Traditions

2010 Wrestling Banquet

Renie surprised us all and did so well this year in Wrestling.

My handsome Cadet

Two cadets from Alpha Company having to drink the grog for not yelling Hoorah loud enough.

Renie gets called up for not keeping his brass shiny this year. That is him using a raw egg to clean the brass diagram.

Poor kid, he ended up having to drink two glasses due to forgetting to salute before, and for not cleaning the brass on the diagram good enough. Needless to say, it took him awhile to drink it because he poured so much gunk into the glass.

After getting Rene comfortable after his surgery, I had just 30 minutes to get dressed for Renie's JROTC Dinning Out Ceremony. This is a formal ceremony involving high level ranks from the base and a full room of Yokota Cadets. Unfortunately, our school only has an Army JROTC, so different rules and traditions apply. This was my first Dinning Out experience. As you walk in, you shake hands then head to your table. I can't even begin to tell you all the rules that apply not only to the cadets, but to all who are attending. For example, you can't sit down until ordered to sit down. All ladies must sit before all cadets sit. The list goes on and on. I could tell Renie was on edge, because if I didn't follow the rules, he would be called out to drink the grog. Talk about being on edge the entire evening. It was actually pretty hilarious.

Grog is a mixture of nasty ingredients from dirt, blue cheese, hot Cheetos, old pizza, ect......According to Renie, it tastes like vomit. If you can't drink it, then you have the option of pouring it over your head. I would say this ceremony borders on hazing, but that is just my opinion. I was told than everything that goes into the grog is safe for the kids. Who knows...

All in all it was quite an entertaining evening watching several cadets drink the grog for reasons from not having their uniforms on correctly to unpolished brass to just being 5'9 and above. It gets so bad that they have to cover the carpet with plastic paper in case a cadet vomits. Yuk!