After Action Report:  Chehalis, WA 2017

     Fair weather, good battles, good turnout, and of course we finally fired while prone!  Our drill skills and our stellar safety track record allowed us to prove ourselves on the battlefield with great effect.  We had some great young reenactors fall in with us this weekend and one even plans on transferring.  It's hard to go back to line infantry after having ran the field, shot prone, help to capture a company, and drilling like a boss with Company D.  As always, we drilled more than any other unit in the club and as always it shows.  Our corporals continue to improve their leadership and their mastery of Civil War drill and instruction.
     Camp time was fun and relaxing with plenty of camp fire singing with the help of Pvts. Soderling and Cpl Hardway.  Mrs./Pvt./Co. Cook Soderling stayed with our Maine Camp and Hospital Association and with the help of her steward prepared a wonderful dinner of chili, cornbread, and blueberry pie.  The Corporals were on top of every detail and every private performed their work with dedication and quality.  It's hard to believe that the end of the season is only one event away from us.
     During some of our down time we even managed to shoot some more YouTube videos.  We're getting quite a collection of them in the can and they will be continuing to come out every Sunday.  It was a good surprise and a bit sad that Pvt. Edwards was able to join us for our last battle Sunday.  This was his last event with us before moving to the east coast.  We wish his family the best of luck.
     We'll likely not make it to Kennewick in August but will be planning to come out in force for the September Battle of Snoqualmie.  In the meantime, we'll keep working on our impressions and studying our drill manuals.  

     We had another fun weekend at Fort Stevens educating the public, working on our gear, and having fun as a company.  The cool weather made for a comfortable weekend and the interested, engaging public kept us busy during the day.  In addition to shooting demonstrations and our information booth, we also had wonderful tent displays available for the public to enjoy.
     During the day we repaired, cleaned, and cataloged loaner gear and had our first opportunity supporting our new company cook.  It was also great assigning stewards to the cook for extra duty.  We also shot three new YouTube videos that will be coming out soon.  On Sunday, thanks to the help of Pvt. Soderling and Cpl. Hardway, we were able to improve our impressions by filling out enlistment papers based on Company D impressions.
     After the park closed we enjoyed hanging out, having fun, singing, and continuing our annual tradition of going into the tunnels inside Battery Clark late at night to enjoy utter darkness.  
     We are always so thankful to the people of Fort Stevens inviting us every year and we now have plenty of company funds to purchase our own national flag this off season.  We'll see you at the Battle of Chehalis!