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Post by ebtek on Nov 13, 2007 8:29:26 GMT -5
Son just left this morning. Recruiter came to pick him up at 6am. Will be going to a hotel then flying out tomorrow. Will be in Fort Benning, Georgia for the next 15 weeks. Will miss him.
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Post by sylvanis on Nov 13, 2007 9:52:54 GMT -5
I can't imagine the mix of emotions that you're going through....but thank you and please thank your son from me and my family.
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Post by ebtek on Nov 13, 2007 10:26:08 GMT -5
Will do.
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Post by jered_jmm on Nov 13, 2007 11:43:25 GMT -5
Hey Ebtek, I will be leaving to Fort Leonard Wood for Basic Training and AIT for 19 weeks on January 3rd.
I know my parents will be sad because they used to work all the OT and weekends they could get, but now said no way until I leave.
They even went wheeling with me and a bunch of people on Vet's day!
Can the parents go to the Airport to send off their little recruit?
I know it is sad, but he will come back a better man.
And then he can afford a jeep, and you two can go wheeling! There's a thought.
I wish him the best, and hope he gets what he wants-
Jered
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Post by moneypit on Nov 13, 2007 12:49:10 GMT -5
Ebtek.......I can't think of a more difficult thing to do. Sending a son or daughter off into the unknown. Be we as regular citizens, can only live and experiance life as we know it because of people like your son and Jered. They truely are what makes America great. Be proud and know he will come home safe. We will keep you guys in our prayers.
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Post by ebtek on Nov 13, 2007 13:04:30 GMT -5
Thank you all. I will show this to my wife and it will bring a tear to her eye, as it did to mine.He already has plans for the XJ. Has a sheet with all he wants to do to it.  . Thank you Jered and to all that have served and are serving. I live by Fort Bliss and have many neighbors that are in the military and away from home. |
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Post by skipperb on Nov 13, 2007 16:48:42 GMT -5
I was stationed at Ft Benning for 5 years place called Harmony Church now most use Sand Hill and it a nice place to start you Army experience. Tell you wife this. In the Vietnam Area some were drafted and some joined ,we were all expected to do that duty.
Now there is no draft and it takes great courage and pride to join
. That is very important to remember. Without young men and woman like your Son there wont be a country . The United States only survives because of them .
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Post by jeepnut on Nov 13, 2007 18:07:05 GMT -5
I will keep your son in my thoughts and prayers. I know how you feel for my bro is going over to egypt for an undisclosed reason. God speed.
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Skull
4x4 Enthusiast
Posts: 81
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Post by Skull on Nov 13, 2007 20:49:13 GMT -5
Tell him thank you also. As stated before, he is one of the many reasons, as is all veterans, will live in a FREE country!
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Post by ebtek on Nov 16, 2007 13:42:45 GMT -5
Army desertion rates up 80% since invasion of Iraq in 2003
Associated Press - November 16, 2007 1:13 PM ET
PENTAGON (AP) - The Army's desertion rate has risen 80% since the invasion of Iraq four years ago.
Desertion is at its highest rate since 1980, though still far lower than when the draft was in effect during the Vietnam war.
Army statistics show about nine out of every 1,000 soldiers deserted during the past fiscal year. That's a 42% increase over 2006.
Despite the steady increase in desertions, an Associated Press examination of Pentagon figures earlier this year shows that the military does little to find those who leave their posts and rarely prosecutes the ones they get. Some are allowed to return to their units, while most are given less-than-honorable discharges.
Military leaders have acknowledged that the Army has been stretched nearly to the breaking point by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with many soldiers serving repeated and lengthy tours.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Just read it this morning. Sad
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Post by wilcav on Nov 16, 2007 14:27:03 GMT -5
I dealt with one deserter as a commander and was able to get him some jail time. These articles are misleading many times. Most of the deserters are not the worn out ones, they are the sleaze bags or way immature that should never have joined anyway. It is not a crisis. Those that desert are also not the "political dissidents" for the most part, they are the uneducated that joined the Army for the "big green welfare machine" and not the chances to serve. Think of a fireman that joins and says "Wait! you never said I would have to fight a fire! That's dangerous!"
Deployments are starting to have an effect but there are a lot of people re-upping to stay. It is not the Soldiers who are going to break, it is the politicians or the ones who think they talk for the Soldiers. I will say that it is time for the NATION to start fighting the war instead of .001 percent carrying the load for all of America. Where is the State department? They are being forced over there. Where is the industrial complex? Where are the advisors from the Fortune 500 companies helping to get things started over there? The nation is not a war, only about a million of us of 250 million are (and I won't go into the numbers that are actually combat Soldiers).
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Post by wilcav on Nov 16, 2007 14:41:53 GMT -5
ebtek,
I must also add, thank you for allowing your son to join. It is a huge credit not only to the values you instilled in your son, but the man he has chosen to become. That is huge in modern America and X2 when we are at war. So few understand what service and honor without the expectation of reward means. If he has gone to Fort Benning, I assume he is becoming an 11B and a knuckle dragger with the rest of us. As I was telling Jered, he is now a part of America's warrior class. He is part of a thin line and exclusive group of "wolves" standing watch in the cold that allows the mass of idiot and uninformed "sheep" to concentrate on themselves.
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tex
Trail Guide
In the doghouse as usual
Posts: 186
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Post by tex on Nov 19, 2007 0:53:50 GMT -5
Ebtek, Thanks to you and your son for your sacrifices. You'll be in my prayers. With 3 sons, I may be in your shoes one day.
Donald
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Post by ebtek on Nov 19, 2007 14:03:33 GMT -5
Thank you Tex. I'm your neighbor, I'm in El Paso.
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Post by treeofliberty on Dec 9, 2007 12:16:54 GMT -5
Well, this is a late reply... Congrats on you and your son's sacrifice. Mine left for BCT back in August, and is currently in AIT at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland. I echo all the sentiments expressed here. My son was a bit of a screwup until he made the very wise choice to become a warrior. He's slowly turning around, and was a much improved man at BCT graduation. No matter what your son's condition before BCT, you'll find him more solid and confident at graduation.
I still get goosebumps remembering the experience of an entire company of new warriors barking out the Soldier's Creed. Its an experience you won't forget. I was also impressed with how the Army is changing with the times. Chris had a vastly different training experience than some of the soldiers I work with at Lockheed. I'm very happy to see that the Army isn't still fighting the Cold War.
Your number one job now is to rally the family to send him lots of mail. The Army will take care of the rest. Congrats.
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