FORT STEWART, Ga. - The Third Infantry Division held its first Spouses' Dining-In, May 3, at Club Stewart.
Dining-In is a formal military ceremony for members of a company or other unit, which include dinner and other events to foster camaraderie and esprit de corps. This Dining-In however, was far from formal. The event was a fun way for the spouses of the 3rd ID Soldiers to meet and spend a fun evening with one another.
"I feel like this was a stress reliever and a great bonding experience for the spouses," said Jan Kirby, spouse of Lt. Col Chip Kirby, commander of Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 3rd ID.
The theme for the Dining-In was "Best in Show 2012." Spouses from each unit within the division came up with a theme and dressed in costume for the event.
The 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team's theme was the "VThe 4-3 Brigade Special Troops Battalion's theme was "Breakfast at Tiffany's." The 2-3 Brigade Special Troops Battalion's theme was the "Twisted Titans" and the 3SB theme was "The Pouvoir Provider Princesses" just to name a few.
The Dining-In opened up with a Call to Mess, followed by the introduction of judges, guest and the introduction of the teams. The event was hosted and judged by the wonderful spouses of the 3rd ID Command Team.
The first event to take place at the dining-in was the Grog Ceremony. The Grog bowl started off with Marne juice and each unit was called up to add something that represented that unit into the bowl. Once all the units have added something into the Grog bowl, violators of the mess are to drink from the bowl as punishment. Depending on what was added into the grog bowl, this could be considered a harsh punishment but it was all in good fun.
After the Grog ceremony toasts were made, followed by prayer and dinner, then the fun began.
The ladies had a relay race in which they had to dress in full ACU uniform with full battle rattle gear on and run from one side of the club to the other. This had to be done until the whole team was done.
There was a host of other fun games and a talent show.
The 3rd CAV, whose theme was "The Red-Headed Step-Children won the "Best in Show 2012," but it was "The Pouvoir Provider Princesses" who brought the festivities to an end with "The Provider Shuffle" a dance that they created.
The Dining-In was considered to be a success and the spouses all agree that this indeed was a great experience.
"This was a fun event that brought a lot of spouses together and built camaraderie amongst each other," Said Jackie Novack, wife of Col. Ron Novack, 3rd SB commander. "I haven't seen this event on any other post but it is definitely something I would recommend if we moved to another location." anGUARDians of Freedom."
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