I just got back from a trip to Lackland Airforce Base in Texas where I watched a much loved relative graduate from basic training. What an experience! I spent four days surrounded by trainees and drill sergeants and was so impressed by the dedication and idealism that I witnessed, that by the end I felt like I'd acquired a new family.
There's a lot of running in basic, and even bystanders like me couldn't help but pick up fragments of the running songs. My favorite was one sung by what looked like visiting army guys. It went like this: "Two old ladies lyin' in bed/ One rolled over to the other and said/ 'I want to be an Airborne Ranger/ I want to lead a life of danger!/ Danger....Ahhhhh!/ Ranger....Ahhhhhh!!' "
BTW, the two black and white photos above are taken from a brilliant WWII photo book called "At Ease" which I discovered in the base library.
The Army guys weren't there for basic training. They and some Navy and Marines were there to study for joint operations. The sailors were wearing something (above) I'd never seen before...blue camouflage fatigues with a pattern that looked like tumultuous sea water. That seemed odd to me because if a man fell overboard he'd want something as colorful and unsealike as possible for contrast. Maybe it's meant to foil photography from the air.
While we're on the subject of camouflage, how do you like the fatigues (above) that airman wear now?
Here's (above) a close shot of the pattern. The shapes look jagged and digital. I'd of thought that blurred edges would work better but tests favored the pixel. Who'da thunk?
I'd also have expected the dark shapes to have a vertical bias because that's the way tall grass and trees grow, but as you can see the camouflage has a horizontal bias. Maybe that's because most shadows are horizontal. If you think about it, even vertical things like trees cast their shadows mostly on the flat ground.
Can you spot the soldier in this picture? Camouflage is a science now.
This one's (above) even harder. Can you see the soldier here?
The graduation oration was terrific. Washington and Valley Forge were remembered and appropriately, so was Von Steuben (spelled right?), the man who trained the Continental Army and made it professional.
It culminated in the graduates reciting The Airman's Creed. The part about being "My nation's sword and shield/ It's sentry and avenger" left me in tears.
The plane trip home was fascinating, but I'll have to save that story for another time.
