{ South Carolina }

Now What?!

Trent, my mom and I went to see my little brother graduate from basic training. The first day we were there was family day. After finally getting through security, we parked in a huge field and went from booth to booth to see all the ARMY stuff we could buy. We are now, definitely representing our troops ;)

We sat in the heat waiting till we could see the soldiers...waiting.. then we saw smoke bombs being thrown out of the trees around us and out of the smoke came the American flag being held by three soldiers. The feeling from that sight was unexplainable! Then, it got better. Behind the different colors of smoke, 1,100 troops came marching out to the ARMY song. This is for sure something every American should witness!

After every parent rushed the field, we picked Jonathan out of the crowd and tackled him with more hugs than he appreciated. That day, we couldn't take him off base, but we had some time to spend with him.

The second day was his graduation. We sat, again, in the heat and waited to see him. Watching them enter in their formations was really cool, and they announced all soldiers that deserve Honorable mention. Jonathan was already promoted (or whatever ) to Private First Class, meaning he's awesome. He also received the 'sharp shooter' title, meaning he's a great shot. His platoon, Foxtrot, was by far the most disciplined.

After graduation, we were aloud to take him off base -his first time in 10 months! We saw a movie, did some shopping and grabbed some unhealthy food. His first request was to have anything with carbonation or sugar in it hahaha.

We could feel so much emotion all around us. I witnessed a soldiers propose to his girlfriend and another meet his baby for the first time.

Even though Jonathan wasn't able to come home for two weeks like we thought, we are so so grateful for the time we had to see him. I can't imagine how much he misses family, friends and his own stuff. He is now in California learning the language they assigned and making sure he isn't having any fun. He is learning FARSI, which is a mid-eastern language. It's Persian or something, they speak it in Iraq, etc.


Congratulations little brother! We sure are proud of you and miss you every day! Can't wait to see you SOON

The Soldier's Creed:

I am an American soldier.

I am a warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the ARMY values.

I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.

I am an expert and I am a professional. I stand ready to deploy, engage and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.

I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.

I am an American Soldier.