AIT (Advanced Individual Training) Graduations

Usually many fewer graduates.  No Family day but families do attend, although not a lot.
AIT usually lasts about 9 weeks.  We get mostly soldier from Ft. Sill BCT but we do get some Marines and some from the other BCT training site. Our AIT training is either the Howitzers or the ground based surface to surface or surface to air missiles.

Much smaller venue.

Back row Molly Comp (honor Grad).

Another honor grad of ours.

Molly Comp and Michaela Moor both honor Grads from AIT both headed home.
(National Guard)

 

Graduation Day

About 100 grads in each graduation class.  We usually have two graduations and two family days per week. Graduations are quite formal, we get to sit with the Chaplains up front so we don't have to wait in the lines.  They show a movie of the graduates during their training and some remarks by a Guest Speaker, present awards for honor grads, sing the army song and are given a graduation certificate.

Told you the lines were long.  We go right inside without waiting.

Soldiers waiting for ceremony to start.

They each announce themselves and then receive a certificate and congrats.

They march out to the front of the Chapel and then are released to Families.

Always soldiers out marching around the streets during graduations.

We had to get in the pictures somehow.  We try to attend all of the Graduations and Family Days.

Family Day at BCT (Basic Combat Training) before Graduation

Families are invited to see the soldiers training.  They perform skits showing before and after training.  They are quite entertaining.  Marching, hand to hand combat skills, PT (Physical Training), combat skills, wrestling, etc.

They recognize the honor Grads.

Parents get to pin soldiers who are advanced in rank.

Grads being released to join their families.

P-Day with our Missionaries

After lunch we went to what is call the
HOLY CITY..  It is where they hold a pageant every Easter.  It is out in the middle of --nowhere, literally.

No town around for 30 miles.  

All eight of our missionaries had Halloween off so we took them to dinner at a fun restaurant in the Wichita "Mountains" Wildlife Refuge.  We have to put mountains in quotes--because they are small hills.  They have huge plate size burgers (we shared) and amazing peach cobbler with homemade ice-cream.

It is typical Oklahoma==not much to look at.  But good food and fun.

This was a Tabasco peppers challenge.  And it was funny. 

BEST peach cobbler EVER with mountains of real homemade ice-cream.\

Baptisms at Ft. Sill

We have had six baptisms since we have been here.  We have 8 missionaries that are here in Lawton with  two wards.  Each ward has one set of Elders and one set of sisters.  Each week on post we have one set of sisters and one set of Elders teach all 5 lessions in 3 weeks  from Preach My Gospel.  The LDS soldiers bring their buddies to church with them, and our outstanding Elders and Sisters teach and convert.  It is really exciting to see this happen.  We are really impressed with the quality of young missionaries--they are excellent teachers.

Church at Ft. Sill

We meet in the Chapel on Post.  All faith groups meet in this chapel so there are a few services going on at the same time in different parts of the building.  We can only meet for 2 hours (10 -12) each week so it is rather hectic during the block.  If you can imagine trying to hold sacrament meeting, sunday school, relief society, and priesthood meeting in 2 hrs.   But don't forget that we have to conduct baptismal services, confirmations, setting apart for callings, and callings, and interviews.  We cannot keep them past 12:00 noon or the drill sergeants are in looking for them.  We have anywhere from 10 to 12 new members and 10-20 new visitors each week.  The basic training only lasts for 9 weeks and the soldiers serve in a few callings, such as, priesthood blessers (not a normal calling you say) for blessings of comfort or healing.

Bob was called to be the 2nd counselor in the branch presidency and Sylvia was called as the 1st counselor in the Relief Society.  We have about 80-100 soldiers each week.  We have new soldiers and graduating soldiers every week.  So we have a mountain of paperwork to keep track of all of them.  There are several lists we have to update every week for the branch and there are reports to file with SLC every week and then every month others.  Whew

The chapel on Post and a close up of the entrance.