This was originally sent out in an email on October 8...
Josh left on October 5 for another three weeks of training at Ft. Drum. For those of you in the area, you may have seen the coverage in the newspapers and/or on TV about the soldiers preparing for deployment. For those of you outside of the Central New York area, here are the links.
Syracuse Post Standard - Guarding Freedom - October 7, 2007
WSTM NBC News - October 2, 2007
Binghamton Press - NY Guardsmen Train - October 1, 2007
We still do not have an official departure date for January. We are anticipating that information the end of the month or in early November, when hopefully, he will receive his official orders. It's been a long waiting game for the actual date.
I spoke with Josh very early this morning and for only a few minutes. I know some of you requested an address, but they are not providing one for him during this training. He is doing well. They are busier this time, in comparison to June, but still doing some of the same things that they have already done. A lot of paperwork to process and boxes to check for the Soldier Readiness segment.
School is going well for him. While he has not told the students in his classroom about the deployment, he did share the information with the parents via a letter prior to the start of the school year. Some parents did share with their son or daughter what was going to happen. Last week he spoke to the kids about being gone for three weeks. Being only five, it certainly is hard for them to understand what is going on. Some of their questions and comments can be entertaining, which always seems to lighten the mood. He also had two of his three observations last week, both of which went very well. He only has one more to complete for the tenure process prior to leaving. The school and his team continue to be very supportive.
We are looking forward to spending some nice time together for his birthday and the holidays. I will let you know when we receive any additional information.
