Saturday, April 26, 2008

I love a parade...

We went to the Air Force Academy this morning to watch a parade. No, not a floats, clowns and balloons parade - it was a military parade, of course! It was freezing cold, and my fingers and toes almost went numb while we watched, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Things started slowly. At first all we saw was a bunch of people standing around on a large field while several commands were shouted (which we couldn't hear). Then, it picked up as one person from each group brought the squadron flag forward. I loved seeing all the flags together.



Then, each squadron marched around the parade area (the terrazzo). They passed in front of where we were standing outside the chapel to watch. As they marched by us, the command "eyes right" was given, and the cadets turned their heads toward the spectators.



Each squadron was led by three people, two carrying flags and the other a sword. The small flag says AFCW (which stands for Air Force Cadet Wing), and has the squadron number on it.



I was impressed with how the cadets were in near perfect lock-step with one another. You can really see it in this picture.



My favorite part of the parade was actually the end. All the squadrons of cadets had been lining up on the side of the terrazzo and standing at attention in perfect squares. When the command dismissing them was given, a roar went up and they scattered, pleased to have completed the exercise and be free to enjoy the rest of the day.

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