Mobilization

Ok, here is the look I received when I told my little guy that I was going to go away for a looong time to do my job in a far away place. I guess he was none too pleased.

Our orders had us reporting to Fort Hood, TX on 25 May. Yep, Memorial Day. But, as I usually try to do, I looked for the positive. Since I had to change planes in Dallas, I was able to attend the DFW National Cemetery's Memorial Day Service with our God-mom, Donna. The service was an excellent reminder for me to remember and honor all those who have given everything for this country.

When I finally arrived in Killeen, I learned that my bags had not. I met a few of the other guys going over with me at the airport and we found our unit liaison. They suggested we go sign for our rooms and come back in an hour, when the next flight was scheduled to arrive. Sure enough, my bags were on the next flight. I was assigned to a room with Darryl, who is also from the Ft. Knox unit. The barracks room was actually very nice. We spent the next two weeks going through Army training. Tuesday was the SRP (Soldier Readiness Processing) where you get all of your paperwork, medical, dental, and shots up to date. I only needed 2 shots. Yeah! Wednesday was CIF and RFI (Central Issue Facility and Rapid Fielding Initiative) where we received all of our issued clothes and field gear. After that, it was classroom training. We did get the weekend off, followed by some classes in the field. Nobody told us about the Ft Hood Chiggers, though. Most of us received about 2 dozen bites each, with the highest count at about 50 bites. He was hurting.

Spent the next week and a half completing those classes, some in the field, some in a theater. Finished all of our running around by Wednesday the 10th. We had Thursday off to get everything washed and packed. Friday morning we loaded up the vans and headed for DFW. The South had some good storms roll through on Thursday, so they thought that our flight might be full from all of the soldiers who were delayed trying to return from R&R leave (Rest & Recuperation). We were told that until they were all checked in that we might not even be able to deploy today. Of course, I started to make reservations for us all at the Embassy Suites! But after sitting around for a couple of hours while the other soldiers checked in, we were told that there was in fact room for us on the plane.

So we checked in and went made our way thru security. A couple of us headed over to the USO. What a spread they put on for the military. We received sandwiches, chips, drinks,and even ice cream, if we wanted. I also stopped by the reading room. The USO has set up a room where soldiers can go pick out a book or two, take them into a private room, and read the book to their children via a camcorder. The volunteers then burn the video to a DVD and mail it, along with the books you read, to your children. It was a really awesome thing for a deploying father to be able to send a little personal something home to the boys left behind. THANK YOU USO!!