William -- Moving ahead in training!

We heard from Will today. He was picked up in a training company this past Tuesday (Fox Co.) and has begun his combat training, but was not placed in the same platoon as Aaron. At least they'll be in the same place at the same time! :) He sounded happy to be back at it again, but said it's much harder than boot camp, not mentally, but physically. It's one thing right after another from morning to night. I imagine they don't have any trouble falling asleep at the end of the day. Saturday morning brought a 3 mile run...a challenge, to be sure! I think that the 10 days of leave plus the 3 weeks in BMP made it doubly hard for Will -- he wasn't that active during that time.

Assuming there are no injuries or delays, he will be graduating on Nov. 18th and then heading immediately up to Monterey. He is very anxious to get there and begin his studies. I was telling him that he will be experiencing the coldest winters he's ever faced. Ever since he was 2, we have lived here in Southern Calif. where the winter isn't what you might call "cold"!!! I think he'll enjoy the change, although he'll have to pick up some sweaters and a jacket for the weekends. It's right on the coast, a beautiful tourist spot!

We'll keep you posted as we hear what the weeks bring. He did say that this next week focuses on tactics and that the following week they'll be handling the larger weapons. The final week there is a 3 day field exercise, where they put together everything they've learned. All along the way they have classroom time along with exams to test their competence. It should be quite a month!