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son is deploying

ecofarm said:
It was 20+ years ago, so things may have changed (certainly the numbers have, hopefully to scale with the economy) but my situation was:

GI Bill+College Fund (two different things when I was in, only combat arms got the GI Bill part)

I received $1000 per month while in school full time. A semester was 3.5 months and cost about $500 tuition at the community college. That left $3000 per semester for other expenses. That covered rent, food, gas... all my expenses.
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The big selling points of the post-911 GI Bill are full tuition up to the most expensive public college of your state of residence and a housing allowance equivalent to the BAH for an E5 w/o dependents for the locality. And of course 100% transferability to a spouse or child. I know when I was in college I lived on a lot less than E5’s BAH.
 
biglawnmower said:
hello,

didnt want to discuss this too much with my wife. shes terrified enough as it is. looking for advice on how to best be there for a member of your family who is deployed.

my boy is deploying to the middle east. he starts pre mobilization training (might have butchered the name of that training but hopefully someone understands what that is) in the near future.

how often can we make contact with him? should he buy a computer? do you know how often he can call us from his base?

any assistance would be greatly appreciated
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Try to relax as best you can. Breathe is a great suggestion. My son was deployed for 3 tours in the Korengal Valley (the worst of the worse). He was hit by two suicide vest bombers during a single incident/attack in a different region. My son too was Army Infantry Ranger.

Learn to use Skype. Send care packages with whatever he can think of that he can't get over there. I found it actually helped to follow/research what was actually going on in his particular theater of operations (others may be different in this respect).

It might help to realize the enemy cannot take on our forces in a haphazard engagement. This dictates the tactics they can use in most all theaters of operation. The enemy is mandated to a small set of tactics. To be successful requires careful planning on their part some time in advance so they can concentrate their forces and plan tactically. This makes information as to the likely whereabouts of our troops the single most vital piece of information they can obtain. Refrain from any such discussions. An example may help not only you but might be good for him to keep in mind.

Years ago we had a president named Bill Clinton who loved to pop into McDonald's for the occasionally Big Mac and Fries. This was of course quite a security concern. However, since these trips were quite spontaneous with no pattern as far as which McD's he went to, nor were they conducted on a fixed schedule security didn't need to be quite so tight. As long as they changed up the location and timing they could be fairly sure no potential assassin would be lying in wait. A fairly robust security force and no time to plan the attack would help maintain security. However, anytime there was a planned engagement or meeting time and place this became an entirely different manner. This is why inaugurations have absolutely insane security measures. Assassins could theoretically plan 4 years in advance knowing the exact place and exact hour of their potential target. Planned meetings must be carried out with the utmost security as it gives the enemy the one thing they MUST have to concentrate their forces and this requires planning and the knowledge of time and location. Make sure he keeps this in mind and can prepare accordingly.

It took the Soviets way too long to figure this out. Often someone thought to be friendly will suggest future meetings to obtain the needed advantage. Of course this cuts both ways and can be used by our guys as a means of drawing out the enemy with a little early planning as well. So while in fixed compound they do receive the occasional attack but are well prepared to respond. While on maneuvers it is key to restrict enemy intelligence as much as possible. Whenever prior knowledge of time and location may have been compromised it is paramount to maintain full preparedness. I'm sure he understands this but it never hurts to remind them of the mindset the enemy must employ.

For the most part remember, in general he is very safe and his buddies and training will keep him safe. Statistically everything should turn out fine. Perhaps safer there than Chicago.
 
biglawnmower said:
kindle is a very good idea. he loves to read and i am not sure if he is allowed to bring books with him. this is all very sudden.
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If he has a Kindle or the app get him a kindle unlimited subscription and he will be able to have ten books with him at all time and down load new ones whenever he gets WIFI access. Books don't take much memory to download. Send him care packages every once and awhile. He and his buddies will enjoy that. My mom did that for me. It was great and I shared with the guys. I wish your family fair winds and good fortune on this endeavor. Hopefully he comes back with plenty of good stories some souvenirs and that's it.
 
Skeptic Bob said:
He’ll be allowed to bring books. But he will have a weight allowance and books eat that up, which is why e-readers are so good for deploying soldiers.
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Best thing ever invented IMHO.
 
LibDave said:
Try to relax as best you can. Breathe is a great suggestion. My son was deployed for 3 tours in the Korengal Valley (the worst of the worse). He was hit by two suicide vest bombers during a single incident/attack in a different region. My son too was Army Infantry Ranger.

Learn to use Skype. Send care packages with whatever he can think of that he can't get over there. I found it actually helped to follow/research what was actually going on in his particular theater of operations (others may be different in this respect).

It might help to realize the enemy cannot take on our forces in a haphazard engagement. This dictates the tactics they can use in most all theaters of operation. The enemy is mandated to a small set of tactics. To be successful requires careful planning on their part some time in advance so they can concentrate their forces and plan tactically. This makes information as to the likely whereabouts of our troops the single most vital piece of information they can obtain. Refrain from any such discussions. An example may help not only you but might be good for him to keep in mind.

Years ago we had a president named Bill Clinton who loved to pop into McDonald's for the occasionally Big Mac and Fries. This was of course quite a security concern. However, since these trips were quite spontaneous with no pattern as far as which McD's he went to, nor were they conducted on a fixed schedule security didn't need to be quite so tight. As long as they changed up the location and timing they could be fairly sure no potential assassin would be lying in wait. A fairly robust security force and no time to plan the attack would help maintain security. However, anytime there was a planned engagement or meeting time and place this became an entirely different manner. This is why inaugurations have absolutely insane security measures. Assassins could theoretically plan 4 years in advance knowing the exact place and exact hour of their potential target. Planned meetings must be carried out with the utmost security as it gives the enemy the one thing they MUST have to concentrate their forces and this requires planning and the knowledge of time and location. Make sure he keeps this in mind and can prepare accordingly.

It took the Soviets way too long to figure this out. Often someone thought to be friendly will suggest future meetings to obtain the needed advantage. Of course this cuts both ways and can be used by our guys as a means of drawing out the enemy with a little early planning as well. So while in fixed compound they do receive the occasional attack but are well prepared to respond. While on maneuvers it is key to restrict enemy intelligence as much as possible. Whenever prior knowledge of time and location may have been compromised it is paramount to maintain full preparedness. I'm sure he understands this but it never hurts to remind them of the mindset the enemy must employ.

For the most part remember, in general he is very safe and his buddies and training will keep him safe. Statistically everything should turn out fine. Perhaps safer there than Chicago.
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sorry to hear about your son being attacked. my son said they watched a documentary about the korengal valley in infantry school to see first hand what the combat is like in that particular region.
 
Skeptic Bob said:
The big selling points of the post-911 GI Bill are full tuition up to the most expensive public college of your state of residence and a housing allowance equivalent to the BAH for an E5 w/o dependents for the locality. And of course 100% transferability to a spouse or child. I know when I was in college I lived on a lot less than E5’s BAH.
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It's transferrable if you are willing to reenlist past the 10 year mark ;) Forget that. :D
 
Ask HIM what he needs - one time and regularly. For example, we were asked to send a battery operated electric razor, 5 hour energy drink and Red Bull, which we regularly sent cases of. Didn't need candy or stuff. If deployed in combat you don't get to have "stuff." He's not going to summer camp. The razor was for himself when on extended patrols. He bartered the Red Bull and the little 5 hour energy drinks were for him to help him keep awake and small enough to hide in his pocket. The rules on paper technically prohibiting such caffeine drinks on paper, but he said were ignored by everyone as long as not flaunted.
 
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Skeptic Bob said:
The big selling points of the post-911 GI Bill are full tuition up to the most expensive public college of your state of residence and a housing allowance equivalent to the BAH for an E5 w/o dependents for the locality. And of course 100% transferability to a spouse or child. I know when I was in college I lived on a lot less than E5’s BAH.
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The problem is a few years ago, the bill was butchered.

Under the last President, the requirement for in-state tuition was dropped. And if you are unable to prove you have resided in the state you are going to school in for 3 years, you now have to pay out of state tuition rates.

That smacked me when I moved back to California after 5 years in the Army, and found out I was ineligible for in-state rates. Also, they now stop all payments if you are on a school break. If the school spends 2-3 weeks between semesters (most do), all payments stop and you have to file again to restart them.

When the Post-911 bill was passed it was awesome. Today, it is a shadow of what it originally was. And transferring it can be very hard, if not impossible. I could only afford to use about 9 months of it myself, then had to rejoin the working world. It simply did not cover my expenses.
 
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