Before The Dawn's Early Light.     

0600 Tuesday, July 5th: An enthusiastic three-hundred and fifty-some red-shorted, yellow-shirted young males hit the bricks in front of five lighted barracks. "How are we TODAY?" shouts a red-shirted Cadet Instructor.
"GRRRRRRRRRRRREAT, SIR!" responds the entire choir. Obviously, the two days they have had to practice their response put them two days ahead of this fifty-plus year old editor! The energy exerted by these young men in the next hour is truly amazing to witness, much less try to keep up with!It's UP on your feet for stretches, DOWN to the ground for pushups, up again for more stretches, down again for leg lifts.again, and again.and as a grand finale, a couple miles of moderate jogging, in unison.  Needless to say, this out-of-my-league editor peeled off from the group as we passed my car.and as they cheerfully passed through the gates in right, left rhythmic wonder  I could hear their cadences, "ALPHA Company rollin' down the strip, summer campers gonna take a little trip! Mission top-secret, destination unknown.wake up, Harlingen, 'cause here we come!"

All campers, cadet  instructors, and Drill Instructors wound up at the Mess Hall for a full course HOT cooked breakfast, and shortly thereafter.here they come for 'Daily Dozen plus a 1-Mile Run - sounding off loud and lookin'
PROUD - before they begin a day full of Pugil Stick competition, Challenge Course and Obstacle Course Intro...time out for Second Mess and a few minutes of 'shut-eye'...then it's off to Boxing, a few rounds of shooting over on the Rifle Range, wrapping up the day with Third Mess and a movie over in MMA's Colonel Philip Yeckel Auditorium, a shower and lights out.
Tomorrow, they'll do it all over again, just a bit more louder and whole lot PROUDER!