Plebe Parent Weekend

 

I think John has grown over the last 5 1/2 weeks. He went in at 5' 11''.

 

Bob is 6' 3" and John is just as tall now. Okay, the hat probably gives him 3 inches. But I really think he grew an inch. You should see his arm muscles and abs. They looked great before, but now...

 

John really wanted to go get a Whopper and some pop for his first meal on liberty. He squared his first bite but decided in the interest of keeping his uniform clean he should eat like a real person.

 

The red bar is for serving at a time of war. The next two bars with the E is for expert rifle and expert pistol. This is the highest level. I really did not know he was a great shot.

He told us about his worst day which included getting in trouble for going to the head during the I-day ceremony. He was confused when he got in trouble because he did not go to the head. I guess the detailers have trouble telling these guys apart too. They must have realized the error the next day because he was not in trouble anymore. During that bad day he spilled barbeque sauce on his uniform during lunch and was harrassed for hours about disrespecting his uniform.

His great experiences included every other day. He enjoyed the marching cadences, the marshal arts, sailing, damage control, and memorizing all of the info plebes are required to memorize. He enjoyed briefings and I think he really likes the blue and gold meeting which is a wrap up meeting of the day. He is looking forward to trying out for glee club. He has enjoyed singing in the protestant choir because he gets to sing and because he gets out of drilling for an hour or so.

He was so happy today to get some freedom. He started texting and talking to all of his friends. One really neat thing about him is that he greets everyone that he sees now with eye contact and a good morning or afternoon. I don't know why this is so impressive. I think it just seems friendly and respectful.

Tommorrow we get to watch the parade and then take John out for another day of fun!