Just got the good word tonight from Air Force basic training – Trainee Tiger has passed all his tests and, after his Warrior Week experience out in the field next week, will finally become Airman Tiger!
He’s had a rough time of it in basic; he was doing great until three weeks ago, when he came down with pneumonia, of all things, and was pulled out of training for two weeks to recover. He then got to go back into training five days before PT testing, with the new, stricter standards (50 situps in 2 minutes, 45 pushups in 2 minutes, a 1.5 mile run in 11:57). So getting the good word that he’s passed it all is a massive relief, to say the least!
And we won’t even discuss the personality transplant he’s apparently had. I cannot wait to go to his graduation in two weeks and see the shy, self-defeatist kid having been turned into a strong, self-confident young man!
Hey! My son is at basic in Lackland too! He’s going to Warrior Week tomorrow. He said a bunch of guys in his dorm had pneumonia. Sorry your son got it. Congrats on his great recovery!
My AB called tonight becaused they passed a drill with a better score than their TI expected and he gave them phone privileges.
Aren’t those phone calls great! Well the first ones aren’t. I think tonight’s was the best so far. He sounded almost relieved.
We’ll be at graduation in two weeks also. I already know that he’s undergone a major change, I can’t wait to see it either.
Wow, the keek, what flight is your son in? Mine is in 324 TRS, Flight 129. Wouldn’t it be wild if they’re in the same flight? Young Tiger just arrived in that flight a week ago, but he’s off to Warrior Week tomorrow, too. So we’ll see you at graduation, I guess – email me about getting together while we’re there!
Mine’s in 331 TRS, FLT 124. But it’s kind of weird anyway. We arrive in S.A. at 1:30 on Thursday and hope to be at the reception center for the fun run at 4:00. Our son keeps telling us not to make any definite plans so we won’t be disappointed if something doesn’t work out. So we haven’t, all I know is that WE WILL be there on the 9th no matter what. (I take that back, we got 10 inches of snow today, and it’s supposed to snow next week too, so if the plane can’t leave the airport I guess we won’t either.) But maybe we can see each other at Grad. I’ll get back to you as the time gets nearer.
We’re driving into San Antonio; I need to check the schedule again to decide if we’re leaving Wednesday evening and stopping partway, or driving straight through Thursday morning – probably the former; I think it’s about an eight-hour drive from New Orleans. So we can visit closer to the date – who knows, our sons may have met each other during Warrior Week in any case! It really IS a small world, isn’t it?
Well, actually, my son was born at Wilford Hall, and my daughter went to elementary school in San Antonio (Northwest ISD, if I recall correctly), so we have fond memories of the city. Young Tiger told us that half the Alamo fell down not too long ago, though? What’s with that?
Congrats Little Tiger:
As a fellow service member ARMY (yes we have stricter PT standards =) I want to offer my congratulations. I know basic is no easy joke, and there were many of times when I wasn’t sure I was going to make it.
As for the pneumonia:
When I was in basic during the Summer of 02 in South Carolina, the air conditioner in my barracks broke and got stuck on full blast. Perhaps this is one of the causes that 18 out of the 33 in my room contracted pneumonia. It was horrible. I was down for two weeks as well.
I’ve been reading your threads about life in Iraq. Dryfreeze, and you have my admiration for the job you’re doing and the attitude you have doing it. Did the military help you develop that kind of confidence and dedication? Just in phone calls, I’ve seen a huge change in YT already in his self-confidence and self-assuredness; his sister keeps suggesting he’s had a personality transplant. But it’s great to see young folks like you present such maturity to the world. And speaking of which, have there been any Air Force guys working with you in Iraq? (Thus speaketh the over-protective mother!)
Master Wang-Ka, he said part of one of the older buildings on the Alamo grounds had some difficulty (maybe a collapsing roof or something? It’s hard to say with the crappy phone connections we’ve had) and had to be closed off. I perhaps phrased it over-dramatically. But he said apparently it’s not the same as when we lived there. I guess we’ll see for ourselves soon enough; we plan to do a bit of touristing while we’re there.
Sounds like upper respiratory crud is not all that unusual. Although, dryfreeze, the Air Force has recently instituted far stricter physical standards for recruits. I listed them above. Were yours tougher than that? Or do I just hear the typical inter-service rivalry speaking? (When I asked YT if he’d done any firearms training yet, he replied scornfully, “This isn’t the ARMY, Mother!”)
Yes, the Alamo does undergo periodic… um… renovation. They try to keep as much of the original structure and materials in place as possible… which sometimes results in, um, structural integrity troubles.
But they do stay on top of these things, if you’ll pardon the pun. It’s likely they closed a building or something for renovations, and the rumor mill got started…
But maybe we can see each other at Grad. I’ll get back to you as the time gets nearer.
But it’s great to see young folks like you present such maturity to the world. And speaking of which, have there been any Air Force guys working with you in Iraq? (Thus speaketh the over-protective mother!)