Yay for the fourth

For the soldiers in Oregon's 115 MPAD, the 4th of July was truly special - for the first time in six weeks they were eating real food. Steak. Chicken. Shrimp. Snow crab. Finally something other than army issue food from the DFAC or, when that proved too bad, MREs.

Unlike in Sacramento, where the 4th ushered in the first real heat wave of the summer, Independence Day in New Jersey was cool and breezy. It was perfect weather for tossing footballs, especially since everyone still had to wear their BDUs.

The only drawback (?) was that it was a dry 4th. Not only has it been nearly six weeks since soldiers in the 115 MPAD have had good food (with the exception of course of cookie and brownie care packages sent from home), but it's also been that long since anyone has imbibed. In the good old days, rations came with a jigger of gin, now soldiers go off to war completely sober. (Probably safer that way if you think about it).

In closing, although this is being posted on the 6th, we're leaving you with a link to the hosts of NPR reading the Declaration of Independence.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11703583

Glossary
DFAC - Dining facility. Think MASH.

MRE - Meal Ready to Eat. Battlefield food. Highly caloric, not that tasty, although apparently an improvement over K-rations. (http://www.usarmymodels.com/ARTICLES/Rations/krations.html). Sometimes called "mysteries."

BDU - Battle Dress Uniforms. The every day uniform worn by soldiers in the army. For most of our lifetimes, it has been the green and brown cammo. Now it is a funky grey and tan/cream, computer generated, abstract pattern that is supposed to work in the dessert, jungle and urban environments.

MPAD - Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.