JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – Michael and Janet Jackson, Superman, Hillary Clinton, Gumby, an angry bird, Captain America, Mario and Luigi, and Smurfette all stood in a field.
It may sound like the setup to an incredibly elaborate joke, but it was merely the scene at Seay Field on North Fort Lewis as the soldiers, family members and pets of the 593rd Sustainment Brigade’s Special Troops Battalion celebrated Halloween, Oct. 31, with a costume walk.
In the darkness before dawn, music blared from speakers, raising the battalion’s spirits as they stretched in preparation for the walk.
After stretching, the formation was led in the “Electric Slide” and the “Cha-cha Slide,” until they were laughing too hard to dance.
Finally, the battalion was ready to go.
The walk was short, and the pace was slow – perfect for keeping the group together.
The soldiers and family members in the formation had no shortage of laughter during the walk.
“We like to have fun, and this is good clean fun – for the soldiers, for the families, and for the pets,” said Lt. Col. Doug Levien, commander of the 593rd STB.
When the walk was over, the battalion held a dance contest.
Many soldiers put on strong showings, but Josh Jones, the nine-year old son of Sgt. Wendy Jones, a human resources specialist with the battalion, won the dance contest with his performance of “the dougie.”
“I learned to dance by watching my older brother and watching Youtube movies,” Josh Jones said.
Events such as this one are a fun way for units to build esprit de corps.
“This event is very important to us. Besides having a lot of fun with people coming out here, putting on different costumes, and dancing, this also helps bring us together as a unit. We currently have 140 soldiers deployed in four different countries, and many of the soldiers who came out today recently redeployed from Iraq and Afghanistan,” Levien said.