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In April, Troop 221 traveled to Central Texas. We had Camp Tahuaya all to ourselves and had the privilege of spending the better part of Good Friday at Ft. Hood. Click the image to see the whole gallery.
After an uneventful drive, we pulled into Camp Tahuaya around 9:30 pm. The Camp Ranger met us in the parking lot and directed us to a huge campsite right off the main road. We setup camp and enjoyed our usual cracker barrel. We had a little weather roll in around 1:30 am but, as it turned out, we were on the outskirts of the bad stuff and had way more lightning than rain.
Saturday morning started at 6:30. We had a quick breakfast and departed for Ft. Hood. When we arrived, we were met by two 1st Sergeants from the 1st Cavalry Division. 1st Sgts Bernreuther & Stoddard spent most of the day with us and were an outstanding example of the men and women that serve our country. Our party numbered about 50 and they were patient and gracious hosts.
We started our tour at the 1st Cavalry's Horse Detachment. The boys learned about the history of the Division's Horse Detachment and watched a video about the type of shows that the unit performs all over the country. The boys also met a few of the horses and mules from the unit and then received a lesson in horse shoes from the unit's farrier. We were also able to see where the unit's saddle makers and boot makers do their work. Our tour of the horse detachment ended with a big Cavalry Yell and then we were off to lunch in one of the base's dining halls.
The boys enjoyed eating in the dining hall and watching the soldiers come and go. There were hundreds of pictures on the walls of soldiers who have paid the ultimate price in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of the boys understood the gravity of it all; the adults surely did.
After lunch, we went over to the 1st Cavalry's Museum and Gift Shop. Some boys bought hats, pins and other 1st Cavalry items and then went out and walked amongst the tanks, jeeps, helicopters & airplanes that are part of our history. Our final stop on Ft. Hood was the airfield. We were taken thru the maintenance hangar and out onto the airfield. The airfield was lined with Black Hawk and Apache helicopters that were being prepared for deployment. 1st Sergeant Stoddard opened up a Black Hawk and the boys were able to crawl around inside, sit in the pilot's seats and handle the controls. It was awesome... There was also a humvee parked next to the Black Hawk and the boys took turns piling in and out of it. The SPL was even allowed to start it.
After our time at the airfield, we took off and went back to camp. The boys enjoyed a couple hours of downtime and spent most of it playing cards and throwing the football.
The camp ranger at Tahuaya was outstanding. He joined us for coffee each morning and stopped by a couple more times throughout the weekend to make sure we had what we needed. We seldom get to spend more than 2 minutes with the Camp Ranger so it was nice to be able to share that time and a little grub with him.
We reminded the boys on Saturday morning that not very many boys (or adults) get to have the kind of experiences that we do: spending a day with two of our nation's finest soldiers, sitting in $6 million dollar aircraft, relaxing around a campfire and enjoying the results of a dutch oven dessert contest. Join us next time!
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