We had one other big event over Thanksgiving besides the holiday itself : Sailor/Husband/Father's reenlistment! Typically, when it is time to reenlist, the military member will do so at his/her command on a typical workday, with little to no fanfare other than a cake if someone remembers. However, if the person desires, they can do it just about anywhere they want, and can designate their own reenlisting officer, as long as that person is a commissioned officer and is willing to do so. We are lucky enough that my own brother just happens to be a former commissioned Naval Officer and is now a commissioned Air Force Officer stationed back home in Minneapolis! It is kind of rare that we are home at the same time and my brother is not off flying somewhere, so we decided to make the most of it by having him reenlist my husband while we were home on leave. We decided to have the ceremony at my dad's home post of the American Legion, figuring he would get a kick out of one of his son's reenlisting the other, and I think the old timer members of the American Legion enjoyed having some young guys around (fresh meat!) to listen to their stories!
For those military members out there, I know you can appreciate having the whole family around to witness the reenlistment, it's a big event for us! Here are some photos of the evening's festivities:
Prior to the ceremony my brother and husband enjoyed talking with the veterans hosting us and I got surprised by one of the old timers whipping out his iPhone to swap battle hymn ringtones with me!
Family members, not sure if Loch & Finn realize what's going on exactly
The first video is my brother administering "The Oath" to hubby, followed by a clip of him reading a letter from hubby's Commanding Officer back at the squadron.
The American Legion Members that hosted us were kind enough to open their private bar down in the basement and bought us a round of drinks afterwards. Here is Finnegan with his "round of Sprite", which he thought was very cool!
It often seems that we are stuck out here on the East Coast, living a life that none of our family sees and often feel alienated from the "real world" back home, but being able to do this with our family around helped us bring a little of our lifestyle back there, even if the uniform raised a few looks in the little town, lol! Lastly, a huge "Thank-You!" to my brother who did an amazing job, even recognizing the sacrifices made by myself and my children and putting a personal touch on such an important event. I have seen many reenlistments in the past 20 years, and he spoke more professionally and eloquently than any senior officer I have seen. Thanks, my "brotha from the same mutha" - can you do it again in 4 more years?!
