basic training | graduation day

Recently I traveled to Ft. Benning, GA to attend my oldest nephew’s graduation from Army basic training. It was amazing for many reasons. We come from a long line of soldiers dating back to the Continental Army and have relatives on both sides of the family that fought in the American Revolution. You might say he was destined for this. I’m proud of him for following his heart, he felt very strongly that becoming a soldier was what he was meant to do.

Also in attendance were my dad and my uncle, who both went to officer candidate school at Ft. Benning during the Viet Nam era. My brother was born on this base at that time. I’ve heard countless stories over the years about OCS and the army. It was so cool to finally see it for myself, while at the same time watching my dad, uncle, mom and aunt getting very emotional coming back and reliving parts of their past. You could almost see the memories and ghosts of the past popping up in their minds as they walked around the grounds.

Follow Me! My dad has a miniature version of this statue that has always been in our house. Finally saw the real thing at the entrance of the National Infantry Museum & Soldier Center.

The graduation ceremony was an amazing spectacle. Of course, as our luck would have it the weather was unseasonably freezing cold and everything was outdoors. Don’t let the sun in the pictures deceive you it was about 30 degrees at best. I nearly got frostbite on my toes but it was worth getting some shots of the action.

I was the crazy lady sneaking up as close as I could to the field to try and get a picture of her nephew. In uniform they look like clones, I had no idea where he was other than that he was in the middle formation. When they marched by I just blindly snapped away at everybody hoping he’d be in there somewhere. And he was! See those eyes shifted right looking at me, directly behind the guy with glasses? 😀 I only found him once I was scrolling back through my shots in the car and I was so happy because I had NO idea if I caught him or not!

Immediately after the ceremony the newly minted soldiers marched straight over to parked buses. In that mass confusion, we split up and searched to find my nephew to say one more goodbye before he got whisked off to Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska to begin the rest of his service. 24 hours after this he was in Fairbanks in -26F weather! Welcome to the Army.

Soldier’s Creed:

I am an American Soldier.

I am a warrior and a member of a team.

I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values.

I will always place the mission first.

I will never accept defeat.

I will never quit.

I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.

I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.

I am an expert and I am a professional.

I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.

I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.

I am an American Soldier.