Fabulous Army Life

We had a hyper-happy Thanksgiving this year as Nate returned from Iraq on Thanksgiving Day! His entire family was able to be there to greet him and it was a simply glorious day. Welcome home, Soldier!

Our brigade has the unique leadership team of a COL who is our brigade commander and his wife, who is a MAJ in a sister brigade in our division.  They were deployed at the same time, but were off-set by several months, with Trish leaving first and subsequently, returning first!  We were happy to welcome home our brigade senior spouse from her deployment to Iraq!  Welcome home, Trish! Trish greets her welcome home fans! Hugs for Trish! Marne and Trish The Black Jack Babes welcome back their Senior Spouse!

PHOTO: At PETCO Park in San Diego, California, on a wonderful tour of the home of the Padres. This was one stop on a great Block Leave vacation. I sometimes forget that not everyone lives and breathes Army terms and events. I recently sent an email to my cousin talking about our upcoming leave plans and current events in our household ... and she promptly wrote back with a list of questions, including "What does block leave mean?" So for my cousin and any others who may want to know, Block Leave is a period of time provided for Soldiers and their Families, usually just before and just after a deployment, to enjoy some time away from everyday work. "Block" because the entire unit is provided this opportunity at the same time and "Leave" because the Soldier is on official "leave" from the Army. In other words ... vacation! We have taken a majority of our Block Leave times from Fort Hood, Texas. We have enjoyed several great places near our hom...

Photo: Our Soldiers just after stepping off the bus, and just before greeting their Families. Nothing compares to an Army homecoming. After months apart, Soldiers are on their way to be reunited on an Army installation somewhere … usually in a gym or on a parade field. The Army band comes to play or a deejay is hired to play to the emotional crowd so music fills the air and excitement and apprehension build to record levels. Remember, it’s been months. Months! These Soldiers have been in the heat and sand, working nonstop with few comforts of home while the Families at home have handled all of the domestic duties while worrying each moment about their Soldier’s safety. (We could spend chapters on that alone, but suffice it to say, it is exhausting.) Now THE DAY is here. Now this DAY is much different than that ‘other’ DAY. The goodbye day is heart-wrenching and sad and gloomy and feared. This day is the antidote to that day! This is a day full of exhilaration and nerves and ...

My Army Strong Army kids A Welcome Home Hug  I have been thinking lately about Army kids and how they seem to have their very own brand of independence and confidence, honed by years of moving to new places, meeting new people, and saying farewell to good friends whose Soldier had been reassigned to a new location. When my kids talk about taking a family trip, they don't stop at the local Six Flags or Water Park. They suggest places like Washington, DC, London, England, and Vicenza, Italy ... all places where friends have moved in the past year. In my reminiscing of Army kids, I was reminded of an Army child I met years ago, before we had kids of our own. My husband and I had just moved into temporary quarters at Fort Stewart, Georgia, when we heard a knock at our door. We had just arrived and no one yet knew how to reach us, so we were surprised to have a visitor. When I opened the door, a little girl about nine years old was standing there. "Welcome!" she sai...

PHOTO: Our 2006 Reunion after a yearlong deployment to Iraq. Okay, so I’m a few weeks out from my Soldier’s homecoming. It’s supposed to be the best of times, the ‘end of the trail,’ the happily ever after … right? And mostly, it is. The thought of having him home is exhilarating. Our children will be euphoric, our families are already rejoicing, and we’re making fabulous and fun plans for our Block Leave (civilian translation: the time-off a Soldier gets after a deployment). It’s a great place to be! At the same time, it’s also a bit nerve-wracking. This man that I love, with whom I share all my secrets, that I adore with all my heart … is also the man that I haven’t seen in many months, with whom I’ve shared scratchy 15-minute phone calls ended by “I’m sorry. Your time has expired. Please hang up,” [forget any secret-sharing there!] and who has not lived in our house for over a year. There is such a stark contrast to all these emotions that it’s sometimes hard to sort out. When deplo...

Photo: ADVON returning from a year-long deployment. Okay, I have to admit that after 15+ years as an Army wife, I don’t know what ‘TORCH’ and ‘ADVON’ stand for. Something about advanced party … but there’s no ‘p’ for ‘party’ … so I just don’t know. I do, however, know what it means. It means your Soldier comes home FIRST!! We’ve never had the honor of either of those designations. My husband somehow manages to get himself into the ‘stay-behind-and-make-sure-all is-well-out-here’ job and comes home late or last. Not that I’m complaining, though, as I am happy these TORCH and ADVON folks get here and get the place ready for everyone else to come home. In a way, it’s reassuring to me. The wheels are turning, the process has begun … our unit actually is coming home and coming home soon! Homecoming becomes reality, not just a long-sought-after dream. It’s good to see our unit patch and our unit Soldiers back at home, on U.S. soil and on our Army installation. It’s heartening to w...