San Diego, CA – Tegen’s Graduation

On Wednesday, May 7th, we boarded an Alaska Airlines flight to San Diego, CA, for Tegen's Graduation from Marine Boot Camp.

Ashley, Tim, Patrick and Emma traveled with us. We rented a Chrysler Pacifica, the cadillac of mini-vans, so that we could drive together.

Once we arrived at the hotel, Town Suites by Marriott at Liberty Station, we were joined by Melissa, Mark and Tripp.  Evelyn and Piper had to stay home to finish out the school year.

It was so great to be able to all stay in the same hotel since it had been a year and a half since we'd been altogether.

On Thursday morning, Marine Family Day, we woke up early and had a pretty decent breakfast at the hotel: scrambled eggs, sausage, breakfast sandwiches, hash browns, hard-boiled eggs, waffles, cereal, yogurt, coffee, tea and pastries.

After breakfast we followed Melissa and Mark by car onto the base.  We went through the wrong entrance, military only, but we told them we were following Mark and Melissa.  They asked us Mark's name, then what his rank was.  We guessed Staff Sergeant, but it was actually Gunnery Sergeant.  They let us through anyway.

We sat in the stands next to Tegen's platoon number, 2145, and waited for the event to start.  It began with a 5 mile run for the recruits.  We saw Tegen, and he saw us, as he jogged by in formation.  Once he located us in the stands, he couldn't contain his big smile.

After the five mile jog, the recruits showered, got cleaned up, returned in uniform and marched in formation.  Once they were dismissed, they sprinted towards the stands to hug their waiting relatives.  It was a wonderful reunion for all.

After three months of training and being totally removed from the outside world, they were so ready to be reunited with family and friends.  They had no news. No cell phones. No TV. Not even a clock.

They endured all manner of drills, physical fitness training, obstacle courses, swimming, shooting, and lots of yelling!  All this, plus the Crucible, which consisted of 52 hours of group drills, with 4 hours sleep and only 2 MRE meals.

Tegen had the highest shooting score in his platoon, 337 out of 350, just missing the company high score.  He was awarded the Expert Marksman badge.  His score of 337 was the same that his dad Mark had and his friend Jake, who graduated a few months ago.

After being dismissed, Tegen was not allowed to leave base or ride in a car.  He had to report back by 5pm.  So we hung out at an on-base park, with a Chick-Fil-A lunch, which made Tegen very happy.  It was great just to spend time with him and hear the details about Boot Camp.

Friday started the same way that Thursday did, with a 6:30am hotel breakfast followed by a trip to the base.  Friday was Tegen's graduation day.  It was a wonderful event that lasted about an hour.  Once dismissed, Tegen began a 10-day leave.

Before enlisting in the Marines, Tegen had to gain 10 pounds.  At 6'3", he only weighed 135 pounds.  By the time he left for Boot Camp in February, he weighed 145 pounds.  They knew he was skinny, so they fed him double rations at meals.  He gained 23 pounds of muscle and weighed 168 pounds by the time he graduated.  What a transformation!

During the rest of our stay in San Diego, we swam in the pool, went to Legoland with Uncle Mike, met up with Sarah and Nevin, enjoyed some great meals together and really had a wonderful time!

On Monday, May 12th, we all had morning flights and left the hotel about the same time.  During our stay in San Diego we made some great memories and were truly grateful to be able to spend time together for this wonderful occasion.

We are so proud of our grandson, Tegen!