A Special Retirement.

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Today we went to a retirement ceremony for Staff Sergeant Brian Schiefer. Brian and Sean are in the same unit. Brian served in the Air Force for 7 years and last year while at National Training Center (NTC), he had a terrible accident in his High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV- aka Humvee). Brian suffered many injuries because of the accident to include his spinal cord being exposed and is now paralyzed.

It was good to see him again. The very last time we saw him was at Jimmy's house, long before the accident. Autumn was barely walking then and whenever she would look in his general direction, she would start to cry. Thank goodness she didn't do that today. Don't get me wrong, she was a total savage during the ceremony. She was blah blah blahing the general presiding over the proceedings, she was walking when she should have been at attention and at one point, she started screaming because she liked the way her voice bounced off the walls of the hangar.

Anyway, we had a great time and we loved seeing Brian. He was his usual self- very nonchalant. On to the pictures.

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Quick pose outside.

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Decisions, decisions.

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Autumn walking with her dad. Sean looks good in his blues.

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Autumn with me. That plane in the back, yes, Autumn wanted to climb on it and investigate it much closer.

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Nick was the static display. Do you really wear all that stuff every time you jump?? Is it possible to pull the wrong thing?

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From left to right. Cindy, Dylan, Autumn, Travis, Brian, and Nick.

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Dylan, Chance and Autumn. The kids LOVE Chance! He tosses them and plays with them and they just love it. Chance just recently became a father about two weeks ago. Congrats!!

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My two favorite humans.

Overall, a bittersweet day. I hope the best for Brian and his family.

Comments

Megan said…
Wow. I cannot imagine not being able to walk or run. I feel for him...
I'm sure Autumn's talking and yelling helped to lighten the mood, though.
I love her boots!!
September 3, 2009 at 6:10 PM
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