The local community has always welcomed newcomers to the area. This year downtown merchants are adding what is shaping up to be another event whose purpose will be to welcome new CGSC students and any others new to the area.
I can’t tell you much about this one as it will be the “first annual,” but I can tell you quite a bit about the event that will precede the new one. The recurring event will be Saturday at Sherman Army Airfield and goes by the acronym PAIR Day.
That stands for post activities information and registration day, and is the one day for all activities authorized to operate on the post to recruit new members. That’s what it started out being, but several years ago it was changed to include any organization on or off post that wanted to rent a table or tables for the big day.
For many years PAIR Day was the Saturday after the CGSC class began and was held in classrooms in Bell Hall. When off-post activities were allowed to participate, most classrooms in Eisenhower Hall were commandeered also. Now it’s the Saturday before classes begin.
A few years ago someone decided the event had outgrown the two CGSC buildings and PAIR Day activities were moved to the airfield. With its two hangars, no incoming aircraft that day, and plenty of parking, it was chosen as the permanent new home for the big day.
For 20 years I ran the table for the fort historical society, but a new board, comprised of professional historians, decided about five years ago that 20 years’ of experience was not needed and I no longer ran the table. That’s when I began taking the international military students (IMS) my family sponsors to enjoy the day.
And enjoy it they have. Two years ago the student from the Czech Republic was carrying two plastic bags full of goodies when we passed the PX table. The woman sitting there said “You look as if you could use another bag,” and handed him a real nice cloth carrying bag.
I told her my sacks were full too and got the reply “Sorry, that was my last cloth bag.” Hope he’s using it well in Prague.
Sometimes the IMS don’t exactly understand our strange American ways. Three years ago I took our Afghani sponsoree and his Afghani buddy in the other class to PAIR Day. Some football cheerleaders were there with color photos of all the team’s cheerleaders in their uniforms.
I gave each Afghani a picture. Hours later as we headed back to Hoge Barracks one Afghani asked who the lovely ladies in those short shorts were and why they passed out pictures. I tried to explain American football and cheerleaders, but am not sure those photos made it to Kabul.
This Saturday I’ll be taking the second student from Burkina Faso and the very first one from Surinam to their PAIR Day. They were a bit shy to pick up the offered goodies at registration, which is a very watered down version of PAIR Day. I’ll see to it that they pass no table without throwing an offering in their sack. And when they fill a couple of sacks we’ll go looking for the PX table.
No student I take will leave without at least two filled sacks. As I tell them, they’ll never have to buy a pen or pencil or notepad or ruler or key chain while they are here.
The bummer this year is that PAIR Day is the same day as the monthly Haymarket Square flea market, so I’ll have to go to bed early Friday night and hope for a good night’s sleep. Otherwise I’ll be a pooped pup come Saturday afternoon.
But it’s fun, and only twice a year. I think the old body can handle it.
John Reichley is a retired Army officer and retired Department of the Army civilian employee.
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The local community has always welcomed newcomers to the area. This year downtown merchants are adding what is shaping up to be another event whose purpose will be to welcome new CGSC students and any others new to the area.
I can’t tell you much about this one as it will be the “first annual,” but I can tell you quite a bit about the event that will precede the new one. The recurring event will be Saturday at Sherman Army Airfield and goes by the acronym PAIR Day.
That stands for post activities information and registration day, and is the one day for all activities authorized to operate on the post to recruit new members. That’s what it started out being, but several years ago it was changed to include any organization on or off post that wanted to rent a table or tables for the big day.
For many years PAIR Day was the Saturday after the CGSC class began and was held in classrooms in Bell Hall. When off-post activities were allowed to participate, most classrooms in Eisenhower Hall were commandeered also. Now it’s the Saturday before classes begin.
A few years ago someone decided the event had outgrown the two CGSC buildings and PAIR Day activities were moved to the airfield. With its two hangars, no incoming aircraft that day, and plenty of parking, it was chosen as the permanent new home for the big day.
For 20 years I ran the table for the fort historical society, but a new board, comprised of professional historians, decided about five years ago that 20 years’ of experience was not needed and I no longer ran the table. That’s when I began taking the international military students (IMS) my family sponsors to enjoy the day.
And enjoy it they have. Two years ago the student from the Czech Republic was carrying two plastic bags full of goodies when we passed the PX table. The woman sitting there said “You look as if you could use another bag,” and handed him a real nice cloth carrying bag.
I told her my sacks were full too and got the reply “Sorry, that was my last cloth bag.” Hope he’s using it well in Prague.
Sometimes the IMS don’t exactly understand our strange American ways. Three years ago I took our Afghani sponsoree and his Afghani buddy in the other class to PAIR Day. Some football cheerleaders were there with color photos of all the team’s cheerleaders in their uniforms.
I gave each Afghani a picture. Hours later as we headed back to Hoge Barracks one Afghani asked who the lovely ladies in those short shorts were and why they passed out pictures. I tried to explain American football and cheerleaders, but am not sure those photos made it to Kabul.
This Saturday I’ll be taking the second student from Burkina Faso and the very first one from Surinam to their PAIR Day. They were a bit shy to pick up the offered goodies at registration, which is a very watered down version of PAIR Day. I’ll see to it that they pass no table without throwing an offering in their sack. And when they fill a couple of sacks we’ll go looking for the PX table.
No student I take will leave without at least two filled sacks. As I tell them, they’ll never have to buy a pen or pencil or notepad or ruler or key chain while they are here.
The bummer this year is that PAIR Day is the same day as the monthly Haymarket Square flea market, so I’ll have to go to bed early Friday night and hope for a good night’s sleep. Otherwise I’ll be a pooped pup come Saturday afternoon.
But it’s fun, and only twice a year. I think the old body can handle it.
John Reichley is a retired Army officer and retired Department of the Army civilian employee.
