Dragoon ride

This week, my family and I were able to witness a little piece of history. We welcomed soldiers back to Rose Barracks, Germany after a 1,800 kilometer road march though Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Apparently, it is the longest military road march in Europe since World War II.

When our soldiers travel to work with other nations, they typically transport their vehicles via train or some other less-public method. But this time, they drove their vehicles very publicly and even stopped in several cities along the way to meet with locals.

Here are a few excerpts from an article in the Stars and Stripes publication. Erick's boss, COL Meyer was quoted (http://www.stripes.com/news/dragoon-ride-convoy-ends-with-troops-back-in-vilseck-1.337876):

Following Russia’s violent actions in Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula last year, even routine events like convoys have become symbols for the U.S. Army in Europe, reassuring European allies that they would not face such aggression alone.

“We chose to road march back ... to show the capability of the United States Army in Europe,” said Col. John V. Meyer, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment commander. “To show that we can move back and forth between countries inside of NATO and to demonstrate that the United States Army is prepared to deploy, fight and win if called upon.”

There were scattered protests as the convoy made its way through the Czech Republic, but even those were muted in comparison to the overwhelming support the troops say they received throughout the operation.

“We were pleasantly surprised,” Meyer said. “Every overpass on all the autobahns all the way back were lined with people flying their country’s flag and the United States flag. It was truly amazing, the turnout and the support. I think it really shows how those countries view the United States.”


The Department of Defense schools in our area released the kids early, so they could attend the event. The kids and I drove over to the parade route through a blizzard (this is spring in Germany, after all). Thankfully, the sun came out briefly before the parade started.

We camped out across the street from regimental headquarters on some bleachers - until it got crowded.

There was a group of men dressed in medieval costume handing out flyers for an upcoming jousting tournament at the Vilseck castle. Sounds like fun!

All of the squadrons from 2d Cavalry Regiment were in formation along the road. It was pretty cool.

Several helicopters flew overhead.

We crossed the street before the parade started and climbed up the emergency fire escape steps to get a better view. Much better. It also gave the wiggly boys some space in the grass below to run around.

TJ in his dad's stetson.

Here they come! I love days like this in the military. I love the ceremony, the tradition, the fanfare. I love the reunions and the celebrations.

I had to get on the ground for some diversity in the photos.

These last four photos are square because I shared them on Instagram. The first sergeant walking next to his formation (only in the first photo) is our friend 1SG Clark. A good man.