Update on Jarred and I

I haven't written much on here in awhile.  Jarred and I have been so busy with things lately.  To bring you up to date.  Jarred (obviously) returned from Basic training in April.  I left for my internship in May for the summer and returned back to school in August.  We are finally together after both of us being gone for months at a time!  Jarred proposed in October up in New York over my Fall Break (his vacation time).  We are getting married on June 6, 2009 and are both very excited about it!  I've been home this past month for Christmas break and have been doing lots of wedding things.  I'm so excited because my dress arrived yesterday (one large thing to cross off my ever increasing list of things to do for the wedding).  I'll be heading back to South Carolina on Saturday and Sunday, stopping to see Jarred's parents for the night.  Overall, things are going well.  Jarred is still working at Wachovia and I'll be graduating in May.  We plan on staying in South Carolina for the time being.  Keep us in your prayers as we both seek God's plan for all the before and after wedding planning.  

Missouri Trip

Outside Jarred's Barracks

At the banquet

In formation after the Graduation

Jarred and Thomas---well actually it's Private Mann and Specialist Thomas

At the hotel after Graduation

The Arch!

At the top

At the bottom

April 16 & 17, 2008

Here are a few pictures from Family Day and Graduation at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri! Kaitling and I had a good drive out there...just was a little long. The drive back wasn't so bad until it got dark and we realized how tired we both were. Jarred had to be up at 2 am on Graduation day with his platoon to clean their barracks and get things ready to go. So he was pretty tired, he didn't drive too much on the way back.

Family Day was really nice. We had to go to a debrieffing on where we could go on post and where we couldn't go. After that we got to meet Jarred over at the barracks where he got his stuff all loaded up and then we drove around the post and he showed us different things. It was really cool---the post was huge compared to what I thought it would be. After driving around we went to the MP museum and then to the PX---which I was so excited to see! It was pretty much like a mall food court in a big Walmart. After being on post for awhile, we went out to eat near our hotel and the just spent the afternoon in the hotel hanging out with his family. That night there was a banquet to honor the graduates, so we all went to that. It was nice...although Jarred says the food was pretty much the same thing they would eat every night in the D-Fac. After the dinner, we went to Memorial Grove which is a monument thing to the MP School at Fort Leonard Wood. It was pretty cool. Jarred also took us to the barracks and then over to see the area where they did PT every day.

Graduation day was awesome! The graduation was packed with people---1 company with 3 platoons means about 160 graduates...and then their family. I hope Jarred's dad got some good pictures because everyone kept walking in front of me when I tried to take a picture. After graduation, Jarred had to go back to the barracks and his battle buddy Thomas road with us back to the hotel. We checked out of the hotel and then we were on our way. We took Thomas to the airport in St. Louis and then we stopped at the arch and met Jarred's family day. And then after that...it was just a long drive back...

April 7, 2008

I talked to Jarred tonight for a few minutes.  He is back from his FTX and he is super tired.  He said they only got a couple hours of sleep a night while they were there.  The majority of the time it was rainy and cold, and they had a couple times where they were on weather watch for the possibility of having to come back to post.  Regardless, he said it was pretty cool---except for the part about not getting to shower for 5 days.  Baby wipes can only do so much...
Jarred is super excited about coming back next week.  21 weeks is a long time to be in a place like that.  I'm leaving on Tuesday at a nice 6:30 am (at least that's my goal) to make a 13 hour trip to Missouri with Jarred's sister, who is flying down to ride with me on Monday.  So if you think of it, pray for us.  This drive is the exact amount of time it takes me to get home to NY, and I've never done that in one day before.  We'll be leaving after Graduation on Thursday, we have plans of seeing the St. Louis Arch!  I hope we get to do that, it was one of my favorite vacation memories from when I was younger.  Jarred has never been there...so how many times are you seriously in Missouri in your life?  not too many...so we have hopes of making a quick stop there and then continuing on our trip back to South Carolina.  
For some reason, I can never remember how many days until Jarred is back...so just know it's April 17...NEXT THURSDAY! :)

March 22 & 23, 2008

I got to talk to Jarred on Saturday and Sunday. Their company had a pass for a few hours each time I talked to him. He's really ready to be back. He was doing pretty good until he found out that he didn't make it on the "Best of the Best" list. He said that most of the people on there deserve to be on there, but there are a few people who just are on their because the sucked up to the Drill Sergeants. He's frustrated because he feels like he hasn't really gotten the best training, that they spend alot of time on things the Drill Sergeants tell them they won't ever use and then not alot of time on things that actually are important. He gets frustrated too because the Drill Sergeants pretty much lie to them, telling them that they will get to do certain things, but they never do. He said that if it was actually like what they said it was going to be like, it would be so much better. He's also tired of people getting in trouble for stupid things, and the people who get in trouble repeatedly never seem to actually get punished (the Drill Sergeants never follow through with what they say they are going to do). So Jarred is pretty ready to be done and be back.

He's really excited about Graduation and Family Day (April 16 &17). His sister Kaitlin will be flying down to SWU to ride with me out to Missouri and then we'll meet his Mom, Dad, and sister Devin, out there for everything. On Family Day we can tour the post and then there's a banquet that night to honor the soldiers. Graduation is the next morning at like 8am or something and then we'll be on our way back to South Carolina!

Last week they shot grenade launchers and then this week they are going to shoot them from humvees at tanks. He's pretty excited about that. On Friday, they are going to have a class on how to administer IV's and they'll have to administer an IV to their "Battle Buddy"...he's so not excited about that. After this they'll be heading out into the field for a Field Training Exercise on April 2. When they get back, they will turn in their gear and basically just have 10 days left until Graduation.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

I got to talk to Jarred today.  He seemed to be doing much better this time, especially since they are no longer in Red Phase anymore.  They still have limited privileges (compared to other companies who get cell phones every night), but at least they are getting to call loved ones more often.  They were even given a 5 hour on-post pass today.  I have to say I like on-post passes because they give us an opportunity to actually catch up on how each other are doing--rather
than a 5 minute call where it's,

"Are you doing ok?"

"Yes, how about you?"

"Yea..."

On-post passes give us more time to actually connect again.  Last week when Jarred called, he
called from a horrible pay phone that was so hard to understand...so it was good being able to hear everything he had to say this time.  He's had a lot of opportunities to think while he's been away (and grow up!).  He's learning that he loves law enforcement, but not exactly the type where it is busting down doors and apprehending people.  If you know anything about Jarred, you will know that he likes to be right.  He likes for people to know that he's right and he wants people to understand why he's right.  :)  He also is one of the most intricate people I have ever met.  He notices everything all the time, so aware of what is going on.  It's so easy for him to point out little details in things.  So he's been thinking a lot about how to combine all these things. He also has decided that he wants to go back to school, maybe take a few online courses.  With his love of law enforcement, he's thinking he'd possibly like to work towards a degree in Criminal Justice or Public Affairs.  He's also been thinking about possibly some sort of law school to maybe be a lawyer or prosecutor.  He's also thinking about wanting to get into some investigations work, maybe solving cases.  With him being so detail-oriented, I can see him being an investigator or a lawyer somewhere.  I'm so glad that he's being given the chance to try new things and learn what he likes and doesn't like.  He has the opportunity to think (he has a whole lot of time to think...) and dream about what he wants to do.  Now he's got some experience to back up the dreams and decisions.  I think he'll be so much better off once he gets back because of the training and time he's had.  He's definitely learning so much about himself while he has been away.  


ps...Jarred's decided he wants to play guitar again!

Monday, March 3, 2008

I got a couple letters from Jarred today and a phone call from him!  I hadn't talked to him in about two weeks.  His letters were so depressing sounding.  He said that after their day pass on Monday (Feb. 18) the drill sergeants did a check of everyone's wall lockers and they found candy, food, 10 cans of chewing tobacco, and steroids.  So they went back to "red phase" (which was were they started at the beginning of bootcamp).  A couple of the drill sergeants have quit and given up on their company.  They don't get to have their banners when they march, they can't sing cadence, they can only have water at meals, no more passes, no phone calls, and they have to walk in silence by other companies (all of these things are super humiliating).  They are supposed to be in "black phase" right now.  So it's hard for him to be one of the ones who didn't do anything, and yet be punished.  Especially since other companies are getting to have passes and to use their cell phones every night.  
He was able to get a phone call on Monday night because they are now out of red phase.  I couldn't really understand him because he was calling on a pay phone, but he seemed like he was doing better.  I'm so glad I got to talk to him because I was getting worried something bad had happened there.  Now at least, I know what had happened.  He'll be ok though, he'll be back in 41 days!  He's pretty anxious to get back here!  :)

February 18, 2008

I talked to Jarred today.  He had a post pass both today and yesterday.  He's doing well.  He's certified to drive humvees now.  He's been in class everyday learning about different levels of law and when to apply/what type of force to use.  He says that he sits in class for 9 hours a day.  This next week he'll be doing mock traffic stops and learning what to do in a domestic disturbance.  He's liking AIT a lot better than Basic.  In a couple weeks, he'll have to sit for a big exam over everything that he's been learning.  I think he's doing good so far.  He's ready to be back though.  

February 9 &10, 2008

Jarred was on a pass this weekend off post.  The whole platoon got one and they got to stay in a hotel and watch tv and  eat normal food.  He was so excited to be off post and be able to call people and just do NORMAL things for a day.  He doesn't think that they will get to have another pass because some people in his company were doing things they weren't supposed to.  He heard a rumor that on Family day (April 16) that the over night pass off post they were supposed to get, they won't get it since they messed up this time.  I (and Jarred) hope this is a rumor.  He really wants to be able to stay with friends and family that night.  

February 5, 2008

Jarred took his Phase 3 PT test.  He did 49 pushups and 64 situps.  He ran his two mile in 13:55!  Which means he gets his "high speed" warmup outfit now!  He's so excited about this (I personally think they look kinda dorky...)  He was supposed to have the Night Infiltration Course tonight, but it was cancelled because of bad weather.  Yesterday they went and did this night shooting thing, where 20 people shoot at a time.  Jarred said that they played rock music over loudspeakers at the range and with the red tracer round flying everywhere and the smell of gun powder in the air...it was pretty awesome!