Mom to mom, can we talk?
I was in the garden section the other day at a local store when a I saw a dear friend approaching. She smiled and I smiled back. Her son just left for Army BCT a week ago. We started talking about gardening, and then she said “I need to talk with you! I don’t know anything about this Army stuff!” I felt so honored and we set a time for a chat.
When my son went in I didn’t even know there was a national organization for Blue Star Mothers. I was very uneducated on being a military parent. Blue star parents need information. When a soldier is unmarried, more often than not, his mother and/or father will become the primary support for him. They will be the ones managing his affairs stateside when he’s deployed and they will be the ones to candidly make the funeral arrangement details before he ships off. Since my husband joined after my son, I literally had no idea what to expect as a parent. I had other family members who have served, but being a mother of a soldier is quite an honor and a special position.
I am told “there is information out there geared for parents of soldiers.” Well, maybe there is, but it is not obvious. My husband swears that Recruiters give these young recruits a packet of information for their parents. I don’t know a single Blue Star mom who has really seen this elusive packet filled with the knowledge and wisdom we seek. Usually all we get is a ship date, and maybe a bag or t-shirt if he didn’t want it.
There are sites and resources on line. I would have to say that blogs were the number one source of information for me — that is until I became a military spouse. Once my husband was in the system the flood gates of information opened and I finally had some resources at my fingertips. I had names, numbers, accounts, and everything I needed to make informed decisions. Now, I know and understand why a military spouse would have greater access to information than a mother or father, grandparent or sibling of a soldier, but a little more than nothing would be nice.
Back to my friend. She had the look. You know the one I am talking about — the one that says “My son has vanished into thin air, I got a 2-minute phone call and I don’t think I’ll ever see him again…” It feels that way at first. I am going to list the topics we talked about during our chat, and then over the course of the next couple of weeks I am going to expound on each of them. This post will be updated with the links to the various related posts. Here are the topics we covered in our “Blue Star Mom to Blue Star Mom” luncheon.
1. Stages of BCT and what he will be learning.
2. What is AIT and when does it happen?
3. What if he gets injured in training?
5. Will he have to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan? If so, when will he get orders?
6. What is my role as a parent in supporting my soldier?
Also, if you read this blog and you would like your own Blue Star parent question answered, please feel free to post it here or write to me at claire@kneedeepinthehooah.com I do not know all of the answers by any stretch of the imagination, but I will be researching them and asking those who do know a LOT more about it than I do… (you know guys like CJ and Troy!)
