Finally! Liberty!
Got the phone call I was expecting today. The kid is doing really well. Someone forgot to call the cabs that were supposed to be waiting for them, so he and some buddies were walking to Q town. They were given permission to use the phones on the way. I think a couple cool brews and some "fine" dining are on the itinerary. I think he said he's free until 2 PM Sunday (may have said noon) but he'll probably go back early as all his buddies are on probation, as is most of the platoon. They're planning on a big pancake breakfast somewhere in Q-town tomorrow morning prior to their return.
He sounded great and thinks he's doing really well. He had already called his MOI who asked everyone to check in with him on their first liberty. As you know the MOI is sent all the grades and stuff from OCS so he knows how he is doing. He said he was right where he needs to be and filled him in on some of the details.
Says he's lost a lot of weight and his skin is hanging loose in a lot of areas, and although I'm sure he's lost weight I'm also confident it's not as bad as he thinks. He's obsessed about the way his skin is loose all the time, which is nonsense. He said he's keeping up with his pullups in the squad bay so they don't drop off for the final PFT. He expects his run time is going to be much better. I don't know how there can be too much improvement as his initial PFT score was 298.
It turns out that the picture I posted earlier of the guy who was looking for his pack at pickup WAS him!!! Someone else put his pack on, which is what I expected had happened. Evidently he just took it in stride. I told him about the pic and how the Sgt looked like he was going to attack him. He said, "They always look like that Dad".
The only billet he has had so far is Fire Team Leader. He's trying to figure out if that's good or bad. He seems to think it's good news but isn't so sure. I like to think maybe they're saving the best for last!
I know it's hard work and he's certainly not casual about it, but his attitude seems to be that this is a great summer camp adventure and he finally begins to feel he is doing something useful in comparison to the few opportunities they get to do anything that feels like "real" training back in the NROTC unit. He's done well on all the academics and field work so far. His spirits are high and I expect he'll finish strong. He thinks the E Course, the big hike and SULE are coming up this week. It sounds like after that the downhill slope begins, maybe with a few long plateaus and some uphill runs.