Corey's Graduation from Army Basic Training

My brother, Corey, graduated from Basic Training from the Army on October 10th. I was able to make the trip with my mom and dad to Fort Jackson which is in Columbia, SC. It took us 16 hours to get there and 15 hours to get back! I think I traveled really well. My feet didn't swell and we only had to stop every two hours to walk around and go to the bathroom. It was really good to see Corey and I was relieved to see that he enjoyed basic training for the most part. I couldn't believe how much he ate while we were there with him. Actually I couldn't believe how many sweets and energy drinks he had while we were there! I think he had enough to keep him going for at least a week! Most of the ceremonies were held inside due to all of the rain! They didn't want us to park in the grass at the field where everything was supposed to happen. On Family day, which was the day before graduation, we had to go to an information meeting to find out all of the details for that day and graduation day. For Family day we had to remain on base the entire day and have Corey back at the Bay by 8:00. I apologize in advance for the quality of the some of the pictures. We were in a gym because of the weather. This is the Drill Sergeant in charge of all soldiers in the 1/34 Infantry.

After we received all the information we needed they walked us out a back door and ALL the way around to the front of the building. All of the soldiers were divided by platoon. Of course Corey is in Foxtrot which meant we had to go through Alpha, Bravo, and Delta before we could start looking for him. He actually came up behind us. Here is what we saw!

I got to laugh at his hair and he got to laugh at my big belly! From that point we were allowed to take him with us but we had to stay on the base. He wanted to go to the PX (Post Exchange) and see what he could buy! We actually found some really good deals. Mainly on perfume and alcohol! We found a 1.75 Liter of Crown Royal for $28! We couldn't buy it because Corey had to purchase everything and he isn't 21! That's ok, now we know for the future! After we spent about 2 hours shopping we drove around on base to see what we could do. First we went to the Fort Jackson Museum...
Next Corey showed us some of the stuff he did while in training. I can't remember what this is called...something Tower.

They do all kinds of climbing and repelling on it. Then Dad and Corey played Putt-Putt to kill some time before dinner. Dad won every time. Corey claimed he had never played.

Next we were off to Dinner at the NCO club. I hope all of Corey's meals weren't as bad as this one! GROSS! On the way there Kaden called to talk to his Unc. Right in the middle of their conversation they started taking down the flags on post for the day. Corey had to hang up on Kaden and salute.

After dinner we went to the bowling alley so that the boys could play some pool. I've never seen so many soldiers in one room!

Corey made sure we left there in plenty of time to get him back to his bay by 8:00. He did not want to be late! Friday was graduation and we left in plenty of time to get in and get a seat. When we got there we found out that because of the weather the graduations were going to be inside and broken down into two squads per graduation. Corey's was an hour and a half delay! We just kind of hung out and watched all of the soldiers march up to the building. That was really cool! This is the Army band that played.

You can barely see Corey in this one...

Corey's Drill Sergeant giving his speech.

I believe this is them reciting the Army Code (or something like that).

After graduation we went out side and got to see Corey marching back to the bay doing cadences.

We got into the car and drove about two miles back to his bay, which is where they marched to. When we arrived we were able to go down and see the flags for Foxtrot and see where they do formation.

This is the orders for the day. I liked being able to see his schedule. I never would have believed Corey would get up at 5 am.

This is Corey's barracks. I think you can see him opening the door at the very top. The girls are on the first level. I couldn't believe they allow them to be that close to each other.

This is me at 30 weeks. I know, I'm getting big!

After Corey received his orders for the day we took him back to the hotel so that we could change. He had to stay in his Class B's all day. We grabbed some lunch at Chick-Fil-A and then we were off to the South Carolina State Fair. Corey enjoyed getting out, it was his first time off base in 10 weeks! He was a little surprised at all of the people who came up to shake his hand and thank him for serving our country. We were very proud of him. I had to keep a close eye on him because he kept eyeing all of the pretty girls! He reminded me so much of my dad. I can remember going places with my dad and he would ohh and ahh over the girls. I think the phrase I remember most was, "Damn Girl!" I think I heard that plenty while at the fair with Corey. I kept telling him that he sounded like Dad. Here are some pics from the fair.

I would have some pictures of the sky lift that we road, but I was too scared to take my hands off of the rail to take pictures. Corey thought it was very funny that I was so scared!

After the fair we went to Chili's (Corey's choice). I just knew he would want a steak for his first real meal! And then we headed back to the base so that he would be back by 8:00 for formation. We were allowed to go down and hang out with him for a little while. When his Drill Sergeant came down for formation he let the families stay and watch.

In this picture they were asking a TON of questions of the DI. He finally said, "Wake up will be at 3:00 a.m. By 3:30 all of your stuff must be downstairs ready to load." That used to be about the time Corey would go to sleep, if not later! I can't imagine him being up before that!

These are the last pictures I took before we said goodbye. You can tell because my eyes are red from crying!




It was a good trip and it was great to see Corey. He started AIT the Monday after we left and should graduate from that somewhere around December 18th. When he is finished he gets 14 days of leave. Hopefully Karlie will come before he makes it back so that he will be able to see her. I got the boys Army bears when we were at the PX. Here's Kaden with his.


I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the post. I'm sorry it is so long, but it was a fun filled 3 days!

Love,

Shanda