Son home from Afghanistan, what would you do?

[jponder]

My son will get to Ft Polk Louisiana at about 3:00am this morning. He gets a pass for 12 hours and then another this weekend. I have a delima, I pulled the plates off his Yota when he left for Afghanistan and cancelled the ins. Now he is chomping at the bit to get in his yota, 2 schools of thought



1) Hey the boy has been in Afghanistan and served his country, go ahead and reinsure it in my name and retag it in my name and have it waiting for him.



2) Sign all the paperwork to give hime the truck and he wont be able to use it that weekend becuase he wont be able to tag it.



Now the boy turns 20 on May 8th and he has been in Afghanistan since August so HE IS WANTING TO RUN WILD! I support him in that endeavor but he will have everyone buying him drinks and driving him around anyway, There is no question that he is going to be drinking heavily, which is fine.



Would I be a better Dad to be Patient and more Prudent to not let him have a Vehicle knowing he really wont need it, Hey my Ex-Wife will probably let him use her Van if he ever makes it home, or should I have his truck sitting there where he has the oppurtunity to get in it and get in trouble?



I am torn... ... ... ... ... ... ... .

 

[michigandon]

Boy, tough call dude! I'm sure the kid has probably seen a LOT, and deserves the chance to come home and blow off a little steam. But I can definitely see where you concerns as a father weigh in too.

 

[rrausch]

My 2-bits is to put a couple of obstacles in his way, the thinking being that yes, you should be a little prudent, after all, you don't want him to go COMPLETELY nuts and get hurt in a DUI situation. 19 going on 20 years old is still a pup, although with his service, a Manly Pup!



I spent about 5 months at "Fort Puke" in 1970!

Did you ever go to Leesville? We called it "Disease-Ville". Ha!

 

[mcoleman]

We called it Sleesville when I was there in the 80s. Evidently things haven't changed much. LOL Man is it humid there in August.

 

[TPCDrafting]

My thanks to your son for serving.

Secondly, if it were my son coming home for a short spell, I would be driving down there to party with him. This way, if he wants to drive, he can drive the CTD with you sitting shotgun. At least till he starts drinkin' and you can be sure he's safe by remaining the designated driver. Let his pals all buy him drinks all night long, he can party as hard as his hearts content, but you know he's safe. Let his return home settle in and simmer down, then deliver his vehicle.

 

[JDinterman]

Being in the military myself I would agree that he is still a pup but I bet he's groown up after the things he's seen and done (Thank him for me) I understand your dilemma but he does need to wind down and let loose. He is a big boy and noes right from wrong I think he should be OK. I know when I came home from being away awile the only thing I wanted to do first was get the feeling of my truck pinning me back in the seat.

 

[tpuig]

He's a big boy. Let him party with his buddies for a while and not worry about driving. Might be a while before he sees some of them again. He'll be home soon enough, then you can take care of getting his rig all legal. When I came back from Desert Storm driving was only third on my list of things to do... ;-)

TP

 

[RKepler]

Originally posted by tpuig

He's a big boy. Let him party with his buddies for a while and not worry about driving. Might be a while before he sees some of them again. He'll be home soon enough, then you can take care of getting his rig all legal. When I came back from Desert Storm driving was only third on my list of things to do... ;-)

TP

My sentiments exactly. And, please tell him "Thank You" for serving the USA!!

 

[mopars1]

I am sometimes an overbearing dad and I would not let him take the reigns of a vehicle if he wanted to go party with his friends. That's just the way I am. He can and will have a LOT of fun if he has a good group of friends to carry him around.



My son is in Iraq at this time, and when he gets leave and comes home, I hope to get him and maybe some friends down to the lake property and then they can blow off some steam and spend the night there, so no problem with a dui or anything.



By the way, my son was stationed at Ft. Polk for a couple of years before he spent three years in Hawaii, then was sent to Iraq.



I hope you have a great time seeing your son again. I know I will when mine gets home on leave!

 

[Tim1]

I agree with all on your boy allowing his friends to do the hauling. If there is a special situation he need to drive to, either take him or rent him a vehicle for the event, would be alot less hassel for a short period. I would hope that he would have a designated driver in the group! Kids sometimes don't want their parents around them when partying. You know!!!! I was in the Air Force and want to say "thank you for searving, to your boy!" Tim