07 March 2008: TOA Ceremony

Now for the final act of my unit - the TOA ceremony. Just a quick refresher, TOA stands for transfer of authority. The 1190th DSB passed the flag today to the 1179th Deployment Support Brigade. Like most military events, the TOA required an official ceremony. This involved formations, casing the outgoing unit flag, unfurling the colors of the incoming unit, and speeches by both commanders. Our TOA ceremony was attended by two Brigadier Generals. I was designated as the Commandant of Troops. This required me to call the soldiers to attention and report to the official party (Unit Commanders). I also gave the command "Present Arms!" and "Order Arms!" This ensured that every soldier in formation was saluting for the National Anthem. We had a stunningly beautiful day for the ceremony. We rehearsed the ceremony a couple of times. At precisely 1100, we held the actual event. From start to finish it took all of twenty minutes. The speeches were short. The soldiers were released in time for chow. I loitered to talk with some of the attending officers - many of whom I had not seen the entire deployment.

After lunch the place became a frenzy of activity. Most of us had at least one more package to mail. Then it was getting the baggage down to the parking area below the billets. There we waited for the bus. About 1500 the bus came and we loaded up. Then we drove away from KNB. It's about an hour drive to Ali Al Salem Air Base. That's the same place I flew into on day one of my BOG. It's also where I flew in and out of for R&R. Now I'd see it one more time on the way out. This is where our final night would be prior to our return flight. It's not a pretty place. However, it's a welcome sight. My NCOIC extended for another year. He managed to catch a ride to AAS to see us one more time. He made the goodbye short. I think he was trying to avoid a tearful scene. It was obvious he was bordering on tears.

Once our bags were off-loaded we all moved into our assigned tents. A Major in my unit and I walked over to the "Desert Diamond Oriental Restaurant." It's adjacent to the AAS DFAC. The place was packed. As we walked in I saw some of my team there. We all got a table together and laughed over our supper. We talked very little about our deployment. Instead we spoke of home and the fun ahead. Everyone is all smiles at the mere thought of going home. It's our last night! It can't go by fast enough.

I ate bolgogi beef. Now I have heartburn. I guess I should have stuck to the DFAC for my final supper of the deployment. I'm not coming over for another tour to make the correction.