Dad took us to a remote “tank farm” at Ft. Dix today where they repair tanks used in training. Above is 1Lt Johnston who graciously gave us a tour of Abrams tanks, tank recovery vehicles, personnel carriers and humvees. We got to climb up into the HUGE tank recovery vehicle and peek inside the troop carrier. Sammy enjoyed sitting in the humvee the most. He says that was his favorite vehicle. I especially appreciated seeing the equipment up close – it gives me a much better perspective on how the troops are spending their days. It is a really really tough life. I am amazed at how many people sacrifice so much in quality of life to serve the country. Lt Johnston has a baby herself and will be deploying in a few months. I asked for her unit’s patch so we could sew it to our seabag and remember her and the “guys” in her unit in prayer every night. She is with the 42nd ID.

From the tank farm we proceeded out on a tank trail to skirt around some “impact areas” – i.e. where the live fire lands. We got turned around at one point due to a live fire exercise, so we took a different route. As we were driving along, I was growing more curious about these “impact areas” and how they juxtaposed our driving route. Dad pointed out a red flag at one firing area and said that meant they were doing a live fire exercise there as well. So I finally asked – “Um, Dad – um, I’m cool with just heading to the gate? We’re not in an armored vehicle – we’re in a Saturn minivan!”

Dad just laughed and reminded me that he’d worked on the base for 6 months on these same tank trails designing movement patterns for a research study on some new locator equipment. That’s the best summary I can provide. He was hired on as a driver but convinced them that all his years in the Army doing logistics and planning would come in handy, and that he could help them be more efficient – get more out of the research. They signed him right up so he did that for the second half of his stint with the group. Pretty cool he was able to do that. So I laughed and enjoyed flying by all the police/FBI/CIA firing ranges.

Some other occurrences have made me chuckle. I was in getting an ultrasound yesterday to check on the wee package that came along space-a with us. (I found out I am pregnant four days ago!) I offered to take a video of the ultrasound so I could email it to my doctor in Hawaii. The OB/GYN who was seeing me was totally flummoxed by the idea. I turned the camera on and he was like “Is he watching it right now?!” The nurse was smiling 🙂 It was pretty funny. He was operating a quarter-million dollar machine and wondering how in the world I’d rigged up telemedicine from the tiny camera. So far so good on the blood tests and fetal growth. We are very hopeful and optimistic that this one will stay “put.” Mom complimented me on staying so even keel about it all despite the roller coaster months of trying and waiting, and losing one two months ago. I reflected on that, and it occurred to me that my attitude right now is the same one I have adopted every time Dave has gone to sea. You wait, you hope, you trust, but you don’t KNOW for sure until you see the whites of his eyes as he steps off the boat. Prayer helps a lot, too 🙂