Thursday, August 26, 2010

Chris's 4th letter received August 26, 2010

On August 23, 2010 Chris wrote:

So I'm finally out of the hospital and after being shuffled around to a few different medical platoons, I've made it to my new home for the next few months... P.E.B. (Physical Evaluation platoon). This platoon consists of around ten recruits that have various injuries that the Marine Corps considers too busted up to keep training. So all we can do now is wait until our injuries heal and the medical boards clear us to go home. The doctors say I should be here until late October or early November, which is when I was supposed to graduate anyway. The good news is that I'm still earning a decent paycheck while I'm here. I will likely receive disability compensation, and the VA will pay for 48 months of college at almost any university. Plus, I get to come back home to my amazing wife, which is the icing on the cake. The bad news is that I will likely have lasting pain and nerve damage to my right hand for the rest of my life.

The drill instructors treat us pretty well here at P.E.B., at least in comparison to regular recruits that are still training. We share our squadbay with other recruits from R.S.P. (Recruit Separation Platoon). They are the rejects of recruit training- suicide attempts, non-conformists, failed drug tests, and fraudulent enlistments. These idiots are also waiting on clearance to go home but with a less than honorable discharge. Our D.I.s treat them like crap and rightfully so. There is a lot of animosity between us, but it's fun.

But P.E.B. really isn't a bad way to spend the next few months...We get 3 hot meals a day, 8 hours of sleep per night, a lot of free time during the day to write letters, read books, and even watch a little television. Some Saturdays we get to go to the M.C.X. to buy snacks and sodas. I had my first coke in over a month last Saturday, and it was phenomenal. I can't wait to buy a Dr. Pepper this weekend. There's been talk of going bowling and eating at Subway, but it sounds like wishful thinking to me.

I appreciate all the prayers and concern from friends and family. If you have a couple minutes, write me a letter! It's all we have to look forward to. Until next time...

Rct. Hughes

No comments:

Post a Comment