Army Rocks

Army rocks.  Lots and lots and lots of rocks...everywhere.  Military traditions don't often make sense to outsiders and I'm sure many civilians drive past sites like this and either laugh or scratch their heads wondering how bored people must have been to paint a rock in the desert.  Others might wish they knew who painted these rocks and wished they could shake the hands of the people who did simply because they served.  As I walked among these rocks I thought about all the units who came out to a place I have been referring to as "the moon"and played war-games and later deployed with their fresh knowledge of battle tactics.  I looked at these rocks and imagined the hundreds and thousands of men and women who wore the colors of the patches painted on each rock.  They are steeped in history and their lineage often goes back hundreds of years, thousands of battles and millions of soldiers.  There were many rocks painted by our ally's who came here to train with the US Army, I saw one rock painted with the Swedish flag and the crest of an infantry unit and I smiled thinking of my Great Grandfather (Ollie) who served in the Swedish Army.  I enjoyed my visit to this site today, a site you can only see if you drive 34 miles from the nearest town, into the Mojave Desert.  What a trip--Army ROCKS!