First Post

As I begin to write this blog, it is actually Friday May 28. Sara shipped on Monday of this week to boot camp in Parris Island South Carolina. I have written my thoughts to her each day this week in letters and yesterday, I decided, after reading a post on my second daughter Rebecca's blog, that this may be a good way to give some order to Sara's Boot camp experience for those of us on the outside trying to peer in. :)

Sara first let us know that she was interested in serving in the military just prior to her eighteenth birthday toward the end of December 2009. Quite a surprise.

Since that time, she spent much time with recruiters and we all even went to the Air Force recruiting office and watched her sign papers to join. For many reasons, not the least of which was the fact that the AF was not able at that time to guarantee her a specific job in aviation, she trotted over to the Marines. The history of being the meanest, toughest, and most difficult attracted her to the Marines. It helped that they offered in writing a position in Aviation Maintenance.

She finished school in February (high school) and was constantly... no...incessantly pushing herself to the limit. She became a DEP Poolee after making a trip to MEPS for her initial screening and signing up. The highlight of our spring "our daughter is going into the Marines" experience was definitely the Marine Recruit family night where we were well educated as to what the recruits would experience in boot camp. Sara actually got to experience a taste of reality as a female drill instructor was imported from Parris Island (and two male drill instructors from San Diego) really gave the 85 DEP poolees a run for their money...I had never heard such intense yelling. Watching from across the room as my "little girl" got yelled at by three drill instructors totally up in her face for her accidentally making eye contact with one of them was quite the experience.

Her free running and Parcour took her to Oklahoma city, Pensacola and Panama City, Grand Junction and Denver and all over the floors, cabinets, desks, tables and chairs at home in the weeks that followed. :) Regular PT with the marines pushed her as did a spring break mission trip to build houses in Mexico with her church youth group.


Thanks to free running buddy Justin and his dad, Sara got her hands on an AR15/M16 Assault rifle and did some target practice on their 75k Acre ranch in western Oklahoma. I chuckled at the picture of a young lady with an M16 in pink shoes... kind of like a "Walk softly and carry a big Stick" appearance.


Sara made it back from her adventures in time to walk at her graduation (more for her parents and grandparents I think) but then it was off to Texas for the few remaining days prior to her appointment with MEPS in OKC. We picked her up in Lubbock on the 22nd and headed back to Tulsa. Sunday it was goodbye from the Marine recruiting station after a very special morning including a sweet time of devotions and a breakfast of "fresh out of the oven" Cowboy coffee cake (gonna be a while before she gets that again), a great church service and quick lunch together.

That afternoon, we travelled over to OKC and caught up with her at about 10pm. We had just enough time to run to a Waffle House close by her hotel and brought closure to my 12 year tradition of Dates with Daddy at Waffle House with my girls.

We planned to be at the MEPS building by 0630 to 0645. I couldn't sleep.