The Military

Landon came to us one day and dropped the bomb that he wanted to join the military.  My heart immediately sank.  Not because I thought it was a horrible decision, it was simply because this was him growing into the man we raised him to be.  Our time as parents had come.  I was also picturing him shipping off to war.  Isn't that what all mothers envision when you hear the word military?  Guns? Explosions? Death?  No?  Just me, maybe?  It was a hard blow to my heart.  But, after hearing his story about the what, why and how, I was relieved.  He then explained to us that he wanted to join the reserves.  

He was torn between the Marines and the Army.  He sat on it and sat on it and sat on it some more.  I didn't exactly blame the kid.  I mean, this is a huge life-changing decision for him.  Did we want him rushing into it?  Absolutely not.  He's not one to make rash decisions anyway.  He talked with the Marine Recruiting Sgt. about the training and what is to be expected, among other things.  The main focus was his MOS.  He wanted to get into the medical field since that what he planned to go to college for.  At least his head was on straight.  He said he didn't mind the intense training he would have to undergo.  Let's face it, joining the Marines is no joke.  But he was ready to take on whatever came his way.  In that moment, I was sad, worried, and excited for him.  He said he wanted to take some time to think about it all and I'm glad he did.  

Next, we talked to the Army Recruiting Sgt.  Landon had a lot of questions.  He mentioned the MOS again because that was his main focus.  At that time, which was months ago, they had medical jobs available.  By the time he made a solid decision as to which branch of military he wanted to join, none of the medical jobs were available.  Apparently those are typically the first to go.  Although he was disappointed, he moved along to see what other jobs were available at that time.  One of the other Sergeants interjected and asked him what his priorities were.  "Since the medical jobs are taken, what is something that is more important to you?  Is it incentives?  Is it job location?"  Landon replied, "Let's go with incentives and keep the job as close as possible."  So, the search began.  The Sgt. pulled up various locations and read off some of the jobs available in those areas.  He also explained every single one.  Some had better incentives than others.  He chose Jeffersonville as his location and Petroleum Supply Specialist for his job.  They locked it in and off to MEPS he went.  

He was at MEPS for two days in Lou., KY.  He passed with flying colors and then the realness of it all started to set in.  He got his ship date for his Basic Training (South Carolina - 10 weeks)/AIT Training (Virginia - 11 weeks), which is July 12th.  He will be gone a total of 21 weeks.  This means he we be gone until the end of November/beginning of December, just in time to score some loot.  We will have to have his birthday and Christmas all at once.  Not a bad deal for him.  We've never been away from our kids for any extended period of time like this, so we're in a different playing field now.  He will be fine, as always.  He'll meet new people and learn so many things.  Let the emotional roller coaster begin!

Oh, and we did a thing.  I was getting Landon used to the idea of shorter hair.  He looks thrilled, doesn't he?