Michael

Michael is down to his last week at Boot Camp. He called to talk to me and we talked for almost a half hour. It was so nice. He wanted me to know he had just finished Battle Stations. This is the final test to see if he has learned everything he needs to know. They are awoken in the middle of the night and taken to a mock battleship that was built by Universal Studios there at the base. They are taken through a series of obstacles where they have to prove themselves in areas such as firefighting, swimming, etc. I don't know everything because they aren't allowed to talk about it over the phone. I did tell him to write down his experiences so he would have those for later.

Anyway, after 36 hours of this, they are judged to see if they have completed everything correctly. If so, they pass. If not, they have to go back and re-learn and do Battle Stations over.

When Mike arrived at Boot Camp, he was given a ball cap that said Recruit on it. He said he didn't think anything of it, other than it was a hat. He said he learned the true meaning of that hat when after not sleeping for 3 days and running themselves ragged, these boys (and girls) are brought out onto the landing of this battleship. Mike said, the chief came up to each one of them individually, shook their hand and handed them a new hat, which said Navy! Mike said he was crying so hard he couldn't say Thank You Chief. Then they played "I'm proud to be an American". There wasn't a dry eye in the room. This is what it was all about.

So, he did it! He now has a week of relaxation ahead of him. He will still be marching and working, but he has proven himself. He said he was very proud of himself and proud of his choice to join the US Navy.

We will be leaving Thursday to Chicago to see him graduate. Then he's off to Florida for A school. More on this later!