Combat Medic School

Well the orders finally came through. I will be attending Combat Medic school for two months from the end of January in Kentucky. From what I have heard it is an academically challenging course but I hope that I will be up to the challenge, on the up side there appears to be a field exercise at the end so I have something to look forward to. As long as the baby is not 3 weeks early I should be back in plenty of time, however it is a burden on Caitlin who thankfully understands the benefits of this training and supports me. So yeah, I'm back in Abilene to get ready. I need to repack my car with everything the military has ever given me and complete a pre-execution checklist at my unit but by the end of the day tomorrow (14 Jan) my father and I should be on the road to Oregon.

Update on the Move

Jason did not ask for work off so my father is re-arranging his schedule to drive up with me. I still have not heard about the orders though if they do not come through I will be very upset because I was not able to register for classes or search for a job yet. Norwich feels (and fairly) that if I have the slot, getting the orders should be all but inevitable so if I did register I would risk loosing my money. Apparently they don't know the Army Reserves because it is apparently not all but inevitable. As for work, I can't apply for a job with the side note that I might or might not be gone for over 2 months right after starting; a detail I cannot leave out and retain the protection of the UCMJ, thus being promptly fired. Its T-minus 12 days that I would fly out for one of the most challenging re-class courses around and I still have not idea.

On the bright side, Brenda really likes her new home. She enjoys downstairs (her terrirory), outside, and upstairs (the other cat's territory). She most enjoys flaunting her presence to annoy the smaller and dumber of the Deatherage's cats.

The move to the north-west

Caitlin and I have moved about 75lbs of our belongings (including the cat) to Portland on the plane ride up. The tickets were purchased before we knew about the baby so we are both scheduled to fly back to Abilene on 6 January. I will be the only one returning however and will be driving my car back up, filled with as much as I can squeeze into it. Jason will be accompanying me on the road-trip, and yes he is much better now at driving stick. Chalk a win up for the percolation method I guess. We will split the driving and cuddle up when we get trapped by a blizzard in Colorado. The rest of our stuff will be moved sometime in the coming months via U-Haul most likely. Jeff and Kelly have turned their downstairs into a studio apartment for us, it is a bit smaller than the Grove but with the common areas upstairs it is a very nice living arrangement. I am scheduled to attend the Combat Medic (68W) re-class course at Ft. Knox, KY from 23 January to 20 March but though the slot is reserved and I have gotten a welcome letter and training schedules the orders have yet to be approved by the headquarters twice removed from my unit. Though it would be unfortunate to miss much of the last trimester it is an excellent opportunity for me and is much better than the financial alternative of looking for a job in a saturated market. Additionally the potential benefits of the training to my team and unit during our upcoming deployment range from significant to life saving. So as always things are in flux but we are now officially in Portland.

Also Caitlin is becoming ever more settled on Aspasia as a middle name.
Also I got the 68W course training schedules and really want to go now that I know there is a week and a half field exercise at the end of the course.

Next 12 Months

If you read my profile you might see that I am a very busy individual. That fact will only be exacerbated in the coming year. My wife is pregnant (allegedly I'm the father), and my unit is scheduled to be activated for deployment in approximately 16 months. But if you know anything about the Army's deployment policies you will understand that activation for deployment is proceeded by months of high intensity, civilian life disrupting, training. For example this summer (though I cannot publish sensitive details) I will be on orders for around 6 weeks and it only escalates as the date approaches. If you are wondering if I might not get deployed ask in the comments and I can explain why I am 90% sure we will be.

Following this semester at ACU, my wife and I will move up to Oregon for several reasons:
1. Its going to be an Oregon baby. We are planning to go to school and generally live in Oregon so starting the family there feels right.
2. Caitlin's parents are, thank God, in a position to help us financially by letting us live in their underused downstairs, pooling other costs of living, and I hope buying some of those diapers (which must be sprinkled with gold dust or something).
3. I want to have Caitlin settled where she will have help with the baby and can finish her degree while I am deployed.
4. And most importantly hot Texas weather makes an already cranky Caitlin even crankier.

I will be taking classes online with Norwich University's BS in Strategic Studies and Defense Analysis (SSDA). A very cool program only available to Special Operations personnel. LINK I still intend to get a BA in History or Political Science from University of Oregon or comparable university when I return. The following semesters I might continue at Norwich if pre-deployment training allows. I will try to find a job doing anything (though I as always will seek responsibility and skills), thankfully Caitlin's church home is very tight knit and I expect to get some help from them in that endeavor.

From there, deploy, don't  die, finish History/SSDA, join the 19th group SF?, JD? active duty. etc etc.

I definitely will miss ACU and the many friends that I love. But on the up side I will be required to be at my unit for a weekend nearly every month so I will visit and cash in some of that love for couch space.