Letter Received

We received a short letter from Tim last night. It is our first letter from him since Family Day. He had a really nice time at Family Day is is very thankful for the support. It sounds like he's doing okay and is getting re-adjusted to Army life. This week he has been training on the Bradley Fighting vehicle (see picture). He wasn't sure if he was going to get to drive it, or simply ride in it. Of course, he was hoping to drive it.

A couple of other comments. Please try to write him a letter if you can. I'm sure he can use some extra support these last few weeks. They really like to get letters - the longer the better according to Tim. All of the guys are pretty tired and stressed, so it would help if you could encourage him.

Also, Tim and I were looking at his pay stubs (which are mailed to our house) over the weekend and we realized the budget crisis has affected Tim directly. The government is withholding a portion of his pay, which is listed as "gov't debt" on his pay stub. Presumably they will reimburse him for these amounts when the budget is passed. Fortunately, Tim does not need the money at the moment, but consider the impact on service families which have very little income. Something to think about...