By 1st Sgt. Koepp
Our 2019 School of the Sharpshooter bivouac event was a big success. We had a wonderful turnout and got to spend quality time with old friends and new like pvt. Glasgow who traveled all the way from Montana. Living campaigner-style out of our knapsacks and haversacks, we had a great time with swapping stories, playing games, eating, work details, and of course drill.
Some drill was done light and the bulk of it was done in heavy marching order. Corporal Soderling got lots of leadership practice this weekend while leading drill and even commanding the unit on a foxhunt of Cpt. Whitehall and myself. After initially taking some time to blow the dust off of our basic drill, we spent the rest of the time working on tactics, deployments, and using the terrain. After our breaks and a nibble from out of our haversacks, pvt. Lane gave us further instruction in bugle commands.
Pvt. Lane graciously cooked two wonderful and authentic meals for the company. Breakfast Saturday morning was fried hardtack and bacon followed with Sanitary Commission stew for dinner. There was plenty of other work to do around camp as well. Nighttime temperatures dropped to near freezing and with just issue gear we had substantial firewood details to attend to. It was all hands, cutting, bucking, splitting, hauling, and stacking, lots of firewood. The barn was raided by those of us bunkin’ near the fire. We loaded up our ground cloths with loads of straw for mattresses. Some people made comfortable arrangements in the barn like pvt. Glasgow who took the “presidential suite.” In addition to sleeping accommodations, the barn served well as the company armory. Packing light also meant the soldiers got a good amount of field craft/bushcraft instruction, too.
We covered a lot of ground this weekend and had a great time with our immersive experience. Everyone’s hard work and dedication to their impression this off season looked amazing. Thank you to everyone who could make it. We’ll see you all at the Battle of Cheney.
Our 2019 School of the Sharpshooter bivouac event was a big success. We had a wonderful turnout and got to spend quality time with old friends and new like pvt. Glasgow who traveled all the way from Montana. Living campaigner-style out of our knapsacks and haversacks, we had a great time with swapping stories, playing games, eating, work details, and of course drill.
Some drill was done light and the bulk of it was done in heavy marching order. Corporal Soderling got lots of leadership practice this weekend while leading drill and even commanding the unit on a foxhunt of Cpt. Whitehall and myself. After initially taking some time to blow the dust off of our basic drill, we spent the rest of the time working on tactics, deployments, and using the terrain. After our breaks and a nibble from out of our haversacks, pvt. Lane gave us further instruction in bugle commands.
Pvt. Lane graciously cooked two wonderful and authentic meals for the company. Breakfast Saturday morning was fried hardtack and bacon followed with Sanitary Commission stew for dinner. There was plenty of other work to do around camp as well. Nighttime temperatures dropped to near freezing and with just issue gear we had substantial firewood details to attend to. It was all hands, cutting, bucking, splitting, hauling, and stacking, lots of firewood. The barn was raided by those of us bunkin’ near the fire. We loaded up our ground cloths with loads of straw for mattresses. Some people made comfortable arrangements in the barn like pvt. Glasgow who took the “presidential suite.” In addition to sleeping accommodations, the barn served well as the company armory. Packing light also meant the soldiers got a good amount of field craft/bushcraft instruction, too.
We covered a lot of ground this weekend and had a great time with our immersive experience. Everyone’s hard work and dedication to their impression this off season looked amazing. Thank you to everyone who could make it. We’ll see you all at the Battle of Cheney.
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