Anyone have a loved one in the armed forces?

[minijeanie]

My son who is 19 yrs old is in Ft. Leonward,MO and has been there 5 months going thru basic training and Military Police training. He is finally coming home this week. I fly out tomorrow to go to his graduation on Thursday and then he flys home with me .

I have missed him terribly and just wonder how everyone who has a loved one either state side or deployed deal with them not being around. I have found it so difficult especially when he was not permitted to use his phone.

His only request for christmas was to book him a quick trip with me to WDW during xmas holidays. I would love to but think finances aren't there. Hoping to do so next May.

I can't wait till tomorrow

 

[shirleyb]

Enjoy your trip. Our 21 yo son serves in the Navy. He is home right now for the first time in over a year. We saw him for a New Year's weekend last year and a weekend in September and that was it. He deploys again January 4 for seven months. His deployments are the hardest because he can't use his cell phone, so we only talk to him on Facebook or email while he's deployed.

 

[minijeanie]

shirley:

how do you make the months fly by without feeling like your wishing your life away? God Bless your son and your family.

 

[GeorgeG]

Grandson is in the Marines and has two Iraq deployments under his belt with one scheduled to Afghanistan in 2011. We keep in touch by phone, e-mail, and Facebook whenever he has access. All my kids and grandchildren are at a distance, especially since we moved to Florida, but technology is the key to staying in touch.

 

[Mickey527]

My youngest is in the Marines stationed in Mirmar CA. I think I saw him on the WH1 Divas Salute the Troops, it sure looked like him. But with those shor haircuts and camis they all look alike. His job can only be done in CA so I am very lucky he will never be deployed. I pray for all the other kids who do go and thank God my son is safe.
My middle son is going into the army in January after he takes one more college course. He will go in F4 instead of F1 with the 15 credits. He is 31 and graduated culinary school 2 years ago but can't find a job so he decided to join up. He was told that he will be assigned to a Col or higher up as a private chef and will travel everywhere with whoever he is assigned to. I am hoping that is true, what a cushy job if it happens.

 

[Duckkie]

My 21 year old daughter and 23 year old Son-in-law are active duty Navy. They have both been in since 2007.

My 18 year old son leaves for AF Basic a week from today.

Top it off... Our 15.5 daughter wants to be a Marine (military police) when she graduates in 2013.

 

[olwyngdh]

I am a 20 year Army Wife, and I will be honest, you never really get used to it. You just learn to take joy in the time you have together, and suck it up and soldier on when you are alone Our daughters and I have been through deployments, 4-6 month long schools where he can't call home, and various other "I'll see you in a few weeks, no I can't say where I am going" trips. You just have to remember that whatever you go through when he is gone, he is going through it too, just with different and a bit more dangerous stresses. Just try to remember, in the long dark nights, that what you and your family sacrifice is worth it---isn't always easy, but it is always true.

 

[lovemygoofy]

shirley:

how do you make the months fly by without feeling like your wishing your life away? God Bless your son and your family.

You live your life as you should. You have raised a fine young man that will serve his country proudly. You go on everyday like you have been and you just keep on keeping on. During a deployment, if someone in Dress uniform hasn't knocked on your door then it was another successful day. That's blunt and ugly but it's the truth.

I'm married to the army. This month will be 8 years married and probably 6 of them apart. We've done several year long deployments and several smaller ones. It doesn't get easier per se but it becomes routine for lack of better explanation.

There is a great book for parents of army soldiers called: Your Soldier, Your Army: A Parent's Guide. The author is Vicki Cody who is the mother of two soldiers both helicopter pilots and the wife of a very successful, retired army general.

Be proud and be supportive. Your son is about to start a great journey.

 

[Hutchy]

You live your life as you should. You have raised a fine young man that will serve his country proudly. You go on everyday like you have been and you just keep on keeping on. During a deployment, if someone in Dress uniform hasn't knocked on your door then it was another successful day. That's blunt and ugly but it's the truth.

I'm married to the army. This month will be 8 years married and probably 6 of them apart. We've done several year long deployments and several smaller ones. It doesn't get easier per se but it becomes routine for lack of better explanation.

There is a great book for parents of army soldiers called: Your Soldier, Your Army: A Parent's Guide. The author is Vicki Cody who is the mother of two soldiers both helicopter pilots and the wife of a very successful, retired army general.

Be proud and be supportive. Your son is about to start a great journey.

I completely agree with everything she said. You just get used to it. It becomes your normal. My husband and I have been married almost 7 yrs and he's been gone or deployed for over half of that time. We communicate daily using yahoo chat and also email if I think of something and don't want to forget before we talk again. Once he goes to his next post he'll have more freedom and you'll be able to visit him more.

 

[MPwifey]

My DH is Military Police and has been in for almost 7 years now. He trained at Fort Leonard Wood, MO and we have moved quite a lot over the years. He is currently home and this is our first official deployment. He has been through the training, the schools, and being an MP he gets "deployed" to help in emergency situations. He helped out in Greensboro Kansas when the tornado came through, and other things like that.

You will never get used to him being away, you will watch movies that will make you cry and miss him. You will feel moments that you cannot protect him and be there for him like you need to as a mother. I know you can make it through his training and long periods of time of not being there. My MIL has all 3 of her sons in the military and earlier this year had all 3 of them deployed at the same time. I have no idea how she is still sane, but she is and made it through. Having a lot of pictures around helps, and now he will be going to his first duty station ( is he active or guard, do you know where he will be going?)he will be able to use his phone or the computer a lot more.
Mp's have it hard along with a couple other jobs that sometimes they have to work holidays and often do not get a lot of time off around holiday periods.

The really good thing about him being in the military is that you can get really good discounts at hotels and on park tickets. If you have any questions at all you can PM me. Have fun tomorrow, and dont be surprised if the first thing wants to do is eat real food, and he eats it all in 2 minutes. Oh and he will probably take a really really long hot shower.