Bon Voyage Jeff

My oldest son, Jeff, is leaving soon for a one year civilian job in Kuwait. As a mother I was not thrilled when he first told me about this opportunity. He has since assured me that there has not been a terrorist attack in that country for several years. He no doubt got the idea that I was worried when I sent him a St. Christopher prayer card to put in his wallet. Even though I don’t follow the Catholic path now I do strongly believe in the protection of Saints and angels and I figured it couldn’t hurt.

My son is a Sgt. Major in the Army Reserve and until Obama assumed the office of president he was training troops to go to Iraq. He owned a home and thought his life was going pretty well. Sometimes life is an illusion.

Jeff has spent most of his adult life serving his country. He joined the regular Army right after high school and spent 12 years moving from place to place; Fort Ord, CA, Italy, Fort Sill, Ok, Germany, Ft. McClellan, Al were all his temporary homes before finally serving in the Gulf War, commonly known as Operation Desert Storm. He then joined the Army Reserve and except for a few years has been an active member. He was one year short of retirement when his life suddenly changed.

Since troops were no longer being trained to go to Afghanistan the Army eliminated his job and could not or would not find him a replacement. They literally forced him out as an active member of the Reserve and left him on his own to find a civilian job. For the last couple of years he has applied for every job that came up with no luck. He even volunteered to go to Afghanistan. He was close to extinguishing his savings to survive and pay his bills.

Just when he had almost given up hope, he was offered a civilian job in Kuwait. It has taken several weeks to meet all the requirements which included an abundance of paperwork and a medical and dental checkup to assure the Kuwaiti Embassy that he is fit to work in their country for a year. All that remains is for his Visa to arrive and his flight to be arranged.

He will soon be leaving on a jet plane for another adventure. Kuwait is a long ways away, but with email it is as close as if he were still in the U.S. I know he is going to do a great job with his new assignment of running their driving school and I believe it will lead to something even better.

So, I am saying bon voyage Jeff, enjoy this unique opportunity to grow! Always remember that I am very proud that you are my son.