Introduction

3dfxMM · Post by **3dfxMM** » February 8th, 2005, 3:39 pm

Hi, I am a civilian with no real connection to the military until now. I grew up in San Antonio and spent a lot of time running around Ft. Sam as a kid but that is about it. :) My father served in WWII as a SeaBee and my wife's father served in the Army Air Corps.

My current connection to the military is that my son just graduated OSUT at Ft. Benning (B Co. - 2/19th) last Friday. He was there with an 11B contract that specified BAC and assignment to the 82nd Airborne Division. At one point during OSUT he talked about trying to get one of the Option 40 slots they were offering but he ended up not doing that. We went there for the Turning Blue and graduation ceremonies. He surprised us with a couple of news tidbits. One, he was his platoon's honor graduate, and two, he now has an 18X contract that includes continuing on to the 82nd if he is not selected. He was also lucky enough to go straight to BAC after graduation. He started ground week yesterday.

Sorry for the long intro but I do have one more thing I want to say. I have been reading the posts on this site since my son told us he was enlisting. They have been extremely helpful even though he isn't heading down the Ranger path and I am quite certain that I will continue to come here for information and entertainment. Thank you for this site and for your service to our country.

mipuke · Post by **mipuke** » February 8th, 2005, 3:42 pm

Welcome to the site!

Kilted Heathen · Post by **Kilted Heathen** » February 8th, 2005, 3:46 pm

Welcome.Keep reading, the Girl Scout cap wearers will send him to Ranger School soon enough or, if he does not make it into SF the 82d may send him if he's a hard-charger.
He's well on his way!

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » February 8th, 2005, 3:51 pm

Hard to suppress the pride you obviously have in your son. Hope he does well.

RLTW!

Rock Island Ranger · February 8th, 2005, 3:53 pm

Gotta high five you on the boy, Dad. Your obvious pride makes perfect sense. Glad to have you.

Steadfast · Post by **Steadfast** » February 8th, 2005, 3:59 pm

Welcome

I wish your son all the success in the world. All he has to do is keep driving for it.

3dfxMM · Post by **3dfxMM** » February 8th, 2005, 4:40 pm

Thanks for all the kind words. I didn't realize that my pride in my son was showing through so blatantly. Yes, our whole family is extremely proud of him. We are also scared sick at times but we will just have to live with that. It is really nice to see him working so hard and taking such pride in what he is doing. As you can guess, it has been quite an educational time for all of us. Now we just have to get used to him talking in acronyms all the time. :D

Hoover · Post by **Hoover** » February 8th, 2005, 4:42 pm

Congrats Sir, I can see you're real proud of your son and rightfully so!
Welcome to THE site.....

chkray · Post by **chkray** » February 8th, 2005, 5:03 pm

Welcome!

Stories like yours helps to restore my faith in todays youth.

Silverback · Post by **Silverback** » February 8th, 2005, 5:26 pm

Welcome...

Earthpig · Post by **Earthpig** » February 8th, 2005, 5:58 pm

I'd be proud, too! He's becoming a Warrior. Best of luck to him. Oh, and welcome aboard!
RLTW
EP

3dfxMM · Post by **3dfxMM** » February 8th, 2005, 10:09 pm

Well, it looks like my son made a liar of me. His girlfriend emailed me to let me know that she had talked to him and that the company they had put him in at BAC filled too quickly so he is on a one week hold at BAC. Glad I hadn't made plans to attend his graduation yet.

Kilted Heathen · Post by **Kilted Heathen** » February 8th, 2005, 10:12 pm

That's not unusual.

Ardent Lady · Post by **Ardent Lady** » February 8th, 2005, 10:21 pm

Welcome to the site, and congratulations to your son for doing so well! You have raised a warrior!

The change in plans about BAC is the first of many that you will experience as a parent of a soldier. They are not the only ones who get to learn to "adapt and overcome!" :)

I'm just a little ways ahead of you in the proud parent line. Our son Turned Blue in October, and after BAC and a run at RIP (a NO GO due to injury) he is now with the 82nd Airborne. We are proud of him. It's been great to see the transformation.

Have fun learning the acronyms. Here is a link that might help...

http://www.armyranger.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=1893

Again, welcome. There's a lot to learn and this is a great place to do it.