Hot-lanta

Sam made it just fine to Atlanta, GA yesterday afternoon. He and three others from Boise flew together and met up with a group of others coming to Fort Benning for Basic. They were to take a shuttle from the airport to the fort (about a 2 hr drive). As soon as I get his address, I'll post it here. Thanks for your suppport!

Sam called this afternoon from a pay phone with poor connection. He made it just fine to Fort Benning, but due to some reason or other only got a 1/2 hour of sleep last night. He said they were going to bed early tonight and would be able to go to church tomorrow. He told me that he won't have an address until he is through with the preliminaries and starts actual training on Friday. As soon as I hear, I'll let you know. Thanks for your prayers!

Heading off to Basic

Today I reported to MEPS (Military processing area) at 5:30am. It was a day filled with waiting. There were thirteen other people processing for shipping today, eleven for the army and three for the navy. The day began with a briefing from Captain Gray, the current commander of the Boise MEPS. He explained how the day would go. After that, we waited a bit, and then went in to be measured, weighed, and for those of us over the actual weight limits, taped to determine body fat percentage to see if we still meet standards. Then, the doctor came in and gave us all a quick once over, making sure we had no new injuries or anything since our physicals. After that, we waited some more. Then we waited a little more (anyone seeing a pattern here?) After that, we were split into two groups of seven, and were taken into the ceremony room where we were sworn in by Captain Gray and became official members of the military. Next, we waited some more. Then, we got our transportation briefing where we received our plane tickets, written orders, etc. I was assigned as group leader for the group going to Fort Benning, since I hold the highest rank in the group. (E-3 or Private First Class). After that, the day was done. My group flies out tomorrow morning at 8:11am. We will change planes in Chicago, and arrive in Atlanta sometime around 4:45 pm Eastern Time. Next time, I will hopefully tell how the trip went and how Reception Battalion was. -- Sam

Those final days...

The going away party was very successful and was a great encouragement to me. We counted over seventy people who came out! Thank you to all who attended. It was greatly appreciated! --Sam