What a great tribute! The kid is lucky to have people like you. We all are lucky to have military folks like him.
Jim
U.S. Navy Retired (and I threw all of my own parties)
What a great tribute! The kid is lucky to have people like you. We all are lucky to have military folks like him.
Jim
U.S. Navy Retired (and I threw all of my own parties)
What a great tribute! The kid is lucky to have people like you. We all are lucky to have military folks like him.
Jim
U.S. Navy Retired (and I threw all of my own parties)
Make sure to update the address book while you have everyone there.
And make sure to give them my thanks.
Best wishes to your son and his friend! Anoreth got a little brother as a present before she left for the Coast Guard, but I understand not everyone can swing that ...
That sounds great, and it also sounds like enough. You don’t want to over schedule. Leave some down time just to talk. If it’s not ending at Hooters, maybe kicking back with a simple bonfire at home might be a nice ending.
“Any thoughts would be very much appreciated on how I can make this more special... “
Make sure he is actually ready to go. Seriously. I just saw one of my best friends off two days ago to Afghanistan and he was terribly unprepared. The military really doesn’t do a very good job of it.
Hi Kathy
Would you mind pinging the Canteen list to this thread? I think they could be very helpful.
No ideas to pass on to you, eeevil, but want to wish your son and friend well and I pray for their safe return.
My advice is simple: Make sure to give any military personnel lots of hugs and handshakes and positive reinforcement prior to their shipping out, and thank them in advance for “taking out the trash”.
My older daughter’s fiance recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan and he said they always appreciate anything sent to them while deployed. His dad would send him cartons of cigarettes even though he didn’t smoke, simply so he could share with his fellow Marines and with the ‘friendlies’ over there. Sweet treats to share with the local kids are a good thing, too. FYI, while out on missions there are kids who will get pretty bold about trying to steal stuff off the vehicles, so that’s something for him to watch out for.
As for communication with people at home, they usually allow some time for Skyping and will periodically make a satellite phone available for the guys to make calls stateside.
Two kids’ mom saw some Navy guys at the airport yesterday and wished them well as they were getting ready to board a plane for who-knows-where. They were very appreciative.
All the best to you and yours and theirs. We truly are lucky to have these heroes in our lives.
Make sure you have the party at least 7 days before your son deploys. My wife was bumped up 5 days unexpectedly. Screwed up all her going away arrangements and to make matters worse, the flight overseas left on the date originally scheduled.
Military screws up travel plans all the time due to bureaucratic snafus and in my wife’s case, she was suck in Virginia for 3 days living under billeting hell when she could have spent more time with the kids.
Have him look me up when he gets here....
We can sit around and drink fake beer (GO-1, is in effect even for contractors)
Well, at least in Afghanistan as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces he’ll be safer than if he lived in Chicago (Afghanistan since 2001: a bit over 2000 deaths; in Chicago since 2001, over 5000 murders).
Way to give him a unique, one of a kind send off. Thank you for caring.
When our nephew left for Afghanistan he wrote and told me he missed hearing the Stars and Stripes windchimes I made for his family.
Sooooo, I made another set and mailed it to him. He hung it outside his CP. Over the 1 year deployment, the wind did a number on the windchimes. Half the paint was chipped away.
When he returned last summer, he brought back the chimes and gave them back to me.
Rather than re-painting them, I hung them in front of our house, chipped paint and all. It’s a constant reminder of what our troops face each and every day serving our country.
May God bless and protect each one.
Tell him to keep his head down and act honorably. Come back intact Physically and Mentally and NEVER break faith with his fellow Vets. And then live his life.