1/15/2013

Army related news

I haven't talked about my husband being in the Army for awhile now.

The hubby was active duty Army, then Army Reserves, and now he is in the Illinois National Guard.

One weekend a month, he packs up his gear and leaves.  We live about 70 miles away from where he does his drill.  More often than not, he spends the night.  He is usually gone from 6:00 Saturday morning until 6:00 Sunday evening.

A couple of months ago, he signed a new contract.  A three year extension.  As of now, he has a commitment until July of 2016.  Around the same time, he was also promoted.  He is now a Sergeant. 

This all means a couple of things for us.

First of all, he will have a 10 + year (actually 12) commitment to the Army.  When you have a commitment of over 10 years, you can transfer your GI bill (the thing that pays for him to go to school).  From what I understand, he can't transfer it to Aubri because he already starting using it and it has to be used within 9 years from the time he started using it.  So, basically, we are going to try to transfer it to me.  If my school is paid for, I will go as long as I can.  Matt has done a great job with school and has one class left.  I'm super proud of him for going.  

Also, because of his promotion, he will have to go to WLC.  That stands for Warrior Leader Course.  I'm not sure how much of the details I can share.  But, what I can share is that it is a couple states away.  He will be gone for two and a half weeks.  And it's coming up soon.  

When I think about him leaving for two weeks, I get a little nervous.  Aubri has went from a perfect little angel that likes to sit on a blanket and play quietly to almost a toddler that likes to roam, yell, and get into things.  Taking care of her has become a two person operation.

But, then I remind myself, it's only two weeks and a half week.  I can totally do it. 

He should be able to text me and call me everyday.  We can probably even Facetime.  It's two weeks, not 15 months, or a year, or 9 months.  We will all be fine.  

The thought of him leaving is a big reminder.  A reminder that it could be a lot worse and it is a lot worse for some people.  Having him home with us every night is something I try to not take for granted.  I will never forget what it was like when he was deployed.  But, I think we both grew a lot when he was gone and looking back, I'd do it all over again.



Aubri and I will miss you!

9 comments:

erika said...

That's awesome he got promoted. I understand the school stuff for sure- but you'll get through it. <3

Furry Bottoms said...

Good Looking husband! And yes, its 2 and a half weeks. Hopefully it will go by fast. I don't know if I'd go back to school myself, but I do admire you for going! :)

Macey said...

You can do it! You're a mommy!

Cece @Mahogany Drive said...

I know you can do it too! Deployments do suck so like you said compared to that this is nothing. My hubby kinda went in reverse. He did Army active, then national guard and now he is reserves. He got stationed with a unit in Europe so he does his drill for 8 weeks once a year; which is nice because his drill was pretty far too.

Unknown said...

Awe girlie, you can totally do it! Those 2.5 weeks will fly by and he'll be back in your home before you know it :) I tagged you in an award over on my blog girlie! Check it out :)

Unknown said...

Any period of separation can be tough, but you can rock this! And congrats to your husband on the promotion!

Jenn said...

Congrats on the promotion! I hope everything works out with transferring the GI Bill to you. We're currently trying to figure out how much more time my husband would need to serve to pass it on to one of our kids. We're just banking on the other one getting a super sweet scholarship. ;)

Aubri is sooooo adorable!!

Crazy Shenanigans-JMO said...

WLC won't be too bad! If I can remember correctly they can use their phones each night. That's great that he got the promotion!

Mrs. Match said...

That's really cool about the gi bill. I'm glad you will get phone and hopefully face time. You've got a good attitude about it! My hubs stays overnight once a week at the sleep house when he does overtime. I miss him but then Sunday night when he gets home he's so excited to see me. I think it keeps the romance alive.