As Jack Torrence once noted, "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." In this spirit, the OTS staff figured there is a limit to the amount of MREs, obstacle courses, and hours in the lecture halls we could endure.
I'm pretty sure Chef Boyerdee has a cousin with a severe learning disability and that guy is the one in charge of making the MRE food.
One of the great military traditions the Air Force has is the Dining-In. Every service branch has their own version of a Mess Night and they are full of rich traditions, arcane procedures, and, of course, the Grog. In that my OTS class was relatively small, we had a Dining-Out, which extends the invitation to the member's family, compared to a Dining-In, which is just the member. I brought Mom & Dad in for this one.
There is a great deal of formal toasting along with skits and other entertainment. The epicenter of the Mess is the Grog Bowl, generally a toilet bowl, filled with various liquors and mixers. There are 20 general rules of the Mess that must be followed and any violator must be identified to the President of the Mess, always in a rhyming verse. The accused can then defend him/herself, also in verse, though the decision ultimately falls upon the President of the Mess. If sent to the Grog, the individual must go through another set of steps before drinking a glass from the Grog. This continues as long as the Grog remains open.
To the Mess!
Truly a fantastic evening and a wonderful way to cap off the OTS experience.
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