I finally graduated from boot camp. Here I was a new sailor. My family came to greet me, and my dad, as requested, was in his Army dress greens. It was kind of funny that some of the ignorant new graduates saw it fit to salute an upper enlisted person and couldn't tell the difference between that and an officer. My dad kind of laughed.
I got to spend an afternoon with my family. It was so nice having some relaxation. We had a curfew to return to base, and no one was supposed to take a cell phone upon return to base. A lot of people, including myself snuck in cell phones... everyone had them and despite threats, the RDCs (recruit division commanders) didn't follow through on their threats to punish us.
We all anxiously awaited our departure the next morning. Our sea bags (duffel bags) and garment bags were all packed. Our dress whites were pressed and on hangars at the end of our racks (beds) for the next morning. As the next morning dawned, we all felt a sense of accomplishment. We got dressed, said our goodbyes and all got ready to board buses for the airport. The line to the buses seemed to last forever... it was a long wait and the bags were incessantly heavy. I took off my bag and my back was killing me. One of my new friends asked me if I was okay... he ended up helping me to transport my bags most of the journey, well when he could. The ride to the airport took forever and was almost a little treacherous. The Chicago area had received a great deal of rainfall in a freak thunderstorm and there were really deep puddles everywhere on the loop surrounding O'Hare. Mom and Dad were able to follow us to the airport and got to spend time with me in the USO lounge before I went to wait in the terminal for my flight. Mom brought me homemade brownies too... awesome! Well, my flight to Pensacola got delayed a few times and finally rescheduled to the following day, so I got to spend the night in the airport... Mom came to meet me again and took me out to the mall for a little while then brought me back for the night. The next morning we took a series of flights to Florida... when all was said and done, I'd been in and out of airports for about 36 hours and arrived about 9 or 10 o'clock at night to the barracks for orientation and room assignment.
I got to spend an afternoon with my family. It was so nice having some relaxation. We had a curfew to return to base, and no one was supposed to take a cell phone upon return to base. A lot of people, including myself snuck in cell phones... everyone had them and despite threats, the RDCs (recruit division commanders) didn't follow through on their threats to punish us.
We all anxiously awaited our departure the next morning. Our sea bags (duffel bags) and garment bags were all packed. Our dress whites were pressed and on hangars at the end of our racks (beds) for the next morning. As the next morning dawned, we all felt a sense of accomplishment. We got dressed, said our goodbyes and all got ready to board buses for the airport. The line to the buses seemed to last forever... it was a long wait and the bags were incessantly heavy. I took off my bag and my back was killing me. One of my new friends asked me if I was okay... he ended up helping me to transport my bags most of the journey, well when he could. The ride to the airport took forever and was almost a little treacherous. The Chicago area had received a great deal of rainfall in a freak thunderstorm and there were really deep puddles everywhere on the loop surrounding O'Hare. Mom and Dad were able to follow us to the airport and got to spend time with me in the USO lounge before I went to wait in the terminal for my flight. Mom brought me homemade brownies too... awesome! Well, my flight to Pensacola got delayed a few times and finally rescheduled to the following day, so I got to spend the night in the airport... Mom came to meet me again and took me out to the mall for a little while then brought me back for the night. The next morning we took a series of flights to Florida... when all was said and done, I'd been in and out of airports for about 36 hours and arrived about 9 or 10 o'clock at night to the barracks for orientation and room assignment.
A Hug from Dad
The whole family right after boot camp graduation inside the ceremonial drill hall
Another family picture after a celebratory dinner
Transiting through O'Hare airport
Mom, Dad, and I... my family has this thing (well, my mom mostly) of taking pictures of our feet
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