Kari C in SC Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 We are here in SC, so Alaska may as well be Japan. I am just sad. I know that when your loved ones are in the military, they will most likely live far away. It is just that there are SO MANY bases around SC. If you take an 8-10 hour radius, there were a lot of options. BUT, I also know that Alaska will be an amazing experience for him. My heart is just so sad that I won't be able to see him all that much. He was so sweet and said he would fly us out to see him. I told him that was a lot of $$$ and he said he would save up and do it. When I told my 10 year old dd, she just sobbed. I figured she wouldn't be happy, but I didn't expect her to be so upset. Another bright note is that this may mean deployment to Afghanistan may not come as quickly. I am not sure how all of that works, but it looks as if the unit he will be with has just deployed this fall. He will be joining the unit in AK in February. I don't now it they will send him over to meet up with them or if he just stays behind. I am hoping it means he stays and waits till they redeploy. I just don't know how that works. Anyway, thanks for listening to my whine. I know there are worse things. It is just so hard letting them grow up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMW Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 5 of my children were born on Ft. Wainwright! I have many friends there - we were sent there with the Air Force, whose base is about 30 miles from that one and we lived there for 14 years... if he has any questions about the area, ask away!! Yes, that is sad, to have him sent so far away. In our military years we were always just about the farthest away from family as we could be, and not on purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Confuzzled Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 I guess I missed the post about him graduating! Congratulations to him! I feel for you! This will be the first Christmas without my sons. One is still deployed and the other couldn't get leave for Christmas because when he reached his duty station the slots were already taken. Be sure to get Skype! I think I've actually grown closer to my son who is in Kosovo because we chat via Skype's online messaging very frequently and can also talk live and see each other. It is really hard when they leave. I still miss them both terribly. The house seems empty sometimes without them. I'm even more thankful for my 9-year-old daughter now though I'm all too aware of how soon she too will grow up and leave home. I don't have much advice but just wanted to say I understand. And it does get better with time. Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 We have been in the military for 22 years. My husband was recruited from NJ where his family lives. He is AF. After 22 years, he will live within a easy day's drive from his dad. Mostly we have been almost a thousand to thousands of miles away. Where you get stationed has a lot to do with your specialty. In the Air Force, it seems if you have a specialty which is needed at lots of bases, you often get stationed near your home at first. My dh went through training with an accountant who joined the AF to see the world. He had been working in ID. His first station was Mountain Home, ID. We know it was the smae for many others. My dh is a physicist so they are not needed at every base so we have limited places we get stationed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shell in SC Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 Well, one positive is that he gets 30 days of leave a year. . .hopefully he can save up some money to fly home for holidays and special occasions. I was in Texas and my family all lived in PA, I saved up like crazy and went home for the Christmas holidays. Write him lots of letters. My mom wrote me TONS of letters. . .sometimes everyday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela in GA Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 I'm sorry he'll be so far away, but AK is a GREAT place to be stationed. We were at Wainwright from 99-01. LOVED it there. We've been trying to get back there ever since we left, but it hasn't worked out yet. If I had to guess, I would say they'll send him to deploy with the unit that is already gone. They haven't been gone long at all, so they still have the majority of their deployment to go. We can pray it doesn't work out that way though. :-) One more thing...if he is a church goer, I can recommend a great church very close to Wainwright. ;-) :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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