I’m sad to see him go, but it’s something he wants to do and I’m happy to see him achieve his goal. Tuesday morning I got up at 6am to get ready and take Bob off to his enlistment ceremony in at the Defence Force Recruitment centre in the city. We picked up some last minute things (pyjamas, passport photos) and then into the city to drop him off.
He had to be there by 10am, but as usual with anything to do with the armed forces, there was a lot of waiting going on. First there was the wait to get his final medical completed, then there was a bit more waiting until the initial induction and briefing was done, and then a short wait for the ceremony.
The ceremony was short, they talked a lot more to us (as the family and friends of the recruits) assuring us that there’s plenty of support and so forth and giving us an idea of what they’ll be going through. He did his affirmation to the RAAF and the queen and received his certificate. They gave us a little time to chat before it was time to say our goodbyes and for him to get on the bus to the airport.
He called me tonight to give me a little bit of an update. They got in about forty-five minutes before lights out, unpacked and had a shower, then got bugger all sleep before getting up at about 5am to start their day. Lots of marching and filling out paperwork today, not much else they can do until the stack of paperwork is all done.
I’ve setup a blog for him here, and we’ll be updating it with news and information on what’s going on in his part of the world - most of the time it’ll be me posting stuff he’s sent or told me and so forth, because access to the internet won’t be possible in basic training, and for the first year or so won’t be easy at all.