Ranger School Graduation Day (Friday, April 1st, 2016)

I woke up several times during the night to the sound of pouring rain and thunder.  The weather has been beautiful the past two days, but the weatherman has been predicting rain, and it looks like it is here.  

Our son (in-law) will be graduating from Ranger school today, and the graduation is outdoors, so of course we have been hoping against all odds for sunny skies and a nice warm day.  But as we got moving, the rain continued to fall, and as we made our way down stairs for breakfast, it still continued to fall.  So we got dressed for rainy weather and left the hotel at about 7:30 a.m.  As we made our way toward Fort Benning, the rain continued to fall.

We made it to Victory Pond, on Fort Benning Army Base by about 8:00 am.  They had not opened the gates yet, but we wanted to get there early and get good seats.  This is definitely a once in a life time graduation, and we wanted to savor every moment of it.

Ten months ago, our son (in-law) left Colorado for training in Fort Benning, Georgia.  First he attended IBOLC, which we refer to as officer's boot camp, and then continued directly into Ranger School.  It has been a very long, very difficult road for all of us, but I'm sure especially for him, although he will never tell us that!  He's a very, very strong person both physically and especially mentally! We are so proud of how he and our daughter have handled this very difficult, strenuous time in their young lives together.

As we sat and waited for graduation time, we had a chance to observe the beauty of Victory Pond and see the obstacle course, which was one of the first things the soldiers had to do when they entered Ranger School. It was very worthwhile to get there so early so we could just sit back and absorb it all before the masses starting coming in.  The serenity of this place is surreal.

Steve commented a couple times about how powerful it all felt. We were here today at this beautiful pond to observe this wonderful graduation but also to reflect on how dreams of other soldiers had been shattered at this same location when they weren't able to satisfactorily complete the obstacles.  We were both very emotional thinking about it all and were so PROUD of our son (in-law) for making it through!

It is truly humbling to think about the training they have received here at Fort Benning in Camp Rogers, as well as the mountains of Georgia and the swamps of Florida.  

Shortly before the ceremony started, we were joined by our son (in-law's) family and their close friends (husband, wife and two young kids....so cute!) that had also made the trek for the glorious occasion.  The husband of the friends, who is also in the Army, was the pastor that married our daughter and son (in-law) 10 months ago, so it was very nice to see them again.  

Our daughter also had a chance to take pictures with some of the other ranger wives that she has become so close to through all of this.  And although they talk daily, this will be the first time they will meet in person.  Now that's a great support group!

Our daughter with her friend Kathy.

 Ranger School graduation usually starts with the soldiers demonstrating some of the skills that had been taught during the last 3 months, but today since the weather was so bad, they cancelled the demonstration.  We were so sad, since this would be our only chance to ever get a glimpse of what these men have been through and what they have learned over the last three months.  

But as the actual graduation ceremony started, the rain stopped. The guest speaker did a great job, reminding the soldiers that although Ranger School seemed like the hardest thing they would ever do, they would now have to go our into the world as Army Rangers and live up to everything that stands for.  He kept his speech short, and then it was time for the students to receive their Ranger tab.  The tab is pinned on to their uniform by someone of their choosing.  Our son (in-law) chose our daughter, his wife, to pin his tab on, but he also asked his mom and me to join them for that part of the ceremony.  It was such an honor for him to include me, so I did my best to take good pictures so they will have lots of memories to enjoy through the years.  

Our son (in-law) is the only one with a grin on his face.  I love this picture!!!

Our daughter pinning on his Ranger tab

Our son (in-law) with his mom

Steve put together a video of the tab pinning for class 4-16.  It looks a little bit chaotic, but it was so much fun to experience. The quality of the video isn't the greatest as he only had a little point and shot camera.....I had the good camera with me at the pinning....sorry!  We hope you enjoy this. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzcxzNsJTgs&nohtml5=False

As the families finished tabbing their soldiers and the ceremony concluded, it once again began to pour.  The soldiers had to stand in the rain, but the families returned to their seats in the covered bleachers as the ceremony was called to a close.  

At this point, it was raining hard.  These poor guys!  But I guess they are used to being wet after the swamps of Florida

And then, once again the rain stopped, so that we could all join our soldiers on the field to celebrate their accomplishment.  

Our son (in-law) with his parents

And with us!

With his grand parents

Family friends that came in for the graduation

 There was even a proposal at Ranger graduation.  We didn't know them, but it made for a very special day.

She said YES!

It was a very humbling day thinking about what these men have been through for the last three months, and the culmination of their effort here today.  We are so proud of all that our son (in-law) and all the other Rangers have accomplished together!  

We waited for the parking lot to clear out, and then headed out to get some lunch.  We decided to swing by the hotel and change, and then went to a new restaurant called Mongo Fire Pit.  It is a mongolian BBQ restaurant,  where you choose your vegetables, then your meat, then your sauce.  

They cook it up for you and then deliver it to your table. Sometimes it is hard to get the sauce mixture right at these types of restaurants, but Steve and I both nailed it!  And they have brown rice, which is great!

We really enjoyed what we made, and had plenty of leftovers for a snack in the car tomorrow.

We left the hotel again at about 7:00 to meet up with everyone for a 7:30 dinner at Mabella's Italian Steakhouse.  It is in a beautiful historic building in downtown Columbus.

The happy couple reunited at last.....at least for a few more days!

There wasn't a bad meal in the house, and the company was fabulous!  It was so nice to spend this time with our son (in-law) and so many of the people who have been such an important part of his life.  

What a glorious day!