Twas The Night Before Deployment

There was very little color present, other than the digital camouflage of an Army uniform. There were no stockings hung by the chimney, if there were they would smell to high heaven. But, the spirit of the holiday was thick and there were candies and cookies to munch on.

This was an Army holiday celebration.

1Lt. Sarratt, dressed as one of Santa's oldest elves, brought the kid out in each of us and had us all sitting on the floor while he read two versions of The Night Before Christmas. The traditional version and a special 211th Commemorative edition, as penned by Sgt. Risner. (I'll publish that version as soon as I can get a copy of it from the author).

Cookies and candies were provided by Maj. Daneker and in the end, we all felt warm and fuzzy. It was another one of those Mark The Moment experiences.

Earlier in the week we had a great holiday party provided by one of the units former members, Barbara Reed, and her husband. It was a great time to let the hair down and relax.

Again, entertainment was provided by Sgt. Risner. A crooner to say the least, his music is great and the stories about how his lyrics come to him kept us all hanging on to every word. His talents will be used up by the time we're through with him.

And finally, no holiday story would be complete without a story of children (the real kind, not the kind we all act like at times). So, I've included a picture here of Sgt. Heise holding the newest member of 1SG Martinez' family, Alivia. If she's looking for a job when she comes back, Sgt. Heise can nanny for us anytime. Thanks for keeping the little one quiet during the noisy get together.

Happy holidays and see you all next year.