DogTag

I've gotten letters pretty regular now and each of them has told about Cody's day. It's been really busy getting up early, doing PT drills, learning shooting skills, etc. All of the letters have been just basic day to day updates but, one letter had a welcome surprise. He said that he had recieved an extra set of dogtags and had sent the extra one home to me. When I pulled that dogtag out of that envelope, you would have thought I'd been given a diamond ring!! I held that little piece of tin in my hand so tight almost as if I were holding him. As I opened my hand to read his name and ID the tears just flowed. That little piece of metal was the most precious thing I'd been given. For Cody to think about sending it home to his Mama was the sweetest gift of all. I now have that piece of metal with me every minute of the day. It represents more that you can imagine just having a little piece of him. Boy, this is gonna be a long couple of months.
Now, today I got a letter from the Commander at the base telling what you could and could not send to the soldiers. At the bottom of the DO NOT SEND list was...baked goods and packages...OH BOY!! I have just committed TWO of those. First, the package containing the phone charger and then the package of pound cakes! But, in my defense, CODY TOLD ME TO SEND THESE THINGS!! I just hope that he hasn't gotten in any trouble for these. Maybe one of his future letters will inform me of this. Oh well, can't undo the wrong.
His letter yesterday was full of frustration. He said that he had several in his platoon that (in his words) 'don't give a shit'. He said that they wouldn't shut their mouth when in formation, wouldn't get out of bed when they were supposed to, and tried to tell everybody else what to do. The drill sargents were basically letting the other platoon members straighten things out. He was wanting to go to the drill sargents and ask them to be harder on everyone so that something would start to take shape. There are a few of them that truly want to do good and that are trying to be leaders. He has always wanted perfection and it is frustrating to him when other's don't try. Hopefully, these few slackers won't extend their basic training period.
On another note, I heard from Hunter Brown on Friday and he was almost to Fort Benning, GA. So, thankfully, he has gotten to get started without too much hassle. I know he was dissappointed when he didn't get to go on time but, at least he's not been held up now. Good luck Hunter and I know you'll do great!