Jess, same offer for your son, if he or his buddies need letter or care packages, let me know 'k?
I will also keep my fingers crossed for your son.
The Marines are just with the Navy until the Marines figure out how to walk on water. 
My cousin Nicole and her husband are both Marines and she’s been waiting to leave for more than two years.
My brother’s best friend (Navy) leaves for Iraq in a month, too. The only reason he got to come home for Christmas is to say goodbye before taking off. He’s a big guy – 6’3" or 6’4" and nothing but muscle – but he’s just a baby.
Best of luck to your sons, Jess and NinetyWt.
Yes, this was the same for us. They call it pre-deplyoment leave or something like that.
Jess my son has a Corpsman assigned to his unit. They call him Doc. I guess all those guys are probably called Doc. 
How long is your son’s tour? It would mean a lot to me and my DIL to stay in touch with y’all over the year.
Yep, they are all ‘Doc,’ my boy included. Nick’s tour will just be 6 months, unless he’s able to extend it. And he won’t be in Iraq the whole time. He isn’t with a infantry unit. He’s with a support group that provides security for the big trucks and other vehicles. It looks like his unit will be stopping off in Africa for a humanitarian mission of some type, then on to the Middle East. Nick’s been in for 2 years, but this is his first trip overseas – his training alone took nearly a year.
I have a nephew who is a Marine in an infantry unit out of Camp Pendleton – he just got back this summer from a tour in Iraq. And my other nephew was in the Marines also, for 4 years. He did 3 overseas tours – 1 in Afghanistan right after 9/11; and 2 in Iraq. He was with the first group into Fallujah. And my husband and I are both Navy vets (I did 6 years; my husband did 26), as is my father (20 years) and my brother (25)… We’re a military family, I guess. I’m finding, though, that a familiarity with sending your husband overseas (even to war – my husband was on the first ship headed to Gulf War I) doesn’t make it any easier to send your son…
Anyway, I’d love to keep in touch with you – I have a lifetime’s experience with deployments and dealing with the military complex – do a search on my usuername and you’ll find me holding forth on the subject in several threads over the years. If you or your DIL have any questions or concerns (or just need a friendly word or a shoulder) please do contact me. My email is in my profile.
Jess and 90Wt, warm thoughts and best wishes from the land of chocolatey goodness.
You know, 90, that graduating guy from the many-people picture looks too serious for someone who works with Things That Go Boom May all his things go boom at the proper time.
Razorette and I send along our good wishes and thoughts. Our youngest son is in the Navy, and that’s scary enough for us. Friends of ours have had sons stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, but all have returned safely. And the new Dem majority in Congress seems intent on getting all of our service personnel back home where they belong.
Long-distance hugs to you and your DIL from us. Here’s hoping the star in your window is always blue.
Safe thoughts for both of your sons, and all of the other sons and daughters out there.
As a foreigner, I’ve been trying to keep my meddling fingers from getting involved in this thread.
But as an Israeli, who understands about kids going to the army all too well :(, I’ve got to add my own best wishes for the safety of your children (that’s both of you, NinetyWt and Jess,) all US servicemen and women, and in fact all young people the world over risking their lives trying to help make it a better place.
My heart goes out to you! Please wish him the best of luck.
Christ, he looks so young.
They always do. But they grow up fast.
For both of you, jess and ninety, you and yours will be in my thoughts. If you need anything, anything at all, my email is in my profile.
He looks like a baby.
Don’t tell him that!
Best wishes and prayers.
Semper Fi
He is young. Good God.
I’ll be thinking about you guys. I am also hoping that my brother won’t be doing another tour soon…
NinetyWt do you have his address? I was contaced by my sister-in-law: the girl scout troop she’s involved with would like to send a care package to someone in Iraq. You can reach me via yahoo mail, same screen name.
Here’s to a happy return party in 14 months
Not to hijack, but what does that mean? Do snipers try to pick off anyone smoking at night because they can see the burning cigarette?
There’s that, and smoking interferes with your night vision in a couple of ways. One is simply the light from the flame of your lighter/match and the glow for the coal, the other is that smoking restricts oxygen flow and hampers your eyes from seeing as well.