Although we haven't done anything super newsworthy yet this week, I thought I'd share a few small tidbits of news for our family members out there. :)
Yesterday I met AJ for lunch at the ALU (Army Logistics University) for the first time. It was his idea for me to come and see where he spends his time every day, and I'm really glad I went. A lot of the soldiers go home for lunch, so it gets pretty busy around there by 11:45. We decided to grab some Subway from the cafeteria and ate with a few of AJ's classmates whom I hadn't met yet. It was definitely a different environment for me--I was one of just three people in civilian clothing in the entire cafeteria and I'm definitely not used to hanging out with a bunch of men, some of whom don't seem quite as motivated to clean up their language around wives (in my experience, most of the soldiers I've met are super polite around me though). One mentioned going to Afghanistan in January; it's crazy to know that he already knows his deployment date. That made things a bit more real to me.
I could see what AJ means about seeing so many international soldiers around; we spotted uniforms from Croatia, Saudi Arabia, Poland, and more. After lunch he showed me the classrooms he spends time in, and when we stepped outside I got to watch as the enlisted soldiers saluted him and called him "sir". That was pretty cool. The more time I spend here, especially around the enlisted soldiers, the prouder I am to be an officer's wife.
I still spend my days cleaning up the apartment, grocery shopping, running, and crossing other things off my to-do list such as thank you notes, changing the name on my passport, brushing up on my Spanish, etc. I actually keep pretty busy all day so I'm never sitting around bored or lonely.
AJ's been learning about food service so far this week. They went on a small field trip to the field kitchens on post, where the privates are training to cook. He's been all excited and informative about food safety and nutrition since his briefing yesterday, which it seems he was fairly interested in. Each evening I hear about which instructors he liked and which ones talk too much, along with what exactly they lectured about. I'm really proud of him for how seriously he takes his training and how well he leads his squad. I don't think I should say much about what goes on in the squad, but I have been able to see much more of my husband's great heart, leadership skills, and willingness to be an advocate for people.
Finally, AJ had pre-ranger PT for the first time this morning. He and one other soldier maxed on the APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test), so technically they don't need to go to PT at all. However, they both want to challenge themselves so they go to pre-ranger PT together. This PT gets soldiers ready for Ranger School, which is pretty much just one notch below Special Forces with how intense it is. The school lasts two months, and it equips soldiers to be in the Ranger Regiment, which again is very similar to Special Forces. If AJ passes all the different tests, he'll most likely get a spot to Ranger School. Not sure yet if I really want him to go due to its intensity and the time we'd have to spend apart (it would probably use up his leave time after BOLC), but we'll see if he gets a spot and cross that bridge when we get there. I still want to support him in whatever excites him, even if it's not so fun for me at first, so we both agree that Ranger School is a possibility and that we'll pray about it before ruling it out. One of the best parts about being married is making decisions together finally.
Anyway, this form of PT was definitely the challenge he was looking for. He made it through, but he said he felt sick from exhaustion towards the end. He also woke up late and dressed in the dark, which resulted in him wearing two different shoes! Thankfully they get to wear their civvies to Ranger PT so he wasn't out of uniform or anything. Poor guy ;)
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