Last weekend, I was privileged to attend the deployment and casing ceremonies for the 56th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, destination Iraq, at Fort Stewart in Georgia.

First let me say that I don’t think anyone who attends these ceremonies, be they deployment or homecoming, can be unaffected by them; and the impact is doubled when there is a member of your family standing out there in uniform.  The precision and strict observances of all protocols are unto themselves a thing of beauty.  Of course, this thing of beauty requires that you are awake and ready to move out at oh-dark-thirty, which to us civilians means a ridiculously early hour of the morning, when most sane people are still getting their 40 winks ;)  Come to think of it, most of our activities start at ridiculously early hours of the morning so you could say I’m sort of used to it!  Yeah, sort of!

It all starts when you arrive at post and the busses are waiting to take you and hundreds of other family members to the parade grounds.  With all the wisdom of having done this many times over, Fort Stewart had ample transportation on hand, ready and waiting.  Dropped at the parade ground entrance my Aunt, Uncle and I walked briskly in the morning chill across the gravel parking lot towards the rows of bleachers set up for the event.

But to get to the bleacher area, we first had to go through the very moving tribute of the Warrior’s Walk.  Here, all the fallen members of the 3rd ID have their own monuments where family, friends and comrades in arms can visit, leave tokens of affection and remembrance and spend a little time with them once more.  I paused to take some photos before walking through the entrance myself and stopped to just stare down the neat row of trees lining both sides of the walkway.  Here, Somebody’s Someone was not forgotten….a bunch of beautiful and unusual blue silk roses at the base of one, tiny little angels at another.  Sometime later that morning I had the opportunity to speak with a young Sergeant who explained to me that the tribute was planned that way and the tokens left behind were well cared for.  When the Walk was dedicated, the families of those remembered were flown in from all over to take part in the ceremonies which included the planting of the trees.

By the time we seated ourselves in the bleachers, they were quickly filling up.  Texans most definitely turn out for their heroes even several states away from home and the Arrowhead Brigade (as they are known) certainly had a huge audience.  We went through the rehearsal and promptly at 10am, the ceremonies started with a beautiful invocation.  Immediately following was Sound Off, with artillery booming and smoke filling the air.  There’s something very reassuring about artillery - well, maybe you had to be there to understand ;)

The half-track then made its way with the reviewing officers in place followed by the National Anthem and the awarding of the Meritorious Unit Commendations where the battle ribbons were affixed to the company guidons.  Then, the colors were cased for travel with the brigade and Col. Henry,  Arrowhead’s “6” spoke to the crowd, telling us how prepared his soldiers were, how proud he was of them.  He spoke forcefully about the need for communication (both ways) and gave us all a good deal of reassurance.  A spirited rendition of the Army Song followed his remarks and the ceremony concluded.

Busses were waiting to take us back to our vehicles and AAFES (the military’s concession organization) had games set up for the kids along with snacks and sandwiches for what was now some pretty hungry adults.  Unfortunately for me, there wasn’t a cup of coffee in sight!  So I settled for a cold Capri fruit juice.

But there were those that were anxious to get their passes in order and begin their 4 day leave so after swiping a couple of packages of sandwiches we found my cousin and went back to the barracks so he could collect his things.

We spent Saturday evening in what for us is a family tradition…dinner (or any kind of food)and football!!!  By 9pm my eyes were barely staying open and I said goodnight to all before halftime.  It is true, in Texas football is not a sport, it’s a religion and they take it very seriously.  While I was snoring away in my room, my Aunt, Uncle and cousin were sticking it out with the University of Texas vs. Texas Tech game.  Much to their chagrin, I found out the next morning TT won ;)

And then the weekend was over.  I was back at Savannah International, saying my goodbyes before I knew it.  I didn’t want to say goodbye, I wanted more time, more of everything.  In his bags, my cousin had an Army t-shirt filled with signatures from friends wishing him a safe deployment as well as  best wishes from Congressman Duncan Hunter.  Something to hold on to when it gets tough.

So after several rounds of hugs and kisses, we parted.   They for a short visit with more family in Florida, me for what turned out to be a delay filled trip home.   But even with flight delays and nerve wracking races through Atlanta to make the connecting flight to Newark/Liberty, it was a wonderful weekend spent with my family and the family of the Arrowhead Brigade – Tip of the SPEAR!!!!