Shane's MARSOC Update

 

Well, for all of you always graciously checking in on Shane, here's an update for you! 

On March 4, he found out he got accepted to training for MARSOC- Marine Forces Special Operation Command. This is something he's wanted to do since joining the military, since his ideal is to be front-line and doing all of the intense stuff, whereas his current role has him as a self-proclaimed "keyboard warrior" at his desk leading his Marines all day. 

(The professional pics you see here are ones our friend took years ago when we found out he got accepted into Officer Candidate School for the USMC.)

MARSOC is basically the Marines equivalent of the Navy Seals. In other words, it's the best of the best. They are the special ops guys doing all of the intense, rigorous, and dangerous stuff. Shane is made for this- since he always gets rave reviews from the guys above him at work, and he is talented and skilled at exactly what this calls for, especially in a leadership and physical sense. 

You can probably guess that I wasn't completely onboard with Shane doing MARSOC, as it's extremely dangerous and they are gone for much of the time, but it's something he at least needs to try, so here we are. He always gives me the ultimate decision, but I can't take away his lifelong dreams and passions, so I find a way to make it through and find the positive.

For all of April, Shane was on base (about 20 minutes from us in NC) during the week, and he could come home for about 24 hours on the weekend each weekend. As pictured above, I was able to go on base and bring Jersey Mike's for a little family picnic dinner one of the evenings, but he couldn't ever leave base until the weekend. 

The first few days of him being gone are always tough me of course, but also for the dogs. Starting at around 5PM (when he usually comes home), they start looking outside for him. Up until it's bedtime, whenever they hear a car or truck drive by, they sprint to the window to see if it's him- even if they usually can differentiate the sound of his truck pulling onto the street from anyone else's.

I had a hard time the first day he left, and I definitely cried, just because it reminded me so much of deployment, and I did NOT want to go back to that same mental and emotional state of last year.

Caylor never usually lays by the front door, but when Shane is gone, she's ready and waiting.

Starting in May, he moved to the next phase in Virginia, and he will be gone for the entire month with zero communication again. Because of that, I am so done with sitting alone and waiting around with minimal community in North Carolina, so I came to my parents' house for the month of May. Me and the dogs are here! Lots of Facetimes with Shane are happening- up until May when we won't have communication for a month.

As far as what Shane shared about it in April, he had good days and bad days. He did not like the days they had to do exercises in the pool because that was super tough for him, and they basically had to do stuff to the point of drowning. He's used to being best of the best physically, but he said he's middle of the road with many of the other guys there now, so that was a tough transition for him at first. He did say that he doesn't want to do this forever, and he's had a really hard time being apart from me and the dogs this time around, but he does want to try it and show our future kids that you can commit to hard things and follow through. 

From what we've heard, it's absolutely insane what he will have to endure in May, but I absolutely know he will make it to the end. 

As of May 3, Shane said they started with 137 guys and are now down to 94- from guys quitting, being unable to do it, and being dropped. Wow.

Of course I want what he wants, but I wasn't excited for this at all...now, I am...because I plan on coming back to my parents' whenever he will be gone for extended times. If I'm doing this too, I want a life to look forward to too! I've been doing a great job so far of seeing the positives from it, so I can only pray that that continues. 

If he does make it all the way through (which he will!), it will be a 5 year commitment. Previously, MARSOC guys were in California and at a base near us in North Carolina, but they've been currently moving ALL the MARSOC guys to North Carolina. Because of that, all the subdivisions and areas around us are developing very quickly! That assignment means that we would stay in North Carolina for those 5 years, but we would be able to move closer to Wilmington due to the location of his new base. YAY!!! More civilization, potential friends, and things to do for me!

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. We'll keep you posted with the outcome.