Down and dirty Delta style

Gabi is in Army JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps) this year. For those of you who don't know, ROTC is a type of military education class offered in most colleges in the U.S., JROTC is the high school level course. The classes function just like a mini-military, with all the same rank, structure, rules, etc. The kids are even issued Battle Dress Uniforms (combat fatigues) and Class A's (service dress uniforms); they wear their uniforms once a month for uniform inspections. The purpose of ROTC is:
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Developing good citizenship and patriotism.
Developing self-reliance, leadership, and responsiveness to constituted authority. Improving the ability to communicate well both orally and in writing.
Developing an appreciation of the importance of physical fitness.
Increasing a respect for the role of the U.S. Armed Forces in support of national objectives.
Developing a knowledge of basic military skills.

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But I enrolled Gabi mainly for the high level of discpline and responsibility the course teaches, in addition to the great leadership and communication skills. Fortunately she really likes it and plans to stay in JROTC throughout high school.

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Last weekend the JROTC had it's annual dining out. The military has a long tradition of a formal dining event called a Dining In (for military members only) and Dining Out (for members and their invited guests). Otis and I attended with Gabi.

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A dining in/out, as part of the whole ceremony of the event, has a long list of very formal rules of etiquette and protocol that must be followed, things like "Thou shalt wipe thy mouth before each drink" and "Thou shalt not season any food without tasting it first", "Thou shalt not butter thine entire roll at once" and "Thou not touch any thing that has dropped on the floor, including napkins and cutlery". The purpose of all these rules is to catch a fellow diner breaking a rule. Breaking a "Rule of the mess" results in the offender being sent to "The Grog".

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The grog is an incredibly disgusting "punch" created especially for the dining in/out. At real military dining ins, the grog is usually mixed in a big toilet bowl, and most often contains alcohol, along with lots of "floaties" like tootsie rolls, or meat balls. The grog tradition has evolved into a contest of makin the grog as disgusting as possible, which makes for a very entertaining evening of diners attempting to get each other sent down for a cup full of grog. Gabi's dining out was no exception.

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The grog on this night consisted of a horrible mix, including: gatorade, alphabet soup, raw bread dough, cabbage, tobassco sauce (2 bottles!), pine needles, shredded paper, band aids (colored with red food coloring for "effect"), a pair of sweaty socks, cheetos, maple syrup, enchiladas, raisins, several "mystery" ingredients.......I can't remember what else, but it was GROSS!!!!!

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The JROTC classes are divided in to 5 small groups, or companies, at the begining of the year, A (Alpha) through E (Echo). Gabi is in D (Delta). The groups create a mascot, decide on a company color and create a motto. Each company had to add something to the grog that began with their company letter, so Gabi's platoon added the dough. As their ingredient was added, each company had to yell their company motto.

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Luckily, no one at our table broke any rules (at least we didn't get caught breaking any) so none of us got sent to the dreaded grog. We had a great evening, and were so proud of Gabi. Next year she plans to join the Saber team!
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Mixing the grog


Finish grog (those black things are the sweaty socks!)
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Gabi yelling her platoon motto: "Down and dirty Delta style! Delta! Hooah!"
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