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"HOOAH" from Fort Benning: White Phase Completed
By: Brandy Lewis
There are more and more qualifications to go. Today, they are at
the shooting range and had moving targets. They would pop up and
zoom down. He had to be fast! "Shooting my M-4 is pretty cool and
fun, you just have to clean it all the time!"
Count down to famiy weekend is four weeks away and he has so much
planned. He is still asking if Lauren, his girlfriend, can
come. She is coming but had asked me to keep it a secret
but the kid is bugging me to death!
He went to the range today for a pre-eval and shot a 31 out of 40 with
a red dot scope. He states, "I'm really confident about
qualifications now."
He was issued his light machine guns and says, "they are pretty
big!" The one is a M-240 and the other is a M-249 also
known as 'The Saw.' He goes on to say, "I didn't want one because
they are so heavy." Welcome to the Army Cade!
There is a Drill Sergent with Cade's last name also.
Thoughts of being in his shoes gives Cade motivation. He reminds
us that we, including Lauren, are his motivation and he's doing
this for us. I write him back and state he should be doing this
for himself first but we are very proud of him.
We finally received his Army pictures in the mail. He looks like
he has aged five years! He is so serious looking. I thought
he would look better with a smile. Everyone laughed at me for
that comment and said that's not how Army pictures come. His Platoon,
known as the 'Warlords,' slogan on the picture was 'We Live, We
Die, We Live Again.' As a mom, i didn't care much for that.
The next day is Sunday and he is excited about church. They are
spending the day cleaning the bay which is really boring and he wishes
there was more to do. Cade says, "I miss home and goofing around
with my sisters." He was told it was grandparents day so he
writes both his grandparents.
I'm constantly asking about the friends he is making and today I'm
saddened to hear him write, "I'm not really anybody's 'best friend' or
'battle buddy' here okay. Nobody is going to want to come with me
on family day. I'm just an outcast, the third wheel and the one
that always sits in the back seat. I'm just a nobody trying to be
a somebody." He wants to spend family weekend with his family and
Lauren. He states, "I would kill to spend another second with you
guys okay."
Although Cade spoke of not having any friends, he later writes about a
kid named Smith. He talks about how he gets picked on a
lot. Cade states, "I know what it's like to be all alone in a
corner." He has become friends and battle buddies with Smith and
stands up for him. I'm in contact with his parents on Facebook
and tell them he has a friend. They've not had any contact from
him, no phone calls or letters. It gives his dad relief to hear
he has a friend. As Cade's mother, it makes me proud that he has
matured and stands up for what is right.
Cade is stil really nervous about going to Italy. He states, "I
know I'm suppose to be happy but I'm not, I'm scared. It's a
whole new country!" On a positive note, he will learn about
another culture and see how people in other countries live.
The next day starts off as usual. Physical training at six and
chow at seven. Then they go to the range and shoot. He had
shot well again today but states there was a medicopter that flew to
another range where someone had been shot and needed flown back.
Cade would later learn that a 19 year old had taken his own life on the
shooting range. That company was there to see the whole thing and
now has 30 days off for PTSD.
Cade opens up that he had gone through a deep depression and could have
ended up like that guy if it hadn't been for the Drill Sergent that
told Cade to read Psalms in the evening and Proverbs in the
morning. Luckily, he is past this phase now and has grown
#Armystrong even after breaking his hand.
The next day he comes back from the range but didn't do as well as he
wanted but he passed. The following day they go back and he has
one more chance to improve himself. If they shoot well, they get
their phones so there is added motivation.
Finally, in the day following, the D.S. allowed them use their
phones for 20 minutes for shooting well at the range. I answered
my phone and was in shock, like a deer in headlights. I was so
overjoyed I didn't know what to say. I asked him how he was doing and
other small chit chat. Cade's dad came rushing in from outside and
started drilling him with questions. Cade said his bunk house is
nice and airconditioned. He loves the chow and from the selfie he
sent us it was clear he had gained some weight. Then he talked to
his sisters who miss him very much. Next, we had him on speaker
phone and we were all talking. He had seven minutes left so I
told him to call Lauren. With a pumped up I love you, he
was gone.
I had waited over five weeks for that phone call. It was
surreal! He sounded good unlike the tear ridden calls I had
received before. Nothing could have put me in a better
mood. He also learned that Lauren will be coming to family day
which just about put him in tears, he was so happy.
It was a good ending to white phase and everything Cade had endured through it. #ARMYSTRONG
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