Day 2 - Graduation

Thursday was graduation day. The ceremony started at 9 am, so we were there bright and early. After the welcome one of the sergeants that was picked by the class spoke. Then they said they were honoring 2 graduates. The first one was a "distinguished honor graduate" and the second was an "honor graduate". The second one was Andy - he was second in his class. We were really proud to hear that!

Here he is standing in front after being recognized. They tell them to stand straight and be serious.

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They had one last formation after the ceremony. Andy is in the middle with the sunglasses on. This was probably the most relaxed formation they have had!

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We had to wait for 4 hours while he had all his papers processed, and then he was allowed to take us to the hanger where he worked and studied the Apache helicopters. Bob was able to get in one and Andy had a great time showing us all the different Apache's in this hanger. You should have seen the smiles on both of their faces!

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This is Andy with Sgt. Keyes. He was Andy's favorite instructor.

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Here is the building he has been living in since September.

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The name of his group was the "Gators". This little display of alligators was in the front of the building. There were a few more ceramic alligators in the flowerbed.

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After we had him and his belongings all packed up, he took us all around the base. This is the James river which runs alongside the base. It's a pretty river. They didn't show up in this picture, but there is a whole fleet of boats that are stored by the Navy down the river. It was quite a sight.
That's enough for today. Tomorrow I'll tell you of our driving adventures after leaving the base.