LAST LETTER and WHAT NEXT?

Well, it had to come to an end. And as much as we LOVE getting Ruby's letters, we LOVE having her with us even more. This letter represents the end of the beginning, and what a ride it's been! We are, without question, thankful beyond words that she writes, and does it well; that she was able to fulfill the ONE thing she wanted to do...become a United States Marine; that God endowed her with a passionate love for her nation and for its people; and that she has done exceedingly well.
It's not entirely over, however. Today she set out to begin the Crucible, a 56 hour hell-ride with a few breaks in between "battle" zones, 3 MREs, 4 hrs sleep, and a myriad of injuries that can sidestep even the toughest recruit. But come Saturday at dawn, as they make the final 9 mile march to the depot, and gather around the Iwo Jima statue, Ruby along with her fellow recruits, will be pinned with the Eagle, Globe and Anchor, and officially become a Marine.

NOW WHAT?
They will be fed a Warrior's Breakfast immediately following the EGA ceremony, and between Saturday and next Wednesday the 25th, all recruits pay their bills, turn in gear, finish up any business they have left to do. On Thursday morning, the now-Marines will participate in their final run, the Motivational Run, and we will be there to see her and the whole crowd of graduating Marines, run for the last time on Parris Island. At 9 am, they are marched in, by platoons, to a building where all the family/friends will be seated in bleachers, and after a series of presentations, will be released to spend the day with their family, remaining on the island.
On Friday morning, she will graduate, and we will go to our B&B in Beaufort and feed her, spend the night, and enjoy her beautiful smile and joy. On Saturday we will return home to NC, and hopefully be able to enjoy her without interruption, as she needs to spend time with an ailing grandmother, and her sisters and brothers.
Ruby will spend 10 days at liberty at home, and then will work as a recruiters asst. for 7 days until April 14 when she checks into Marine Combat Training at Camp Geiger, NC, where she will be for one month, staying there 24/7, with no liberty, until the week of May 10th. She will immediately be shipped out to Pensacola, FL where she will remain 4 months to be in training for her job, Flight Crew of helicopters. Her aim, of course, is to be Flight Crew Chief.
More than likely, she will be mobilized immediately following training due to the ongoing conflict. Here's her letter:

19:48 MONDAY, MARCH 16th
Hey Y'all,
Well, today we had the final PFT and guess who got Iron Woman? YEP!! I won highest PFT in the company with a score of 299 out of a possible 300. Max out crunches and hang, and a 21:05 3-mile !! I'm on cloud nine right now. We had graduation practice today as well, which was awesome because the company high PFTer and the high shooter get recognized in front of everybody, given plaque, etc. I'm next to the Charlie Co. high PFTer, (our brother company) and he's a shrimp:) but super fast. Rct. Lewis got honor grad and she totally deserves it. Rct South got meritoriously promoted and has had a glow all day. We found out our teams for the Crucible, and I'm on DI Sgt. Roman's team !!:) That means she'll be giving me my EGA on Saturday. She's so funny.
Tonight, I got a letter, a big,pink musical card and some pressed flowers from Andrew in the mail. Well, Roman made me open the envelope and when she saw it all, she said, "Flowers? From who? Your disgusting little beastly boyfriend, isn't it? Yep, he's a faggot." as she squinched up her little nose and put on her 'eeewww, dont let that thing near my amazing self ' face. We BUSTED out laughing. I said, "Aye, Ma'am." and ran to the head to read it.
I'll call you on Sunday!!
I'll write on Thursday before we go to the Crucible if I can.
xoxo Ruby