As most of you know Blake and I are now living in Enterprise, Al. Blake is in flight school here at Fort Rucker. Since we moved here things have not slowed down and time has flown by. This is my first experience and taste of what military life is like...I’m not going to lie, some days I don’t like it at all and other days I love it and think it is so cool!
I just wanted to give everyone an update on how Blake is doing in flight school. We moved here at the end of August and he really got started in September. He started with BOLOC-B which is officer training, basically class, a lot of class. They also had combatives which is hand to hand combat. He then went on to dunker school. During dunker they are taught what to do and what it would somewhat be like if they were to crash in the water. They are buckled into a seat of a cockpit, from there they are dropped into the water and flipped upside down. This teaches them how to keep everything under control, breathe, unbuckle and get out of the helicopter while still under water. This to me would be terrible because water goes up the nose every time; however, Blake got through it with no problems!
Then came SERE!!!! There is a lot to be said for this four letter word so I’ll start off by saying that it stands for Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape. I am not allowed to tell everything that I may know about this training and Blake was not allowed to tell me everything he went through. Basically it is the torture chamber of training. Supposedly it is some of the best but hardest training many ever go through. The main point is that the soldiers are released and expected to survive in the wild on their own and at some point they are caught... from here everything goes down hill for them and that is all that can be said about that. Blake left for this at the end of October and I picked him up 3 weeks later just in time for Thanksgiving. I missed him soooo much! He was not allowed to call home so we were not able to talk for those three weeks. Everyday I would wonder what he was doing, or what he would look like when I picked him up. I wondered if he would have black eyes and busted lips with bruises all over him. My heart broke for him and what they may be doing to him so I had to constantly remind myself that he signed up for this.... Maybe it’s his background in baseball and sports but Blake is great about not letting things get to him. He realizes his goal and he does what is necessary to meet that goal. They told all the wives that our husbands would probably be really strange, withdrawn and stinky when they got back! When the day finally came for me to get to see him after those long three weeks of no communication, Needless to say I was ecstatic to pick him! He look just as handsome as he did when he left and looked completely normal all except for his funny mustache he had grown! He was so sweet, it was almost like we were nervous about what to say and how to act.. I was so happy he finished that training and I know it only made him stronger.
Blake is now in IERW which stands for Initial Entry Rotary Wing in the TH-67 helicopter. Here he is basically learning how to fly the aircraft. This is the real thing!! He had his Nickel Ride this past Friday (January 27th) the day before his birthday! They went up in the helicopter with his stick partner(training partner) and IP (instructor pilot). He said it was awesome and that it was much harder than it looked. Blake's days consist of flying half of the day, then class until the end of the day then back home for more studying. This past week he was up at 3:15am, he had what they call freedom flight aka morning flights. He then was in the classroom the rest of the day. This coming week he will have class in the morning and flights in the afternoon, they alternate it every week.
After this He will learn instruments then BWS, basic war fighting skills in the Kiowa helicopter. Lastly, flight school 21 Blackhawk!! Blake has worked very hard to get to this point and I’m so proud of him and how he has allowed God to guide his life.
This is a very stressful but also exciting time of our lives and especially for him. Flying is one of the most mentally and physically draining things one can do. They are learning so much, so fast and honestly their lives depend on them when they are in the cockpit. There is no time to drift off or zone out. Focus and determination are vital for Blake every day. He has done excellent and gives 110% everyday. I just wanted to let all of his friends and family know exactly how and what he has been doing. I hope that all of this was not too "military lingo" I tried to make it make sense to those of us who may not know all of the abbreviations! Please continue to pray for his safety and my sanity. Thank you all so much for all of the support and prayers through this time.He is so excited about this adventure God has allowed him to be a part of. Everyday is just such a blessing! God bless!
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