This page contains some interesting photos that didn't quite fit anywhere else. Rather than leave them out altogether, we'll put these "misfits" on their own page. Organizationally, they're sort of in chronological order. | |||||||||
This first picture was taken before we even left Fort Riley. This was the chaos of "manifest." If you've ever experienced a plane delay, this takes it to an extreme. The difference is that this is a PLANNED event. Getting on and off vehicles, shuttling from one place to another, waiting unGodly hours at each stop, wondering what's next... That's manifest! Here you see soldiers trying to find a comfortable spot on the cold, hard floor of Robinson Gym.  | |||||||||
 | For security purposes, each leg of our trip was undisclosed until the last possible moment. Each flight took different routes and had any number of stopovers in friendly countries. Here, the medics take a break on one of those stopovers somewhere in Italy. That's Lt Joseph Estrada in the center of the photo, Lt Trenton Short is to his right, SFC Stanley Hawkins is facing to the left. SGT Joshua Baker is in the background facing the camera while PFC Arriola and SPC Perez look off to the right. | 1LT Short and Estrada enjoy their first serving of "near beer." Alcoholic beverages are supposedly outlawed in Kuwait. Hence, the best we can do is have a swig of "nonalcoholic" brews. Despite the fact that these have a much less alcohol content, they were still potent diuretics (that means we had to go peepee a lot). |  | The 1-41 Infantry belt buckle is a coveted prize that only a select few can have. To participate in the ceremony, one must be nominated by a current belt buckle holder. The ceremony then includes some tongue in cheek hazing (for lack of a better word), an intense oral examination on the unit history, and finally, drinking a bootful of grog (edible, but not palatable). 1LT Estrada demonstrates consuming the grog without losing a drop en route to earning belt buckle number 386. |  | ||||
 | Pranks and Practical Jokes Upon arrival in country, several of the medics embarked on a series of pranks. These included such classics as injecting a croissant with toothpaste, filling a soldier's water canteen with laxatives, and shaving the heads of those who dare to sleep to soundly. Here, I discovered a sleeping medic (who shall remain nameless) covered in what smelled like shaving cream! | ||||||||
 | Because most of our task force is male, we have to resort to drastic measures to satisfy our urges. Here, SSG Bell poses with our shemale of the day! Isn't (s)he lovely? | ||||||||
Change of Command About two months into our deployment, we had a change of command ceremony for our battalion commander. This is a ceremony steeped in tradition. If you ever get the opportunity to see one, don't miss it. In the first photo, you can see the two center companies and the color guard. In the background, you can see our mobile bridge, parts of a tank, and the all-terrain HMMV. | |||||||||
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