Tom just now this very second got the word that he is being promoted to Captain as of May 1, 2006! This has been way too long in coming (it should have been in August) so we’re really excited about it! Now we get to start planning the wetdown!! Tentatively, it will be Saturday, June 3—we wanted to have it some time in May, but one of Tom’s best buds is coming home from Africa the first week of May and has a bunch of weekends planned, so June 3 was the first good weekend so he could be there. Invites will go out soon….
Category Archives: USMC
A Change of Plans: A Blog Exclusive
We aren’t announcing this via email blast to the whole family yet, because all plans aren’t final. However, if you are one of the loyal readers of this blog, you will find out ahead of everyone else. See, there are benefits of reading my blog!
Long story short, we are going to be in Jacksonville another 2-3 years—and are in the process of selling our house and buying a new (larger) house. Wow, we know. It was a big shock to us, as well, since the last anyone knew, we were planning on coming home to Michigan within the next year or so.
Why did we perform a 180? Well, Tom had a talk with the head of the Business Technology Division and a prior colonel at 2MARDIV. He had no problem with Tom extending for one year here at base, but he thought it would be in Tom’s best interest to go for augmentation. Augmentation is a two-year commitment that changes his status from a reserve officer to an active duty officer and permits him to continue on in the Marine Corps if he decides he wants to go back into the Marines (I warned him that he might not like working in the real world!). If he were to decline his augmentation, he would be burning a more secure bridge than he expected.
When Tom told me about this we discussed it for a while and decided that a two-year commitment here at base would not kill either of us (although we really want to come home, we want to make sure we are in the best financial position to do so). Staying another few years will also allow Tom to go further in his masters work. Also, Tom has to figure out his schedule for getting his degree—there is only one class he can take this fall semester…so depending on the rest of the semesters he may need the entire three years to finish!
Another factor in our decision to stay is that Tom’s company commander said that he wouldn’t send him anywhere and that his company has too many officers that haven’t gone overseas yet. Of course, this isn’t a 100% guarantee (nothing is in the Corps), but we’re comfortable with it.
We also discussed our finances. Since I work for a real estate agent, we have been tracking the amounts that the houses in our area have been going for. The way we look at it, right now is probably the best time to get the best chunk of money out of our house. We could still get a little more if we waited another 2-3 years, but if we were to roll our money into a larger home in a more prestigous area, in 2-3 years we will be able to leave with a more substantial profit. We are just trying to leave Jacksonville with the most money possible and if we were to stay in the house we are at now, it wouldn’t be as advantageous as a new, larger home. As a positive, we’re fairly certain the new house will appraise for more than we’re paying, so we will actually start off ahead of the game. (Our neighbors, who moved into the same subdivision four or so months ago, have already had their house appraise for about 10k more than they paid). Of course, buying this new home is all depending on the sale and appraisal of our current house—and if we can’t get what we want (either sale- or appraisal-wise), then we can wait. The goal is to pay off the car (which payment will actually rollover into our new mortgage) and make a comfortable, yet dedicated, investment.
Ultimately, it’s a huge step we’re both excited AND scared about. The prospect of a new, larger house is exhilarating…but the prospect of doubling our mortgage is frightening (even though it all logically figures out). We figure everything happens for a reason, so if it was meant to be, it will be.
WISH US LUCK!
My last nerve.
So, when Tom was heading home, he told me the good news…he’d have two “free” weeks of vacation after he got home (i.e it wouldn’t come off his earned days). Everyone gets it after being deployed, he said. He talked to a bunch of his friends who confirmed it. Cool, I thought. He said he could take it whenever he wanted (i.e. it didn’t have to be the first two weeks he was home) so we planned for him to wait and use it when my dad and Linda come down at the end of the month.
But.
He just called me to say “Guess what?” Turns out the “free vacation” isn’t free after all. Apparently it’s for tax purposes only (not quite sure why or how that works) and if you want to take it, the days come straight from your banked days. WHAT? Again, something EVERY SINGLE PERSON TOM TALKED TO apparently forgot or never knew themselves. I just don’t see how that’s possible…
So, the gist of all this is that Tom can’t take the full two weeks off like he planned.
And my overall happiness with the marine corps right now?? They’re on my last nerve. Granted, it’s not technically their fault, but it seems odd how TIME AFTER TIME AFTER TIME AFTER TIME we are “assured” that certain things will happen, but when push comes to shove, it’s all a load of crap. (I’m specifically thinking back to the very beginning when Tom was promised that the USMC would help pay back his student loans. What a big load of BS that was. And saying they will pay for 75% of college classes. But oh, only if you give us more time. There are more, but I don’t feel like getting into it.) It just seems there are always hidden things…
Our grand plan…down the drain???
So Tom and I have been getting REALLY excited because he found out (while in Iraq) that he can take college courses to finish his second degree—and the military would reimburse us for 75% of the costs. Excellent, no? That’s what we thought! We had it all planned out—he would extend his time by a year or two—just enough time to get his degree. He would take classes on Camp Lejeune or at the local community college. He’d graduate/have his degree just in time to get out and move home to Michigan (and be able to get a great job).
But. (There’s alway a but, right?)
Now he’s finding out more details. Of course, the people who told him about all this to begin with didn’t mention ONE THING about the caveat. Hoo boy. Oh, the military will pay for the classes…but you have to pay them back: you either stay in (I think it was) one extra year for every so many classes you took…or you have to pay EVERYTHING back. So, if you take any college classes, you’re automatically LOCKED into more time to pay it off. (I can’t recall the exact ratio, but I think it came out to us having to be here like four more years…which was NOT in our grand plan.)
The second problem, although not a military caveat, is that NONE of the classes Tom needs for the degree he wants are offered on Camp Lejeune. There wasn’t enough interest, so the classes have been cancelled. And as luck would have it, there are none at the community college, either. So, where ARE the classes? At MCAS Cherry Point, 1:30 away (oly 60 miles, but no highways). So, that totally sucks. If he wants to take classes, they have to be night classes, which puts him in the car a minimum of THREE HOURS A DAY and most likely puts him on the road late at night after having been up since 5 or 6. I am NOT happy about that. AT ALL. I got him home safe from Iraq—the last thing I need is for him to fall asleep at the wheel coming home from class.
So, for now, our grand plan has been flushed down the toilet. We have no idea what we’re going to do. He really wants to get his second degree (all the better to get a great job when we move home), but it’s going to be VERY hard with all the daily travel. We can’t afford to do it on our own financially (i.e. go back to school in Michigan), but in order for the military to pay for it, we have to stay in longer. His committment is offically up this August, so if he doesn’t extend (or doesn’t sign up for four more years), he’s done—and out!—in August. Worst case scenario, he’s done in August and then what??? Do we move home? Does he find a job as a civilian contractor for about the same money (more salary, but it evens out with the loss of the housing allotment)? EGADS. It seems nothing is ever cut and dried in the military!!
Homecoming Yesterday
I woke up at about 6am and just could NOT fall back asleep…but I was happy that I slept the whole night (I had been afraid I wouldn’t sleep a wink). Tom called about 7am to let me know he was in Charlotte and was still expected in at 8:40. I left the house (in his car, per his request!) at 8:15 since the airport is literally only minutes away. As I drove by our friend’s house (Roger & Ursula), I saw they had hung a sheet/banner out saying WELCOME HOME TOM! I almost started crying right then! (I had wanted to do a banner, but long story short, it just didn’t happen and I knew he wouldn’t be heartbroken.) But it was SOOOO sweet that they put one up and I’m so glad they did!
So I made it to the airport, parked, and only had to wait about 10 minutes before he walked off the plane! I hadn’t really been emotional AT ALL up to that point, but as soon as I saw him, I started crying! After a few minutes of hugs and kisses, LOL, it was off to wait for the luggage (I swear, all 400# of it). Then he finally got to see his new car…and loved it! Of course, he drove home.
After unloading the car, saying hello to the kids, and eating our Cinnabons (that he brought from Charlotte), Tom took a two-hour nap. I know he could have slept a lot longer, but he wanted to start getting back on schedule. Then it was off to base so he could check in and return his weapon. Then we ran some errands (dreaming about DLP televisions at Best Buy, checking out replacement laptops at Staples, eating dinner at Texas Roadhouse—a new place that just opened but that’s one of our favorite restaurants from Lansing, and getting groceries at Sam’s Club). Then it was home, where we ran into some neighbors in the street. Then we watched some TV and were in bed by 10.
So how is it to have him home? Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Except for one thing. MAN, does he make a lot of noise when he sleeps! LOL! I mean, I know he snores, but let’s just say I didn’t get much sleep (hence my being up this early). My little prods that used to get him to flip over?? No more. Now I have to literally shove him to get him to move. I know it’s mainly because he’s STILL exhausted and because he’s not used to sleeping with anyone else…but if this is still a problem after a week, we’ll have to take drastic measures!!
We have a bonfire planned for this weekend so everyone can see him and we can hear all the stories…so we’re really looking forward to that and to seeing everyone. Poor Tom—after he left, two of our best friends moved from the neighborhood, one put their house on the market (and has two offers on it), and the last is just putting their house up for sale. We’re the only ones left!
Stay tuned for more post-deployment stories, I’m sure…
*Some details have been omitted due to my parents reading this blog, LOL…
Carlsbad Inn
Check out where Tom is staying: Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort & Hotel in Carlsbad, California. I guess he deserves it after six months in Iraq!
WEDNESDAY MORNING!
Tom just called and he will be flying into Jacksonville Wednesday morning about 8:30! 88| He said it was either that or 3:30am Tuesday—but he didn’t want me to have to be up that late. I said that would have been fine, for pete’s sake…like I will be able to sleep the night before anyway?!
California calling!
Tom is in California! He landed about 2:30 EST and called me straightaway like a good husband! He just called again to say he’s at his hotel (the same one he stayed at on his way out) and trying to catch up on some sleep. He said the whole group of them (that came in today) are heading in tomorrow to see when they will be able to actually leave for their respective homes. He’s hoping this weekend…but with Easter and all, he’s guessing Monday at the earliest.
Germany calling!
Tom called about midnight last night from Germany. He said they were way ahead of schedule, so if it continued, they’d also arrive in California early—by as much as a few hours. And even better news? There is no 96er this weekend, so he should be able to talk to someone about coming home ASAP! We’re still not sure how soon ASAP will be, but it’s possible it could be this weekend! Here’s hoping!
Closer….closer…
It’s getting so close now I’m starting to go a little crazy. He should be in the air right now…having left three hours ago (2:30am Kuwait time). I’m half expecting a call in the middle of the night if he has the time when making a connection (I think he said Germany?)—since I got a similar call when he was on his way over. I’m still having a hard time believing he’s almost home!!
Tom’s in Kuwait
After a very bumpy flight (he said there was about 20 minutes during which he thought the plane might actually crash), he arrived safely in Kuwait. He is still scheduled to leave tomorrow (actually 2:30am) and arrive in California at 11am on Thursday. After not talking or emailing with him for 3-4 days, I got to email him back and forth for about a half hour, plus he got to call me for a few minutes!
Mail Order Scripts Rock!
So I finally called TriCare today about the insane cost of the pills. Long story short, it’s really the pharmacist’s fault for inputting 91 pills instead of 90 (because TriCare authorizes those as a 90-day supply). However, I can get the same thing via mail order pharmacy for $9. Yes, by going via mail order, you automatically get three months for the price of one! OOH RAH! The only small drawback is that now I have to go back to the docs and get a new prescription—hopefully I can just explain the situation and have the doc write a new scrip. But this is definitely better than paying $36!!
Ain’t that a kick in the pants?
Tom called me earlier this morning to tell me…
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(I’m building the suspense!)
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He’s fully checked out and he can leave at any time!! Yea! Except, of course, that his flight doesn’t leave until March 19th and there are no flights before that! Boo! So, he has the next five or so days to just kick back and relax—since he’s checked out, that means he doesn’t have a job to do! He did say he’s really ready to come home—apparently things aren’t running quite as smoothly as they were when his group was in charge and it’s extremely frustrating to watch (as I can well imagine).
He’s still not sure how long he will have to be in California. He was going to call them later today to see if they could A) give him any idea and/or B) tell them he wants to leave as soon as possible, best case scenario the day he gets there!
Whatever the case, the final countdown is on!
Update from Tom!
I just got this email from him:
I will be leaving for Kuwait on the 18th and then from there on the 20th-22nd. Then hopefully leaving Cali on the 28th.
IT’S GETTING CLOSER AND I’M GETTING SOOOOO EXCITED!!!
Iraq Buddies
Deployment: Yippee For Taxes
Wow. That’s all I can say right now—wow.
I got our taxes done this week. This was the first year since we’ve been married that I’ve had to do it—we get it done on base for free, and Tom always does it because it’s more convenient for him. So, thanks to the deployment, it was my turn!
So, as per the past few years, I wasn’t expecting much back (for example, last year we got $159 federal and $229 state). So imagine my complete and utter surprise when the tax guy finished and said, ever-so-casually, that my return was $1451. My first reaction? “I’m sorry, that must be a mistake!” He reassured me that the amount was correct. Why the big difference? You won’t believe it. Deployment. All money earned while deployed in a combat zome is not taxed…but they keep taking out taxes as normal! So, we obviously overpaid by a large margin—so it’s all coming back! Talk about a great morning…
Tom’s “house”
Good news and bad news…
I finally heard from Tom today.
Good news…. I am safe at Blue Diamond. I got here yesterday at 0830, but left at 10 pm the night before. I was stuck in a hummer for nearly 12 hours in 25 degree weather! I WAS FREEZING MY ASS OFF!
Better news…. I got in and my bed was filled with boxes! Not to mention the there were so many that they started putting them under my bed too!!!
Best news…. I am leaving Blue Diamond in 4 weeks and 1 day!!!!!!
Bad news…. As soon as I stepped foot in the COC yesterday, Maj Allison said “Tom, it is great to have you back! You had better get some sleep, we have another project for you to work on now!” Needless to say I didn’t get to sleep. I started planning in my head…. Ohhhhh boy!
This just means he is going back out into the field. He assured me it will be “by far less dangerous” than it was before. Then I asked if he finally got my Christmas presents that I sent [way back the first week of December]…
I opened it, but I have had to make so many reports and prepare for the upcoming project, I haven’t unwrapped the presents. I will tonight and will tell you tomorrow. I no shit had 20 boxes!!!
Waiting sucks!
I haven’t heard from Tom in over two days…the last email I got was Wednesday afternoon. Now, I know two days is nothing…but when I’ve been spoiled by emails every day, two days gets me worrying. However, he was transitioning back to Ramadi from Fallujah, so I’m sure he’s extremely busy. I know he will contact me the first chance he gets, but in the meantime, waiting just sucks. It doesn’t help that I’m getting more and more paranoid as time goes on, either…it’s at times like these that the mind can be a terrible thing!
Termination of Mail Services
Since Tom has been gone, I’ve been getting emails from Camp Pendleton with announcements related to the deployment (as well as related to spouse events in the Pendleton area—of which I have absolutely no use!—but most of the deployed marines were originally from the area, so it makes sense for them). However, once in awhile, I get one that I actually read! This week, they announced the Termination of Mail Services…because the guys are getting closer to coming home!! They make this request 45-60 days out (I’m guessing at the number of days, but it seems to fit with the timeline Tom has given me) so that there’s less chance of packages getting lost in the transition from Iraq to California (during which time the marines may be moving around frequently). Any mail sent after Feburary 15 will be held at Camp Pendleton, so there’s really no use in sending anything else unless you want him to receive it there. Personally, I would not take the chance!! If you want him to get something in California, I’d wait until he’s settled in to Cali and I can give you an address (most likely, he will be at a hotel again, as he was on his way out). Please feel free to contact me with any questions!
Admin in Iraq
I have had another stressful day. Admin up the wazoo! Maj Alison wants me there [Blue Diamond] as soon as the Marines leave, I have to do more work on this investigation,* I have to prepare fitreps and the best thing… I was asked by one of my marines to promote him! That I am geeked about, he wants me to do the swear in and to pin him!
* Tom has been working on an investigation of an incident that happened with another marine—doing interviews, taking statements, writing reports, etc. I originally thought it was a big deal that HE was assigned to it, but he assured me that ALL the lieutenants are blessed with the job! There’s just no JAG officers over there to handle all the incidents that need to be investigated, so it falls to the other officers.
Almost done…
I was cleaning my office. Man, just getting everything in order. Getting convoys and flights ready for the 8 marines that have to leave…. I have also been getting equipment bake here and getting ready to send out new gear in two points… What a pain!!! News flash…. I just got off the phone with Maj Alison, looks like I will be leaving Fallujah in the next week or so. Since I will only have 9 marines, there is no need for me to be here, so I have to make sure that everything is set in place, get the Marines that are leaving out safely, and then I go back to BD [Camp Blue Diamond, where he was originally in Ramadi] and my house of packages! Maj Alison said I might be doing something else, but who knows what. I will put in my application for night watch officer though. 🙂
Being on the night shift again means he can call during more normal hours!
What does a March flight mean?
I asked Tom… “When you say you have your flight for March, what exactly does that mean? Does it mean you have a specific date already? Does it mean you just know you will be leaving in March? Or only March unless something else comes up?
I have my ULN (U…… Line Number), which means that I basically have a “ticket” or a seat with my name on it, for a specific flight out of Kuwait in March, probably the 2nd or 3rd week to be more specific. I will be in Cali for awhile after that, but I have no idea as to when I can leave to actually come home. My orders say a month, but as we will see, I will not be here for as long as they say either.
A little longer…
Bad news…. Looks like I will be down here [Fallujah] longer… A major sent me an email asking the BATs personnel requirements—apparently everybody down here thinks I am in charge of everything that is BATs and the ECPs [Entry Control Points]! I had to correct the Major. Hopefully we wont be here long…
Tom’s room
Dust, dust, and more dust!
Oh my God!!!! You have never seen a place this bad in your life! I have to dust everything off, every 12 hours! This shit is horrible! I have to wipe my screen off twice a day! Have you ever been on a dusty road and a car passes? You know the smell of the dust cloud that surrounds you? That is what I am surrounded by constantly. in this shack all I can smell is dust….
Tom’s Ride
General Updates
Luckily, he’s been able to call pretty much every day—or at least every other day—even when he’s supposedly going to be incommunicado. This is a huge relief to me, as I am becoming more and more paranoid as time goes on. (You’d think I’d be more used to it after three months, but it just gets worse!) So, I treasure each second of a phone call—which, sometimes that’s all it is…mere seconds—as we frequently lose satellite connection!
Also, I just wanted to let you all know that Tom has been inundated with care packages!! He loves it, as do ALL his fellow marines that he inevitably ends up sharing the goodies with! The holiday season slowed down the mail tremendously…Tom still hasn’t received his Christmas package I sent the first week of December! Granted, it takes a while longer now that he’s “away from home” but be assured he will eventually receive all the packages! (Our neighbor, who has been home for two months, just received a package which his wife sent back in August! It never made it to him in Africa, but was returned to sender!) Also, please know that even if Tom has received your package, he may not have the time to email you to let you know—he tries to keep me in the loop, but it’s all he can do to email me updates on him! If you want me to ask him about something specific, email me and let me know and I’ll try to remember to ask him!
It’s over and he’s fine.
I have some news to tell you, you won’t like it, but the mission is over and I am fine.
I needed a ride to the ECPs, and the only one was with the XO. He wanted to see the ECPs and so I jumped on. Along the way we got a report of a weapons cache in the heart of Fallujah, so he made the Humvee convoy go straight for it. We had to go through some nasty stuff on the way, there was small arms fire all around us. We honed in on the grid coordinate with the GPS and stopped in front of a house that was totally intact, then we got the word over the radio to dismount. So we all climbed out of the trucks and left one marine and upgunner per vehicle. Upgunners are the marines that man the 50. cal machine guns and 40mm grenade launchers on the top of the vehicles.
The 8 of us got into patrol formation, with the Lt Col leading from the front, and went to the house, we waited to see if everyone was ready and then stormed the front gate and cleared the yard and front porch area. We then busted the front door down and started clearing the house from bottom to top. There was nobody in the house and no weapons there, so we went to the next house and the next. Nothing. Then on the fourth house area we found the weapons cache, there was a lot of ammo, grenades, rockets and other crap that had been burned in place. The ammo was not usable, but we had to document it for our intel. The XO had the driver of my vehicle write down all the crap, so I grabbed the Doc and we stood guard, in case there were any snipers in the area. The patrol went into another house to check around and found some IDs and then we packed up and moved on to the ECPs.
I have to say, I had a blast!!!! I was scared but excited as well. I knew that we could be hit at any second, but I was hoping to encounter resistance and get into a fight. I guess boys will be boys. After we got done with the ECPs we drove around the city looking for MUJ, bad guys. Everything is fine though, and I am safe again. I will be calling infrequently due to bad satellite connections.
Just like deer camp!
The FWD isn’t too bad, it is just like deer camp! Everything is good here—one of the marines is from home, so we were discussing many of the bars in the area, good stuff.