More on Hangin’ out at the Jamboree and the Opening Show (27 Jul 10)

The days start at 6:10 each day. There is the short trip to the heated swimming pool to do a few laps. The alarm on the phone lets me know that it’s 6:45am and time to head back to the room, take a shower, shave and gather my things to take to the van parked outside my room. I leave for work between 7:15 and 7:20am.

Breakfast is coffee consumed on the Interstate between Fredricksburg and the Bowling Green/Fort AP Hill exit – a good 20 minutes down the highway. Unlike my commute into Fort McCoy or Fort Snelling, there is NO National Public Radio or jazz music to keep me company (another reason why I NEED XM Sat radio installed in the van!). Lots of Christian radio stations, combative talk radio with more or less a conservative bent, and static.

I try to make my personal cellphone calls during this time, as a result. When I leave the Interstate and drive out two miles, I lose ALL cellphone coverage for six miles. I mean the thing goes to NO bars, and the T-Mobile logo is gone!! I do manage to pick up the C-SPAN radio station from Washington somehow and that’s where the radio stays until I arrive at the front gate at Fort AP Hill.

I show my military media pass, which allows me to drive to the central parking areas and park. That’s all it provides. The Soldiers salute the car as I drive by the gate and I return a snappy salute to them in return.

Once I get in, it is close to 8am. Because I have my own missions, I do not always stop by the public affairs shop — those folks are busy and do not have time for “straphangers.” I know this for a FACT, because a few years ago, I had to play “babysitters of america” to four or five “straphangers” who wanted to just hang out. Nothing wrong with that except that their “hanging out” turned into “constructive critizing” of everything….the layout, how we’re doing things, why…

I promised myself that if I EVER got into a similar type situation, I’ll show up a couple of times to remind them that I’m alive and haven’t been the lunch menu for some ravouous animal out there…and otherwise, STAY THE HELL OUTTA OF THEIR WAY. If they NEED MORE HELP, they’ll FIND AND ASK ME FOR IT.

And I will be gracious enough to accept their request and be a team player.

So this morning, I ducked my head in but everyone was either in a staff meeting, haven’t got there, or something. I wanted to know if they needed help at the Opening show…

Today was the Opening show at the Jamboree. The Jamboree was CLOSED to visitors until noon (originally 11am). There are good reasons for doing this in this manner. I don’t agree with all of them.

The biggest reason is because it was anticipated that the President would attend and say a few words. As I wrote in another forum, it is literally a nightmare just making all of the security arrangments for such a visit…let along the regular arrangements. So closing the Jamboree to all except the participants made sense from that standpoint.

The drawback is that the public — and the press representing the public interest — could not observe and report on the President’s comments, the Scouts’ reactions to those comments, and the overall excitement generated from such a visit. We have not had a President visit the Jamboree in quite some time — over ten years — and regardless of the politicial winds, the visit would have been well received and well honored by youth and adults alike.

I took lots of photos, however, of the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates. Bob Gates — the “SECDEF” to me and others in the military — is on the BSA’s National Executive Board and has been there for about 20 years. He is the current president of the BSA’s National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) and also an active member — not just on paper — of three BSA committees including the National Committee on Advancement.

The SECDEF had a lot of great words to say to the Scouts and the Scouts ate it up. Personally, I feel that having Secretary Gates — an Eagle Scout, Order of the Arrow Vigil Honor member, a Jamboree participant as a youth and a participant to Philmont Scout Ranch — talk with the Scouts much more creditable than our President, who has never been a Boy Scout but was a Cub Scout briefly.

Gates connected with the Scouts with stories of his recollections during the 1957 National Scout Jamboree.

There were other visitors to that event — the Governor of Virginia welcomed the Scouts back to his state; the World Wrestling folks and the National Guard brought four of their famous wrestlers… I have a bit of advice for Sgt. Slaughter, one of the WWE folks who came onto the stage to greet the Scouts:

Hey Sarge — this is a BOY SCOUT event. You screaming out “Cub Pack” whatever number ain’t gonna get you any love!! Cub Scouts don’t participate in the Jamboree. You should have taken a cue from your female friend, Eve…who wanted to “hear it!” when she asked if we were having fun. That’s a LOT safer….at ease.

*smiling*

The Army’s Golden Knights, parachuting from almost a mile up in the air, was a good way to bring the Jamboree to a great start.

For those who wondered about the water situation…there was PLENTY of water. The timing of the Show — early morning instead of late afternoon/evening — also helped a lot. There were plenty of medical folks there, including my former Explorer and great friend Jay Reeves. I had to wait to get a photo of him but we briefly talked before I left him to get back to work and I got to work as the Jamboree opening show was about to open up.

I have some video which I’ll share later in the weekend… and some more photos which I’ll post as well. I wanted to upload the images directly here to my Facebook — but the entire network was down. Nothing was going to leave that arena, at least not electronically! I imagine that’s the way the closing show will be as well.

I interviewed a couple of Soldiers after the show was over, asking for their impressions. One Soldier compared it to a rock concert he attended somewhere….except it was a lot tamer.

All in all, today was a good day for Scouting although I personally wished that the President had decided to swing Marine One down this way for a brief in and out visit and a few words — not a lot — to the Scouts and Scouters assembled there! He’s got another opportunity in a few days. Let’s hope that his advisors and handlers convince him to “just show up”!!

My days end around 4:30pm unless there is something special going on (like on Thursday). I try to get out so that I can beat the exit traffic as vistors are supposed to be gone by 5pm daily.