Cover
HAYES · pg. 1
U.S. Army
The Beginning
of the Hayes Family
This we'll defend
Chapter One · 2026
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← Back to The Beginning
A completed, print-ready example
The Hayes Family — The Beginning
This is what your Beginning looks like after a new Army family has filled it in — first duty station, first neighborhood, first homecoming — ready to send to the print shop.
Dedication
HAYES · pg. 2
For the family we're just becoming —
wherever the orders take us,
this is where it started.
wherever the orders take us,
this is where it started.
— Jordan & Riley, Fort Liberty, 2026
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Crew Roster
HAYES · pg. 3
The Crew
A brand-new family of two, plus one dog who thinks he's in charge.
PFC. Jordan Hayes
Soldier
Riley Hayes
Spouse
Otis
Dog · adopted 2025
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First Duty Station
HAYES · pg. 4
First posting
Fort Liberty
Fayetteville, NC · Report date: March 4, 2026
How we got there
Drove up from Atlanta in a U-Haul with everything we owned and a dog in the passenger seat. Fourteen hours because Otis needed a walk every two. Rolled through the Reilly Road gate just after 9pm on a Tuesday.
Our first place
One-bedroom apartment in Spring Lake. Beige walls, one window on the parking lot, rent $1,100. Otis claimed the couch on day one.
First week
In-processing at Soldier Support Center. Riley started job-hunting on Wednesday. We bought a folding table from Target and ate dinner on it for six weeks before the real one arrived.
One thing that surprised us
How fast strangers turn into neighbors. The couple upstairs brought over a lasagna the second day.
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Making It Home
HAYES · pg. 5
Settling in
The first month.
The neighborhood
Spring Lake is quiet at night, loud with lawnmowers on Saturday. There's a Waffle House on the corner that never closes. We know the third-shift waitress by name.
Our people so far
The Nguyens across the hall. Sgt. Reyes and his wife, two doors down. Riley's coffee-shop coworker Bea, who's already been to two of our cookouts.
Places we love
- Sherefé Mediterranean GrillDowntown. The lamb plate. Every Friday.
- Cape Fear River TrailSix miles of shade. Otis's favorite Saturday.
Sounds & smells
Pine sap in the morning, distant artillery on Thursdays, sweet tea on every counter.
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First Homecoming
HAYES · pg. 6
The first door opened
June 12, 2026.
Jordan came home from three weeks in the field with pine needles still in his boots. Otis lost his mind. Riley made spaghetti. We sat on the floor because the couch was full of dog.
A note to future us
Remember this apartment. Remember the folding table. Remember that this was where it started.
— Chapter One, complete
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Ready when you are
Your family's The Beginning.
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