An Update

I've come to realize that I've not written an update about the husband and what the Army will be doing with us or what we're hoping for out of his career. Things were in a good bit of turmoil for a while, and some of you may be wondering.

He came down on orders again for deployment a few months ago, but because of chronic pain and other issues, his doctor determined he wasn't deployable at the time. On top of that, his current command really didn't want him to leave. He's been quite successful as the Company Commander of the busiest Company in USAREC for the past two and a half years.

As a result of all that, and a process of accepting reality on his part, he has made the decision to request a branch transfer to be able to stay in USAREC. He's quite close to being eligible for retirement, and this is a good way for him to complete his career without doing any further damage to himself physically, while still having the possibility for natural career progression such as Battalion Command, etc. If anyone had asked me about a year or so ago how I felt about it, I would have been adamant that he get the hell out of USAREC. I hated it. But the command climate here has changed, he has moved up to the Battalion level as the Executive Officer (although he's still doing duties as Company Commander since they haven't found his replacement yet), and we're all much happier. The daily commute is a pain, but we're managing. He brings work home when he's able, as I've told him I'd prefer that he do that than be 9 or 10 getting home at night.

As of right now, he's planning on attending ILE in January of 2010, and after that will probably be moved to a Brigade staff position until he's eligible for Battalion Command. The kids and I will probably stay here when he goes to ILE if we can. I really don't want to disrupt their schooling for a year if I don't have to. Then we'll see what's in store for us after that.

That's the plan as I know it right now. Who knows what will change next week.