Hi everyone!

I am SO proud of my son! Dustin will be going to MEPS on Oct. 25 and his recruiter said he will probably ship the first week of Nov.

Well, we went to talk to his recruiter on Tues. just to have a chat and ask a bunch of questions we had thought of over the past couple of weeks. One of Dustin's questions was if there was any chance of advanced enlistment rank. I didn't think there would be due to Dustin being Homeschooled and having a GED, etc. Well, his recruiter pulled out a piece of paper with this long list of things and told Dustin if the can pass all of this before he enlists that he would enter as an E2.

He has been working out so hard. Doing his best on running 2 miles, doing push ups, sit ups, etc. And studying his soldier's creed, general orders and all of that.

Well, on Friday the recruiter called and asked him if he wanted to go to the Future Soldier training thing they were doing at Tobyhanna (army depot near Scranton) on Saturday. Dustin said 'sure'.

So the recruiter picked him up at 6:20 yesterday morning and away they went with a couple other guys. Dustin said there were 44 of them there in total.

Long story short - he spent the whole day run ragged - like a mini boot camp. They whipped them all day long.

Out of the 44 - 12 received rank - and YES! Dustin was one of them! They had a captain there and he was handing out the ranks. When he called Dustin's name (he was so surprised!) his recruiter went up with him and told the Capt. that Dustin wasn't even enlisted yet (apparently all the others were already enlisted). The Capt told him he was proud of him.

I have never seen such a smile on my son's face. They gave him the stripe that he will wear on his camo's (that patch they wear in the center of their chest).

Sorry this was so long!

Pam
(the mother of the kid with the skinned elbows, sore butt, sunburned face and biggest smile in the world!)

Pam, don't be sorry. Thank you for sharing Dustin's story with us. We're proud of him, too.

Congrats Pam - to you & Dustin! We're all Moms here (mostly) so we definitely share the pride you feel when your child exceeds your expectations. It's a great feeling! I so wish I had started reading these message boards when my son first signed up! Some of the things spoken about here (such as an advanced enlistment rank like you mentioned) I didn't even know were possibilities! My son was not the best at asking questions. He just wanted to do what he was told and get moving. Oh well, live and learn I guess!

Congratulations to Dustin. This is exactly the kind of attitude and effort that will let him rise to the top once he actually enlists.

Cav Scout dad

Thanks everyone!

He's so frustrated waiting for the 6 months to pass from having Lasik done on is eyes. He only has like 35 more days to wait so this was wonderful encouragement for him.


The way he is carrying that rank patch around, you'd think it was made of gold

It sure is a happy day in our house today!

Pam

The pride only intensifies! Good start for a fine young man! Get pictures, all this goes in the scrapbook!

Please tell Dustin GREAT JOB!!!

Oh, and I hope his elbow's, butt and face heal quickly

HOOAH!

Debbie

LOL

His elbows are all scabbed over. He was told to bring shorts and sweat pants. He has a pair of gym pants that the legs zip out of to turn into shorts so he wore those. He never unzipped them - or his knees would be raw as well.

We went for one of our 3 daily walks last night and stopped to chat with a neighbor who was outside (older guy who did his time in the navy way back when). I was telling him about Dustin earning rank and sure enough... he pulled that patch out of his pocket.

He says he's going to carry it at all times as a reminder of what he's doing (for those times when he doesn't want to run another step, do another push up, etc.)

And to think this is my little boy who walked around with rocks in his pockets...... They grow up TOO fast.

I have goose bumps I wish your son and 59 like him were in Kyle's platoon. His group in basics will be lucky to have him. I am proud of your son.

Debbie

Debbie,

Thank you so much - I can't tell you what that means to me.

Dustin asked me this morning if you've heard from Kyle again. I told him that I don't think so, but that you rec'd a bunch of letters from reception and one since he went downrange.

I've been praying for Kyle every day. If you start running out of things to write - let him know there's some folks in Pennsylvania who are terribly proud of him and thank him for serving his country.

Pam

Thanks, Pam, for taking the time to care/pray/think about Kyle. That means lot.

I did get a phone call from Kyle yesterday. I wrote about it in another thread. Did you find it? He talked about the gas chamber. He also said he's lost body fat (didn't have any to begin with) but still managed to gain weight. All muscle I'm assuming. My husband had me take a picture of Kyle shirtless before he left so we can compare when he gets out. He said they were having more PT tests today. So it's 2:30 in Georgia and I wonder what He's doing.....

Debbie

Debbie, too funny about Kyle's supposed 'body fat'. Jameson is so skinny that we used to call him the "Lost Olsen Triplet". His waist size was only 29, for Heaven's sake! Last advice I gave him was to eat a lot of carbs because he'll be working out and his body will need the fuel since he didn't have any body fat to speak of. I figure his physical transformation will be as much of a change as his mental one when I see him in Nov. for graduation.

Before he left, he and his brother decided to have a push-up contest and I got it on video on my little digital camera. I think I'll bring it with me in Nov. to show to him again. I'm sure he'll get a kick out of seeing his "before" video.

Donna

Hi Debbie and Donna,

I would love to take a video of Dustin before he leaves - there is NO way he would ever allow me to do it. Not a chance! I have the most camera shy kid on the planet. I can't tell you how many pics I have of him with his hands over his face.

Dustin is 6 feet tall and currently weighs 204. He can gain and lose weight quite quickly, he was at 250 about 6 months ago. He's determined to lose another 5 lbs. before the end of October. He never lets anyone see him with his shirt off (due to a little man ***** - it bleeped out my word - they aren't big enough for a bra of course but you get the idea.) - I told him those will be gone when he finishes OSUT.


I was reading to him about Kyle & Jameson being thin and no body fat. How tall are your boys? 29" waist?? geesh! lol

I'm determined to get one good photo of Dustin before he leaves!

Pam

Hi Pam,

You are going to have to be sneaky with the camera and catch him offguard, LOL! You can do it - it'll just take a little work. Keep the camera with you at all times.

Jameson is only 5' 8" or 5' 9". It's been ages since his height has been measured - well, maybe not, since I'm sure they measured him during the meps physical. He is a twiggy little thing. Like a walking coat hanger. So, I'm hoping he will have put on some muscle and weight by the next time that I see him.

Hi Guys,

When Kyle left for bootcamp he did have a 'soft' belly. (33 in. waist) He was by no means overwieght, but he was starting to get flabby due to not working out and lots of fast food, etc. (lived on his own) He is 6'1". He told me that after 1 1/2 weeks of basics his 'belly' is gone and he is UP to 210. So he is def gaining muscle. And I think I mentioned before that he said they eat really healthy. He also said they have to wear these camel-packs that carry water and he fills them 8-9 times a day but yet doesn't 'pee' hardly at all. He sweats it all out. Over here in Oregon we don't have any humidity so that's new to him.

Anyway, I am sure both your boys will gain muscle and come home 'RIPPED' with a 6-pack. The kind of 6-pack we mom's WANT our boys to have

Debbie

No one has EVER described Dustin as twiggy, LOL. I like going for walks after dark, we live in a really small, quiet town but I've always taken him with me. Since he was about 12, in the dark he looks like a brute.

He has my dad's shoulders - like a mack truck.

I WILL get that picture!

I'm sure Jameson (I love that name!) will gain a lot of muscle. I bet the before and after will be amazing!

Pam

Pam, any luck capturing the elusive Dustin on camera?

No! lol

I took a pic of him w/ my phone the night he got home with his rank patch. But it's a lousy pic - he was making faces. Grrr! LOL