The outfit that now-MSG McG and I were attached to in Iraq for the last almost six months we were there was a Cavalry unit. As I mentioned in a previous blog, because of that fact, he and I came home from that deployment with Stetsons and combat spurs.
Before joining the Army I had seen some of my former ROTC Cadets wearing Stetsons, and frankly never imagined myself ever owning one, let alone wearing one.
For one thing, I've never been a big fan of hats.
Now I find myself in a situation in which I wear headgear of some sort almost any time I'm outside, and even sometimes when I'm inside.
Not long ago I was at a meeting in which many of the others present were wearing headgear inside the building, so I returned to my office and got my Stetson. Though my new unit is also Cavalry, instead of wearing Stetsons, they wear 'Campaign Hats'.
Campaign hats are sort of like Stetsons, but they're brown, and not quite as large.On those occasions when we wear hats inside the building, there are only three of us with Stetsons, in a sea of Campaign Hats.
That particular day at the meeting mentioned above, as we waited for the Important People to arrive, I was the only person wearing a Stetson. When the boss walked in, he quickly surveyed the room, and before he'd even reached his seat, he commented with some disapprobation, "One of these is not like the others."
Without thinking (I really ought to stop that, as it turns out), I blurted out, "It must be the combat spurs."
Oops.
Blessings and peace to one and all,
Fr. Tim, SJ
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3 comments:
You remind me of a professor I had at University, Fr.Ben Wren. Larger than life, slightly irreverent, nobody I ever hoped to see or make mad. You never knew what he was going to say.
Fr. Tim,
Would you be so good as to ask one of those officers WHY they are wearing the Spanish American style hat?
Our CAV guys (Oregon National Guard) always wore the black Stetson. As an Infantryman, I thought they were pretty insufferable and, one thing leading to another, I eventually put together a complete hat/ensemble. This was in about 1980 and peeved some of the CAV guys no end. Definitely NOT authorized but, no one ever said anything about it over the course of twenty six years.......
Dennis
And, you lived to tell that tale, too! :-)))))
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