Goodbye Charlie Company; It's Been a Good Ride

Last night Tim and I attended our final event as part of Charlie Company, the end of an almost five year journey. And what a ride it's been! Immediately after we married in July of 2009, we settled in at our first Army post, Fort Hood. We loved this assignment--a cute cottage on the lake, the most incredible neighbors God ever created, a wonderful church, amazing friends, and the best Army Aviation company in the world. 

When Tim came home from his first day of work, I was already tasked with being an FRG leader. I knew NOTHING about the military and certainly had no clue what the F-R-whatever meant. I learned that the family readiness group was a means to support military families, especially during deployments. Minus a brief stint at the career course in Alabama, I've been part of C Co.'s FRG since 2009. God blessed me with the most sane and sincere women possible. If you know anything about the military, you probably know about the "crazy wives" stigma that exists around FRGs. Luckily, Charlie has always been made up of drama-free women, which made this experience an enjoyable one.

After two posts, two deployments, several National Training Center trips, months in the field, losing a brother-in-arms, leading a platoon, and then the entire company, Tim's days in Charlie Company have come to an end. To conclude our time with the unit, Tim was farewelled at last night's battalion gathering, a bitter-sweet event. We're looking forward to spending more time together as a family now that Tim's no longer in command, but Charlie Company is part of our family, and we'll miss them dearly. They're in wonderful hands with the new commander and his wife, who I know will take on this task with the honor and courage necessary to lead these men into battle and support the families back at home. 

I pray God continues to bless the soldiers and families of Charlie Company in all ways, each and every day. May He be a constant comfort to the Thibodeau family, who lost their beloved Chris during the war in Afghanistan. Chris is always on our hearts as we forever honor his sacrifice and that of his family's!

Here are some more pics of Tim's last flight as a commander and his Change of Command ceremony.