In Brandon's Words: Letter Dated Oct 10

Here is the latest letter from Brandon. It was written after our phone conversation last week, but before he got my most recent letter.  So that is why he mentions the jeep's brakes but not the starter.  And here is a little video of a game the girls and I play.

October 10, 2012
Hi Beautiful,

I love you, and I am thinking about you all the time.  Don't worry I still compartmentalize and forget about you when I have to focus on other things, but you do cross my mind more than once per day.

I am so glad that you were able to buy the girls and Derrick some socks and other clothes.  I am so glad that it almost made you cry.  Knowing that make me very happy.  I am very happy to be doing this difficult thing for you and them.  It is very rewarding and worth it to hear things like you don't have to worry about spending too much money.  I am glad that you bought things that we have wanted and needed for a long time.  Don't worry about me - I am not jealous in any way.  I get to go on daily adventures and get paid for it.  I get to work out and get paid for it.  I get to play with guns and get paid for it.

The drill sergeants are funny, mean, knowledgeable, and willing to teach.  It sucks waaaaaaay more than USU - but at least I'm getting paid for it.  And the suckiness has an end time.  So don't worry about me not being able to buy things I want and/or need right now.  There will be a time and a place for that later.

Thanks so much for fixing the jeep and getting the brakes fixed - be sure to tell _____ thanks for working on it too.  I am so glad I don't have to worry about not being able to get the car fixed.  And I am so glad that Heavenly Father blessed us for so long with the brakes.  I'm curious how it runs now, any different? any better?

***
I am still doing pretty good here at Basic Training.  This week we were qualifying with our weapon (M4 Carbine).  Which means we have to not only be a pretty good shot, but be able to hit random pop-up targets.  We have to hit at least 23 out of 40 to qualify and I am slightly worried after today.  Last week I hit 15 out of 20 which I equated to 30 out of 40 which I didn't think was so bad.  But today I had to wear my full "Battle Rattle" suit.  Which is my bullet proof vest, tactical vest (the one with all the pockets and crap all over it), helmet with very crappy straps on it, and our eye protection and knee pads and elbow pads.  All of this on me makes me a lot heavier than normal and it is very hard to twist my body in the right direction to shoot.

Today I shot 3 times 40 targets.  And my two best scores were 19 and 22.  I don't even remember what the lowest score was.  But I felt pretty dumb. I just need to remember that everyone (including me) is praying for me and I can do it.

Today on the last time I shot I realized that I needed to get rid of some things that were distracting me.  All of the stuff I listed I have to have on to qualify, but the sling for the rifle (webbing that you hang it on your shoulder with) is not necessary and was irritating me beyond all belief.  So I took that off.  For the first 30 shots I am laying on my stomach and I have the chest plates and vest pressing into my chest.  That's not so bad, but when you have dog tags on it gets a little irritating.  So I took them off and put them in my pocket.  That seemed to help a lot.

After doing this I got my high score of 22 which is almost qualifying.  I figured a long hot day out in the sun with that equipment on was taking its toll and I was just too tired to get a better score. I do think that tomorrow I will do a lot better, and I will be able to get a better score.  We'll see.

You were worried that I would be mad about _______.  I told you, you are in charge.  Thank you for letting me know.  And I fully support your best decisions with everything.

One of the main reasons I married you was because you were smart and could make really good decisions.  I'm glad that this is true.  I'm also glad that you did ______.  So no worries.

I love you Valerie for writing to me and keeping me informed on what you are doing.  And telling me great and exciting stories - and funny stories- about home.  It means a lot to me that you are there and I can count on you the way I do.

On that note be sure to thank everyone who has written me.  I love letters and hearing about what is going on with everyone.  Because of all the [letter writing] effort - everyone's relatives in my bay included - we are getting mail pretty regularly.  We got mail last night and tonight.  It's fun to have lots of letters.

I better let you go sweetie.  I love you and will still keep in touch.

Love,

Brandon