Bootcamp Letters- Fellow BYC member GoatWalker & friend

[ShelterGirl]

Okay guys, gals, chicks, hens, roos....you know...

I have yet to recieve any other letters or updates regarding miss Kate, known as GoatWalker on here.

But at this moment I am typing her up a letter and have just included all previous words of encouragement and best wishes from BYC members.

Before I get this printed and mail it tomorrow, would anyone like to send her any more kind words or thoughts?

She is currently in boot camp to become a United States Marine. She left on June 6th and will be there for three months (coming back sometime in September).

Also, one of our friends who also left for Parris Island with her is currently in the recovery unit. He fractured his left thumb, and was found to have MRSA (a serious, sometimes deadly staph infection) from having an ingrown hair on his head. Luckily, they caught it early enough to start treating it. Taylor was pulled from boot camp, and spent his birthday (July 15th) in recovery. This all means that while he had intended to graduate this September with Kate, he cannot. They have to start him from scratch in late September and he must spend another 3 months training again.
If you have any thoughts or words for him, you can include them too. I have his address as well and need to write to him again.

Please address your comment as To Kate: (GoatWalker also accepted

) or To Taylor:

I know some of you may not know them, but this will be an intense time for them. Please keep a fellow BYC member and our other friend, Taylor, in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks everyone!

 

[turney31]

Thank you so much for your service. I'll hug a chicken for you!

 

[easttxchick]

Please tell her her buddies over at The Duck Group on FB miss her and are so proud of her!

 

[Dunkopf]

Are you including some cookies? When my mother would send a care package with choc chip cookies I became popular real fast. Especially if they came while we were in the field

 

[ShelterGirl]

We are currently only able to send plain white letters with no decorations in plain white envelops. =/

 

[redhen]

Tell her that Redhen said shes proud of her and that shes a strong chick and she CAN do it. Just hang in there....

 

[debilorrah]

Do you have an address for her? I am sure ALOT of us would send her a note.....

 

[ShelterGirl]

I'm not sure how many she is already getting from her family and friends here now. I wanted to try and get everything into one letter so that it was easier for her. She cannot write back though- even her "free time" consists of cleaning her gun and much preparation. PM me if anyone is interested in writing though.

 

[TouchO'Lass]

To Kate/PVT ?:

Doc here: PI is hard. Beyond hard. I've been there. I've seen it.

Here's the deal. YOU are stronger than anything they throw at you. Really.

YOU are going to be a MARINE! VERY few can say that... MORE IMPORTANTLY: YOU are going to be a WOMAN MARINE! Harder still.

You are being humiliated, degraded, harassed...

So what?! When all is said and done: Where are the bruises? Where is the damage? Shrug it off, KID! Get over yourself!!

Concentrate on the end game:

One day, you'll be surrounded by sharks when your ship has been hit. Your shipmates will need you to round them up, give them strength, give them faith...

One day, you'll be surrounded by Iraqi's when your convoy has been sidetracked. You'll be in a sandstorm of sh** and YOU will be the one that has the clear head, saving your fellow Marines because you didn't let a little flack hurt your little feelings...

YOU are going thru the TOUGHEST training ANY military force goes thru. And this from a Navy bubba...

That is absolutely amazing. Amazing. You are amazing.

Keep your mouth shut. That way, your ears are open. As mean and angry as your instructors are, THEY just MIGHT KSS!

It's hard. You're harder...

Chief O' sends...

 

[TouchO'Lass]

Quote:
Shelter Girl, I was a Navy Hospital Corpman (medical bubba) at PI: Please know that your Kate is going thru a course of training that NOone in the civilian world could possibly understand, and at PI? DAMMIT hot this time of year and those recruits are beyond exhausted at the end of a training day.

Know that she is thinking of you, but sometimes, writing home is just not in the their exhausting schedule. She may get letters from you on a routine basis, or she may get them as one big chunk. Even in Navy bootcamp, which is easier, I wasn't allowed to write home for the first 4 weeks of training...

IF YOU SEND COOKIES OR OTHER TREATS, MAKE SURE YOU SEND ENOUGH FOR 50 OR MORE RECRUITS!! Their packages are treated much the same as a prisoner's. Keep in mind that anything "special" brings her in to the spot light of her DI's. Do that, and her recruit life becomes even more difficult!! When in boot camp, you NEVER want to draw attention to yourself. If she asks, by all means send the treats.

Let her know how proud you are. Let her know how strong SHE is. Let her know how many people are out here rooting for her. DON'T bring her into the spotlight...

And I really hope you get to travel to PI for her graduation. It is one of the most moving ceremonies I have ever been to...

I wish you all the best. And I salute PVT Kate...oooo-RAH!