Graduation Day!

At the Turning Blue ceremony a week ago Thursday, Jordan and his fellow recruits were awarded the coveted blue Infantry cord, signifying their new status as active duty soldiers.

The following day, under a cloudless Georgia sky, we watched from the shade of a grandstand as members of the 2nd Battalion, 58th Infantry Regiment marched onto the parade grounds behind the National Infantry Museum for their actual graduation.

The grassy field is considered hallowed ground -- and for good reason. At a dedication ceremony in mid-June, soil from eight American wars was sprinkled over the field as a reminder of the Infantry's role in U.S. history. Imagine marching on green grass, with granite markers containing so-called "sacred soil" from the battlegrounds of Yorktown, Antietam, Soissions, Normandy, Corregidor, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq and Afghanistan.

Friday's graduation ceremony itself took about an hour and was followed by a visit to the National Infantry Museum, recently completed at a cost of $100 million and dedicated on June 19, with former Secretary of State Colin Powell, himself a former Fort Benning trainee, as guest speaker. (Check it out here: http://www.nationalinfantrymuseum.com/)

During the ceremony, there was music (patriotic songs performed by the Army band based at Fort Benning), there were speeches (from the commanding officer), there were a handful of awards (to the highest-ranked soldiers in each company and their drill sergeants), there was a demonstration of the equipment carried by members of a typical nine-man squad, and there were still and video cameras to record every moment. Most of all, there was a feeling of accomplishment at completing a rigorous 14-week basic training program.

Immediately afterward, soldiers were either given leave to spend time with their families or they were shuttled onto buses to be shipped to their next assignment, whether it be with a National Guard unit in their home state or another level of training, such as Airborne school or advanced infantry.

In Jordan's case, he'll be with us in Portland through Monday, July 13, when he flies to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, to begin his first assignment as a bonafide soldier. From there, he says, he'll most likely be shipped to Iraq or possibly Afghanistan. Things could change at the last minute -- and change back again.

All in all, an unforgettable experience.