Everything is done here in the desert except for the ceremonial stuff.

I graduated as a distinguished graduate and earned my green Marine Corps Martial Arts Program belt.



We had our mess night and things got fun. It is a great tradition, but I have to remain tight lipped about what actually goes on during one except for the formalities. The other Jarheads here know what I am talking about. Here is a little read about our mess nights if you are interested. http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/marines/a/marinemess.htm

Here is a pic of my platoon, The Durty Thurd (3rd Platoon), as you can see we are down a few from the original 20.


That pic was taken on the general's lawn before the Mess Night began. Here is one from the cocktail hour with yours truly after many drinks getting familiar with a fellow Marine's leg.



This one is the beginning of the night, but the rest of the photos I took have to remain among the Marines as they are not fit for public consumption.



Random pic from my bike ride this morning.



While here I have continued my work as a stringer for a few publications. One job was about the latest video game handheld, PS Vita. I wrote a review about it and many of its games. I was asked to take a picture of the machine in the environment I think service members will be using it. This is a little off topic, but I figured I'd show you how I supplement my income.



That's all for now. I will write a wrap up post when I get home. Ahhh, it feels so nice to say "home."