Anyone else's SO gone through military training?

[cera]

First of all, hi! I'm definitely a newbie here, and I've been lurking quite a bit for the past few weeks. This is my first thread, and i'm really hoping someone here can help me.

My SO signed up to join the military last fall - long before him and i met. Now, the time for him to go to all of his training is fast approaching. Overall, he'll be gone for about 7 months, with a 10 day break at his home at some point. For the first 3 months, the only contact we'll have is via the post, and then he believes he'll have his phone for the rest of the time he's in training, but obviously his time will be very limited at that point. Our first meeting (we met online) will be close to when he leaves, and we've both been trying to work out the possibility of me going to see him afterwards, within that 10 day break.

Has anyone else dealt with a similar situation, and could tell me how you both worked through it? How was your SO different after they came out of training?

[eveningsky]

Hey cera,
My SO is not in the military but I have had the joining-the-military experience in the past with my ex who I was with for a long time.
I was used to being around him all the time when he left however so my experience was not extremely similar to yours but I can tell you what bootcamp and the remaining training was like from what he told me. When my ex was in bootcamp, I wrote letters to him everyday. He really appreciated them and it helped him get through it. He wrote me every chance he got (about every other day). He would say in his letters that I was his inspiration for pushing forward and he couldn't wait to see me when his training was over. He got to make two phone calls near the end of his bootcamp training. It was crazy to hear his voice when he called me. When I went to see him graduate from boot camp, he was extremely disciplined and thought his branch of the military was the best thing on the planet and that he was invincible. He ate really fast too (they only give them like a minute or something like that to eat their food at meal time).
After that, he had his break then spent about a month in some kind of battlefield training with phone contact. After that training, he got stationed somewhere. This was a part of training too because he had school in the morning and PT (physical training). He could call me when he wasn't in training with his own phone and was allowed off base for when I came to visit (but he had to wear his uniform and he had a curfew). During this part of his training, he was really sweet to me.
After training ends, he'll get stationed somewhere more permanently and that doesn't mean that it will be in the US. I would suggest talk as much as you can but give him space to hang out with his friends and such. It's a very demanding job. Be understanding and patient. Make plans but try not to get too annoyed when the military takes control of his life and thwarts the plans you've made (because they will). Most of all, good luck! It takes a very strong person to be in a military relationship.