GRADUATION POST- Looking to the future

Source is here.

I did it!  Or, rather, I will do it, since I haven't even gone to BMT as I type this.  However, I wanted to share with you information about graduation so you will know where to go and what to do!



There are events Thursday through Sunday of WOT 8 (8th week of training)-  Hopefully, I will also have some day passes for the weekend to get off base and eat real food- I mean, spend time with family! 

Here is the official schedule of graduation events put together by AF Wing Moms.  This website also has information about lodging, things to do, travel tips, and a great collection of articles in the "perspectives" section. 

For the OFFICIAL official graduation schedule, you can find it at the USAF BMT  website, as well as a plethera of other information.

If you want to buy swag, this website is great- Basic Training Store.  It is for every branch in the military, too!  Everything from buttons, to coffee mugs, to banners and t-shirts.You can even add MY picture to it (so you'll have to order once I'm there). 

Unlike high school and college graduations, I will not be able to come and find you after the ceremonies.  I shall continue to stand at attention or parade rest until you find me for what's called the "tap out"- you will literally have to find me and tap my shoulder before I can move and hug you.  A great guide for this process is here, my favorite website for all things BMT.  (Really, check out her other posts- AimHighErin.com was part of the inspiration for me to join.)  I may know some wingmen that won't have family coming, or are a day late- I may ask you to tap her out and hug her, too. 

Also, I know I have sent out messages to people asking if they'd like to come to graduation.  I'm not looking to build a cheering section (but, hey- that'd be great), but I need some info if you do want to come.  The Air Force will do background checks on all adults attending, so I would need your full name, DL # and state issuing, and your birthdate.  You can give me your info and not come, since it is a long time from now and schedule for next week can be tough.  It is simply easier to add on to the list now rather than at BMT. Which brings me to another point. Whatever you do, DO NOT SURPRISE YOUR AIRMAN AT GRADUATION. There are countless stories of Airmen missing their families for entire days because they weren't planning on them being there- so they might join other wingmen or simply go off to do their own thing only to find out later (we won't have our phones) that people were here for them. 

**I go to BMT on January 14, 2014, and should graduate the weekend of March 13, 2014.