Writing for Ranger School

The first thing B. told me was to cheer him up. He told me how much my letters meant to him at LDAC, and how happy they made him -- then, how terrified. See, when I didn't hear from him for a few weeks, I started flipping out. This was our first separation where we didn't talk, and I was convinced that something was wrong. Other woman replaced me, wild Manbearpig ate him, he decided that the whole "dating Courtney" thing wasn't for him... yeah, hello, I'm a drama queen.

And most embarrassing of all, I let it show in my letters. I can't remember specifics, but basically I wanted to know why he hadn't written. Then, I got all his letters within a span of three days, and they went from "I miss you" to "Are you not getting my letters?! I'm really worried by your tone!" Yeah. Worst girlfriend in the world >>right here<<.

So, I'll state the most overtly simple lesson: Keep it positive. Even the smallest negative can take your guy's head out of the game, and that is not what needs to happen in this stage of his training. He needs to know/think everything is just peaches and cream without him, and you're thriving. Don't lie, but don't take up a paragraph telling him about that douche of a maintenance man who was 4 hours late and tracked mud throughout your house.

Next: the elements. I read this on another blog, which I'll post at the end, but the men are not given weather forecasts. So when they're out there sleeping in their hooches, they wake up and are just as surprised by the weather as the cavemen were. SEND THEM THE WEATHER FORECAST! Because I have no idea when mail call is, I sent the 10 day forecast in my last letter. I'm planning on doing the 15 day forecast with each envelope I mail out, in the hopes that he'll get the most current one and get some use out of it.

 News: Again, send them the good stuff. Their presidential candidate is ahead in the polls, the stock market doing well, even the Sunday funnies if they're into that. B told me that I was his break from Army, his way of "checking out" and leaving work -- that's difficult enough to do via text message or over the phone, but to do it through letters? Very, very difficult.


And finally -- for you. Stay BUSY. I work 40 hours as an IT consultant, then I tutor ACT/SAT/English/Homework/Organizational skills for local kids who need it. Then I work out. Then I go home. There was one Friday last week where I wasn't busy -- worst day in a very, very long time. I went to my mother's house and moped around. Resist the urge to submerge yourself in everything regarding Ranger School. I watched "Surviving the Cut: Ranger School" on Netflix, and read through a Ranger's journal online within 24 hours. I was lost in it. Maintain your own life. Maintain your own life. Maintain your own life.


And, with a little luck and a little hope, those 62 days will not be lengthened by recycling, and they will fly by.

Army Spouse Jobs -- What in the who?

This is just a desperate call for information -- I'm an IT consultant, and was wondering what there was in way of jobs in this area, were I ever to become a military dependent? Envision: type A personality, the absolute need for work, probably would drive herself to the brink of insanity without it.

I've looked at usajobs.gov, but was wondering if there was any more substantial information? I've also heard of the Military Spouse initiative, or something along those lines, which helps spouses of military personnel get jobs. Thanks guys, any and all help would be awesome.

Thank God for Army SO Bloggers!

For those who don't know me, I am, and have been, an Army SO (significant other) for nearly 3 years now. B and I met in college, and started dating November of our sophomore year. Aside from the summers apart where he would go to Airborne, LDAC, or CTLT, we had a normal college experience, relationship-wise. Not to be mushy or any of that crap, but he's truly the best guy you could hope to have around, and I am beyond blessed to have him in my life.

Last Sunday, September the 9th, I got a FaceTime call at 7:30 CST from him -- he was off to Ranger school! I put on a brave face and told him to kick ass and take names, and then fussed over him (just a little!) to write down the contact numbers for me and his family for the pay phones on base. Then, away he went.

The rest of this week ("gee, a whole *four* days, how do you do it, Courtney?") was spent trying to keep busy and find a routine for life. It went pretty well! I've got my work, which has really picked up since our project implementation is set to "go live" on October 1st, as well as my on-the-side tutoring gig. Plus, I'm counting calories again, so that's another full time job in and of itself! (Seriously, how did all that weight creep on during college?!) So far, so good.

Then, yesterday, a friend from college texts me about the "Surviving the Cut: Ranger Edition." Sure, I've got time, let me re-watch that, I think to myself. For those of you reading this who do not know -- this is a documentary showing a portion of the suckage that our men go through to go to this elite combat school. It lasts 62 days, and consists of 3 phases. It was not the best thing to watch when the whole time you're sitting there thinking "That face could be B. Or that one. How can they do this to them?!"

The guys get to talk to their loved ones three times in those 62 days -- and I'm skeptical that I'm going to hear from B at all. Why? Just because the men with wives are typically allowed to cut the line to call them first. Understandable, definitely, but I can't help but feel a twinge of jealousy to be in the wives shoes, if not just for this one instance. All I can do is send letters to let him know how much he's missed, and how much I support him! And I do.

To get back to the point -- I was operating under the assumption that I had to wait to mail B all his letters until he got back to me and told me what Company he was in -- not true, I find out! Thanks to Katy, an Army wife we knew in college, I got to mail B his letters today! Woohoo! She also linked me to these incredible blogs, both from SO's who had their men go through Ranger school back in the summer of 2011. You can find them here (The Girlfriends Guide to Ranger School) and here (Communication During Ranger School: A Recap).

Being in Texas, while he's in Georgia, is pretty sucky -- but, I keep reminding myself, it could be worse. He could be at his duty post, in Alaska, or he could be deployed. Every time I start feeling sorry for myself (I'm so lonely, I miss him so much, blah blah blah) I just think about how lucky I am to have AC, food, water, and more than 30 minutes of sleep each night. Then I feel like an ungrateful brat. But I think the most important thing to remember is that I'm not alone in all of this. Attached to dang near every one of those Ranger candidates is an SO, mother, sister, aunt, etc, feeling the same anxiety as I am.


So, with that rant (vent?) being out of the way, and the envelope with B's letter/news in the mail (the iPhone 5 comes out yesterday, and he's not even gonna hear about it?! No, ma'am/sir) I am going to sign off.

Rock on and HOOAH.