He's in Leatherneck and He's Clean!!

For the last few days, I've been waiting patiently and checking often to see if Adam is online. I haven't heard from him in 10 days, but I know that seeing him online will mean he's arrived in Camp Leatherneck--a base with showers, food and internet!  And this afternoon it finally happened.

While I was on Facebook, I got a message from one of his buddies alerting me that Adam was about to sign on to a computer.  And then I saw his username  --  yoitsadamf --  appear on AIM.  "Hey" I quickly typed.  "At leatherneck" he replied.  "YAY" I responded and breathed a big sigh of relief.  One more leg of this journey was complete.  We had less than 10 minutes to chat, and I learned very little about his anticipated return trip home.  He did manage to have a brief conversation with Gary and Jason at the same time, but he signed off very quickly.  The only real info I learned was that he had finally taken a shower and is now awaiting his orders.  And since he waited over an hour for a turn at a computer, I'm not expecting to hear from him again until he lands on U.S. soil. 

Later this afternoon, I received a message from our Family Readiness Officer. He gave dates for the return of H&S, Lima and Weapons companies, but not Kilo or India (Adam's company).  I was slightly disappointed, but in truth this means that we're making progress.  I called Verizon and had Adam's cell phone re-activated.  Now I just have to wait a bit longer to see his old, familiar number appear on my caller id.

One More Patrol

It's Sunday. The sun is finally shining, and Gary and I are thinking about making a visit to the Botanical Gardens. The phone rings, and it's Adam checking in.  He tells us he's been busy and he's working hard. He also announces that he's getting ready to make his last official infantry patrol before returning home. We are so excited by this news.  He confirms to us the exact day he expects to fly into California. We talk of our upcoming reunion, and we re-affirm our plans to be there when he arrives back on base.  Adam has decided he wants the four of us to spend a few days together in San Diego, and we are thrilled.  We speak of our month together in New Rochelle and Adam's plans to return to 29 Palms after his leave.  We tell him how much we love him and how proud we are of him. And then we end our short conversation with parental warnings - Be careful!  Don't get complacent!  No heroics!   After the conversation, I reflect a bit and just have to laugh.  He's been a Marine for almost two years, he's had intense training, and he's been living in a country at war for six months.  Yet we just can't stop being parents and issue those warnings. But Adam has indeed grown up, and he takes the warnings in stride.  "Yes mom," he answers, "I'll be careful.  Don't worry.  I love you too."  We hang up, and I try to follow his advice. I tell myself we've gotten this far.  He'll be fine.  But I will rest easier in a week, when I get another call from him that he's done.

To give you an idea of what a "patrol" is, read the article Marines Keep Vigilance High During Marjah Patrol.  And to get some idea of what Adam's specialty training is, read Mortarmen Bring 81s to the Fight.  Both articles are about different Marines in different bases, but they could have just as easily been about Adam and his unit.