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Mom & Dad Update From Luzern

To All,

We arrived in Luzern Saturday evening after a tour of Bern and a cheese factory. It was a beautiful drive through the rolling hills of the farm country with mountains in the background. We are staying at the spectular hotel Schweizerhof overlooking lake Luzern. Today we took a guided tour of the old city with its medevial archetecture. I took many pictures of the buildings especially for Matthew. This type of archetecture you will never see in the USA. This afternoon is free time to rest and roam as we please. Tonight is our farewell dinner. We take a boat trip across the lake to a fine resturant and have a group picture taken.

Our plan for tommorrow, Lord willing, is to get up early and take the tour bus to Zurich Airport. We will then pick up the shuttle bus to Zurich Airport Hilton. We are not sure yet if we will go into the city of Zurich. It depends on how we feel. Please pray that the Lord will give us the extra strength needed to handle our luggage during the airport transfer.

We leave the hotel early Tuesday morning for the return flight. We are looking forward to seeing you all soon.

Love,

Mom and Dad

NOTE FROM MOM AND DAD

Hi Everyone,

Here it is Friday and we do not know where the time has gone. We are having a great time and both of us are keeping well. Praise the Lord for His goodness. We went to the top of the European World today to the observation point for jungfrau at 11,323 ft and we both were not short of breath. Unfortunately, we were up in the clouds and it was snowing, however we saw the ice palace which was spectacular. Then the sun came out for a short period and we were able to see one of over 700 glaciers in Switzerland. We leave tomorrow for Bern and the next two days in Luzern. We love you all and will be glad to see you all again. Send this on to others as you see fit.

Love Ya,

Mom and Dad

Mom and Dad at Lake Lugano

Mom & Dad (Grandma & Grandpa) sent this note, and mentioned not having some email addresses with them. So, I thought I would post for all. Please find email below:

All,

Staying on Lake Lugano at a beautiful hotel looking over the lake and mountains. The scenery in the Alps is breathtaking. We are getting some great pictures. We plan to take a boat ride around the lake Lugano today, then on to St Moritz tomorrow. Will update you later.

Please pass this on, I do not have John or Lauren e-mail address.

Love Ya,

Mom & Dadd

Hanna Update

I received word from Hunter today that he is fine. They had no damage at Camp Lejeune. Hunter said that the storm was pretty bad and the winds were high, but nothing that was too damaging.

Thank you for keeping Hunter in your prayers now, and for the remainder of his military carrier.

Hunter in Hanna's Path

The marines at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, NC will be going on lock-down later this afternoon. Please be in prayer for all of the marines there, but especially for Hunter's safety as Hanna passes by.

The projected path of Hanna is to make landfall around the NC/SC border. As the storm moves inland it puts Camp Lejeune on the right side of the storm and exposed to the strongest winds and highest storm surge. Camp Lejeune is right on the coast. Jacksonville Map The worst part of the storm should be hitting the Jacksonville area early Saturday Morning.

Hunter lives within a short distance of the water, and has been instructed to not leave his quarters until the storm has passed, and the all clear is given. If anyone needs to leave their quarters for emergency reasons they are to wear their helmets and flack Jackets. The base commanders are taking this storm very seriously even though it is going to hit as a strong tropical storm or weak hurricane. They are concerned that it could still do serious damage to Camp Lejeune, and put personnel in danger.

Hunter will call after the storm, and as soon as cell phones are operating. I will update the Gilkenson Family Blog when I hear from him.

Sunrise on Lake Jocassee

Alpharetta PUR Rugby Wins Georgia Games

Michael's U20 Rugby Team won the Georgia Games this weekend. These are Michael's highlights. If you want to see the rest of the photos visit Alpharetta Rugby.

Golf Channel Drive, Chip & Putt

Will was in the Drive, Chip, & Putt put on by The Golf Channel this past Sunday, April 27 at Alpharetta Athletic Club. He was in the 9-10 year old division of the competition where there were about 50+ participants. He won in the chipping category, the putting category, and came in 2nd place overall!










This was very exciting for all of us!!!

Michael's Junior/Senior Prom Photos

Spring Break 2008

Stephen, Mary Louise, Michael & Matthew went to Cape San Blas and went camping for a few days. Then we went over to Seaside, Florida and spent a couple of days there with friends.

Update from Ft. Bragg

Hunter called today. He said that he has been doing his job while at Ft. Bragg this past week. He will be involved in the direct fire exercises there at Ft. Bragg until next Wednesday the 9th. He has also updated me with what his job involves.

Hunter is assigned to the Fire Control area of the regiment. His small group of 11-13 marines moves ahead of the main body of Fire Control and gets set up to handle Fire Control while the main body of 30-40 marines moves to their new position. They are responsible for getting communications and computer systems up and running within one hour of arriving at their new location. Their group handles the communications of the regiment and coordination between branches of the military on the given battle field they are operating on. Once the main body of Fire Control arrives at the new location and gets set up, Hunter's group relinquishes control back to the main body. He said that during these exercises at Ft. Bragg they have been moving about 1 time each day. During this time at Ft. Bragg he is sleeping in the back of a HUMVEE with one of his corporals.

He also said that they had some fun on the riffle range the other day. When they were nearing the end of their time on the range (and still had several thousand rounds to use) they were given the OK to put their guns on burst. This allowed him to empty a clip in a few seconds. Cool "guy stuff" for Hunter!

During his time at Ft. Bragg he is only able to use his phone every once in a while. So, if any of you are trying to contact him, he will be able to call you back after April 9th.

HUNTER'S PERMANENT DUTY STATION

Hunter is now at Camp Legeune, his first permanent duty station. He has officially been assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, 10th Marine Regiment. They are known as 210. He is not assigned to a battalion or a battery as 20 of his classmates were, but rather to the headquarters. The headquarters overseas the direction of the battlefield when the division is engaged in conflicts or maneuvers.

He will be updating me in the next few days with his address and official duties. I will post that information to the blog as soon as I get it.

Below please find the history of the 10th Marine Regiment, and if you would like to look at their website you can find it here.

In the history below, notice the direct fire competition and direct fire exercises at Ft. Bragg at the end of the history. Hunter will be leaving Camp Legeune on Friday to participate in these exercises. It looks like it will be his first time to be involved in live fire over the next two weeks. Please pray that he learns a lot, and gets some great experience.

10th Marine Regiment History

The 10th Marines is one of the oldest and proudest of the regiments of Marines.

It's unbroken service spans 93 years. The line from the Marines Hymn, "We have fought in every clime and place where we could take a gun," could well serve as its motto: Mexico, Haiti, Santo Domingo, the Pacific islands and atolls- the regiment has been there. In times of peace and near war, it has served in Iceland, China, Japan, Lebanon, Norway and Germany, and with the Landing Force Sixth Fleet. The 10th Marines were formed on April 25th 1914 as an Artillery Battalion under the 1st Marine Brigade.

They took part in conflicts in Haiti and the Dominican Republic from August 1915 to May 1917. The Battalion was expanded throughout mid 1917 and finally, on 15 January 1917 the expanded Battalion was redesignated as the 10th Marine Regiment of Field Artillery.

Between the First and Second World War the 10th Regiment worked on many different things, including annual reenactments of Civil War battles, building their Barracks and various other construction around the base, and guarding the mail. Also during this time the Regiment was deployed to China, and also to Iceland just prior to American involvement in World War II. During the war the Regiment was involved in the assault on Guadalcanal and later took part in the bloody taking of Tarawa and later Saipan, Tinian and Okinawa.

After the end of World War II the 10th Marines found themselves at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, which would be their home until present day. They once again found themselves mobilized during the Korean war and again later during the Cuban Missile Crisis when they participated in the blockade of Cuba. As the Korean war started the 10th Marines were working with a skeleton crew, but five month's later they were back up to full wartime strength and ready to fight.

Since that time the Regiment has participated in exercises testing the methods of firing 155mm Howitzers from Landing Craft, as well as the twice annual Fire Exercise at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The Regiment has also continuously sent Firing Batteries and Battalions to train in Okinawa and to participate in CAX, a desert training operation held at Twenty Nine Palms California at the edge of the Mohave Desert.

The Regiment has time and again shown that it can set up, fire and move to a new position with astounding speed, and twice a year they display their skill in the direct fire competition at Fort Bragg.

ANSWERED PRAYER UPDATE

Thank you to all that were praying for Hunter yesterday. He received a perfect 100% on the test.

Today he received his official orders to report to the Marine 2nd Division Headquarters at Camp Lejeune. He doesn't know what that means at this point. 20 others in the class were given orders to report to a specific battalion for placement in a battery. However; Hunter and one other buddy of his from Alpharetta were given orders to report to Division.

Hunter travels Thursday morning form Lawton, OK to Atlanta to Charlotte to Jacksonville, NC. He will only be in the Atlanta airport for one hour, so it will not be possible for him to see anyone as he travels through Atlanta.

More updates coming as we find our what his assignment will be.

HUNTER'S TRAINING UPDATE

Hunter will be completing his final test today at artillery school in Ft. Sill, OK. His class average is an "A" to this point. Pray that he will perform well on the test today.

Tomorrow and Wednesday he will be finishing up his out processing at Ft. Sill, then leave for Camp Lejeune. Camp Lejeune is in Jacksonville, NC and will be his first permanent duty station. Jacksonville is a 7-7.5 hour drive from Atlanta, 45 minutes north of Wilmington, NC.

Hunter is hoping to get checked in at Camp Lejeune and catch a ride home for the Easter weekend. However; he will not know until the last minute if he will be given leave this weekend or not.

Please continue to pray for Hunter's safety as he travels, and for God's protective hand to be on him throughout his entire military career.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Hunter at MOS School at Ft. Sill

All.... Hunter has been at Ft. Sill in Lawton, OK for two weeks. His MOS (Military Ocupation School) is starting on or about January 30th, and will last for approximately 8 weeks. He will then get his orders as to where his permanent duty station will be. The star on the map to the left shows the location of Ft. Sill. It is about 60 miles SW of Oklahoma City, and 50 miles north of Wichita Falls, TX.

For those of you interested in corresponding with Hunter, he can be reached on his cell phone. If you don't get an answer when you call, leave a message. He will get back with you when he is off-duty. His number is still 678-357-3264. Also, I am sure he would love to receive letters, cards or care packages. His address is below:

Private Gilkenson, Hunter
Marine Artillery Detachment
PO Box 810
Ft. Sill, OK 73503-5810