Big Change of Plans

First, the Bad News:

Earl is not getting in to Airborne School.

He had a PT Test at 4am this morning and failed it. It's not that he couldn't make the requirements, it's that the instructors were being complete douche bags while giving the test. Earl would get to about 30 push up's and the instructor would start counting back down, or keep counting the same number over and over again, so poor Earl had no idea how many push up's he was really doing.
Apparently all the instructors were doing this exact same thing to almost every other guy taking the test. Earl was told that he could immediately reapply for Airborne School if he wanted because what the instructors were doing wasn't right. He made a choice though and isn't going to reapply.
He feels like he might need more time before taking the Special Forces route and that he just wants to get to a duty station and get "settled down". He was also concerned about the amount of time he'd be able to see me while training for Special Forces and was worried that we'd hardly ever get to see each other.

Now, on to the Good News:

I was surprised at how well Earl was taking all of this. I really thought he had his heart set on being in a Special Forces group. I think I was more bummed about the news than he was. I honestly thought that he'd be devastated to not get into Airborne .. But he couldn't be happier. He said that he missed me terribly and is now looking forward to hopefully spending more time together. I too love the fact that I'll get to see him sooner than expected, and am happy that we will be moving to a new duty station sooner than expected as well.

So what does this all mean, exactly? Earl will continue to wait around on Ft. Benning until someone somewhere assigns him to an Infantry unit, which could lead us anywhere in the United States (not completely sure if there are many Infantry units oversea's).

Now ... On with the Adventure!

Back In From the Peach State

So, Im finally back ... And what an experience it was! I apologize for the lack of photos, I didn't have much time to take very many.

Seeing Earl and watching him graduate OSUT really opened my eyes to everything that he has gone through and everything that he will continue to go through. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder.

This trip was full of "firsts" for me: This was my first flight by myself in 10 years, my first visit to Georgia in 10 years, and my first time stepping foot on an actual military post ... Again, what an experience it was.

Going there, doing everything on my own and coming back really made me realize just how independent I can be. I really wanted someone to hold my hand and walk me through every step of the way ... But I did it, all by my little self.

So that's that ... I could go on and on about my trip, but I'll spare you all the long and boring read.

Next stop: Airborne School!

Oh, one last note: Earl doesn't have an address anymore that people can write to. So please don't send him a letter or anything, unless you would like for it to get lost somewhere in the mailing system. He does, however, have his cell phone and he has more free time than before. So send him a text, send him a photo or give him a ring sometime.