Pvt. Conom

Dear Friends and Family....

The Platoon videos were up on Friday, October 24. I have a Mac and it could not bring up the video, so I ran to the neighbor's and crashed their Halloween party! Couldn't find Brian at all. Sent the link to family and even though they could bring up the video, they couldn't see Brian either. Long story short - Brian's massage therapist (mine too) immediately picked Brian out. She froze the pic and via some tech magic we got it onto my cell and my computer. I still wasn't convinced. You can't see his distinctive eyebrows. His eyes are shadowed by his cover. He is clean shaven - yeah, no grizzly man beard!! After bringing the pic up on the computer along side of a couple of other pics of Brian, I am now convinced it is indeed Brian! We will certainly all have a good laugh when we tell Brian that NO one in his family recognized him!!! If you are interested in seeing our recruit.... (yes I know some of you have already received this message - forgive me) go to recruitparents.com -- at the left of the page is a menu bar in maroon colored print... scroll down to Recruit Training, then to Photos/Videos. Click on Photos/Videos. click on San Diego videos. Click on 2nd Bn. ECHO Co. Click on Plt 2102. Brian is in the 2nd row up from the bottom, 6th recruit in from the left. He looks to have lost weight and without the beard, he really looks young!

Today is the beginning of the end of the first leg of Brian's journey on becoming a USMC Marine.. He will very soon leave this Recruit phase of the journey. This week holds the crucial Crucible! The Crucible is 54 hours of the ultimate assessment for our young man and his fellow recruits. They have trained for this. They are ready for this. Many parents are very concerned about The Crucible. I am not. I know that my son is still under the watchful eye and seasoned experience of his DIs (Drill Instructors). This is about as close as they can come to preparing our young men for the ultimate 'war-time' experiences they will have. I know that this is still taking place here, in the good ole USofA and that my son is safe. Here is the best accounting/description that I have found of the Crucible. It is a bit lengthy, but it is quite accurate. Today however, the Eagle, Globe and Anchor ceremony takes place after the climb to the top of the Reaper, after the 8-9 mile hike back to base. For Brian it should take place somewhere between 8 or 9 am on Thursday, October 30, 2008. They will then head to the mess for their Warrior's Breakfast. Now they can be called Marines!

Week 11 T60 (T=Training Day) Today they will be introduced to the Gas chamber, they have been taught how to put on and wear the gas mask and today they will see just how good it works. If they follow instructions it will not be that bad but one or 2 of them will get excited and find out how bad the gas affects the nose and eyes. It will clear up the chest and head :O.

Hi all, Okay ......,

The Platoon video came in Friday night. I can't open the darn file on my Mac. I ran to the neighbors and crashed their Halloween party to see the video. (They were such good sports!) Then I couldn't find Brian! I called most of the family and they logged on, saw the video and they couldn't find Bri either...... [ If you want to check out the platoon video..... go to www.recruitparents.com. Looking to the menu bar on the far left of the page (maroon writing) scroll down to Recruit Training, then click on Photo/Videos. Click on San Diego (video), then click on ECHO Co, then Platoon 2102. ..... They are singing a hokey song, so be sure to turn your volume up, you won't want to miss it.

So I think this is Brian. His massage therapist (and mine) swears this is Brian for sure. She froze the video and took this pic with my cell and I sent it to my computer ( pretty high techy for me!!) Anyways, I think she is right, but I'm not 101% sure. My mom isn't sure at all. He looks to have lost weight and without his beard and eye brows, it's so hard to tell. No 5'0clock shadow either. So this recruit is 2nd row up from the bottom, 6th one in from the left (near the center).

Look at these other pics of Bri and tell me what you think! Figuring that this is Bri, we are going to have some good laughs that NO one in his family could recognize him. If he is not in this video, then he'll have some explaining to do.......

Friday, October 25, 2008; USMC MCRD Recruit Conom, Brian P?, 2nd Bn ECHO Co Plt. 2102



August 11, 2008; Brian Conom swearing in at MEPs - beginning his journey to Boot


September 2007,

Good Morning To All, As you all know, Brian has begun his journey into the next chapter of his life, that of a USMC

Recruit! Brian left for MCRD, San Diego on August 11, 2008. We had not expected to hear

anything from him for at least 2-3 weeks, but we were so lucky to hear from Brian on the evening

of the 11th!

At 1049pm, the phone rang! John answered. "Pvt Conom, Brian, calling to say this recruit has

arrived safely at MCRD, San Diego and will begin his training in a few days. This recruit loves you.

Bye." The call lasted about 10 seconds and it was clear he was given a script to read with the

proper '3rd person' speech pattern! John said it was really good to hear from him.

On Friday, 08/15/2008 (Panayeias, no less!) Brian called about 715 pm! John answered the phone.

Danny and I were in Oak Harbour having dinner with friends at Zorbas! We had been camping at

Deception Pass since Bri left. John immediately called my cell phone and left a message. He said,

"Hey Hon, It's me! Brian just called! He sounded, I thought, very very well. He didn't say a

whole lot, just wanted to say hi, couldn't talk because the whole platoon had only 15 min total. So

anyways, he said he started his training a couple days ago. He sounded really positive. Just

wanted to let you know. Bye!"

I have to tell you that was the best message. John's voice was so upbeat and so happy! I

called my mom to tell her, but she already knew because my most wonderful husband had already

called my mom!

We just received a brief letter from Brian yesterday. He gave us his address and the rules about

what we can and cannot send to him. Beef Jerkey, Power Bars and Vitamin C is okay to send. No

other vitamins, no cookies, clothing or money. He said he would write more later. We also

received a letter from his Sr Drill Instructor with his mailing address and email.

Between the two letters we learned that Brian's training will be divided into three phases consisting

of four weeks of training each. The first phase will take place at MCRD, San Diego, and consist

of physical training, water survival qualifications and an intro into military life. Extensive classes

on Marine Corps history, first aid, military customs and courtesies and military law will also be

taught.

The second phase will take place at Camp Pendleton, CA and consists of rifle marksmanship and

field skills training. I know this was what Brian was really looking forward to. Upon returning to

MCRD the third phase will consist of maintenance week and the last two weeks will consist of

final tests, administrative procedures and the infamous "Crucible" and preparation for duty in the

Fleet Marine Force. We I have to say we have been blessed because we have heard from Bri 3

times in 2 weeks...much more than we could have hoped for! Brian's scheduled graduation date is

November 5, 2008 barring any unexpected delays.