I can relate...
Till Tuesday, I hadn't realized that the military presence in Hawaii was quite overwhelming. We have every branch of the military on ONE island, so you can only imagine how crazy it was on Tuesday.
Still...the traffic headaches and all the shut downs were the least of my worries.
First, I pray that all our loved ones in the military are safe...and should they be called to duty, I hope that this problem can somehow be resolved peacefully.
After watching the local news coverage on Tuesday we found out that Brady was being recalled back to the ship...the whole Coast Guard Station Hawaii was being recalled. You guys CANNOT even imagine the look of terror I had as Brady put on his bulletproof vest. This was the first time I've ever seen him put it on under his working blues. I then learned that once on the ship he was going to be given his weapons "just in case" a situation happened. Thankfully, nothing has happened, but the crew went from standing a 1 in 5 duty day to a 1 and 3. Currently they're just patrolling the harbors for anything suspicious. But so far, they haven't been deployed yet (they just came back from patrol on 9/7), but who knows what will happen next?
Some of my chapter sisters, bosses, close friends are dating men in the National Guard and the Reserves. When we got word that President Bush was going to call up thousands of them, we didn't know what to do. So right now, the guys are ready...just in case they get the call. My chapter sister's father is the Sergeant Major of the USMC (2nd in command of the Pacific), and she tells me that he hasn't been home in days.
When we were in Threatcon Delta, I wasn't allowed in CG Housing so I couldn't be with Brady. On the first day I got my car thoroughly searched (dogs and all). Now that we're in TC Charlie, I'm thankful that the MPs are letting me pass through now...but I try and make it a point to not be the 5th car (they search every 5th car). Still, despite the inconvenience, I'm thankful that they are taking every precaution to protect all of us, and not just the military community.
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