The Tucker Stories

Yesterday, Kelly got the keys to her library at Owen Elementary School and I got my Final DD-214!  So, Kelly can now be the bread winner whilst I putz around the house.  Naw, not really but it sounded good.  To me at least!  After the last of the Unaccompanied Baggage arrives today, we’re into the house re-arranging today and the house remodeling/repairs continue.

Cheers!!

Alright, we left Brussels  on Tuesday to fly back to Bragg, where I’m gonna retire from on Friday.  And that’s about the end of the goodness.

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Today, the Clan Tucker starts another Grand Adventure by moving back to the United States and me getting ready to retire from the US Army.  We’ve spent the last 1613 days enjoying European living and are really, really looking forward to returning to the US.  Sure, there are things we won’t miss, however, there are just as many things that we will miss.  Regardless, yet another adventure kicks off this weekend and I’m sure that it will be very exciting.  Now, if I could only find a job that does NOT require 6 to 12 month deployments on a rotating basis!!  Who’da thunk that working in the Tool Bin of Home Depot was SOOO demanding??!?!!??

Cheers!!

The movers have arrived to pack up the Tucker Clan’s lootz for shipping to the States.  We spent the weekend sorting through everything figuring out what we could be without for the next two months until >we< (finally!) move back to the States.  We also started our own Clean Sweep on the House That Harry Built, finding lost things, GIANT dust bunnies and trying to find places to put the “keep here” stuff!!  Today, the Kids are in school and Kelly and I will try to stay out of the way of the packing crew.  Kinda harrowing watching strangers rifling through your bestest finds of the whole day but the anticipation is building for the big GTFO!!  More to follow, I’m sure.

Cheers!!

Stick me with a fork like a Turkey dinner at Christmas, I am done!  My request for Voluntary Retirement has been approved by the Department of the Army!!  As of right now, I am 204 days away from starting Terminal Leave and 318 days away from being on the Retired List, 1 November 2010.  Go me!!  Then I will finally regain my Constitutional Rights after 25 years, 2 months and 22 days of serving the dictatorship that guards the Republic.  Seems like I’ll then have to get a job that has quantifiable, measurable results on a daily basis!!  Of course, I want to know what hooks the Army will have on me after I separate as I’ll be drawing 60% retirement of base pay and then whatever disability I get from the VA.  And that’s another fight altogether.

Cheers!!

My good MINI friend Art is also a very smart guy. Not because he knows me or loves his Tess as much as I love Maggie. Naw, he’s one of those guys that has the forty pound brain on the 17 inch neck. Smart with common sense.

His blog is good for a few laughs (which I freely plagiarize) and he does come up with some truly thought provoking topics, like this. Then he changes gears and engages that big brain.

Whenever I get into military stuff here, it’s usually the quiet kid in the corner type stuff; nothing flashy or shouty. This time, however, I’m gonna ramble on a bit. So, most of ya’ll would do well to wander by the remainder of this post as it’ll get into some military philosophy and/or opinion.

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The trick is to realize that for every one of the stories like this that you do hear about, there are scores more that never make it nearly as far.

Also, you have to realize that there are just as many folks out there who are still “fighting the good fight” making these stories possible.

RLTW

Found out Wednesday that my request to extend our stay in the Netherlands has been approved, so we should be here until at least August 2010.

This is a relief for me because I’d found out almost two weeks ago that I was on levy for Fort Hood, Texas. Now, though Kelly doesn’t like the idea of going back to Texas, the idea of being in the Big, Mechanized Army scares the be-jezam outta me!! I simply could not function with any of these organizations, simply because their mindset is all kinds of wrong!! Also, they’re out in the sandbox now and I don’t play well with Big Army.

But the real stress were the available choices if the extension request was not approved. I would have had to attend a briefing about this new assignment where I would have been asked if I’d take the assignment. If I said yes, we would be moving to Texas over the Christmas holidays. Merry Christmas!! If I tell the Army that I do not want this assignment, I would have to retire from the Army no more than six months from the briefing, which would be around February 2009. Again, Merry Christmas!!

So, with this extension request being approved, we’re settling in for the extended European vacation. Just today, Kelly and I were wandering around the Sittard Saturday market and I realized that I was really comfortable with the surroundings. Dunno if thats relief from the stress of the last couple of weeks or if it has sunk in that I’m here for the next couple of years. Of course, come August 2010, Nyssa would be finishing her Sophomore year and we’ll probably try this one more time!! That would put us up to August 2012!!! Yay!!

Cheers!!

UPDATE: I was able to get the paperwork from my levy packet today.  Seems that Big Army had me going to HHC, III Corps.  Worth a chuckle.

OK, after 22 years of the federal prison sentence, otherwise known as “serving in the Army”, I’ve become quite the cynic. I don’t appreciate folks trying to get me to drink the Kool-Aid and don’t mind saying so.

However, I recently saw a video over on YouTube that actually motivated me. Yeah, imagine that.

The video is of a graduation speech for a US Army Infantry OSUT battalion. The speaker is Lieutenant Colonel (now Colonel) Randy White, who I knew back at Fort Bragg, and he does an phenomenal job instilling esprit de corps into these new Infantry Privates. Understand, I was an Infantryman since 1986 and a Ranger since 1988. Though I am Signal now, my heart is still Infantry Blue.

More importantly, COL White makes a key point when he says “Don’t ever apologize for being an American. Don’t ever apologize for being number 1.” The last comment is a bit jingoistic, however, that is part of the American culture, being on top. And, with that, COL White stoked the ember of motivation in my heart and convinced me that I will no longer apologize for who I am or what I represent. Right or wrong, here I am. Deal with it.

Here is a transcript of his speech and it makes for good reading. Ejoy! Read the rest of this entry »