For those just tuning in, our daughter entered the Army at the beginning of July. She is stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina for ten weeks of Army Basic Training. Sharing Amanda’s letters with you is a privilege.
The second letter in this post is from Amanda’s friend Rebecca . . . her fellow soldier at Basic. I sent Rebecca a letter and care-package after learning from Amanda that the dear girl was the only one in their Platoon who hadn’t received a letter from home.
Letter Nine Dated August 12, 2012
(Notes in parentheses are mine.)
Mamacita y Papa Coyle!
It is crazy how much places like this make you appreciate your family. With your family you can be completely pissed off at someone one second, and then the next you’re perfectly fine and ready to move on. Here, people hold grudges. Someone told me today that they are still mad at me about something I said to her a week and a half ago. She’s the voodoo freak. Not sure if I told you or my sisters about her.
(Nope, wasn’t us. Can’t wait to hear about the “voodoo freak.”)
Regardless, I really miss my family. When we first got here, the Drill Sergeant said it was okay for us to have personal photos. I thought, “Why do we need photos? We’re only here for ten weeks. And yet, a couple weeks in, and I asked you to send photos. I think part of the reason I wanted pictures is to show people I’m not as ugly in real life as I am now! Ha ha!
(I’m sure they can see through the dust, sweat, and grime, honey.)
Amanda’s stylish headwear. Army combat helmets (Photo credit: The U.S. Army)
But really, thank you for being so supportive. It means so much to me and keeps me going when I hate it here. Our phone call rejuvenated me. Thank God too, because this up-coming week is going to be long. We have Advanced Rifle Marksmanship (ARM), which means firing in “Full Battle Rattle” . . . that includes our bulletproof vest, our load-bearing vest, and our Kevlar helmet.
(Ha! “Full Battle Rattle.” Maybe the Army does have a sense of humor.)
We are also learning Individual Movement Techniques (IMT – the Army loves acronyms). That is the low-crawl, high-crawl, and 3- to 5-second buddy rush. It is how to move when you are under fire. I’ve done this a lot before and it is cool for, like two minutes, because you feel like you are in the movies. But then, and very quickly, you are filthy, exhausted, and getting yelled at to get down. It is frustrating because no one is actually shooting at you, so it seems pointless and you start hating life.
We will also be doing the low-crawl under barbed wire at night with live-fire overhead. That is going to be intense.
Mom, I wasn’t able to log-on to your blog last night. I really wanted to, but between the phone call to guys, and to Jill and Paige (Amanda’s sisters), it took up our two-hours of phone privileges. Paige said I’m famous though, so I’m anxious to read it!
Okay, bed time!! Long week ahead. Your support means the world to me! Thank you for it all!!
Love, Amanda
~~~~~
Thank you note from Rebecca for the care-package I sent.
Dear Mrs. Coyle,
Thank you so much for the creating a sure beautiful and amazing daughter. I have no idea how I would have gotten this far without her. She keeps our whole Platoon running smoothly (especially the females). Thank you for the care-package. I appreciate your kind heart. Now I can see where Amanda gets it. I have no idea what was up with my parents. I guess they just got a late start on writing letters. I hope I get to meet you soon. Again, thank you so much for everything.
~ Rebecca
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In many families, like mine, for instance, people also hold grudges. In fact, I’ve found that the more religious the family member, the more grudges s/he holds.
Interesting . . . shouldn’t the more religious folks be more forgiving? One would think so.
One would. But as one can see with the current crop of Republicans, the ultra-religious only like those who are also ultra-religious, and preferably their own religion. Being rich is also nice……lol
ha ha ha, my dad and I just went rounds and rounds this last visit, it’s become a usual thing for our short visits together. Thankfully, we aren’t big on grudges between kids and parents or brothers and sisters, but the older generation is a different story 😦
I wish I could have seen you doing battle with your dad! That would have been fun to watch.
Pingback: Our Daughter Entered the Army ~ An Update ~ Part 12 « Robin Coyle
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Rebecca’s note is heartbreaking. No anger, just sadness.
Yes, you can hear the “sigh” in her voice when she wrote “I don’t know what was up with my parents.”
Great letters! I’m so glad Rebecca got your package, she sounded very appreciative. I’m trusting you got a strong response with letters to send to them?
Yes I did! The stack was about 2 inches high. I can’t wait to hear the response.
Right Robin, I’ve had enough of this.
Seriously.
Every time I come on to your blog these days, by the time I’m finished reading my eyes are welling up. It’s too much for me!
Lol, seriously. What a pair of lovely girls, really. And what a lovely Mummy you are too. 🙂
You scared me for a sec! I thought you were sick of me.
The letters are moving, harrowing, and make me tired just reading how hard they work those kids!
These letters warm my heart.
The letters warm my heart too. As much I want her Basic training to be over, I am going to miss getting “real” letters from her.
I want to sneak in and give her a hug. I love reading your daughters letters.
Let’s sneak in together!
Cool
Nicely summed up!
These letters really show how important the support of family can be. You have a wonderful daughter who is backed by a loving and supportive family… win/win.
Thanks Maggie. As much as I’d rather she not be in harm’s way, we have to support her because it is her passion to serve.
Live fire overhead? Yikes! I absolutely hate loud, sharp noises so you know I never had military plans! Sorry I missed out on the letter writing, but if there’s another round down the line, let me know!
Welcome back! If you want to send me an email, I’ll print it and mail it to the base with the other letters tomorrow.
Rebecca’s note brought tears to my eyes.
It is sweet she mentioned Amanda before the care-package. I love that!
these posts fill my heart with warmth and love. Hoping the letters we sent get out to Amanda soon. It’ll be great to hear how the whole platoon reacts to the outpouring of love and support.
The mail was just delivered after getting back from our two week vacation, and guess whose letter was there? Yours!!!!! and three others! I am so stinking excited about this. Thank you, thank you, thank you! And thank you for the bookmark! Now I’m off to buy your book!
Hope the letters I sent get to you in time! I lost track of time and realized the deadline was looming! (sorry will do better)
This made me smile after a long annoying day..thank you!
*I felt a smile creeping..*
Oh good! A smile! I see your post titled “Not in the mood.” Haven’t opened it yet, but I’m off to do so now to find out what was annoying about your day.
“Full Battle Rattle” love that! Haha.
I love that in her head for a few minutes she could pretend she was in an action movie for the first little while of her low-crawl/high-crawls, that really sounds like something I’d be thinking! 🙂
Definitely can’t wait to see if she says anything more about the voodoo freak!! Haha.
And Robin, you were so good to think of that girl Rebecca, I’m sure getting the care package from you meant the world to her! 🙂
It is funny that she said the low/high crawl is a rush for a few minutes, and then it gets old.
I’m in the middle of writing a letter to her so I will be sure to ask about the “voodoo freak.” I hope the freak isn’t putting pins in an Amanda doll!
Amanda said Rebecca is a good person. I trust Amanda’s judgement and it was fun to put together a crazy care-package. Really random stuff . . . plus some essentials.
I’m so glad Rebecca’s parents finally came through, that was so heartbreaking when you & Amanda told us about her at first.
You Coyle gals are good people.
I too was happy to hear Rebecca’s folks came through. Maybe in these days of electronic communication, they were waiting to hear from her via phone, text, or email before they wrote. Who knows . . .
“the low-crawl under barbed wire at night with live-fire overhead.”—Say what?! Oh, that dear, dear girl.
Crazy, right? Not my idea of a relaxing evening.
But she seems to be thriving on it! Tough kid
Aww bless just hope my letter is winging its way across the atlantic to reach in time to be sent with the others
I will make sure your letter reaches Fort Jackson come hell or high water!
Yes, she most certainly is famous – and amazing. I teared up reading Rebecca’s note to you. It must have felt like a warm hug when she received your care package.
And Rebecca wrote a lovely thank you note. I was so happy to hear that she heard from her family.
Yeah, Amanda! And hooray for Rebecca too; what a sweet, genuine letter. I love that she starts by thanking you for Amanda, rather than her care package.
I thought that was sweet too. They must be good support for each other.