Army Strong

Last Thursday, January 15, was Scott's graduation. After a year-long training (more than that if you consider boot camp) Scott finished with a bang! He ended up with a 96 in the course!

It was a really nice, cozy ceremony. There were only three soldiers graduating that day. One of them, Robert Thomas, has been with Scott since Basic Combat Training at Ft. Benning, GA. The other one, Gilberto Avila-Gomez, has been training with Scott since November of 2007 at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio. Avila-Gomez and his family are also going to be stationed in Hawaii. Thomas is going to Alaska where the high today was 10° and the low was 21° below zero. Can you imagine? I was upset when we first found out how far away we were going to be stationed but I guess things could be worse! We really dodged the bullet.

Sam was so funny at the ceremony. I packed a whole backpack's worth of snacks and activities just in case things went South with him. He was a little talkative but, overall, well behaved. When we stood up for the Star-Spangled Banner he said (loudly), "Mom, sit down!" He redeemed himself after the prayer with a resounding, "Amen!" He also filled any silences with his version of the alphabet.

Each soldier was given an opportunity to say a few words after they received their certificates. They each thanked their supervisors (both military and civilian) and Scott thanked me for my support and Sam for the constant comic relief. That was really sweet. I got a shaky chin (teary-eyed).

I'm so proud of Scott. It takes a lot of courage to join the military, especially in a time of war. It isn't easy knowing at any time you could be called away from your family, but he's so brave.

Please remember our troops in your prayers!

God Bless You!