Well, we've been at Mother Rucker since April. They call it Mother Rucker because it's home to Army Aviation, and all army aviators come back atleast two times in their military career. So it's going to be our main home away from our main home (Tuscaloosa/Northport).
Becoming a military wife & moving away from my family wasn't easy for me. I knew I needed to meet people as soon as I got down here, knowing Ross will be very busy. He only met the single guys, so I was alone for about 2 months and fell into a state of depression. Obviously, Ross saw I wasn't happy, but there was nothing he could do about it other try to encourage me to get enough confidence to get out on my own. At first I was nervous about going anywhere on base because it was so different from civilian world. Ross finally told me he thought a guy he met since day 1 had a wife and he was in his class. The guys started hanging out so I finally had someone I could talk to. It's funny how much a like our husbands are. We found a couple that looked out after us and we looked out after them. We started going to Army 101 classes for wives together and I learned a lot and met more wives.
During this time Ross was going through dunker and BOLC. He went to SERE, where he had heat exhaustion on Day 17, and they made him go through SERE again starting on Day 1. SERE lasts 21 days and we have no contact of any kind with our husband. No, not even letters. It was the hardest training for us to go through. We both learned a lot. Now Ross is in a different class and we are in a different FRG. At first I was real upset about it, because I had just started making friends in our FRG, now I have to make new friends in our new FRG....but Ross has done so much better in his new class. He is a lot more happier, which makes me happier and I don't stress out or worry as much as I would have.
I have been job searching, but the areas around base and on base aren't hiring and Ross doesn't want me working in Dothan since it's such a long drive. Here the bases encourages volunteering, and honestly, if people don't do it, I don't see how the base would run. I decided to be more active on base, than branch outside of it to the civilian world. I'm apart of the Fort Rucker Spouses Club. I am on the Scholarship Committee and I'm the Southern Travel writer for our monthly newsletter called Flightlines. I really enjoy it. I also have been trying to do some Bible Studies through PWOC, but with Ross' busy schedule It's becoming difficult.
Ross had his first flight Friday September 16th. It's call a Nickel Ride because he gives his IP (instructor pilot) a nickel with his birth year on it to remember him by. My dad gave him the Nickel with his birth year on it. It was sweet since my dad is a coin collector. On the same day I was previously selected to participate in Fort Rucker's Aviation Spouse's Day II. I got to shoot guns, fly a helicopter simulator, dunker, and do LRC ( Leadership Reaction Course). When I completed them I received my wings at a graduation ceremony. My parents came down and my dad got to pin me. It was awesome! I want a blackhawk simulator for Christmas! It was the coolest thing!
