On military life

We live in Japan, which means getting used to a completely new culture. But, over the past few months, I've been dealing with another culture shock: military life.

It's a whole new world. Here's a few tidbits:

• We stand for the National Anthem before movies at the theater on base. Talk about patriotism.
• Everything has an acronym. BAH, DLA, IED, TMO, AMC are part of our daily military dialect.
• I shop for groceries at a commissary. And PX is not some ultra-modern laser gun; it's where I get my toothpaste (it's also referred to as "the exchange" and stands for Post Exchange. Or the BX if you're on an Air Force base for Base Exchange).
• I'm quite used to being saluted every time I enter the "neighborhood"
• Military ID. NEVER leave home without it. You can't get into the grocery store, buy anything on base, GET on base, check out a library book, etc. etc. without it. I would willingly get a radio chip installed in my arm if it meant I didn't have to carry around my ID
• Driving while talking on a cell phone/using a cell phone is not an option
• Your friendly neighborhood policeman is called PMO or MP's. And they LOVE to pull you over for speeding or using your phone on base.
• I regularly drive extremely slowly (see above). The speed limit on our street is 15 kph (9.32 mph), and the normal residential speed limit is 20-25 kph (12-15 mph). I feel like I'm SPEEDING going 50 kph (31.07 mph) You probably don't want to ride with me on I-10 when I come home. [Update: since I originally wrote this, I've been driving on the "expressway" every day to and from work. So I've amped up my speed. I usually don't go over 100 kph (62 mph)...the speed limit is 80 kph (49 mph)]

I'm sure so many of our weird habits have become normal that we don't even notice them anymore. There are many many more and I'll try to update.

Aggie Muster 2010

Like I said in the previous post, we celebrated Muster a little differently this year. I think it has broadened my appreciation for the tradition even more because unlike many other traditions (Silver Taps, Yell Practice, etc...) Muster is celebrated by everyone, around the world! What an example of the thriving Aggie Network and a testament to the bonds Aggies have!

The evening of April 21st, Zac and I had a Mongolian BBQ dinner with a couple of other Ags that are in the same MEU unit as Zac. It was such a departure of the pomp and circumstance of the Muster we know and love, but it was so fantastic. A few other non-Aggies were with us also, and it was so great to tell them about A&M and the traditions. We really did sit and reminisce of our days at Texas A&M, just like we're supposed to. Zac printed out the campus Roll Call and we also called out those names.

I was so excited to come to work on Thursday morning, anxiously waiting to watch the campus Muster on the online stream. All of the committee members on stage were great friends that I got to work with at least last year, including the Chair who was on committee with me all three years I served. I couldn't be more proud of the job they did, and I wish I could express my gratitude to them in person for their service to the Aggie community. I don't think I've missed Aggieland this much since I left. Another thing that just made me swell with Aggie pride is all the Facebook statuses...every single Aggie friend I had on Facebook had something about Muster.

We planned on going to the "real" Okinawa Muster on Saturday afternoon, but after a long and busy week, I was exhausted and Zac had a platoon cookout the same afternoon, so we didn't end up going. Hopefully they took a picture and will send it in to the Texas Aggie! I can't wait to hear, now that so many of my friends are spread out all over the world, all of the Muster stories from this year!

Happy Muster Day

"If there is an A&M man in one hundred miles of you, you are expected to get together, eat a little, and live over the days you spent at the A&M College of Texas..."

April 21st has been a very different day for us Cooks the past 5 years. For a combined 6 years (Zac for 3 and me for 3) on the Aggie Muster Committee, Muster Day started with an early morning flag raising, always consisted of a BBQ lunch with classic Aggie entertainment, and an evening devoted to our [favorite] sacred Aggie tradition, Muster.

Today, we're celebrating a little differently...it looks like we'll still have some BBQ (this weekend), and perhaps I'll catch a little bit of the ceremony on campus (online), but how awesome is it that halfway around the world, we'll be with Aggies on the day dedicated to celebrate April 21st.

I definitely have to say, for myself at least, that the memories I have from Muster are some of the best from college, if not ever. So in honor of Aggie Muster Day, I've decided to grace you with some (possibly never before seen) pictures from last year's Muster.

AND, you can watch the streaming campus Muster online, get more information at muster.tamu.edu or http://www.aggienetwork.com/muster/ to find your Muster. Or if you want to relive (my) glory days, google "Secretary Gates Muster Speech" and you can get a full video of his pretty amazing speech. I'm SOO looking forward to this years' Muster speaker, Major Ruth!

Meeting Secretary Gates the evening of Muster. I think he was saying something like "Y'all clean up nice." 

Oh, just a little breakfast with the Secretary of Defense. I was probably asking him to write a letter to the Marines to let Zac off for our wedding.

Welcoming Former President Bush (Sr.) to Muster.

Gig 'em Gates!

Muster Execs. Spent at LEAST 3 nights a week with these guys for a year. Love them and miss them.

Praying Muster morning after the flag raising. 

"Softly call the Muster

Let comrade answer here..."