The 10 Friends You Need at Each Duty Station

Maybe you can relate. Here are a few of my favorite kinds of friends. Which one are you? Which one am I for you? I think I’m different ones for different people, depending on their circumstances.

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Inside the Saddam Hole, December 2003

Alan and other members of his unit went over to the hole and took photos the next day.

Saddam Hussein was discovered on December 13th, and for you youngsters, Saddam Hussein was the President of Iraq from 1979-2003. He was a notorious figure due

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Salvation in Time of War

***This post is part of the series The Real Army Wives of Fort Hood. A new chapter appears each Monday….Okay, well I aim for Monday anyway! Enjoy! Click here for last week’s post.*** I am telling this particular story from my own faulty memory. Facts are as recalled, not necessarily completely accurate. While most of us were digging in to the second half of the year-long deployment, Sarah was preparing to welcome her husband Zack home from the war. Then […]

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Miserable Teaching with 20 boys & the Toothless Wonder

20 boys and the toothless wonder. story of my first week of teaching

***This post is part of the Real Army Wives series, which runs every Monday on storiesofourboys.com. For last week’s chapter click here.*** Sunday, Aug. 17, 2003 Oh, Alan, I missed you the MOST today! We had “Back to School” night, where we meet the parents. Everything was fine except instead of 22, I now have 25, and also this grandparent with two children in my class stayed after and basically threatened me. Yeah. This ignorant, toothless wonder, with a strong […]

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True Stories of Real Army Wives: My First Teaching Job

my very first teaching job. True Stories of Real Army Wives during deployment

Sun., Aug. 10, 2003 Alan, Hey Babe! Tomorrow is my first day of work. In case you haven’t yet gotten my previous letter, I got hired by Graham Elementary School downtown yesterday! Yay!! I’ll be making $32,000 this year. It’s a state charter school serving mostly low-income students, but it’s located in a church. Yeah, it’s different, but I’m excited about it. I’ll be teaching 3rd and 4th grade in one classroom, all subjects. It’s going to be tough. School starts […]

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Letters to War June 24, 2003: The Teaching Test Troubles

Letters to War June 24, 2003: The Teaching Test Troubles

******This post is part of the Real Army Wives series which runs every Monday on storiesofourboys.com. The series follows our journey through the 1st year of the Iraq war, 2003-2004. ********** June 24, 2003 Dear Alan, ……Operation Iraq is getting more news time now. The big issue is the mounting amount of coalition troop deaths since the official end of the war. Just this week there were at least 6 British troops killed, and American lives are constantly lost.

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Deployment Prep: Next Week for Sure We’ll Be Flying to Kuwait

Deployment Prep: Next Week for Sure We'll Be Flying to Kuwait. Our story of waiting for deployment. Fort Hood, Texas, 2003

*****This post is the 10th in the series The Real Army Wives of 2003, the true story of our young military marriage and the friends we made in the beginning of the War on Terrorism.***** Alan reported to work. We were so nervous and excited to begin his military career. Everything up to this point was training; now it was time for the real action to begin. He found his unit in a fury of battle preparing. Much of the gear […]

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Beginning to Meet the Real Army Wives of 2003

***This post is a chapter in the series The Real Army Wives of 2003, appearing each Monday morning on Storiesofourboys.com.*** Moving into a new house always makes me euphorically happy. What could thrill a feminine soul more than a fresh new house full of possibilities? I vividly remember each “not it” home we looked at when we arrived in Texas in January, 2003. But then we found “it.” We found THE ONE.

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