I went to a outfit reunion this weekend in College Station.
For the uninformed, an 'outfit' is a Corps of Cadets unit at
Texas A&M University, roughly organized into a company
like an Army company of soldiers.
My class (1993) started with 25 freshmen or 'fish,' and
graduated 17, which for the Corps is a pretty high
percentage. My outfit has a long history of name changes,
with guys representing classes from the 60's and forward.
The longest slogan for company B-2 was Boozin' B, the
company that made Milwuakee famous. We were the
Boozers until 1994, when the name changed to the
Buzzards, then disbanded and now is back as the more PC,
B-2 Patriots. Gone is the Confederate flag emblazoned on
a wooden beer keg, replaced with a cavalry soldier with a
flag on a horse. I guess the powers that be decided the
image of a bunch of beer-swilling rebel hooligans was not
in line with the 'world class' University that A&M stides to
be.
But you know, looking over these guys at the reunion,
even the young cadets presently in B-2, all have that same
audacity that makes them successful. I think we need a
little of that to overcome the obstacles in life. Yes , they
may raise a little hell, maybe drink a beer, maybe pull
some outlandish pranks, torture and haze underclassmen,
but these are guys that have fought in the jungles of
Vietnam, rolled through Bagdad in tanks and gone after
the Taliban. They have risen up the corporate ladders,
started their own companies, taken risks, and become
leaders in industry, government and agriculture.
I am proud to say I am one of these. We are Aggies. We
don't always do the culturally acceptable thing. We
wouldn't have it any other way.
GIG 'Em!!
p.s, My buddy Dr. David Webb, DVM brought his 1977 Lincoln Continental convertible so guess what we cruised aroud all weekend in?
