The Smiths are moving to ... El Paso!

Cam just found out today that Fort Bliss, TX will be our new home for the next 3 years. Still no news yet on WHEN exactly we (and by this I mean me and all of our stuff) will be moving there; we just know that it will be some time in 2009.

We're not all that surprised by the news as Ft. Bliss is home to one of the largest Air Defense Artillery units. We were a little disappointed that we didn't get to stay closer to family by being stationed at Ft. Lewis, WA. Regardless, we are looking forward to the new adventures a new city, climate, and geographical region can bring (and we'll definitely be packing our sunblock!!!)

From Wikipedia: "Fort Bliss today is vastly different from the original post created in 1849 to guard the area from Indian and Mexican raids. The mission of Fort Bliss has changed to providing anti-aircraft and missile defense capabilities, a role which Fort Bliss retains. As one of the largest military posts in the continental United States, Fort Bliss is also uniquely suited to conduct live fire exercises of nearly every type of military weapon in the current US Army arsenal. Fort Bliss routinely conducts joint military exercises with other units from other US bases, and has trained soldiers from several nations around the world."

As always, as soon as we know anything concrete we will let all our friends and family know. Besides, we have to invite you all to the killer going-away party, right!?!

Jump School @ Ft. Benning

The next step in Cam's Army training is Airborne School at Ft. Benning, GA. Cam volunteered to attend Airborne School (AKA "Jump School") which qualifies students to use a parachute as a means of combat deployment. The course is open to all US Army soldiers and all other branches of the military as well as allied military personnel. In fact, Cam's company has several Marines and Air Force personnel as well as some soldiers from foreign allies. The three week course consists of "Ground Week", "Tower Week" and "Jump Week".

Cam is currently in "Ground Week". He passed his initial PT test with scores meeting the 17-21 age group standards and is looking forward to training on the mock door, practicing parachute landing falls, exiting the 34-foot tower, and training on the lateral drift apparatus.

The 34-foot tower

"Tower Week" will follow and the students will use the 34-foot towers, the swing landing trainer, the mock door for mass exit training, the suspended harness, and potentially the 250-foot free tower. Tower Week completes student individual skill training and builds team effort skills.

The 250-foot free towers

The third and final week, "Jump Week", students make five parachute jumps into Fryar Drop Zone located in Alabama. Two of the jumps are "combat equipment jumps" (the jumper carries a ruck sack and a dummy weapon). The other three jumps are "Hollywood" (the jumper only wears the parachute and reserve) and at least one jump is at night.

Parachute jumps

Cam is really excited for this training and can't wait to get started on the "fun" stuff. Please keep him in your prayers and hopefully he'll be in one piece when he earns his jump wings.

Historic Columbus, GA

We spent the last two days of my visit in Columbus, GA experiencing the rich history of this Southern town. I was surprised to learn that Columbus was a somewhat major player for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Being on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, Columbus was a center for the cotton, textiles and agricultural trades, had large iron foundries, and was a major ship-building port (many "iron-side" ships were built here).

While Cam was reporting for Airborne School, Cam's parents and I checked out the National Civil War Naval Museum. On display, the museum has the remainder of the hull of the CSS Jackson (one of the largest Confederate ironclad ships) and a huge display of actual flags flown throughout the Civil War on Confederate and Union ships.

After the museum, we headed to Phenix, AL for lunch (and to cross Alabama off my list of visited states). Amazingly enough, AL Whoppers taste very similar to WA Whoppers! We also headed north of Columbus to Calloway Gardens to check out their Country Store, where we found TONS of canned goods, preserves, and butters. We even saw sweet potato butter and pickled watermelon rinds!

On Saturday, Cam's parents, Cam and I toured the historic district in downtown Columbus. We saw several types of architecture, from Greek Rivival to Victorian to log cabins. Most the houses were built in the pre-Civil War days. We also saw the country house of Dr, John Permerton, the pharmacist that created the formula for Coca-Cola. What struck me the most was the large scale use of brick and iron-work on most of the houses. However, those materials were all made locally and probably were very cheap building supplies at the time.

The Rankin house, built 1860-1870 and valued at $18,500 (in 1898)

The Illges House, built 1850

The Bullard House, built 1887. The Bullard family hosted FDR and Generals Patton and Marshall here.

Commissioning!!!

After three and a half long months, the day is finally here! Cam has completed Officer Candidate School and was sworn in as a 2nd Lieutenant! We got to watch Cam be sworn in along with his OCS Platoon and check out his barrack room before heading to the auditorium to secure a good spot for the Commissioning Ceremony.

It was very impressive looking out over the 133 graduating Candidates, hearing to the Company Commanders opening remarks regarding the activiites of the last few months and listening to the guest speaker's advice to the new Lieutenants. It wasn't so impressive to listen to the Candidates "sing" the OCS Alma Mater and Army Song... :) Here's a video of Cam crossing the stage and graduating: (Sorry for the video quality, but the auditorium was dark.)

Following the ceremony, Cam was sworn in individually by his Platoon Captain and was then pinned with his 2nd Lt gold bars by his mom, dad and me! We all even got a little sun while waiting for the crowds to die down in order to do this little extra ceremony. Below is a video of Cam's individual Swearing In with Captain Cook:

After returning to the hotel to change and freshen up after a warm day on base, we had a yummy celebratory dinner out and then checked out the local Army supply stores in Columbus. Yeah for souviners!

Mom Anderson and Kristy pinning on the shoulder gold bars

Dad Smith pinning the 2nd Lt gold bar on Cam's beret

The Leber parents with the new Lieutenant

The Smith/Anderson parents with their 2nd Lt son

Cam posing below the OCS arch

Schmoopy-ness before dinner

Exploring Ft. Benning

Cam had to spend most of the day on duty and practicing for the Commissioning ceremonies tomorrow. So, Cam's parents and I spent the day exploring various areas at Ft. Benning. Ft. Benning is one of the largest Army bases in the country and has plenty of cool stuff to look at.

First, we stopped to watch a few of the current Airborne Jump School students practicing. Cam will be attending this school and performing these jumps in a few short days!

We then went in search of Riverside. Riverside was the plantation house of Mr. Arthur Bussey from 1909 until 1918 when the Army bought the land for Camp Benning. Riverside now serves as the quarters of the Fort Benning Commanding General and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

We also checked the Ranger Memorial, a granite memorial honoring the spirit and accomplishments of the U.S. Army Rangers: past, present, and future. Ft. Benning is home to the Ranger School.

Finally, as we were headed back to the OCS barracks to pick up Cam for the day, we ran across this cool old school church.

Everyone is looking forward to all the Commissioning activities tomorrow ... especially Cam!

Commissioning Formal Ball

The day finally arrived! The Commissioning Formal day is finally here! (I think that I was more excited for it than Cam...)

Cam had to report on base early this morning. He spent the day practicing the graduation ceremony with his company. He also spent some of the morning reading Dr. Suess books to a class of local elementary school kids as part of his public service requirement. So I took the opportunity to take nap, get my nails done and get my hair "did". By the time Cam was finally released, it was time to head back to the hotel to get all dressed up.

The evening turned out to be very fun! Everyone was all dressed up and all the Candidates looked very handsome in their Class A's. Dinner was very yummy and I managed to not spill a THING on myself! (A huge feat to say the least!) Even the special guest/speaker, Navy Commander Todd Henricks gave a very impressive graduation speech. All in all, we had a good time and I hope that we have another opportunity to attend a formal event!

All spiffed up ... with somewhere to go!

A long shot of us looking good!

Cam with some of his platoon buddies

OCS Roommates, Kenny and Cam

Keeping the GA Economy Alive

Cam and I have been enjoying our last few "alone" days before our parents arrive tomorrow. On Sunday, we explored the various shopping opportunities on base and in the city. We didn't buy anything too exciting, but somehow managed to "keep the economy going" with a nice chunk of change.

Sunday night we met up with a small group of Cam's platoon friends for some yummy Japanese steakhouse food. It was fun to get to know a few of the guys better and meet their spouses. Again, more stories from OCS training were shared ...

Today, Cam had to report to the barracks for Commissioning practice. I spent the alone time checking out the local Wal-Mart. (Whoo! Do I know how to have a good time!?) After Cam was released for the day, we again spent the rest of the day spending more money, but it was necessary to mail home a giant footlocker and duffle bag full of things Cam will not need now that OCS is coming to an end.

We are looking forward to tomorrow when we'll attend the big Formal Ball to celebrate Commissioning. Check in later for some pictures for us all spiffed up! :)

Reunion and Karaoke - Georgia Style

After a VERY early and VERY bumpy flight, I made it to Ft. Benning, GA!!! Upon arrival, I found Cam packing up the entire contents of his two storage closets in the barracks into a duffel bag, two suitcases, a garment bag and HUGE plastic footlocker. While he packed, I got to meet several of his platoon-mates as they wandered past. His buddies all had very nice things to say about my Soldier! We then loaded up the rental car with all of his Army stuff and headed for the hotel.

In order to celebrate all the missed birthday, anniversary, and celebratory dinners from the last 6 months, we had a lovely steak dinner together before heading to a Mexican restaurant for a platoon karaoke gathering. I wasn't brave enough to sing, but Cam jumped up there a couple times! A fun time was had by all and I got to meet several more of the platoon. There were also plenty of stories from their time in OCS.

I'm sure that tomorrow will be full of all kinds of adventures. Check back to find out...

Cam and some of his platoon belting out the tunes!

Finally ... I'm Off to GA!

The count-down is FINALLY complete! I'm flying early tomorrow morning to visit Cam at Ft. Benning, GA. I'm going a few days earlier than originally planned to spend a little time with Cam before all the Commissioning hoopla begins and both sets of our parents arrive.

The actual Commissioning and OCS graduation is Thursday afternoon and then we're unsure of when and where Cam's being shipped to next. I'll be sure to pass on all your well-wishes to him when I see him! I'll also try to keep the blog updated with pictures and stories from my trip! Talk to ya'll soon!