it has been suggested that i continue this site, at least with an "i'm home" post to close it out. so, ah, yeah, i'm back at hood. i'm pretty sure you all knew that already, so i'll just talk a little bit about the welcome home ceremonies.
the first thing i'll say is that there are signs everywhere. you can't go a block without seeing a new sign. "welcome home 1st cav," "welcome home greywolf,"welcome home heroes" etc. etc. etc. big hundred foot banners stretching the walls of III corp to pictures little kids drew on a piece of paper, the signs are everywhere. FRGs (family readiness group) even made welcome home signs by sticking red plastic cups thru the chain link fences around the motor pools we're operating out of.
anyways, about the ceremonies. family gather at the parade field in front of the 1st cav division headquarters. there are bleachers set up in a U shape for people to sit, a DJ to play music, and the USO handing out free drinks and snacks while everyone waits. updates come over the loud speakers about the soldiers progress. "you're soldiers have landed at the airport," "you're loved ones have boarded the busses and are leaving the airport now," "they're five blocks away" with a few others in-between.
the last couple of blocks the busses take are lined on either side with American flags about every 10 feet. the busses pull up complete with a police escort (which is good since they go the wrong way down a one way street) and stop in front of the parade field with barely a foot or two between them to block the view of everyone waiting in the bleachers. while the newly arriving soldiers pile out to form up on the other side of the busses, the DJ plays a special music set complete with the famous "let's get ready to rumble" know from every boxing match and a fair amount of austin powers sprinkled in for good measure.
the DJ pumps up the crowd with a "they can't hear you" known to anyone who's attended summer camp until everyone's formed up and the busses pull away as family members strain their necks looking for a specific person in a sea of indiscernible army combat uniforms.
this is where the army gets smart. after they all march onto the field the color guard is dismissed, the division chaplain says a prayer, some brass gives a 30 sec job well done speech then releases them to their families. from the time they march onto the parade field to the time they're dismissed is about 3 mins. from there the families rush the formation trying to find waldo where everyone wears a red and white striped shirt. it's pure chaos, but it's fun chaos.
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3 comments:
Well Andrew, since I've already seen you since you're back, and don't have to be all sappy...check your spelling and grammar honey. "You're" is a contraction for "you are". Therefore when you want to say (3rd paragraph) "your soldiers" or "your loved ones", you need to use y-o-u-r. Just being a good Aunt! ha.
Love you!
for my excuse i'm going to fall back on the fact that i wrote this at 2am
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