The Best Feeling Ever

This past Sunday was so exciting for my mom, Dana, and I because we got to see my brother and hang out with him most of the day! We weren't expecting to see him until the end of the week so it was a special treat to see him so many days earlier. So for anyone who wants to see their Marine a little earlier than expected, here's the story so you know what you gotta do!

The first thing is that you have to be okay with being a little creepy and kind of a stalker. My brother mentioned in his last letter to Dana that he found out that their company was going to go to a Padres vs. Yankees game that Sunday and how it would be so funny if she was there and ran into him. When Dana mentioned this to me Saturday night, obviously I jumped at the chance to go to see my brother. I did some snooping and found out that every Sunday home game, the graduating Marine company of that week gets to go to a Padres game. I looked further into it and found pictures from past games and zoomed in to figure out what section number they sit in---yep, I told you, you gotta be a little stalkerish! So Dana, my mom and I decided to get tickets to the game in a section right next to them just for the off chance we would get to see him.

We got there an hour early and saw them all come in so Dana and I kept our eyes peeled to see him. All of them looked alike and blended together and we missed him somehow! So we went to a DI and asked if this was company E. He said yes. Then asked if platoon 2115 was in there and he said yep they should be sitting there. He asked who we knew and we said Jason Nguyen. The guys were going to get food so he told us we could stand there and wait for him to come down or go up and find him.Another DI asked us if we were waiting for the one guy that went to college and when we said yes he told us Jason was the only one in the whole company who got a 100% on some test. I responded saying that didn't surprise me because he's so smart and the DI said, "Yep, way too smart for the Marines." It was fun to hear them talk fondly of my brother.

Dana and I kept waiting to see him. All we wanted was a glimpse! What we got was so much more than that. At first he was really shocked and confused and didn't know if he was allowed to speak with us but we had talked to one of the DIs there and he told us that my brother was more than welcome to talk to us and we can't get him into trouble because he is done and is now a Marine. Jason, being by the book like always, did not know how to react when he saw us. He made us go away, leaving Dana and I wanting to talk to him even more.

We went to get some refreshments and saw that so many of them kept coming out to get food (they each had to take out $20 and got to eat WHATEVER they want). So we decided to wait there for the off chance that my brother would come out. Obviously he would want nachos and a churro so he had to come out eventually. Sure enough we saw him come through the tunnel and we felt like we just saw a celebrity! He had us follow him into line where he was ordering food. We got to meet some of his closest friends and get our first real look at him. He instructed us to sit further at the top because thats where he was. Sidenote- Jason did order nachos, a churro, and a bag of m&ms.

When we got back in the stadium there was nowhere to sit directly near him so Jason decided to move all the way to the last row where the Marines were sitting and we got to sit directly behind him for 9 innings of the baseball game. We met more of his friends, sent their family and friends pictures and even called some of their family. It was such a special moment not only for us but also for all of them because this was the first time they've gotten any contact outside of the base for three months!

Jason's DI ended up asking him if he knew who we were and gave him a look that all the guys knew meant Jason was gonna be made fun of for a while but it was worth it. Surprising Jason is pretty hard to do so it was really fun to get this opportunity! He looks so fit now and seems to be really natural in this setting. He has made some great friends and even though it wasn't always easy, he made it with flying colors! We're going to get to see him at Family Day on Thursday and then he graduates on Friday! We were bummed we couldn't hug him or anything but it was still pretty awesome to spend a few hours with him and see him in his element. Enjoy the paparazzi pictures that we took. I'll post again after Family Day!

For future reference, they sit at the upper right deck at the games (sec. 325) so the best place to sit is section 323!

6 Days to Graduation!

Hey everyone!

So this is the last post I'm going to be doing before my brother graduates and is officially a Marine! We cannot wait to see him at family day then at his graduation! We are all so proud of him and his accomplishments so far.

So Jason said that everything is getting a little more hectic. They had their final drill and his platoon was pretty shocked because they got last place. They had to go first again which is a disadvantage because the drill masters eyes were fresh. Senior wasn't mad because he thought they looked great and deserved better than what they got. They now get to march like Marines which means they don't have to pick up their knees and get to walk a little more smoothly.

Now that they're so close to graduation, the squad is losing its military bearing since the DIs are getting a little more relaxed and its been bothering my brother. The other squad leaders and guides are acting like they're better than everyone and even acting like DIs and disciplining people and punishing them.

On the 23rd of July, they had a pre test day where the guys got tested on Marine Knowledge, navigation, weapons, and first aid. He said it was really easy but three people in his platoon failed. They were in the running to win the academic award but he's not sure now.

Jason says that his sergeant really cares about them because the night before the test he stayed up until 3 am quizzing people who needed help and was the only DI with them all day.

What is most exciting is that the guys got their orders today and Jason got seven days of recruiters assistance! He doesn't resport until August 27th and for those 7 days he works from 9-5 as a recruiter.

They are a part of a RTR group which is split into three Battalions. Each battalion has four companies. For 2nd battalion the have echo, Foxtrot, Golf, and Hotel. His battalion's nickname is Evil Echo and each company has six platoons. The Battalions have reputations too! 1st Battalion creates men (easy), 2nd Battalion makes Marines (semi-hard), and 3rd Battalion makes machines (hard). From the looks of it, these reputations are true because 3rd Battalion looks way more disciplined because they get ITed harder.

Appearance wise, obviously Jason is gonna look much more different than we are used to! He can grow out his hair a bit. A low regular cut is the lowest fade he is allowed. No sideburns, zero gradual up to a maximum of 3 inches on top. He still has to maintain his weight when he's out because his clothes are very slim fit and he still has to get weighed in.

They got to go to the Marine museum and got to hear from a Korean War Navy Cross recipient and his story was crazy! He's excited to bring us there on Family Day.

On Thursday they did their final PFT. He scored a first class score with 100 crunches, 12 pullups, and a 21:20 run time. His platoon got 2nd place!

Jason got to do a working party at the PX warehouse on Thursday and said it was super relaxing! He got a 30 minute lunch and stuffed his face so much he almost got sick, He got to monitor forming recruits packing bags and said it was really weird talking to recruits that are about to start training. While they were marching to the PX, his sergeant was moving their formation into other recruits way to see if they would move out of their way. He said that the DIs are starting to get pretty funny around them since they're so close to being done.

They got to do the rappel wall and in the morning they were only able to do a 20 ft test rope because it rained but later in the day the chief had them go back and got to rappel the big wall. He got to do the "hell hole" which is the free fall rappel without any wall to support and he said it was awesome!

That's pretty much all that he's been doing the last few days and the next time he writes us he'll be writing as a Marine!!!! I cannot believe he's already almost done! Time has flown by so fast and he might be writing his own post on here soon! Thanks to everyone for your continued support for him. We all appreciate it!