51 OG Dining In

This past weekend, Jonathan and I attended the 51 OG (that's Operations Group, for you non-military speakers out there) Dining In. It's basically a formal dinner for those in the flying community, including a guest speaker and awards ceremony. The fun part is a tradition called 'The Grog.' Everyone gets a program that lists all the rules of the Grog (things such as you can only drink with your left hand, answer each toast correctly, etc.). Anyone who gets caught breaking one of these rules (and there were like 20 of them) can be called out and sent to the Grog, which is a table set up in the middle of the room with two buckets full of liquid, one alcoholic, one non-alcoholic. The alcoholic one was basically a VERY strong Jack and Coke (I would say 3 parts Jack to every 1 part Coke) and the non-alcoholic one looked like this:

That, my friends, is prune juice, Nesquick, jalapenos, sausage. . . and perhaps a few other things. Granted, some brave and admirable souls chose this version of the Grog when they got called out; me? I think I would have just bit the bullet and drank the Jack.

As "Mayor" of our squadron, Jonathan had to serve at Vice and help run the evenings festivities. But, of course, he did have the drink the Grog. (And for those wondering, he chose the alcoholic kind). Here's him on the far left doing the pilot-toast before partaking:

The night also consisted of an awards ceremony for the Turkey Shoot. The two fighter squadrons on our base each had competitions among their pilots for various things. Jonathan won first place for 30 DB. I have no idea what that means, but hey--its first place! :) Here's him receiving his award. (Yes, I was sitting all the way in the back. Because Jonathan had to be a part of the "show," we didn't get to sit together. He sat up front with the "big wigs," and I sat in the back with the rest of the squadron.)

Here's his award. Again, you'll have to ask him what it means. I was just proud that my husband won an award. :)

And, after going through all the individual winners from each of the two squadrons, they announced the over-all "Top Gun" squadron:

Come on, was there ever any doubt when you place A-10's up against F-16's? ;)

After it was all over, we were finally reunited, and I was able to get ONE picture of us together while he was in his mess dress. I mean, come on. . . the uniform is the reason I married the guy. ;)

Last but not least, a group photo with the Lady Draggins. Almost all of the wives have left Korea for the summer, but a few were able to stick around and attend the Dining In. And, to that, I give a big old hearty: "Pil Sung!"