Another Mother becomes a Soldier

Posted By Blackfive

Maggie45 sends this story about Laurie-Ann Fuca joining the Army just like her children have done.  Previously, we had a story about PFC Cindra Smith as Someone You Should Know - Smith enlisted after her daughter was hit by an IED.  While Smith is a grandmother of two, her son serves as well.

Here is Laurie-Ann's story:

Mom's a Recruit

Mother of four follows son into boot camp; first 40+ Arizona woman to join

By Carol Ann Alaimo

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

When Laurie-Ann Fuca told loved ones she was planning to become a soldier, some doubled over and laughed until their stomachs hurt.

They hooted that she'd never pass the physical at her age, that she'd wilt without luxuries like manicures and martinis.

No one's laughing now at the 41-year-old Tucson soccer mom, who is making history as the first Arizona woman to join the Army past her 40th birthday.

The mother of four leaves for boot camp Monday, three weeks after her eldest son, a 19-year-old soldier, was sent to Iraq.

Until recently, the scenario would have been impossible. But the Army recently raised its maximum recruiting age to 42.

Fuca is one of a handful of older women nationwide now following their sons or daughters into the service, said Douglas Smith, a spokesman for Army recruiting headquarters at Fort Knox, Ky.

In Alabama, a grandmother of two recently enlisted and is training as an explosives expert after her soldier daughter was injured by a homemade bomb in Iraq, Smith said.

And in Texas, a 41-year-old woman and her daughter are due to leave around the same time for boot camps in different states.

More than 1,000 new soldiers, male and female, have joined the Army or Army Reserve since a series of age limit changes recently went into effect, Smith said.

In Arizona, eight people 40 or older have enlisted since January.

Fuca was the first woman to do so. She plans to become the Army equivalent of a hospital paramedic and aims to help wounded troops and civilians.

"I've always wanted to be in the military for a long as I can remember, but I never had the opportunity because I was a full-time mom," she said.

A native of Canada who has been a legal U.S. resident for the past decade, Fuca said the desire is probably in her blood. Her father and sister served in the Canadian army and her brother still does...

More here.

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Another Mother becomes a Soldier

Maggie45 sends this story about Laurie-Ann Fuca joining the Army just like her children have done.  Previously, we had a story about PFC Cindra Smith as Someone You Should Know - Smith enlisted after her daughter was hit by an IED.  While Smith is a grandmother of two, her son serves as well.

Here is Laurie-Ann's story:

Mom's a Recruit

Mother of four follows son into boot camp; first 40+ Arizona woman to join

By Carol Ann Alaimo

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

When Laurie-Ann Fuca told loved ones she was planning to become a soldier, some doubled over and laughed until their stomachs hurt.

They hooted that she'd never pass the physical at her age, that she'd wilt without luxuries like manicures and martinis.

No one's laughing now at the 41-year-old Tucson soccer mom, who is making history as the first Arizona woman to join the Army past her 40th birthday.

The mother of four leaves for boot camp Monday, three weeks after her eldest son, a 19-year-old soldier, was sent to Iraq.

Until recently, the scenario would have been impossible. But the Army recently raised its maximum recruiting age to 42.

Fuca is one of a handful of older women nationwide now following their sons or daughters into the service, said Douglas Smith, a spokesman for Army recruiting headquarters at Fort Knox, Ky.

In Alabama, a grandmother of two recently enlisted and is training as an explosives expert after her soldier daughter was injured by a homemade bomb in Iraq, Smith said.

And in Texas, a 41-year-old woman and her daughter are due to leave around the same time for boot camps in different states.

More than 1,000 new soldiers, male and female, have joined the Army or Army Reserve since a series of age limit changes recently went into effect, Smith said.

In Arizona, eight people 40 or older have enlisted since January.

Fuca was the first woman to do so. She plans to become the Army equivalent of a hospital paramedic and aims to help wounded troops and civilians.

"I've always wanted to be in the military for a long as I can remember, but I never had the opportunity because I was a full-time mom," she said.

A native of Canada who has been a legal U.S. resident for the past decade, Fuca said the desire is probably in her blood. Her father and sister served in the Canadian army and her brother still does...

More here.

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