On to the Next Phase

Blake passed his test. He's having a blast with this training now as it's not as much lecture and facts as it is practice doing what he's going to be doing while he's in the Army. Now, he's started the next phase now, and is excited at what he will be learning.

Don't know if I've mentioned this or not, but he finally got his glasses. What is it? Almost 7 months. It wasn't until he got to Virginia that they finally gave them to him, and that was after a whole new series of eye tests and everything else. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Blake, always thinking, has advised us to come up before the graduation because he'll have more time to visit with us if we don't wait till the actual graduation. Seems he would get the whole weekend off if we came up early, whereas he would only get a few hours the day before graduation if we waited to come up then. We'll have to take a look at everything and see how we can do it, but it sounds fine with us at this point.

Well, there's not much else. The passing grade on the last test was the big news. Now, he says once he passes this test, he'll be certified as trained, so a lot of the pressure will be off him. That'll be great!

Thanks for keeping up with all of this. I know Blake appreciates it, and we do, too.

Till later...

Test Tomorrow

Blake has been locked up in this phase for some time, but the end is in sight. He takes his test in this group tomorrow. This isn't the same Blake who left here 6 months ago. As soon as we hear how he did on the test, we'll let you know. Keep Blake in your prayers this week.

He got a day pass last weekend, but didn't go into D.C. He really wants to move on to his duty station, which is going to be Ft. Hood unless something changes. He said that he just hung around town for awhile and then came back to the post.

Well, the glasses problem continues. It seems that he still doesn't have glasses. They have told him that he needs special glasses because of a problem with his eyesight, and it's taking a very long time to make them for him. The alternative is he can have surgery and get the problem fixed. That's what he wants to do as soon as he's finished with the training.

His graduation date is tentatively set for the end of July. Then he makes another stop for all the processing and then on to his duty station.

Well, we've talked with him quite a bit, but most of it has been encouragement for him to just do his best, which he really seems to be doing. This is something that Blake is enjoying and he's always put his full effort into things he loves.

More when we learn more. Till then...

Half Way There

This week is a milestone for Blake. He's half way through his training in Virginia and half way through this particular phase. So far, all is going just great! He's doing well on his tests and staying out of trouble. However, that being said, why is it that just when things are going so well, he goes and gets himself a weekend pass? The last one was very expensive and the one this past weekend, while not as costly as the first, was still scary in its own right. The most recent pass was for his group's great performance in the obstacle course, and it was a "full" weekend pass, which meant that he could leave after school on Friday and wasn't due back until formation on Sunday night.

More good news from Virginia. Blake got promoted to private second class (PV2). The promotion took effect on the 22nd of April, so now we have to address Blake as "Private Windsor". Oops, that what we've been addressing him as all along. Oh, well, that's the Army. The best part is it comes with a pay increase. ;-)

Blake also got his preliminary duty assignment last week. He's scheduled to go to Ft. Hood in Texas when he gets out of training, but he says that's not all set in stone. He's not disappointed with the assignment as he'll be about 5 hours from home even though he was hoping to go somewhere a little more exciting than back to Texas.

Every day brings him closer to the end of his training, and that's what he wants now most of all. It's been a long 2 1/2 months up there, and even though he loves Virginia, he misses his friends and family. This assignment will allow him to see everyone he loves a little more regularly than he had expected.

Well, that's about all that's new from Ft. Belvoir. We'll put more online as we learn more.

Till next time.