Thirty-Nine

We recently had a Cook Out. The boys all bought and cooked a lot of food. They had hamburgers, steak, bratwurst, chicken and ribs. There was probably enough for 30 people! It was delicious though. We played music, grilled and played volleyball at the nearby Volleyball courts.They are all SO so competitive in any sport. This was no different. Eventually I quit playing because Joshua kept getting mad when I would miss the ball! Haha. Ahhh. The joy of boys.

Let me preface all of this next story with this bit of information: If a soldier gets in trouble, he is given an Article 15 document. It's a bit like a write-up except it's a bit more hardcore. You can get discharged from the Army over it. The repercussions of an Article 15 is you lose half your pay for 60 days and have to work extra duty for 45 days. Extra duty means every day-even on work days/weekends/holidays- you work from the time you get off regular work until midnight. An article 15 is rough stuff. It's not every day that someone gets one and is usually given when the circumstances are insurmountable. Just before one of the most recent 4-day weekends, his sergeant major gave a big speech on underage drinking. He spoke about how he didn't want anyone doing it and anyone doing it would get in a LOT of trouble. Well of course, boys will be STUPID boys and Joshua's underage soldier went out and got drunk. He fell down and broke his nose. When he went to the hospital, they breathalyzed him and of course he had a lot of alcohol in his system. It's the perfect grounds for an article 15.
Joshua's sergeant major decided it would be a bright idea to implement a new rule due to this. The new rule states that the person over the soldier that gets an Article 15, has to work the 45 days with them as punishment for "bad leadership".. So that's exactly what we've been dealing with for a week now. Long long days and short uneventful weekends. Joshua's sweet Staff Sergeant has so willingly helped him on these duty days. He is always great about taking half of Joshua's shifts so that we can spend some time together and get some sleep! I have appreciated his help immensly.
They still haven't gotten our letter signed to be off post. I'm livid and am ready to go into each of their offices and pitch a fit. A big one. It shouldn't be this difficult. It has taken us a MONTH to get NOTHING done. Nothing. Why? Why?! Oh for no reason, of course. Ugh.
Next week is another field mission so I will be sitting here alone..again. And I can't even have my own house to sit alone in. Blah.

xoxo,
Hannah