Online Resources for Spouses of Soldiers in Basic Training at Ft Benning

It's only day 2 since he left to Basic Training. I still have mixed emotions. One minute it doesn't feel like he's really going to be gone for so long, like he's just out hunting or fishing for a few days. However, the next minute I'll see something simple like his favorite coffee cup and it will set off the water works. I don't have an address yet, and haven't heard from him since he got off the bus, but I am still writing him a letter every day. He's gonna have a back log, poor guy! (He's not big on reading, but I think this will be the exception) I didn't think I would have much to write him about on a day to day basis, but even after only one day of not talking to him enough happened that I had plenty to say.

 I feel like God is really with me right now. The day we dropped Josh off at the airport was so emotionally draining on me, and I was beginning to feel like I couldn't do this. He wanted me to be strong, but it was harder than I had ever imagined. That night I got the call about Bailey's soccer, her new coach had just received her roster and had scheduled a practice for the following evening. It was a sigh of relief because I knew soccer practices and games would help distract me from it all. Especially once Cody starts up as well, I'm sure it's going to be hectic dealing with 2 soccer schedules! (I just hope they don't have games or practices that conflict, I am only 1 person after all!)

I found some resources that have been helpful for me; Ft Benning has their own Facebook page, which has proven helpful in answering my questions. Just browsing through other's posts usually helps me find the info, including facebook pages for a lot of the different training companies. I'm just praying that my husband gets placed in one that has an active Facebook page, it would be great to be able to show my girls every so often what daddy is up to. Even better if we happen to spot him in a sea of camo! Some of the pages even post videos! So far I have found pages for the following; Charlie Company 1-19 Infantry, Bravo Troop 5-15 CAV, D Company 2-58 Infantry, A Company 2-58 Infantry, Bravo Company 2-47 Infantry, Charlie Company, 30th Adjutant General Battalion (Reception), B Company 2-58 Infantry, F Company 2-58 Infantry, Delta Company 2-47 Infantry (Destroyers), Baker Company 1/19 Infantry, Alpha Troop 5-15 CAV, and I am sure there are many, MANY more. Once you know what company your soldier is in, you can also view photos from basic training and even order some of them if you like. I've started a Pinterest board, Wife of a Soldier, just to keep track of resources I find and to keep myself inspired. (Though I can't pin Facebook pages, and yes I'm pinning my own blog posts!) Last night, I found a great website that is dedicated to Ft Benning Graduation Information. It even had all the future graduation dates listed based on their start date. We were originally guessing around Thanksgiving for Josh, but now it's looking like it will probably be December 5 or 12, unless he just flies through the reception process. (Very unlikely from what I've heard) I now know that graduations are always held on Fridays, and I've got all the resources I need when it comes time to book our flight, hotel, etc when we go to watch him graduate. The original blog post that I read right before he left was inspiring to me as well, she talked about how Basic Training strengthened her marriage. Most of the guys in basic training are fresh out of high school, so it seems to be more parents than wives dealing with it, and even less of them have children. It's hard to completely relate to them, and I feel unfair reaching out to military wives who have husbands off on deployments. The National Guard Wives Facebook group made me see that I wasn't as alone as I felt, there were other wives with children just starting their adventure like we were. I am not super active in it yet, but just reading about others experiences has been helpful to me. Another blog post I found helpful was How to Survive Basic Training as a Spouse, while it was geared at Air Force, it still applies to most any service.

I'm also blessed to be surrounded by a large group of very supportive family and friends. However, sometimes the most well meaning comments/questions can really sting. Sometimes it's nice to be able to reach out to someone who REALLY understands what you are going through. I also got a call from our local National Guard Family Services last night, she said she will only call once a month to check in on me but I could call whenever if I had any questions. I'm not a huge fan of reaching out to people I don't know, but I've got to step up to the plate and step out of my comfort zone to get through the next 13-16 weeks.

That's all the online resources I have for now, if I find more I will add them to this blog post in order to keep them all in one location. If you find any, feel free to comment with them and I will add them! I know there are A LOT more Facebook pages, but I only stuck with the Ft Benning one's, and one's that had been active at least within the last month. I hope this post is helpful to some!