Notes and Comments from Alumni Weekend by JeffSags

After spending another weekend in West Virginia I wanted to share a few observations from the recent Alumni Weekend. Those of us in attendance essentially bartered 7 hours of hard work for a bbq, good company and some great instruction on the square range. Everyone had a fantastic time and I hope this grows into an annual or bi-annual event! Spending time with other Patriots is good for the mind and body. This is not intended to be a student review or aar, but rather just a list of some rough notes and observations.

The Camping and Social portions of the weekend.

I arrived Friday evening at about 5pm. I was the first one there and at Max’s request I did not “do random”. I did “call dibs” on what I thought was the most level piece of land to pitch a tent (silly me, there is no level ground in WV) and take a peek at the square range. It’s exciting to see the MVT facility change and transform. Max really is building a top notch school. Max, his family and others arrived shortly thereafter and after all of the introductions (or re-introductions) we ended the night talking about the usual topics while sipping a few brews next to the fire. Or as Chris put it, Ranger TV.

We all awoke pretty early the next morning, many others arrived and we began clearing the valley of downed trees. With wives and children, I believe there were 21 people in attendance. After a long 7 hours, we cleaned up most of the valley and established a nice little picnic area I am sure future “square rangers” will appreciate. That evening Max and his family provided a much welcomed bbq. Things I learned that day:

1. The C in J.C. Dodge stands for Chef.
2. Everyone likes pastries.
3. Wear sneakers/water shoes when you cool off in the river.
4. You should learn how to “drive” your chainsaw at least as well as you can drive your rifle.
5. Max and his family are very generous.

Sunday was all about the square range, packing up and hitting the road. We were lucky to have Fred and Chris provide some great instruction on the range. We ran threw about 3-4 hours of drills and even got to prove how “G” we were by shooting in a very heavy down pour. I was once again truly impressed with everyone I met. The Patriot Community is alive and well and growing!