I WAS JUST WONDERING THEY USE TO HAVE A RULE OR WHATEVER THAT IF YOU WERE A ONLY CHILD THEY COULDN'T SEND YOU OFF TO WAR AND I'M WONDERING IF THAT IS STILL TRUE. MY SON IS THE ONLY ONE I HAVE AND I HATE TO LOSE HIM HE JUST WENT OFF ON HIS FIRST SIX MONTH TOUR AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THERE SHIPPING HIM HE CAN E-MAIL ME ONCE IN AWHILE BUT CAN'T TELL ME WHERE HE IS WHICH MAKES ME WORRY SO MUCH MORE I KNOW HE'S ON A SHIP SOMEWHERE AND STOPPING OFF AT DIFFERENT POST I GUESS THATS HOW YOU SAY IT, DON'T GET ME WRONG I'VE NEVER BEEN PROUDER AND MY FATHER WAS ALSO A MARINE AND HE COULDN'T BE PROUDER BUT I'M STILL CURIOUS AS TO WHETHER THAT RULE STILL APLLIES I KNOW THAT HE WOULD WANT TO GO ANYWAY BUT IF SOMEONE OUT THERE KNOWS PLEASE TELL ME THANKS

First off, all caps denotes yelling and it is more difficult to read.

Your son will not be disqualified for deployments and such simply because he is an only son. There is no way to get him home because he is your only son or only child.

If he is part of a MARDET (MARine DETachment) on a Naval ship, then yes, he is stopping in ports with the ship. My husband had MARDETs on the carriers he was aboard.

There have been plenty of times when my husband could not tell me where he was going. That did not necessarily mean he was in any more danger. Ship's movements are sometimes closely guarded as a matter of OPSEC (OPerational SECurity) and/or PERSEC (PERsonal SECurity).

Take a deep breath, let it out slowly and calm down. In all honesty many, many more come home safely from deployments then come home harmed.

Hang in there.



Mom

Ma'am, I am the father of a Marine. He's into his fourth year now though surprisingly he has yet to be deployed. He's a mechanic/crewman on the Amphibious Assault Vehicles.

He and his unit will be deploying next year from what he hears.

I don't know about you but in all honesty, from what I see on the news each night, I'm not sure I would feel any safer if he was living on a college campus instead.

Hang in there, let him do what he feels he's got to do. We could easily lose them driving to work locally. Ya just got to live each day, right?

Don

THANK YOU FOR REPLYING TO MY E-MAIL I HAVE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE, AND LET ME ADD I'M NOT TRYING TO GET HIM HOME HE WOULD KILL ME IF HE THOUGHT I HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH TRYING TO GET HIM OUT OF DOING WHAT HE WANTS TO DO, I WAS JUST CURIOUS ABOUT IT. BUT I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY AND ITS NICE TO BE ABLE TO TALK WITH OTHER FAMILY'S THAT HAVE RELATIVE'S IN THE SERVICE. I'M STILL VERY WORRIED ABOUT HIM AND NOT BEING ABLE TO TALK TO HIM LIKE BEFORE OR EVEN SEND A LETTER MAKES THING SO MUCH HARDER BUT I KNOW HE WILL GET IN TOUCH WITH ME WHEN HE CAN, AND IF SOMETHING WERE TO HAPPEN TO HIM AT LEAST I'LL TAKE COMFORT INTO KNOWING THAT HE DIED WHILE DEFENDING THIS COUNTRY AND DOING WHAT HE WANTED TO DO. HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS GETTING INTO SO ALLS I CAN DO IS PRAY, THANK YOU AGAIN