Memorial Day Weekend

We had our first “96”, which in Marine terms is a 96 hour weekend. Woo hoo! It was so nice for Kyle and I to have 4 days straight to spend with one another. And boy did we do a lot! We also had a little pal, Flat Eddie, with us from South Korea. My friend Leah is a teacher in South Korea and she is doing the Flat Stanley project with her students. I offered to take one of her students Flat Stanley's on an adventure :)

Friday morning we left our apartment around 9:30 so Kyle could sleep in just a bit. We drove about 40 miles into D.C. and we found a great, and might I add FREE, parking spot right by the Washington Monument! It was the perfect spot for us to find. For those of you who haven’t been to D.C., all of the monuments are in a huge circle. We started our walk at the Jefferson Memorial, then The Korean Veterans War Memorial, The Lincoln Memorial, The Vietnam Memorial, The World War II Memorial, The White House, The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and then the Capitol.

Inside the Jefferson Memorial

A view from the bridge with the Washington Monument on the left and the Jefferson Memorial on the right

Flat Eddie at the Korean Memorial

In front of the Lincoln Memorial

This man was holding a picture of a friend in his uniform from years ago. He held his hand on his name for a couple minutes and eventually stepped back and saluted. Watching this man made me realize the impact war has left on our surviving soldiers, especially those from Vietnam. Kyle and I both feel like watching him, we were let into his heart...somewhere we shouldn't be. All I wanted to do was go up and give him a big hug and say thank you. Because it was such an intimate moment I refrained from speaking to him, but now I wonder if I should have interrupted him anyway to thank him for his service. I can't go back now, but from here on out I am going to make an effort to thank every veteran I see. I challenge you to do the same.

At the WWII Memorial...we found Oregon!

In front of the Presidents House

At the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. This is $1,000,000 in $10 bills!

At the Capitol!

After we strolled around the monuments and memorials we went to a Nationals Game. We got to the game and strolled around the beer garden and then Kyle was determined to buy me a hat. He likes the way I look in one of his hats, but he wanted me to have my own, so I don't keep stealing his ;) Here are some pictures from our exciting night at the game:

"ATIONALS PARK" The guy who took the picture missed the "N", but it's still a good picture!

A beautiful sunny day with a bit of clouds, and then...

After we get our chili dogs and sit down, it start pouring with huge lightning bolts and thunder!

The sky looked so amazing! The game was delayed a bit, but it was a memorable experience.

A close up of my new hat :)

Saturday we went to Kings Dominion, which is a theme park/water park. We went with a guy and his fiance who is in Charlie Company with Kyle. It was a blast! There were some very fun and very fast roller coasters! I only got one picture, but it was with our favorite ride :)

On Sunday we went into D.C. one again, but this time it was for a motorcycle rally called The Rolling Thunder. The Rolling Thunder consists of veterans. We parked near the Pentagon before the rally and visited the Pentagon Memorial to remember the lives that were lost. 

"We claim this ground in remembrance of the events of September 11, 2001. To honor the 184 people whose lives were lost, their families, and all who sacrifice that we may live in freedom. We will never forget"

The benches with the names of all the lost.

After our visit to the Memorial, we walked to where all of the motorcyclists, around 400,000, were waiting to start their ride for all of our fallen soldiers.

Kyle with the thousands of motorcycles!

We saw a group of people taking pictures, so we walked over and we saw Bristol Palin! We heard someone mention Sarah so we walked around the circle and...

low and behold, Sarah Palin! :)

Kyle holding the American flag for all of the bikers.

In this picture is Staff Sergeant Chambers. He comes out every year to salute our veterans. He holds his salute for the ENTIRE time which can last over 4 hours. It was amazing to see him endure the pain of holding his salute to honor all of our soldiers who have served before him.

Some of the bikers with the Lincoln Memorial in the background

Kyle LOVED the rally! Throughout the entire ride he kept telling me, "I want to get a bike" or "Don't you think we should get a bike?",  or "I wish I could grow a beard like those guys...man I wanna be a biker". Haha! He makes me smile. But who knows...maybe 20 years down the road he will have a bike and we'll be riding in the Rolling Thunder...I'm not so sure about the beard though ;) 

I will leave you with one last picture of Kyle with Flat Eddie! My American Soldier :)

Range Week

Range Week took over Kyle's life the last two weeks. Even though it is called Range "Week", it is actually two weeks long. The goal of Range Week is to train the men on the rifle and the pistol so they can qualify. Here is a rough outline of how their days went:

0400 : Kyle had a billet (job) these 2 weeks, so he had to show up earlier than everyone else. He was Company Police Sergeant. The company is the entire group of men which is about 300. His job was to ensure everything was secure. His main job was to unlock the gear locker, inspect hallways, and ensure the laundry rooms were clean.

0445 : Chow. They had a mandatory chow every morning bright and early with their platoon (about 40 guys).

0545 : They started their 3 mile hump (hike) to the rifle range. They also wore a flak jacket which protects from shrapnel, which is Kyle's favorite part because it is heavy and uncomfortable ;)

0615 : At the rifle range he would start working the pits. They are down in a "pit" and have to put up a paper target and move it up so other guys can shoot at it. Once they are done firing, they pull it down and then score the shots. (A video is posted below where you can see exactly what I mean at the 13 second mark)

1000 : They start shooting the rifle from 200, 300, and 500 yards. At each point they shoot from 4 different positions: standing, kneeling, sitting (criss-cross-apple-sauce which Kyle had a tough time due to his inflexibility), and prone (lying down).

1300 : They start humping to the pistol range which is 1 mile away from the rifle range. They shoot from 7, 15, and 25 yards, standing up the whole time.

1600 : It's time to start humping back to the barracks (3 miles).

1630 : Some evenings they would have to go to class, but most evenings they just had to wait around to be secured. I'm still becoming familiar with everything the Marine Corps does, but one thing that is a little frustrating is getting secured. The company has to secure. This means everyone and everything is accounted for. Then it is up to each platoon to secure. It just so happens to be our luck that Kyle's platoon takes a very...very...long time to secure.

1900 or 2000 : The average time Kyle would be home...

The Goal of Range Week
There are 3 different grades for both rifle and pistol. Below are the medals (from highest first): Expert, Sharpshooter, Marksman.

I am proud to announce that 2nd Lieutenant Kyle Durant qualified EXPERT on the rifle and SHARPSHOOTER on the pistol! He is one happy guy and I am excited to see his hard work paid off. In one year he will qualify again and we'll hope for double expert! :)

During Range Week, the men had one night in the field. This means they stay the night out at the rifle range in their sleeping bags. The reason for this is so they can do a night fire, which Kyle said was "Awesome!" I believe Kyle just fulfilled his childhood dream...or better yet, every little boys dream!

The night the men stayed the night out in the field was Wednesday the 27th. Since all the hubby's were gone, all the wives from the company planned a ladies night at one of the couples house. I was getting ready for the evening by finishing making my parents favorite mexi dip when I looked outside. I walked out on our back porch and the clouds were very dark, it was humid and warm, and there was an eerie feeling. I turned on the news around 5:45 pm and there was a tornado warning for our county! They had a timeline of when the tornado would touch down, if it did and it said 6:04 pm. I know this may sound odd, but I am fascinated with tornadoes and desperately want to see one, but at a safe distance of course. So in a way I was hoping to see one, but at the same time I was ready to hop in the bathtub if something happened. Luckily, for our safety a tornado did not touch down in our area, but as you know from the news it was devastating to multiple other states.

I was anxious to hear from Kyle the next day to hear what they heard about the tornado, if anything. He informed me they announced a tornado warning over an intercom. All the 2nd Lieutenants looked at each other like "oh crap". Then all their senior officers just shrugged it off as nothing and they proceeded with what they were doing. I think people who live here didn't think it would actually happen. I am thankful nothing did!

Here is a video Kyle found about Range Week. It is from Charlie Company in 2009, but it is very similar to what Kyle experienced, minus the throwing of grenades/rockets...at least they haven't done that yet. And pardon the music...most Marine videos Kyle watches have hard rock music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L96AvmrxdGU

I am also going to give you all the TBS (The Basic School) website. Once you get to the website on the left side there is a column with all of the companies. Kyle is in Charlie Company, so click on that link. Then you can click on different platoons. Kyle is in 3rd platoon, so you can see who his SPC, Captain Luke, is and what he looks like. On the Charlie Company page at the bottom you can also click on the link for Company Pictures. It takes you to a facebook page. I couldn't find any of Kyle yet, but once I do, I will show you!

http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/tbs/

I hope you enjoyed hearing about Kyle's adventure so far!

Love ya,
Britt