and I may be joining Heidi. I can't say it's a big surprise but I was hoping it wouldn't happen. Nothing is for sure yet but we'll know soon.

DH's "boss" (to make it easier to read in civilian terms) told him yesterday that he needed to talk to his monitor (the person who decides what his next job in the Marines will be) because his time is up with this job in March. They can keep him for another year if needed but they just got a bunch of new guys and don't have the room to keep anyone for over 2 years. The job that DH would want to do next would still keep him home and non-deployable (a B-billet for those military girls who know what i'm talking about) but he has been away from his primary job for 2 years already and doesn't know if they will grant it. It's about 50/50 right now. If not he would go back into the fleet to his regular job (machine gunner) and probably (most likely) be deployed. I *think* he will be home for the birth but i'm scared to get my hopes up right now. I'm so unbelievably stressed just thinking about this. I'm hoping for the best but expecting the worse, which is always best thing to do when it comes to the military. The last 2 years have been easy in terms of the military life but it seems like now were getting thrown back into the uncertain, unstable and unpredictable life that the military throws you into. So if I seem down lately, you know why....

By Kateg on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 12:43 pm:

{{{{HUGS}}}} I'm not a military wife and can't imagine what it would be like without DH around. But, all I can offer is a lot of {{{{HUGS}}}}

By Amecmom on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 01:06 pm:

{{{Hugs, Melissa}}}. I'll be praying and thinking good thoughts for you.

Ame

By Happynerdmom on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 01:13 pm:

(((((HUGS)))) I'm sorry, Melissa. I know it sounds stupid to say "try not to worry," but try not to worry. Your body and baby do not need the extra stress. *If* it happens, then you will have to deal with it then. If it doesn't, you've stressed yourself for nothing. You know, I believe God only gives us the strength we need for TODAY. ((((more hugs))))and prayers.

By Conni on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 05:56 pm:

Good luck! We have been in limbo pretty much since October... Suppose to have an answer by end of January now. SO I can relate to how it feels to not know what is going to happen! argh It gets kind of stressful wondering and worrying about it.

By Wandilu on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 10:29 pm:

my heart truley goes out to all of you military wives !!

By Shellyg on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 10:36 pm:

Hugs, I can't imagine.

By Karen~moderator on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 07:55 am:

When will you know???

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

By Boxzgrl on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 10:41 am:

The earliest we'll know is the 31st of this month. The latest wouldn't be until March. It basically comes down to the demands of the Marine Corps and pre-requisites DH must meet in order to qualify for the job he'd like to do. Which ever one better fits what the military needs right now is what he'll get. He has a meeting with his monitor on the 31st but that doesn't mean they will come to a decision. It may just be to review his records and to give DH possibilities of what may happen.

By Mrsheidi on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 11:37 am:

I'm sorry to hear, Melissa. What does your DH think? What does he want to do? I always hated the part that made me feel unknowledgable about our future. I think it's the "not knowing" that hurts the most.
Keep us posted...can't wait to hear!!! Just hang on, girl!!

By Rayanne on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 12:18 pm:

{{{{{{{{{{MELISSA}}}}}}}}}}
I'm so sorry hun. Please keep us posted and I will be keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers.

By Boxzgrl on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 03:21 pm:

DH finally talked to his monitor. Good news actually. He has no pending orders as of now and his monitor sees no reason why he would get any until at least the end of this year or early next year. The bad news is that he will have to go back to his original job at that point and may be deployed. I hope were starting to get out of Iraq by then, although unlikely. His only other options would be to go into Reconnaisance or Counter Intelligence, both which normally deploy roughly 250 days of the year. Now let's just hope that between now and then he's not put up for Recruiting Duty. Then i'd be crying, lol. I'm glad he'll be here as of now. I'm not ready to enter back into the world of frequent deployments.

By Conni on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 03:33 pm:

Great news!

By Insaneusmcwife on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 03:39 pm:

Hang in there Melissa! If it were me I would take Recruiting duty over another deployment any day. Let us know what happens.

By Insaneusmcwife on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 03:40 pm:

dh said hold out for a b billet if you can until he is a Ssgt. Then he can go to Embassy Duty and you guys can go with him. I want to go overseas again. I don't much care where at this point but Oki would be great again.

By Boxzgrl on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 03:46 pm:

If he stays in he'll probably pick up SSgt before they let him do a b billet anyways, or at least he'll be close to picking up. He *should* be picking up E5 in March. They screwed up his ppwork and he was supposed to pick up this month. I just hope the score doesn't jump high.

By Insaneusmcwife on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 09:45 pm:

thats cool, let me know when he picks up. Dave will pin Gunny either March or April. We are just waiting on his number.

By Rayanne on Wednesday, February 1, 2006 - 08:00 am:

That's awesome news hun. I bet it's a huge weight off your shoulders.

By Happynerdmom on Wednesday, February 1, 2006 - 08:29 am:

I'm glad!