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SOME THINGS JUST
TAKE A LITTLE TIME |
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Long time readers of this column might remember I wrote
about a young man who is very close to our family who surprised all of us
in 2016 by joining the army. I promised to give an update every so often,
and now seems as good a time as any.
He began basic training in June of 2016 and it is now
September of 2020, 51 months later. I'm sure readers would love to hear
about his adventures in Afghanistan, or Iraq, or perhaps hot spots in
Africa or South America.
And I would be honored to oblige, except for one minor
detail---HE'S STILL IN TRAINING!!!!
I was prompted to write this column when I called him the
other day to check in on him. He was slightly out of breath, because he
was busy climbing mountains in Colorado.
"You're climbing mountains?" I asked.
"Why?"
"It's Military Mountaineering School, Level 3," he
proudly answered. "We're on the mountain every morning at 8:30 and
we're done by 3:00. Then we watch movies in our cabins and drink a couple
of beers. Some guys go fishing. We're having a blast."
There are 1.3 million men and women in our armed forces,
480,000 in the army. Based on the experiences of this young soldier I know
so well, I would venture to guess we have the best trained armed forces in
the world.
His journey has been, well, special. He spent 4 months in
basic training in Fort Benning, Georgia, and then applied and was accepted
into the Special Forces Qualification Course in Fort Bragg, North
Carolina. After a measly 3 years of training, he graduated as a
Green Beret.
My wife and I went to his graduation at Fort Bragg in August
of 2019 and it was an emotional ceremony. The young man who was our son's
best friend, who once worked in our family business, was going off to
protect us against all the evil in the world.
"Well, not yet," he told us as we hugged him and
thanked him for his service. "First I have to take a six-month course
to learn Russian, then it's one month of Military Freefall School
(parachuting from 8500 to 14,500 feet), then we'll see where I'm
stationed."
In June of this year, four years after he enlisted, he was
finally sent to Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, where he promptly bought
a house with a VA loan. He also managed to get married to a wonderful
girl, who might also be wondering when he will be deployed.
"I was supposed to go to Estonia in January with my
team," he reported. "But then my team got switched, so I have no
idea where I'm going now. Maybe Finland."
I was perplexed."Finland? Why Finland? How about Cabo?
Or what the heck, why not Las Vegas?"
"All I know is we're doing Glacier Training in January
somewhere in Alaska," he said with a chuckle. "That's why my
team thinks we may get deployed to Finland to prepare their forces for a
possible Russian invasion."
That makes sense. With his Russian language skills, along
with his Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape (SERE) course (where he
learned to pick handcuff locks, among other talents), and his parachuting
and soon to be glacier mountaineering aptitude, Finland seemed like a
logical destination.
"Yeah, I'm not sure why we're doing the war games in the
Mojave Desert next month," he continued, still chuckling. "Not
sure what that has to do with Finland, but it should be fun."
He chose to be a Special Forces Medic, so he's also been
highly trained in medical procedures, including two stints in hospitals in
Missouri and Texas. Training and more training.
"There's no question about it," he said. "We
are the best trained forces in the world. And by the way, it's the
greatest job I've ever had."
It must be, since he re-enlisted in June for 3 more years.
The army gave him a bonus for doing so. They didn't want to lose him after
investing so much.
"I thought I was going to war when I joined," he
said. "It hasn't worked out that way, but who knows what the
future holds. All I know is that I'll be ready."
Yes, he will. Someday, he is bound to be deployed, and he can
tell his grandchildren (who may be born by the time he gets his orders)
about his foreign adventures.
And, on a personal note, we'll be forever grateful if it's
Finland and not Afghanistan.
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