DC Guard first pass
The DC Guard held a job fair at the armory yesterday morning. The line going into the gymnasium was disturbingly long, and a reminder of the times. Geoff and I took note of ideal spots to set up a table, as well as wheat pasting sites, but what stood out to us most of all was the complete lack of acknowledgment from the soldiers present. They saw us in our T-shirts, that much is for sure, but no real reaction of any kind and no one approached us.
When we went inside to further test a potential reaction, I couldn't help but laugh at all of the "mean machines" that were set up, including a chopper that had the ACU design on the seat, accompanied by the obligatory American flag wrapped on the fuel tank. That and the tricked out humvees, the huge tow truck, and even the mobile Army Experience Center (yes, a huge trailer with TVs on the outside and a walk-in section with the warning "Contains graphic scenes of war and acts of violence" (or some variation of that) really made me want to re-up.... almost as much as I want to scrub my face with Brillo pads...
Other than the Patriot Pumping Lame Rock and the various displays that overshadowed the actual job fair, we didn't see any kind of indicator that our presence was not welcome or that we would have much difficulty on our first few outreach attempts. Most importantly we noted the nearby metro access, which we saw several soldiers make use of.
We're very excited about this and will continue pressing forward with our original plans.
