work hard, play harder

this past weekend i had reserve duty.  it was also the 9 yr commemoration of 9/11.  our unit had a combat dining-in.  for anyone unfamiliar with formal military events, a dining-in is a ceremony involving dinner, drinking, and other events and is meant to foster camaraderie.  while there are dinners and military balls that spouses and guests can attend (referred to as dining-outs), the dining-in is for military members only.  a combat dining-in is set up around the same format and sequence of events as the traditional dining-in, but it is a much more relaxed atmosphere and dress code.  our combat dining-in had a warrior theme and every section chose different themes and costumes.  my section chose pirates.  we even decorated our table with a ship built from boxes and lots of booty.  we work so hard that it's nice to have some downtime too!