Soldier's com'n home

Well, as life would have it, things don't always turn out the way we plan.

Tucker left for Fort Benning, Georgia on July 26th shortly after this photo was taken.

He began Basic Training in the Army on August 5th.  Our last communication was the day before.

Surprisingly, we discovered a facebook page set up for his Company which covers 4 platoons all going through the same training.  The administrator of  this facebook page keeps parents and loved ones in touch with daily and weekly updates about the Soldier in Training or SIT's skill training and drills. So even though there was no direct communication with Tucker, we could hear what he was doing and follow the process.  It is also an avenue for questions to be answered and support along the way.  There is also another facebook site called Spiritual Fitness Training that posts pictures of our guys holding index cards with messages for their families.  So nice!

Anyway, last week i noticed a lot of talk on the facebook page where parents were receiving their first phone calls from their soldier.  The first group from Platoon #3 won the combative competition and their reward was a 30 minute phone call home.  Awww...i was watching and waiting for a phone call too!  A couple days went by and nothing...Tucker was in platoon #2 and i noticed other parents begin to receive their long awaited calls from Tucker's platoon. I carried the phone around all day...then, the call.  But my call was not the kind of calls other's were experiencing.  Tucker did not even know about the phone calls being made by his platoon.  He was somewhere else...sick bay, a medical holding place or something because his call was only a couple minutes long, and he said the Army was sending him home.  Okay...YIPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!  right??

Well sort of....as many of you recall, Tucker broke both his feet 3 years ago September 27th.  The Army accepted Tucker and provided him with a medical waiver and all was good.  In Tucker's last week (week 5) of training they did 'rucking'...i guess that is a lot of marching for long distances, with full gear.  He noticed his left foot swelling. Icing and ibuprofen were ineffective and after the week of rucking, Tucker decided he should get some medical attention. His left foot developed stress fractures and so he is coming home for 30 days to recover and then the Army will take him back (they could have given him a medical discharge...so Tucker is lucky!) He will be put into a Physical Training program for at least 30 days to rebuild his strength.  He will then join another platoon in process where he left off.  Hopefully he will not have to repeat the rucking portion. 

Yes, it's a set back, plans change....but who cares???  Not I!  Soldier's Com'n Home!!!