mmmm that must have tasted good!
So CAV means cavalry, which started as soldiers on horses. Our unit is a CAV unit, so the guys wear Stetsons and spurs when they are in "dress blues". Its all a bit like a fraternity and there are traditions/hazing that the guys go through. One of those traditions is "breaking in your stetson". Now keep this in mind when looking at the pictures - these hats cost over $100, they are not cheap.
These are pictures of our friend, Pell, who joined the troop mid deployment and hadn't had the chance to get his Stetson broken in. The Squadron Commander and the 1st Sargent wheeled out a keg of "grog". Eric tells me that grog is a mixture of lots of different alcaholic beverages. They both drank some grog, which was funny and a part of some other tradition, I was too drunk to undguyserstand it all. Anyway, after they had their drink in the middle of the ballroom, all the rushed in and got some grog to pour into the new guys' Stetsons. Each member of the troop takes a turn pouring something into the hat and then the new guy gets to drink the disgusting mess from their Stetsons. Eric had hot sauce and all kinds of stuff put in his when they broke his hat in before the deployment. Funny stuff!