Quote Originally Posted by OC Richard View Post
...that featured an Army brass band (in camouflage uniform)...
[Rant begins] Can I just say how much this irks me. The Army has fallen victim to the trend discussed on Jock's "too much bling" thread...where it was pointed out that as a society...especially in American society...we have down dressed everything!! When I came in the Army back in the 90s, Soldiers wore their dress uniform at least once a month on the first Friday of every month. Class A uniform was also the standard for soldiers traveling anywhere on official orders and it was DEFINITELY the uniform that you wore to a memorial service or funeral. Now, I'm lucky if I put on my Class A uniform once a year...and there have been several years that I haven't. I'm more likely to put on my dress blue uniform for a formal function than I am to wear my service uniform (class As). The Army has justified this by saying that we are an Army at War and we want to portray the human side of the life of a Soldier to the American public...so they actually encourage Soldiers to go out and about in the community wearing their standard, everyday camouflage uniforms. I guess I don't have a problem with showing the public that side of the Army...but I firmly believe that there are certain occasions that require something a tad bit more formal...9/11 observances and memorial services for our fallen brothers (and sisters) in arms would be two of those in my mind!!! [Rant over]

Now on to better topics...it's great that you had such a busy day and were able to pay proper tribute to some great Americans. I also wanted to say that those pipes are absolutely beautiful...what wonderful works of art!!