Maybe, Maybe Not

I was so excited to hear from Brandon today. It is few and far between when we actually get to hear his voice. He is excited to be counting down the days to graduation and I'm looking forward to actually being able to see him. While on the phone I asked a lot of questions because I stay very confused most of the time when it comes to his military commitment. Here is my understanding of things as they are now, but if you know anything about the military then you probably know that "maybe" this will happen, and "maybe not". On May 1st, Brandon will graduate at Fort Benning, Georgia from Army Basic Training. From there he will be allowed to spend about 10 days with us here in Texas. We will leave on the 12th of May to move him to D.C. His orders are to report by May 20th. We will stop along the way for the graduation of Brian, this is the husband of my niece, Loren, from Marine Basic Training. Brandon & Loren have been close friends since birth and therefore, Brian is very important to him as well. He is really looking forward to being able to be there for his graduation. I refer to them as Todd & Copper from the "Fox and the Hound." They became friends before they new they were expected to be enemies. They will pretend to act as their branch of the military expects until they are alone, then they will go back to being friends instead of rivals. HaHa! Brandon's base is located in Virginia, just 20 minutes from where Brian and Loren live. He will report in D.C., but live in VA. This couldn't have been more perfect for Brandon. He is really looking forward to being so close to his two closest friends. Brandon will stay with Loren & Brian until the 17th of May, then he will report to his base. This is 3 days early, but it saves him some vacation days for in the future and vacation days are precious to our soldiers. While in D.C., Brandon will continue his education. He will complete is Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice/Sociology and then start on his Master's Degree. While attending school he will be training in other areas for the military. His plan is to train in Combat Diving and Airborne. He loves diving under water and in the air, so both of these are perfect for him. He is very excited to be given the D.C. assignment. He will be responsible for protecting the capitol of our great country until further notice. It is such an honor to have my son serve this nation so that I may be free.