FORT SILL, Okla. (Dec. 8, 2016) -- Although it was over nine years ago, Drill Sergeant (Staff Sgt.) Daniel Beard remembers his rite of passage ceremony when he was a basic combat trainee in C Battery, 1st Battalion, 40th Field Artillery at Fort Sill.
"We were on the drill pad," said Beard, pointing to where his barracks were. "The lights were on, the flags were flying. We donned our berets -- it was a very proud moment in my life."
The 210 graduating BCT Soldiers in A Battery, 1-40th FA had their rite of passage ritual Dec. 1, at Old Rock Quarry. They put on their berets for the first time and drank a symbolic grog. The Soldiers of Class No. 01-17 will graduate Dec. 9.
"I want them to get a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood, and want them to be glad that they are part of something bigger than themselves," said Beard, who is with A/1-40th FA.
The rite of passage acknowledges that the new Soldiers have passed a milestone in BCT, and it instills a sense of history in them, said 2nd Lt. Paul Vendt, A/1-40th FA executive officer. The ceremony is a tradition for BCT Soldiers Armywide, all with slight variations that make them unique.
The quarry location made this rite of passage special, Vendt said. Old Rock Quarry was opened by Fort Sill Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry and 5th Infantry in 1870, as they cut and blasted the gray limestone to construct post buildings, according to a wayside at the site.
"Fort Sill was literally built right here out of this rock quarry," Vendt said, "and these new Soldiers were literally built at Fort Sill."
The 9 p.m. ceremony was run by A Battery's 14 drill sergeants. The BCT Soldiers filed in and stood in formation at the base of the darkened quarry.
All the flags of the United States and U.S. territories lined the quarry; a spotlight shone on the U.S. flag. The ceremony began with the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner," then all the Soldiers recited the "Soldier's Creed" in unison: ".. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade!" pierced the cool night air.
BERETS
Following their drill sergeants' orders, the Soldiers put away their patrol caps, donned their black berets, and watched a brief video about their journey through BCT, and the history of Army from its beginnings in the Revolutionary War to the current fight.
1st Sgt. Wade Hunter, A/1-40th FA, addressed the new Soldiers about the significance of the Army beret.
"That beret is a symbol that says: There goes someone special, there goes someone who has sacrificed, there goes someone who is less than one-third of 1 percent of the United States population," Wade said.
ARMY VALUES
During the ceremony, seven trainees were selected for best representing an Army Value.
They lined up in front of the formation and each recited one of the Army Values: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage.
"Integrity. Do what is right, legally and morally," said Pvt. Mary King. "Be willing to do what is right even when no one is looking. It is our 'moral compass' and inner voice."
Hunter reminded the Soldiers that these Values are what will carry them during hard times and through hard decisions.
Drill sergeants then presented Army Values tags to every Soldier in their platoons.
GROG TRADITION
"The BCT grog has a long and glorious history," said Vendt, in his narration. "BCT grog is a substantial brew of medicinal value. It will cure what ails, or it will ensure that you don't care. We wean our children on it and carry it in our coffee cups to ward off the winter's chill. In a pinch, it is an effective bore cleaner for the breech, or an effective propellant for the ammunition."
Field artillerymen load their cannons with powder charges to send rounds downrange, but now individual charges will be loaded into the BCT grog, Vendt said. Hunter then poured seven charges into the 55-gallon drum of grog.
Charge 1 of cider was for the Soldiers of 1-40th FA, who stormed the beaches of Normandy, where apple orchards covered the nearby countryside, Vendt said.
Charge 5 of Hershey's chocolate was in gratitude from the 1-40th FA Soldiers in the Central Europe campaigns, who consumed Field Ration D chocolate bars. Charge 6 of rice milk was for all the Soldiers of the 1-40th FA who fought in Vietnam.
Charge 7 of sand was for the 1-40th FA Soldiers who fought in Southwest Asia for the liberation in defense of Kuwait.
The battery's newest drill sergeant (Staff Sgt.) Chadwick Jones loaded the supercharge 8 of the Warrior's Ethos of all the Soldiers who have served since the beginning of the Army in 1775.
Capt. Orlando Peña, A/1-40th FA commander, sampled the grog to determine if it was fit for consumption by the BCT Soldiers.
"First sergeant, it's missing something. It's not quite ready yet," Peña said.
Hunter said he knew what was missing. He added one of his clean socks to the grog for all the road marches and blisters the Soldiers endured; an M16 rifle firing pin for all the rounds the trainees fired; an energy drink for all the first aid training they performed; a bag of cookies representing all the support and care the trainees received in their quest to become Soldiers, and a bottle of hot sauce for all the meals-ready-to-eat they consumed.
"If you've ever had MREs, you know this will cure anything," said Hunter, holding a bottle of Tabasco sauce.
The entire formation quickly filed through a serving line as Hunter ladled the grog into their canteen cups.
Once back in formation, drill sergeants led seven toasts. The toasts were for the United States, the president, the Army, A Battery, deployed service members, fallen comrades and to drill sergeants.
"This we'll defend!" (the Army motto) shouted a drill sergeant at the end of the toasts.
Trainee Pfc. Vanessa Morales, 25, of Rochester, N.Y., said it was a great ceremony. She'll go on to advanced individual training to become health care specialist.
Spc. Daniel Mack, age 26, of Miami, said it felt great to witness and be a part of the rite of passage ceremony.
"It's the culmination of a journey -- everything coming together," said Mack, who will become a mental health specialist.
So how was the grog? "It tasted amazing, better than I thought it would," Mack said.
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