Proud dad

[mtnbound]

My daughter (Kayla) is now officially owned by the Government. Yesterday I went to Spokane to watch her get sworn into the Washington Army Natoinal Guard. She will be a Chemical Operations Specialist.

She will go to boot camp at Fort Sill Oklahoma in July and right after graduation she will go to Fort Leonard Wood Missouri. She should be home in December.

She took the oath to serve and protect us ALL!!! with a smile on her face

After being there and seeing all of the young adults willing to put their life on the line for us and the way we live, IMO shows courage and selflessnes. All of them including Kayla deserve a thank you when we see them rather we know them or not.!!


The only time I got a tear in my eye was when she had to repeat " I will obey the orders of the President of the United States" hopefully I will approve of the next on as she should only have a couple of years with this one.

Congratulations Kayla and THANK YOU!!!!

THANK YOU to all that have served and are serving now!!!

[SPR]

Very Cool

[TJDave]

That is great. Tell her thank-you.

I'm right there with you on the taking orders from the President thing.

[Wrench]

Awesome!!

Her service is greatly appreciated!

[Zach ogle]

hey,
I also serve our great country threw the army national guard, i leave to basic june 28th to fort benning georgia, then off to fort sam houston in texas. tell her good luck

[Zach ogle]

im going in as a medic also

[Cheveep]

Thank You is not enough,Thank You anyway

[mtnbound]

I will pass on thte kind words to her and

THANK YOU ZACH!!!

[Toolegit86]

sweet that what i was.. i hope she has as much fun as i did!!! and tell her to not touch her face in the chemical cell! the grandview 74delta group are a bunch of cool guys@

[Doc Casey]

im going in as a medic also

I'm on my way out due to a back injury in Baghdad right now. But I'm a Medic out of Lewis still. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Overall I'd have to say it's about the best job you could ask for. You get to play with bullets, bandaids, grenades, and drugs all in the same day and not go to jail! lol Seriously though, look in to an ASI (Advanced Skill Identifier) as soon as you can. Combat Medic only equates to EMT Basic on the outside. Not really any future there. Look for LPN or something. Don't take for granted that you have more time to get the schooling either. I'm living proof that all it takes is one accident at home or in theater, and you will loose those oppertunities. So don't be to quick to put it off. I was supposed to be at the Army's LPN school last March after I got home from Iraq and have stable employment untll Nov 2013. Instead I just had spinal surgery 2 days ago to relieve pressure on a nerve before I lost the use of a leg and may need more surgeries for the back pain itself. And as far as employment, they ae telling me about 3 months and the Med board will be complete and they are putting me out. So don't stop pushing for more education off them while you can still get it.

[sams88]

Very sorry to hear of your misfortune Doc Casey. This is the sad and unfair part of it all. Some come back okay, some don't come back, and some spend the rest of their life living with the repercussions of their tour(s). I was one of the fortunate ones for twenty six years of military service and I think of that every day and count my blessings. My hat is off to you and all the ones that were not so fortunate as I. You have my utmost respect and appreciation.

[Doc Casey]

Thanks Sams. I'll have back pain the rest of my life, but should be able to recover enough for a mostly normal life eventually. Still count myself as one of the lucky ones with that. I sent to many home much worse. I applaud any of these younger folks enlisting during these times. It takes a lot of heart and fortitude to make that move with everything going on right now.

[Beep Beep]

Congratulations Kayla and thank you for your service!



Doc Casey, I also got a injury in the Army in the mid 80s. Be sure you have everything on paper for later in life to receive VA help if you need it. I did not take the medical discharge offered and they lost my records so I do not get help from the VA now that I can't work.

[Zach ogle]

thank you