We love it when our children do well and, of course, it grieves us when they don't. So well done boy on passing your promotion board this morning, by unanimous consent. This means he's off to Sergeant School in July.
It's been a bit of a journey, both before and after he marched off the field at Benning, but he's risen to the challenge. Good work, keep it coming, and thanks again to LL for solid mentorship.
Happily,
LSP
After spirited, uplifting Sunday worship we ended up at Fort Hood's training grounds. Well, one of the entrances to the thing, and there it was, big Texas under a big sky and enough space for big Army III Corps to do its not inconsiderable thing, and then some.
The kid's proud to be part of that and fair play to him, I would be too, "Look, dad, this is where we ruck, and check out the 15 yard sight-in ranges, dead on at 300." Several motor pool drive-bys and a pit stop for food later we landed at the home of 57th Expeditionary Signals BN (Enhanced) and that was that, "Train hard, think positive, fight easy," I offered by way of UKLF inspirational cozy farewell, and was met with a grin.
What a good result and what a good Sunday. The Sacred Mysteries offered, ite missa est, a son fast becoming a man under the watchful and doubtless patient eyes of good Command, thank you NCOs and Officers, and Fort Hood itself. Great result.
Next time I'll visit some of the post's museums, stay tuned.
God bless,
LSP
Picked the Specialist up from DFW's Terminal D today and all was was well. His flight out of Helsinki was miraculously on time and before you could say "Patton wasn't whacked" there he was, striding into international arrivals with his Lt.
What a relief! To be honest, I'd been afraid he might've been delayed by the present furor in Eastern Europe but no, back home on schedule. Maybe this bodes well, let the reader understand, and I liked his Lt., what a pleasant young man.
But that's just it, young, and very different from the British Officer Corps standard I remember, more Israeli perhaps. Not a bad thing, just different. Regardless, the deployment went well and the kid's happy and fit. I like all of that.
God Bless,
LSP
After Mass and a beautiful moment on the porch watching sky water, you might call it "rain," fall from the heavens, it was time to brave I35 and take the Specialist back to Fort Hood. It's not a bad drive, despite nightmarish roadworks in Waco, and before you know it there you are at the home of III Corps, Phantom Warriors.
As we drove down Tank Destroyer Boulevard, I growled "Phantom!" and he told me they'd had to practice exactly that cadence(?) to welcome a visiting general. Call it out soldiers, "PHANTOM, PHANTOM, PHANTOM!" Which they did when the inspiring pencil neck war leader arrived.
"How," asked the once and maybe future Cadet, "does an armored corps count as 'phantom'?" I held my tongue and didn't say "magicke, son." And then we were at 11 Signal Brigade HQ and the boy's incredibly pleasant looking barracks. Of course he feels most hard done by because he has to share a room, with a kitchen, no less.
I resisted the heady urge to say "height of luxury, m'boy!" and instead took a few photos of Brigade HQ. There it was, the Thunderbird Headquarters, and I was impressed. Quite a set up. His unit, 57th Expeditionary Signals Battalion (ESB) is fairly new, conceived of in the 1920s and activated in WWII, where it fought in seven campaigns, not least Anzio and D-Day.
57th ESB didn't see action again until Gulf War I, II and Afghanistan, where it served well, being awarded two Meritorious Unit Commendations as of 2019 with B Company, my son's, having an additional award. He wants to stay in B Company. He's also finished the paperwork to start a degree in Computer Science in October, which is most important.
Well done young man, keep it up.
Phantom,
LSP
