Got brass?

That was the attitude over the West Point weekend, which was enjoyed by almost everybody.  Brass was flying out in almost every direction.  But that’s not why we, 16 excited scouts and 7 enthusiastic adults from Troop 1158, drove 360 miles to West Point’s Camp Natural Bridge for (hopefully).  We came to the 48th West Point Scoutmaster’s Council Camporee to have fun, to camp, to tour the campus, and to have more fun.  We definitely did.

Friday was a school day, but we left the church to head off at 7:30, or more likely at 8 or so.  The road trip took seven and half long, fun, boring, and entertaining hours, where we had a long lunch break in the middle and played some balls.  Other than that, we sat in our cars, read, joked, played a game, or even played the Wii.  Arriving at Camp Natural Bridge in mid afternoon, we still had to hike more than three miles to our Lake Frederick campsite.  The road was filled with steep slopes that could have been diamond ski courses and the weather was hot.  But, once we got to our campsite, all was well.  We pitched our tents in a woefully confined space, and then we ate our pre-packaged dinners.  Some lucky Scouts even managed to obtain some brass on Friday evening with … urh …  Girl Scout cookies. 

Saturday brought a good morning breakfast, which contained pancakes, bacon, and several other delicious breakfast foods.  At eight o’clock, we (along with the thousands of other Scouts that were present) watched an interesting tactics display present by the West Point cadets with purple smoke, Humvees & machine gun firing.  Then, it was off to activities and brass hunting.  Even though the activities had long waiting lines, we still enjoyed the activities (which included a C.O.P.E. program, canoeing races, obstacle courses, weaponry, and the avoided grenade throw).  Of course, while we waited, we did the only thing that came to our minds:  tracking down cadets to get our hands on the treasured brass.  The brass came in many colors, and everyone tried to complete the set. 

Once the morning activities ended, we had sandwiches for lunch.  Then, the Apache helicopter came.  Actually, TWO Apache helicopters!  The noise was thunderous and the winds were trying to blow our tarps away.  Once landed, the pilots came out and presented the fascinating features of the monster chopper, including machine guns, missile and rocket launchers, and the copter’s thick composite steel skin.  The Scouts flocked around the helicopters, eager to see the massive metal birds.  Eventually, the crowd departed, and we went back to hunt for more brass and participate in more activities.  However, the end of the activities came soon, and the troop came back to the campsite for dinner.  Burgers, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, spaghetti with meat sauce, and juice were all served by our master scout chefs, where almost everyone went for seconds.  Then, nighttime came, and we went to a performance hosted by the pro-Army, anti-Navy West Point cadets.  There was live music, skits by troops, and a huge (I mean HUGE), roasting bonfire.  Unfortunately, we had to leave a bit early, but we got up early the following morning, so it was okay. 

Sunday brought departure.  We left the campsite earlier than other troops, and we had a cold breakfast.  However, our West Point experiences hadn’t ended yet.  We toured the campus (courtesy of Mr. Sauer) and saw some interesting sights: academic buildings, their classrooms, cadet dormitories surrounding a large square where some unlucky cadets have to walk off their marching hours, and, get this, a gigantic, beautifully decorated dining hall that can serve dinner to 4,400 cadets all at once.  Apparently, the professors don’t get comfortable chairs and we laughed at the story that some tired cadets fell asleep at the blackboard standing up during class (don’t try this at you school though).  A statue of George S. Patton stands in front of the library (his least favorite place), and we learned that freshman cadets, called Plebes, had to memorize certain things (some historical, some completely random) when they get hazed by senior cadets.  Luckily, we had the great pleasure of meeting the First Captain (the highest ranked cadet in West Point) Tyler R. Gordy, of Newcastle, Calif.  We had our pictures taken with him, and we were pleased.  We also got a look at the castle of the Wicked Witch of the West, which was on the other side of the Hudson River.  (We didn’t get to go inside it (unfortunately), but we did get to at least see it.)  All too soon, it was time to leave West Point.  Still, there was one last stop – the gift shop.  Some bought hats, shirts, and some got more BRASS on our final destination.  Bidding our farewells, we drove another 320 miles back to Ashburn. 

Thanks a lot to all of the adults that helped on this outstanding outing!  The biggest thanks go out to Mr. Sauer, who planned this event and allowed us the privilege of the great tour of the West Point campus and history.  Mr. Brandt, Mr. Logan, Mr. Chen, Mr. Shaughnessy, Mr. Gugino, and Mr. Tremba also chaperoned and helped tremendously on this outing.