There is a great tradition in the Army in which we greet the new people and say goodbye to the ones that are leaving. Most of the time, this takes place in a restaurant and with the spouses are invited. It is a great opportunity to socialize and to honor your friends as they leave.
We held an informal farewell to one of the Chaplain’s assistants today who is returning to the States to another assignment. It was held in the Rheinlander restaurant during lunch. This was just for him, but it is a nice touch to recognize how other people are appreciated. During this time of transition, people are coming and going—naturally following a deployment, there are many of these gatherings taking place all over post. Some have ten or even twenty to recognize.
The Army is a social culture. It has to be. We arrive to a place away from home, to a place with no family and no friends. Each family has to make new friends. If you’ve been in the Army long enough, you begin to see familiar faces at each post that you go to—that is always a boost. One of the ways that we facilitate the social culture is by “Hailing” the new people and “Farewelling” the old. It gives the new person a sense of belonging to a bigger organization. It lets them know that there others that stand there with them to help them through the transitions in the Army.
The “Hail and Farewell” says more about the unit than the person that is being honored, because the unit is the organization that pulls all of these people together and has them work together as a team—and a good organization is one that takes care of it’s people and honors them as they arrive and as they leave.