He's Officially a Soldier Now

Last week we got to travel to our grandson's graduation from basic training.  

It wasn't an easy trip.  It started with American cancelling our flights...we were up all night trying to make other last minute arrangements.  We left for Denver at 4:00 a.m. after being on hold with American for 6 1/2 hours.  At our destination we had to quickly book another rental car  Then when we got to our destination, the AirBnB wasn't as described or portrayed.  The furniture was different from the online photographs and it was obviously the host's primary residence and was full of his clothes, shoes, toiletries, dirty towels, dust, groceries, etc.  Amazing how the threat of a bad review can motivate a host to issue a refund ASAP.  Luckily, everything worked out fine.


After the first ten weeks of training they have a family weekend.  (I'll be protecting his location, troop, and other information for this post.)


The day started off with a patching ceremony where they officially became soldiers.


Before they were signed out to their family members they huddled up with the commander who went over the rules--no alcohol, no smoking, no vaping, no going past exit 10 on the highway and they better be back on time, but not early!

An old recruit felt inclined to join the huddle.  We got a good laugh at this.  He's genetically predispositioned to be intrusive and overly curious.


We had Krispy Kreme waiting for him in the car.  Every time we talk to him he asks if we had gone to the new Krispy Kreme in our hometown.  Donuts aren't really our thing, but we stopped and got him some on the way to family day.


Then he wanted some real coffee.


Next stop was for new boots.  Apparently the army issued combat boots aren't so comfortable and now that he has a little $$$ in his bank account he wanted to invest in some good quality boots.  In fact, he bought a pair for rucking and another pair for everyday wear plus a good quality pair of athletic shoes for PT.


It as a great weekend with lots of quality time with my favorite grandson.  I'm so proud of him and the man he's becoming.  And, doesn't he look so handsome in that uniform and beret?  There was lots of good eating and even some naptime for him back at the AirBnB.  It seems that new recruits don't get a lot of sleep.


Look how inexpensive gas is in this part of the country!  






 

Comments

Yogi♪♪♪ said…
Congratulations to grandson!! He looks great!!
June 16, 2022 at 2:14 PM
Leslie said…
So proud of grandson!! I am glad that you were all able to make it on time. Looks like he really appreciates the creature comforts alot more. It is an experience he will never forget!
June 16, 2022 at 5:21 PM
Dana of Oz said…
Wish we’d been there!
July 6, 2022 at 10:03 AM
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