A Fond Farewell to the Service

Six years ago yesterday, Brandon enlisted with the Ohio Air National Guard to work as an aircraft structural mechanic (sheet metal stuff).  We had originally thought Brandon would be in the military long-term, but with all of the traveling he does with work, wanting to start his master's degree, and having some minor health issues, we realized that re-enlisting was not going to be our chosen path.  So, today officially marks Brandon's release from the military.  We will forever be grateful for the many experiences we've both had, and the blessings we've received from his service are more numerous than we would have ever imagined.  

Here's a little look down memory lane...

Brandon left for basic training in San Antonio just three months after we were married.  I was so excited to travel to Texas for his graduation, and couldn't stop smiling at my cute husband in his cute uniform (though I'm sure he takes exception with the word "cute")!  Then he headed to Pensacola, FL for his tech school training where I met up with him a few weeks later.  We were blessed to have him be able to move off base and live with me, especially since I was 5 months along with Nicholas!  While we were there, we loved attending the military branch.  Even though we've lost touch with many of the people from the branch, we still think of them and loved the time we spent with them.  We also enjoyed being able to go to the beach in the winter time and go on day trips to some pretty fun places!

I can't say much about his deployments because I just don't know many of the details, but he sure loved to be able to travel with the guard!  His first deployment was in the fall of 2007 to Guam and Hawaii.  I'm pretty sure it was more like a vacation than work!

Then in the spring of 2010, Brandon went to Turkey and England.  Once again, I'm pretty sure it was mostly vacation!  He really loved the history he was able to see all around him in Turkey, and he fell in love with some delicious cookies called Tut-kus.  Fortunately we can buy them at the international grocery store here in Cincinnati!

While the first two deployments were both about 2 1/2 weeks long each, his final deployment to Spain was 2 months.  That was hard, but I'll always be grateful that he was only gone for 2 months.  Brandon's younger brother is in the Ohio National Guard and was just deployed to the middle east for a much longer time.  I can only imagine how hard that is for his wife!  Brandon loved Spain, though, and often says how much he'd love to go back there with me and explore some more.

The lessons that Brandon was able to take away from the guard were tremendous.  He learned so much about working hard.  He learned what it means to sacrifice his time.  He learned what it means to follow through with a commitment.  He definitely learned what it means to stand up for what he believes in.  I am so grateful that our kids have him as one of their most influential examples!

We're proud of you 

and

We love you, Brandon/Daddy!

Love, 

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