nation. If you have a loved one now serving, my sincere thanks to them.
If I was asked to go through basic again I would say HELL NO. Not because I am older than most fossils, but because I am too cranky. I normally wake up at 0500, but I like to lie there and plan my day. I would have a real problem with some eager beaver and the hip hip hooray to start the day. Yeah, I did that once and I got a life-time supply of it. And the worst part of it all is that for the smart @ss kid that I was, it was necessary and good. And those lessons stayed with me up until 4 nano-seconds after I retired. Then I reverted back to my smart @ss ways ... but only in my mind. The BOSS put a heavy thumb on me and made me toe the line ... damn it.
I'm former USAF but we are all family. Joining the military is a very deep commitment that's not realized for some many years later. I welcome him to the club but, Go Navy when the Army/Navy football game rolls around. My pops was a Navy vet.
We just went through the same thing. While we are proud of our young person, and many family members who serve /served, the flip side of it is ever present. Service can come at a heavy price. It should not be gone into lightly or for just a steady paycheck.
There's an old movie (Heroes) starring Henry Winkler. It takes a look at the flip side.
Good for him! All three of our sons were, or are in the Army, and two are Rangers, and now a grandson is a Ranger. If he loves the life, all you can do is stand by and worry. I've been doing that since 1988, so I know you can survive it.
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