Catch up

So much has happened this last month. Jared is doing great at boot camp. Well as good as you can being away from us. His top bunk mate is 29, has 2 kids, and isn't a cusser, so they are good friends. He also passed his BRM (basic rifle marksmanship) qualifications. He was 2 shots shy of getting the sharpshooter badge, which is at least 30 out of 40 shots made. He will graduate from basic May 16th. I am flying down, so I can't wait. It is hard to believe it is now less than 30 days until I get to see Jared!
Graham and I are doing pretty well. Currently we are both sick. Graham had a high fever yesterday. We spent the whole day watching movies and cuddling on the recliner. I am not going to lie, it was kinda nice. (except the part where he is sick). Today he is doing so much better. Playing like normal and being his silly self. He is officially crawling forward now. He started Saturday night (the 13th). We all started screaming and scared the little guy. Collette and Ryan were back from their honeymoon and she was super excited she got to be there. I like to call it Graham's crawl walk. He crawls on his left knee and puts his right foot out on the ground. Like so.

He also is putting his tongue out like crazy! I guess he is concentrating super hard all the time.

Then Sunday the 14th I got my first call from Jared! He actually called me 3 times totaling 26:92 minutes! It was so nice to hear from him. Letters are great too but it isn't the same as hearing his voice.

Of course he called from these payphones. They are super staticy and there is a lot of background noise. Still so glad I got to hear from him! These are some more pictures of Jared or what he is doing.

Week 1: PRT, Combatives, Weapons Immersion, PUGILS & Victory Tower. 

 He is in the 1-13th Bravo Co.

 The Crest

 His Drill Sergeants

 I guess Victory Tower took 10 min to complete followed by 6hrs of standing, waiting for everyone else.

1st picture I found of Jared. I found this 3 weeks after Jared left. I didn't know any information at this point except his Graduation dates. By that info I found out he was in the 1-13th infantry regiment. I then went through at least a thousand pictures under the infantry's face book page. There are 5 companies in the infantry. I was pretty proud of my self, and was super glad I was right. He is third row from the back, 2nd in from the left with his head down.

This is combatant training. The foam stick pads are suppose to be an M16. They are paired up and it was best out of 3 hits. Jared was paired up with a black guy who had 5" and 60 Lbs on him. Luckily Jared won and the guy never landed a hit.

Week 2: classroom exercises, Land Navigation training, more weapons  training and the NBC chamber (nuclear, biological, chemical).

This week they did the gas chamber. Here he is coming out. He said it wasn't too bad but he was one of the few guys who cleaned out their mask correctly in the chamber so he didn't get much in his lungs. Others were hacking and even crying. Jared said it was kinda funny.

Week 3:This week they did field training exercises, where they slept under the stars, and BRM (basic rifle marksmanship.)

I gave Jared a hard time for always looking down and that he needs to look at the camera and smile because I am watching. He told me that he didn't even know Jennifer (the volunteer taking pictures for us) was taking pictures of him.

This is after they had to rub themselves down with decontamination ash while in a biological suit and mask. They only had 2 minutes. Jared was so covered compared to everyone else that he everyone joked that he was racist like JD on scrubs. (I know Jake knows what I am talking about.)

Week 4: BRM Ranges, during the Ranges our warriors will receive concurrent training in First Aid (CLS or Combat Life Savers). 

Once again he is looking down.

Finally! This smile made my day! I love that man, and miss his handsome face!

They also did tactical care under fire. It was a really intense simulation. They have a dummy worth $850,000 that actually squirts fake blood from having limbs blown off. They had to do security, apply turnakits, and evacuate the dummy while under simulation fire. The dummy actually moved with a remote. I have a few more weeks to catch up on. Until then, I am off to bed!