Saturday visit to twentynine Palms

Just a short note at the end of a VERY long, but very good, day. We had a nice time visiting Lisa. We got to see her room, visit her motor mechanics shop and meet several of her friends. I'll have more to post on Sunday or Monday includimg photos. Lisa looked good and was in good spirits.

Iphone email sent courtsey of Zeke

Challenge Coin Honor

"Everyone wanted to see my coin but I told them no way they are touching it!"

Thus was the text message Cheryl received from Lisa today. Earlier in March Lisa was asked to be a part of a contingent that would travel to Camp Pendleton to participate in a ceremony for a retiring officer. They loaded onto a plane and made the short flight early this morning.

So later in the day Lisa sent a text saying that she was called out in front of everyone and given this challenge coin. The first question Cheryl had was, "what does that mean." Lisa tried to explain that it was given to her by the a Sergeant Major from her base. While you can buy challenge coins online, this is a special coin because not only was it given by the officer, it also carries the rank of the officer on one side and the command on the other side. After more texting it turns out that the female officer is the top Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) for the base where Lisa is stationed.

Challenge coins are given to service members by commanders to boost morale and honor service. When the Sergeant Major started searching for Lisa to bring her up front, as typical, Lisa assumed she was going to be in trouble. haha But she is quite proud, in a Lisa sort of way. Of course I am proud too and look forward to seeing her coin later this weekend.

Here is a short article on the history of the awarding of Challenge Coins in the Marine Corp. I haven't received confirmation from Lisa yet but I believe, based on her text messages, that this is the officer who gave her the coin.

Ten Months In

It has been 9 months since Lisa left for Recruit Training. After 13 weeks of basic training, 4 weeks of combat training and several months of mechanics school, Lisa arrived at her permanent duty station in Twentynine Palms, California.

Many of the friends that Lisa has made along the way reached their duty stations about the same time. Now several of those are being deployed to Afghanistan.

Before going to Recruit Training at Paris Island, Cheryl met Jordan's mom, Tammy, online at one of the message boards for recruit parents. Jordan entered a couple months before Lisa arrived and they eventually wrote back and forth. Jordan was an encouragement to Lisa. Being 8 weeks ahead she was able to prepare Lisa with her first hand experience about what was ahead in the coming weeks. You may not know this but the Marines are very old school when it comes to training their recruits. There is no communication with the outside world other then good old fashioned, handwritten,snail-mail. No phone calls, no computers, internet or email. Not even any discussion outside the platoons that are going through together is allowed. It seemed to me it must have been odd that Lisa and Jordan would occasionally see each other on base during the month they were both there together but were not allowed to talk or even acknowledge each other. Only the letters that they sent back and forth. Now that they are at permanent stations they can call and text each other.

During Lisa's training period in North Carolina Jordan and her mother Tammy were nice enough to drive over to Lisa's base and pick her up for a day of shopping with them. That is them taking a break.

Originally scheduled to be deployed with her unit to Afghanistan at the end of this month, Jordan received 4 days notice that her deployment was moved up. After traveling via a stop in Europe, Jordan was able to let Lisa know that she had arrived in Afghanistan a few days ago. Tammy's husband Rich deployed to Afghanistan several months ago so she now has both her husband and daughter overseas.

If you say a prayer for Lisa and the rest of our troops, please include this family as well.

Bowling

Apparently you can bowl for $1.20 a game including shoes. So when you combine that with the opportunity to leave work early Lisa decided to join the bowling team. She says she is terrible but hey, practice makes perfect and it is a good way to relax and have fun after a long day of work.

Injury Report

Ever since somewhere towards the end of recruit training Lisa has had a pain issue with her hip. Mostly she just did the grin-and-bear-it routine because if you go to medical during Marine Recruit Training you can wind up being moved back to another platoon which means having to try and fit in with a new group of recruits and graduating later then you wanted. The other factor is that going to medical is one way that some recruits use to try and get discharged. When she was in school at Camp Johnson it was common for them to have to run 5-7 miles several times a week and the problem just got worse.

In any case, after several exams and x-rays, her doctor has determined that Lisa has a torn muscle near her hip that needs rest to heal. That is the bad news but the better news is that there are no fractures or issues with the hip joint.

Hip problems seem to be common among the female Marines coming out of Recruit Training and schooling. One of Lisa's platoon mates broke her hip during the Crucible. The packs they have to wear are standard issue and not designed for females the way that you would see in female specific backpacks at REI. As a result the hip belts tend to concentrate the pressure across a narrow band of the hip and according to her doctor the running done with these 40-60 pound packs can effectively mash the muscle up against the hip bone causing the tear. Painful just to thing about!

But at least Lisa now has a good diagnosis and will be starting a therapy program to help her recovery along.

A day at the office

Lisa is a motor mechanic. Yep, just like it sounds. She currently works on Humvees and what they refer to as 7-Tons. The latter is basically a 7-ton flatbed used for hauling supplies and equipment to the front lines.

Twentynine Palms, where Lisa is stationed, is the home to the Marine Infantry Training School. While all Marines get at least 5 weeks of combat training upon completion of basic training, Marines in infantry status get much more extensive class and field training at Twentynine Palms. Lisa's unit is one of those responsible for maintaining and repairing the vehicles used to train these Marines. As you can imagine the equipment is used pretty hard and in constant need of repairs.

These pictures are some that Lisa has sent along. Marines pride themselves on organization. That tool chest above is a good example. I know one thing, my tool chest is in no danger of being mistaken for hers.









PS - Tranny fluid hair conditioner in this last picture.

Practicing with the Pistol

Lisa practicing with a Glock at Twentynine Palms. Turns out she really likes to shoot. Who would have known. And she is really good on top of it all.