This past week has been exciting and emotional, to say the least. Ben graduated from Army Basic Training this week, and Lynda and I, along with her Dad, drove to Columbus, GA to see Ben on his proudest day! On Thursday, January 17th, we first had a "Family Briefing" where they tell us about our soldier's training, what an infantryman does, and what the future may hold for deployment. It was interesting and awe inspiring to understand just what these guys have gone through these past weeks. Following the briefing, the "Turning Blue" ceremony was held. This is when the soldiers are presented with their blue cord that signifies that they are an infantryman. This was the first time we saw Ben in his dress uniform, and I don't think I could be any more proud than I was at that moment. 
After "Turning Blue", we were allowed to see his barracks. 
We then had to leave, without Ben, because he and several others lost their family day leave because they snuck out of PT the day before. Ok... yes, the old Ben is still lurking in there. He called about an hour later and said they were going to let them go after all, so we executed one of many u-turns throughout the weekend, and went back to the base and picked up Ben. We went to just about every military supply store in the area for the next several hours. I'm sure Lynda enjoyed it as much as I did! LOL.... it was neat though having that time together, and I'm so glad they relented and let them go. We dropped Ben off at 7:30 p.m. and went to our hotels to rest up and prepare for the big day - GRADUATION! The day we've all been waiting for! Graduation Day! January 18th - and thankfully the sun was out today. It was cold, but not nearly as much as yesterday. 
The graduates are dressed in their ACU's (Army Combat Uniforms) because these young men enlisted during a time of war. In peacetime, they would wear their dress uniforms for graduation. The graduation ceremony was cool. They had a demonstration of what our guys were trained for - a Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle (a kind of tank) and a Stryker Infantry Carrier vehicle rolled onto the field, with smoke bombs going off, and soldiers coming out of the vehicles in full battle uniform (or 'battle rattle' as they say in the Army) with weapons. The announcer explained the weapons they carried, gave an overview of the tank and stryker, and it was all so interesting. HOOAH! The graduates recite the Infantrymans Creed:
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