It's official ... Kyle is 21. I won't lie, it was had to have him celebrate this monumental milestone on another continent, in harms way. It was, however, really nice to have the phone ring at 10:30 our time so that we could sing "Happy Bday" to him. We asked if they had thrown him a nice party. He quickly responded, "I got a nice handshake ... and that's good enough for me." He was referring to a Sergeant in his platoon who, for his birthday, was duct taped to a tree and then given lashes with the Army issue nylon belts by the rest of the platoon. Kyle was perfectly fine with the handshake. As usual he was bored with the lack of things to do. Apparently the sleeping, eating and going to the gym is wearing a little thin. I remember days in the not too distant past when he would have regarded days like that as pure heaven. What a difference a year makes.
Today was supposed to be a good day. His platoon was going to try to get as many of the men qualified to drive the up armored Humvee and the MRAP. He was excited to be doing something. The hardest time is the waiting ... and they are doing a lot of it.
Kyle is looking forward to their next destination. Later this week or next he will be going to an outpost about 20 miles from his present location. While it is a smaller outpost, he said it will be better equipped and more suited to the size of the troop contingent stationed there. He has heard that phones may be scarce there, but WiFi is supposed to be in place. Therefore, many of the family members might expect an email. We will try to get some photos online.
Thank you for your prayers and for your interest. It makes all the difference in the world for our soldier and our family.
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