Trying My Best To Leave...

Dear Friends,

The above picture is the view I hope to have in about 72 hours. I've done everything that I can do to get out of Fort Benning, but unfortunately my trip has been delayed by at least a day. I'm just waiting on paperwork to be signed so that I can leave. Anyway, I really haven't been doing much besides trying to learn a little Arabic, get back into shape, and enjoy some of the last days of my relative freedom. This next weekend I'm going to a waterpark with my family up north. My niece and nephew, who I haven't seen in almost a year, will be there which should be great. Other than that I just look forward to hanging out with friends in Wheaton. I can promise everyone that I will be much more coherent than I was over Christmas Break when I was back visiting. I'm not sure I actually ever "woke up" until the 2nd or 3rd week of break. I may have been sleep-walking. Bye!

Leaving Fort Benning

Dear Friends,

I won't be writing you about anymore exciting training anytime soon...because I am finally getting to leave Fort Benning! Don't misinterpret my excitement. I loved my time down here in Georgia. It just so happens that my leaving is perfect timing. The last of my friends left here also began out-processing (which is actually a 2-week process) this week, the Georgia summer is rapidly approaching with its insane humidity, and I am simply tired of "training". It is just time to move on to the next step.

Anyway, my plan is to leave Fort Benning sometime between April 22nd and the 25th. I will then spend somewhere between 15 and 30 days traveling to Fort Lewis, visiting with family in Ohio, and hanging out in Wheaton. After that I'll finally start working in the Army instead of training. Right now, however, I have important business to attend to...most notably watching 3-4 more movies...hey, it's Saturday.

Still Training...

Dear Friends,

Right now I am currently writing from a friend's dorm room at Belhaven College in Mississippi. I had Thursday and Friday with not much to do so I took a 4-day pass. It was a 6-hr drive, yet I enjoyed every minute of it. I haven't really been away from the Army in over 3 months. Anyway, in the past 2 weeks I have qualified as a Javelin missile-gunner, and I am also now qualified as a Combat Life Saver (CLS). CLS class was probably one of the most useful classes I've had in awhile...the best part being able to actually give someone an IV. Seeing 2 guys pass out (some people get squeamish around blood) was also pretty interesting since we actually got to treat real casualties.

Not much else has happened. Two of my roommates graduate from Airborne school today and start out-processing next week. I too will be leaving Ft. Benning in a little less than a month. It's a little sad to say good-bye to guys you've been training with for the past year, but the anticipation of actually going out and doing our jobs far outweighs any sadness. Everyone here is anxious about leaving. So yeah...I will write again soon...until then!