European Cyberball 2011

Last night we attended the 2011 Cyber Ball in Weisbaden, Germany. (The theme should have been "The Night of Extreme Foot Torture" but it was actually "Strong Beginnings") The event was held at the Weisbaden Kurhaus. It was gorgeous. There were over 680 people in attendance. Tickets actually sold out. The buffet was delicious and it was a lot of fun to get dressed up. I only wish I had worn more comfortable shoes! I still feel like I am walking on marbles. I was proud of myself for staying tough and I did not take my shoes off until 
we left the ballroom and were walking to the car! Oh, and maybe next time I'll remember to bring some Euros so I can get myself a drink. A .21 Liter bottle of water cost 3.50 Euro! (thats 7.1 ounces of water for $5.07!!) Luckily there was a bottle of wine provided for each table and a .25L bottle of water for each guest for toasting. The toast was my favorite part aside from the actual food. The toasts were as follows:


"Ladies and gentlemen, I propose a toast to our Host Nation!"
(response) "To Germany!"


"Ladies and gentlemen, I propose a toast to the United States of America!"
(response) "To the United States!"


"Ladies and gentlemen, I propose a toast to the United States Army!"
(response) "Army Strong!"


"Ladies and gentlemen, I propose a toast to the Signal Regiment!"
(response) "To the Regiment!"


"Ladies and gentlemen, I propose a toast to the Commander in Chief!"
(response) "To the President!"


"Ladies and gentlemen, I propose a toast to our Deployed Soldiers!"
(response) "To keeping the peace!"


 (We were instructed to fill our water glass for the next toast because in Vietnam only 
water was available.)

(Photo by Jonathon M. Gray)

"We call your attention to this small table, which occupies a place of dignity and honor 
near the head table, this Table, it is Small – set for one, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner alone against his oppressors.

The Table Cloth is White – symbolizing the purity of their intentions to respond to their country’s call to arms.

The Single Rose – displayed in the vase reminds us of the families and friends of our mission brothers who keep faith while awaiting their return.

The Red Ribbon – tied prominently on the vase reminds us of the red ribbons worn on the lapels and brothers who are not among us tonight.

The Place Setting – single, alone no friends or family to dine with.

A slice of Lemon – reminds us of their bitter fate.

Salt Sprinkled – on the plate reminds us of the countless fallen tears of families as they wait.

The Glass is Inverted – they cannot toast with us this night.

The Chair is Empty – they are not here.

The Candle – reminiscent of the light of hope which lives in our hearts to light the way home: from their captors to the open arms of a grateful nation.

The Bible – represents the strength gained through faith to sustain those lost from us, from our country, founded as one nation under God.

Let us pray to the Supreme Commandant that all our brothers will soon again be among our ranks.”

"Ladies and gentlemen, I propose a toast to our Fallen Comrades!"(response) "To our Fallen Comrades!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, I propose a toast to the beautiful ladies present!"
(response) "To the Ladies!"




I forgot my normal camera so the only pictures I took were on my cell phone and since it was dimly lit they didn't turn out fantastic. I'll post what I have. If you'd like to see the commercial AFN aired click here (the soldier in the video sat at our table ;)

The receiving line 

Me and my husband shaking hands with the commander (Photo by Jonathon M. Gray)

(Photo by Jonathon M. Gray)

The Lobby of the Kurhaus

The Lobby of the Kurhaus

The ballroom

There was also seating upstairs

(Photo by Jonathon M. Gray)

Everyone received a commemorative stein

The program

I never want to see these shoes again! It felt so good to throw them on the floor when we got home! Anyone want to by a used pair of heels?

 To view the professional pictures taken at the ball

click here

The Army and Family (and $$$)

I belong to an Army wife group for the post that I live at and the wives on it often get into heated discussions over matters. (What do you expect with over 500 Army wives living so close together!) Recently women were comparing the amount of COLA they receive. (For those of you who are not military, Cost-of-Living Allowance (COLA), is paid to the military to help offset higher costs when stationed overseas.  It doesn't reimburse for expenses, but it helps make up the difference between what you could buy in the states vs. what you can buy with that same dollar overseas. It also does not take into account the remoteness of your duty station, the difficulty in buying goods readily purchased in the states, or hardships.) COLA is calculated based on a formula taking into account the Service Members location, rank, years of service, number of dependents, and type of housing. For instance someone higher ranking with several years in service with dependents will receive more COLA than a single soldier living in the barracks. Although the number of dependents is taken into account, it does not make up a huge difference. For example, if my husband were single and living in barracks would make $87 less than he would being married and living in government housing. Add one extra dependent (child) and he receives an additional $20. If we were to have more children the rate for the third, fourth and fifth dependent would increase by another $10 each. 

Some of the wives in the group (with larger families no doubt) expressed their opinion that COLA should be based mostly on family size rather than on rank and years in service. I have to disagree. Although the Army regularly boasts about family support I cannot believe that it is in their best interests nor do they want service members to have large families. Think about this... the bigger a solider's family is the more the military spends to house them, and the more it costs for health care. Not only for the births of these children, but to continue to keep them healthy during the course of the soldiers military career. If they were to base COLA solely on family size it would encourage people to have more babies just so they could earn more money. Everyone knows a married soldier makes more money than a single soldier and I personally know some people that have gotten married just so they could receive BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing). If the government offered those same people more money in exchange for having a child or two I'm not so sure they wouldn't have done that as well. I see nothing wrong with rewarding a soldiers dedication to service (years in service) and his leadership skills (rank). It encourages nothing more than to be a better soldier and to continue doing so rather than encouraging procreation. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that family size factors into the equation. But do men really need more reasons to have sex?

If you'd like to learn more about COLA - or finances in general there is a terrific blog with 12 frequently asked questions in regards to COLA. (this is not an offical DOD site, but one I personally find helpful) :

http://moneyformilitary.blogspot.com/2007/07/12-faqs-about-cola-and-how-cola-is.html

Here is also a link to the official DOD COLA calculator if you'd like to see how much your COLA is: 

http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/colaCalc.cfm

Who am I?

I think we're all trying to answer that question but my 5 a.m. decision to publicly seek the answer through my blogging is starting to seem a bit hasty. Maybe it'll be easier to be honest with myself if the curtains are open and the whole world is watching. (OK, so maybe it's just my neighbors across the street!)  I will start small and work my way up to the harder questions.

I am a proud Army wife stationed in Germany with my husband, our daughter and our (very expensive) cat. I am mostly a stay at home mom but I do a little knitting on the side for fun. We have been exploring here for just shy of a year. My husband and I grew up in South Dakota in a fairly small town  that I will visit but I plan to never live in again. When you are born somewhere that has 6-7 months of winter per year and the temperatures get as cold as -20 degrees Fahrenheit it seems completely normal. You hear stories that other places are warm during winter, but thats a little like seeing a picture of the Eiffel Tower and actually seeing it in real life. Now that we have gotten away and experienced the pleasant winters of Texas and the " cold-but-not-as-harsh-as-South Dakota" winters here in Germany I can't help but raise my eyebrows at my friends and family for choosing to stay in such a frigid place.  I suppose there are people who would look at me the same way for choosing this Army life as well but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have seen some incredible things and places, met the warmest people and become a self reliant, independent person along the way...and we're not done yet!  What else is in store for us? That is another question for another post. :)
-Hborstad

Front door in SD after this weekends storm (photo courtesy of Heidi Ruckdaschel)