There, during the solemn ceremony, you were standing in formation with the rest of your squad. You were ready to be met with one of your family members coming down and tapping you out so you could move. Until then, you stayed still and stoic, staring forward, like you were supposed to. You’d be able to walk around in the general area around before you would have to return back to the specific squadron you were in, but at least you could spend that quality time with them.

As all the families were allowed to run down and tap their soldier, you occasionally looked in your peripheral vision to see if you saw them. You watched as people around you got tapped out by family members, happily reuniting and seeing each other after such a long time. Suddenly, you saw your younger brother, Tim, running up towards you happily. Tim stood in front of you, almost shaking with anticipation. He then gently tapped your shoulder, freeing you from formation.

“I missed you,” Tim uttered, happily hugging you. He could feel himself getting slightly emotional from finally seeing after so long. Who could blame him? He was your brother who hasn’t seen you since you first went off to basic.