Ft. Jackson--Day 1

Well, I’m in Ft. Jackson S.C. (actually, I’m at the McCready training center which is an annex to Ft. Jackson) I hate to say it, but the process here so far has been very similar to what we went trough so far to date—a lot of hurry up and wait. A group of us arrived and had to wait several hours at the airport for a shuttle bus to take us to the base. Once we got here, we went through several hours of briefings before we found out that no one seemed to have any idea where we had to go. After waiting around for an hour in the cold, we finally found out which barracks we are supposed to stay in. All Lieutenant Commanders are below are staying in 40 man open bay barracks—something like Full Metal Jacket, but definitely run down.

This morning was another teary farewell for us. We told MEG last night that I was leaving and she cried a good bit. This morning, we arrived at Pensacola airport an hour and a half prior to takeoff. Once we got there, we had to wait in the check in line, then the bag screening line and then finally the security line. So, we had very little time to sit around and be sad. Since I’m in the military, the airline allowed Braye and the girls to come through security with me. That was nice sine I got to stay with them until the last boarding call.

I miss Braye and the girls more than anything, but I did feel a sense of relief on the fight today—this thing has been hanging over our heads since September, and it is nice now to finally get the countdown clock started.