Drew's Day in the Army!

The local VFW and Ladies' Auxiliary co-sponsored (with Fort Huachuca's Child and Youth Services) an event this past weekend called Operation Junior Heroes. It was designed as a mock deployment exercise for children of Soldiers. The "recruits" would in-process, be issued gear, be bussed to a field site, and tour the various locations within that field site, before returning back to a Welcome Home ceremony. Although we haven't told Drew yet that Daddy is going to Afghanistan at the end of March, we still thought this would be a very useful tool for us in helping him to understand some of what Daddy does when he isn't at home. Part of the intent of the program was to familiarize kids with the different settings that a Soldier might be in either during a field exercise or downrange in Iraq or Afghanistan to facilitate communication and understanding during times of separation. Although Drew was the youngest participant and there were parts of the operation that were a bit over his head, he truly loved the experience and Bill and I were glad to be able to share it with him. After returning home Drew told me "I like being in the Army with my Daddy. That's my favorite." My heart melted.


Here's a bunch of the pictures that I took from the day (it's a minor miracle I didn't need my extra camera battery).

We left our house at 0700 and started inprocessing at 0730. Here's Drew getting fingerprinted by SVPD as part of inprocessing. He was also issued a backpack that you'll see him wearing in the other pictures with all kinds of military kid resources and goodies.


Drew taking his "medicine" (M&M's). He also got "shots" that were really pens they got to keep.


Drew & Daddy waiting to board the bus


Drew and Dad following our squad leader after having arrived at the FTX site

Drew & Dad at the company tactical operations center (TOC) that also doubles as sleeping quarters for Bill and 1SG. They're sitting on Bill's cot--doesn't it look comfy? We got to see some of the battalion HQ tents too and see some of the computers and VTC equipment and such.

Mountains in the background of the FTX site

This was one of Drew's favorite parts of the day--sitting in "the big big truck."


Close up in the big truck--Drew could have used the steering wheel as a hula hoop.

Drew and Daddy listen to one of the sergeants explain the vehicle's GPS system

Drew wearing one of Dad's hats in the driver's seat of another vehicle

Drew getting his hands washed in preparation for chow

Drew & Dad in line in the chow tent

Drew enjoying some snacks in one of the eating tents

Drew at mail call

Drew with a very tasty-looking sloppy joe MRE

The Patriot Guard motorcycle escort for our bus as we approached the building for our "Welcome Home." Love the Patriot Guard--they do so much for our soldiers.

After we were welcomed back to the original site, there were still several other stations to visit. One station had a ton of different types of explosive devices and ammunition. Here's Drew holding a grenade.

Drew holding a big gun (an M4 maybe?)

Drew looking through the gun's sight

Drew waiting his turn on top of a truck. I love the expression on his face.

Drew on top of a vehicle looking through another gun's sight

Drew and Dad check out the UAV

Drew shooting targets with a paintball gun. He thought this was fantastic! Couldn't stop laughing.

Family shot

Drew's certificate for the day

Drew enjoying a welcome home goodie--of course he picked the cupcake with the blue frosting

The military police canine handlers were also at the site giving demonstrations and this is Bill's 1SG with an arm glove on being jumped on by the dog. This was Drew's other favorite part of the day. We watched the dogs for at least 30 minutes. On the way home he told me "Someday we will get a dog Mommy." Way to lay on the guilt kid!

Drew using his new MP canine poster as a telescope

Drew and Dad getting ready to say goodbye for a few more days

Hugs at the car

Like I said, we haven't yet talked to Drew about Daddy's deployment. Even at 5 months, it's too far out for Drew to really understand. We intend to start the conversation in January, probably when Daddy gets ready to go to Afghanistan for the week-long pre-deployment site survey. We bought a globe sphere puzzle for Christmas that we're hoping will help with the basic questions of where Daddy is going. We've been laying the groundwork in general terms with the various field exercises Bill has had, stressing how important a job Soldiers have, and that sometimes Soldiers have to go other places to help people. We know as the time gets closer that events like this one will be invaluable in communicating with Drew about Daddy's separation from us. I'm eternally grateful for all that the Army has put in place to help Soldiers and family members deal with the stresses of everyday military life and deployment separation. We truly feel the support of our Army family.