Green Ramp

Edward called yesterday morning to tell me they would be home in the afternoon.  This time, the Army chartered a Delta flight and still landed at Green Ramp on Fort Bragg.  Green Ramp is the collection of hangers for outbound and inbound soldiers (mainly used for pre and post deployments).  As the day went on, their arrival time also moved...up!  The plane had caught an 85 mph tailwind (the only good thing about the terrible winds we've been having), and they ended up arriving about an hour and 45 minutes earlier than planned.  I scurried around to pick the kids up early from preschool and school (they still managed to be there to get credit for a full day-checked out after 1:00 PM), and we made it to see the plane.

 

The road leading out to Green Ramp is a long and winding one.  Once you turn in it, you completely wind around the airfield, which is really cool because you can see tons of military aircraft, many of which are landing or taking off.  There are several hangers, and overall, it's just a neat place to see.  As we started our winding, curving drive, we noticed an "out of sorts" non-military aircraft landing and beginning its taxi...thanks, Delta for bringing home our favorite guy.  I think by being on the road to the hanger when the plane landed, we had a great view of the plane and its whole taxi/landing procedures.  The kids LOVED it.  We quickly parked, went into the right hanger, and the back doors were open to this.  This is the view from the doorway of the hanger, so again, we had an awesome view.  I'm so glad it was a nice day.  When Edward came home last January, it was late at night so very dark, cold, and pouring down rain.

Waiting for the soldiers to exit the plane...luckily, our favorite guy was the second or third off.

Edward's phone, which was left on his bunk bed in New Mexico, should be rejoining us next week.

 

So, Edward is home for awhile until the real deployment, which will come much sooner than we would like.  I think pre-deployment training is as much for the families to get ready for deployment as the soldiers.  The kids did really well while he was gone, and I ran around here like a crazy person getting them to all of their activities.  The kids know our motto is: "Mommy is one person.  We will still do activities and sports, but since Mommy is one person, we may have to miss things every now and then."  I have to say I was most impressed with Luke.  He really did well, and last deployment, he had the most trouble.  He is very, very attached to Edward, and it was very hard on him, especially since we had just moved a couple weeks prior.  This time around, I wanted him in karate to positively express any frustrations, and so he's been doing karate a couple of months.  Luke loves karate, and I really think it is one of the reasons he was able to cope so well.  Granted, this was *only* three weeks, but still, he rocked it.  Way to go, Luke!