Halloween! Blake loves holidays, and he was aware that he would be spending Halloween in boot camp, but that was OK.
Who knows what the heck he's doing! But one thing's for sure; whatever it is, he's going to be doing it for another week.
Well, on to the news. Carol and I each got a letter from Blake this week. Most of the info in the letter was the same that we talked about on the phone, but it was good to see something from him in writing.
Just to touch on it, he said that he would get to leave on December 18th to come home for Christmas, but he was expected to pay his own way. He said that he might take the bus since it was cheaper, but we'll talk about it as soon as he gets an address to write to. One thing's for sure, we're going to make sure that he gets to come home, by plane, bus or whatever.
We were concerned that he didn't have a way to access any of his money to make his purchases for stuff that he needs but he said that they gave him a "credit card" with enough money on it to make it through basic training. There's not much that he needs to spend his money for anyway, except phone cards (which is another story altogether).
Blake said that the reception phase was getting old fast. They don't even have them do PT because they don't want anyone to get hurt before basic training starts. They just spend their time policing around the barracks and doing drill practice. The fireguard is the one who wakes everyone up at 4 in the morning, so he hasn't even seen the trash can being thrown down the aisle. You old timers like me will think he's missing out on so much... That's what I thought, too.
Blake was supposed to have gotten his dog tags and eye glasses on Monday. He called the eye glasses, BCGs, for "Birth Control Glasses"... Use your imagination. Apparantly, they're not very stylish.
Well, here's hoping that he can get out of reception and into basic training sooner than expected. I'll keep you all informed of anything new we hear in the meantime.
Thanks for stopping by and keeping track of his progress.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
Reception: Day 8
Got a call from Blake last night around 6:30 and he said that he would be in the reception phase until November 7th. He wants to get out of this and get into the real training.
He said that everyone in his group had completed their processing but there was a hold-up of some kind on the basic training end because no one was getting out of the reception at this point until there was room for them.
He's making friends with some of the others in his group and has started to adjust to the biggest changes in his life. He said that Monday through Friday everyone has to get up at 4 a.m. but on the weekends, they can "sleep in" until 6. He said he's never been so glad to sleep till 6 a.m. in his life. Lights out is 8 p.m., and with the short days we are having now, it's already pretty dark by then, so it's not such an odd feeling to be in bed by 8.
We still don't have an address for him yet, and won't for another couple of weeks it appears, but as soon as we do, I'll post it here for anyone who wants to write to him. Letters are important in basic training.
He said that most of the guys in his group are in their 20s. He was a little surprised by this, but came to realize that most of the 18 and 19 year olds had probably already gone in over the summer. There's even one guy, he said, who was 39. I asked him if he was still under their radar and he said that so far it had been pretty easy because some of them are already starting to get in trouble for talking in the ranks. He finally had to tell one guy to stop talking to him, that he wasn't trying to be rude, but he didn't want to get in trouble.
Blake sounds great... so much better than he did here. He said thanks for all the support and well-wishes from you guys. They really mean a lot to him.
He said that everyone in his group had completed their processing but there was a hold-up of some kind on the basic training end because no one was getting out of the reception at this point until there was room for them.
He's making friends with some of the others in his group and has started to adjust to the biggest changes in his life. He said that Monday through Friday everyone has to get up at 4 a.m. but on the weekends, they can "sleep in" until 6. He said he's never been so glad to sleep till 6 a.m. in his life. Lights out is 8 p.m., and with the short days we are having now, it's already pretty dark by then, so it's not such an odd feeling to be in bed by 8.
We still don't have an address for him yet, and won't for another couple of weeks it appears, but as soon as we do, I'll post it here for anyone who wants to write to him. Letters are important in basic training.
He said that most of the guys in his group are in their 20s. He was a little surprised by this, but came to realize that most of the 18 and 19 year olds had probably already gone in over the summer. There's even one guy, he said, who was 39. I asked him if he was still under their radar and he said that so far it had been pretty easy because some of them are already starting to get in trouble for talking in the ranks. He finally had to tell one guy to stop talking to him, that he wasn't trying to be rude, but he didn't want to get in trouble.
Blake sounds great... so much better than he did here. He said thanks for all the support and well-wishes from you guys. They really mean a lot to him.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Reception: Day 5
Well, Blake's getting well-wishes from all the friends. That's great! I've been trying to keep track of his progress from this site on the Army webpage.
http://www.goarmy.com/life/basic/index.jsp
Don't know just how accurate any of this is now since he said he isn't getting out of the reception phase until next Wednesday or Thursday. According to this page though, the first stage of the physical fitness test was yesterday. Blake was really worried about this. Didn't know if he could manage the mile in 8 1/2 minutes.
Today though, he's supposed to be learning all about barracks upkeep and drill (marching).
I'm just so relieved that he is doing well and is enjoying this. Lord knows, basic training is not a fun-filled walk in the park.
More as we learn more... Till then.
http://www.goarmy.com/life/basic/index.jsp
Don't know just how accurate any of this is now since he said he isn't getting out of the reception phase until next Wednesday or Thursday. According to this page though, the first stage of the physical fitness test was yesterday. Blake was really worried about this. Didn't know if he could manage the mile in 8 1/2 minutes.
Today though, he's supposed to be learning all about barracks upkeep and drill (marching).
I'm just so relieved that he is doing well and is enjoying this. Lord knows, basic training is not a fun-filled walk in the park.
More as we learn more... Till then.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Blake Leaves for Boot Camp
We're going to use this site to keep everyone up to date on Blake's progress through basic training. So check back often; we never know when we'll hear something new, but it'll be put here as soon as we get new info.
Blake left for Army basic combat training at Ft. Sill in Oklahoma on Sunday, October 21. He has chosen to become a Topographic Analyst (21U) and will receive his AIT in Virginia at Ft. Belvoir. The training will last 20 weeks.
Blake stayed in the hotel here in Houston on Sunday night and left for Ft. Sill on Monday. He's going to be in the reception portion of basic training for at least a week before he starts his actual basic training.
On Wednesday night about 6:30 Carol got a call from Blake. The Sgt there gave him five minutes to make his call, and he was concerned that he didn't go over the time. He said that he was doing really well, but wished he could be in the regular training rather than in the processing. He had gotten his uniforms and first haircut and was "blending in" with everyone there. He said that he would be in the processing phase until next next Wednesday or Thursday, a full week more. He also said that he could write to us, but could not receive mail since he wouldn't have an address until he was out of processing and in his basic training group.
Blake said that he had had fire guard the night before but didn't give a lot of details. He also said, and this is the really big part, that since he would be in basic training through Christmas that he and everyone else in basic would get to go home on December 18th and wouldn't have to return to basic training until January 1st. So, it looks like we're going to get to see him in about 7 weeks from now.
I'll post more info as I get it. If anyone has any questions they would like me to ask Blake if he should call again, just post it here or email me. He knows we're all praying for him and wish him well in this.
Blake left for Army basic combat training at Ft. Sill in Oklahoma on Sunday, October 21. He has chosen to become a Topographic Analyst (21U) and will receive his AIT in Virginia at Ft. Belvoir. The training will last 20 weeks.
Blake stayed in the hotel here in Houston on Sunday night and left for Ft. Sill on Monday. He's going to be in the reception portion of basic training for at least a week before he starts his actual basic training.
On Wednesday night about 6:30 Carol got a call from Blake. The Sgt there gave him five minutes to make his call, and he was concerned that he didn't go over the time. He said that he was doing really well, but wished he could be in the regular training rather than in the processing. He had gotten his uniforms and first haircut and was "blending in" with everyone there. He said that he would be in the processing phase until next next Wednesday or Thursday, a full week more. He also said that he could write to us, but could not receive mail since he wouldn't have an address until he was out of processing and in his basic training group.
Blake said that he had had fire guard the night before but didn't give a lot of details. He also said, and this is the really big part, that since he would be in basic training through Christmas that he and everyone else in basic would get to go home on December 18th and wouldn't have to return to basic training until January 1st. So, it looks like we're going to get to see him in about 7 weeks from now.
I'll post more info as I get it. If anyone has any questions they would like me to ask Blake if he should call again, just post it here or email me. He knows we're all praying for him and wish him well in this.
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