TD2298

Hey everybody, Sorry I haven't been active on the boards in a while. I had to go away for my two week Army annual training. I just did a very cool troop for the somerset Patriot minor league baseball team in NJ and figured I would share. We participated in a fun skit before the game and escorted Vader out to the mound to throw the first pitch. Very cool! After that, we set up to take photos with the fans on the main concourse.

Awesome job!!

Congratulations!

Hey Mike, That stinks to hear about the strict laws over there. I remember all of the rules that I had to follow when I was there as a visitor, I can only imagine all of laws that a citizen such as yourself has to follow. I hope they don't take your DLT. Would you be able to explain and show them your armor if the Polizei tried to take it from you?

Awesome weathering! That's an awesome dlt-19. I guess you're living in the land where they were created, so you should have a nice one, right? Lol. I was stationed in Stuttgart for a year and a half back in 2005. I loved being in Germany. I took the (if I remember right) 3 hour drive to Munich and loved it. I checked out the Eagles nest and the salt mine down the road. Very beautiful area! I actually still have family in Karlsruh.

MISSION REPORT TYPE OF FUNCTION: Library visit to help promote summer reading. WHAT WAS OUR ROLE AT THE FUNCTION: To entertain the kids, talk about our group and what we do, promote excitement for reading, sign autographs, pose for pictures and interact with the attendees. DATE / LOCATION: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 Caldwell Public Library 268 Bloomfield Avenue Caldwell, New Jersey 07006 MEMBERS ATTENDING: 1) Bro - Neyo 2) Joe - Jedi 3) Jimbo - X-Wing Pilot 4) Bonnie - ID "Morale" 5) Zach - TX 6) John K - TD 7) CJ - TS 8) Paul - Boba Fett 9) Andy - RC 10) Scott - ID 11) Si - ID "Morale" 12) Lance - Vader 13) Gary - spotter THE GOOD: What an awesome event!! We had a HUGE turnout, this shows there is still a very strong NER presence in the North The library was very small, and with the amount of characters we had plus the anticipated crowd we held the event right outside the library in a small grassy / park type area... which was right smack on the main street. Being out there like that created an even bigger turnout, with tons of passerby traffic that saw us and stopped. We had the awesome table display which was a huge hit and kept out troopers watching it on their toes, lol. We spread out and signed autographs and posed for pics, and answered questions as people mingled. We went through a TON of swag hahahaha. The Library staff was literally outside with us and for the entire time they had huge smiles and kept saying over and over they couldn't believe the turnout and how cool we were. A great time. THE BAD: Nothing really bad, it was hot but our guys are used to that, lol, and the Library provided tons of water in an ice cooler for us. THE UGLY: I totally put Bonnie on the spot and asked her to introduce our group and explain the table set up and what we had available, lol. I wanted to keep the event "buckets on" and no way could anyone hear me outside with the helmet and crowd and stuff, and Bonnie didn't have a helmet on. I know Bonnie is one of the old school troopers and knew what to say but didn't realize she was a little shy hahahahaha... plus her tiny little voice in a giant mob, I would have asked Joe because he's done it before but couldn't get to him in time so I threw Bonnie to the wolves (she did awesome). Pictures: Gary's Photos

You were a dancing time machine! Lol.

Was that the twist that you were doing? Very cool!

Nice pics!

Man, I wish I could go! A lot of people from my Garrison are going and I'm really feeling left out

I hate seeing this kind of thing. I think the power of the Star Wars franchise will win at the end of the day and keep morons like this from tarnishing our image.

I never really thought about it like that. It's great listening to the conversations that the kids have with each other as they are waiting. They talk about the movies and what your character did in the movie. I get such a kick out of that. It never gets old!

I think one or two kids wanted a picture with him.

Haha, that's a great signature! It felt really good to be able to tell everyone in my garrison that I was deployed. It's funny because now everyone else is starting to talk about getting elite status within their respective detachments.

Nice!

I wrote "TD2298 SANDTROOPER" in my best scribble. Lol.

Here is a pic from a troop I just did in Caldwell NJ. Who says being a sandtrooper isn't like being a rockstar? Lol. It was a lot of fun! The imperial officer in the pic held my DLT-19 while I signed autographs!

Nice pics!!

Oh yeah, the blue rays should be amazing. I don't agree with uncle George's use of CGI. I think that the realistic, gritty nature of the costumes and sets used in the original trilogy are part of what made those movies so great. The muppet version of Yoda has so much more presence and character than the CGI version that was used in the new movies. Just my opinion though.

It doesn't happen to involve a pair of scissors does it? Lol.

Awesome pics! Did you see the show at all?

Awesome! Thanks!

Thanks guys! It's an honor to be included in your ranks! Quick question. Should I wear my trapezoid hand plates for my deployment pics?

Guiness sounds great! Lol. I'll get a new picture taken asap. Doing a troop this Wednesday!

Awesome! I wish that I could go but I took my vacation to Star Wars weekends instead. Can't wait for the new Star Tours! Have fun!!