AAV's

Well...the day finally came where we found out Kyle's long, awaited MOS (Military Operational Specialty) assignment.  He had been waiting to hear he would be an Infantry Officer, but God had other plans, which he normally always does :)  Kyle was told he would be an AAV (Amphibious Assault Vehicle) Officer AKA a "tracker.  At first he was bummed that he had no say in his fate whatsoever.  It all depended on his rank in the company and where he put infantry on his 1-24 list of top choice to last choice.  He did do well in the company...he was ranked in the 50's out of 300.  BUT, the way they give out top choices is by splitting the company into thirds and going across the thirds by giving choices.  So, technically Kyle was in the bottom :(

Ultimately, we know that we never "really" have a say in our fate...God knows exactly what he is doing.  We had prayed about it and we know now that God has a plan for us, even if Kyle did not get his dream job in the Marines.  Kyle put it in a great way.  He said, "It's like getting silver in the Olympics, it's second place, but it's still NOT gold."  Now that he has had time to think about his future as tracker, he is  very excited to get started.

Now, I will tell you a little bit about AAV's.  It is a fully tracked (they move like a tank or bulldozer) amphibious (can be used on land and water) vehicle that is only used by the Marine Corps.  They were used in the first part of the war in Iraq, but they realized they were very susceptible to IED's.  So, now they are NOT used in the middle east.  Kyle could still possibly get deployed though. The only plus in his eyes is that since AAV's are not used in Afghanistan, he gets to deploy as Infantry :)  We'll come across that bridge when we need to though ;)

Here are 2 AAV's coming from water to land.

As of now, we do not know our official plans.  The Corps should tell us within 2 weeks.  All we know as of now is that we will be moving to Camp Pendleton, which is in Oceanside, California.  We are VERY excited about that! I most excited to be close to family (Janell, Karen, Jared, Naomi, and Elijah) and we could actually drive home in less than a day! :)

We found out Kyle's training starts the beginning of January through March.  We are not sure if we move out there and wait till he starts or if we stay here and then move out.  We are hoping we get to move to sunny California.  For Kyle's training we're not sure exactly what it entails, but all he knows is he is required to have the highest swim qualifications.  I don't know what it entails...I'm sure it is tough, but I'm sure he will do great!

When we find out more information we will be sure to let you know!  We have a crazy 2 months coming up.  Kyle has his last FEX next week!  Then Labor Day weekend (Kyle has 4 days off) we are going to New York City! I have never been and am SOOOOO excited! :)  Kyle's first day back after Labor Day (September 7th) he will have the 9 day "War".  They split the company in half and they "play" war...every little boys dream ;)  Then at the end of the month my parents and Kyle's parents come in for a week to celebrate Kyle's graduation from TBS and to see where we have been living and sight see.  We are very excited to show them where we have been calling "home" these last 5 months :)