Fabulous Army Life

Brigade leadership gathered at the brigade commander's house tonight to farewell two staff officers leaving the unit soon.  It turned out to be a really fun time.  It was a casual, backyard event that happened to coincide with Cinco de Mayo ... which meant a fun fiesta, margaritas, and yummy TexMex.  My friend Melinda is the unofficial photographer of the group and took these great shots ... Viva Fiesta! These are some wonderful Army spouses.  Love them! Silliness on the trampoline Break the Egg with Lisa! Moment of silliness gone awry!

The National Anthem playing before the game began. First, for my civilian friends (whom I love!), a Hail and Farewell is a regularly scheduled social event that Army units host in order to say 'farewell' to Soldiers and Families that are leaving the unit and to 'hail' -- or welcome -- Soldiers and Families who have recently arrived in the unit.  They are hosted in a variety of places, but usually a meal is involved and restaurants tend to be popular venues. Our battalion just hosted a Hail & Farewell at a Round Rock Express baseball game in conjunction with "Military Appreciation Night."  It was such a fun time and a wonderful way to spend time together as a unit.  At this particular venue, we were able to rent out the party area which included a pool, hot tub, and gazebo.  We had hamburgers and hot dogs, beer on tap, water, soda, and lemonade, and were able to swim throughout the game.  Another fun aspect of the night was that my hubby was able to thro...

My hubby has changed jobs which, in the Army, means a round of "farewell" events. We were farewelled from the brigade a few weeks ago at a brigade staff "Hail and Farewell" and I was farewelled last night from the brigade Coffee group. For my civilian friends, a "Hail and Farewell" is a regularly scheduled social event for the Soldiers and spouses of a unit to welcome new members to the unit and to say goodbye to those who are scheduled to leave. Welcomes include a quick summary of the Soldier's previous assignments and jobs plus information about his/her Family and interests. Farewells generally include a nice speech about the value the Soldier and Family has added to the unit and may include a farewell gift (framed prints and unit colors are popular). A nice touch is that incoming spouses usually receive a yellow rose and outgoing spouses receive a red rose. A "Coffee," by contrast, is a social event exclusively for the spouses of Soldi...