Inspections and Parades

So today the Corps woke up for an early formation and the prospect of a high temperature of 40 with almost 100% chance of snow. We greeted this weather with our basic jackets and a lack of gloves, due to the fact that it wasn't deemed cold enough by higher up to warrant gloves in the daily uniform. This is a sad fact because it is also a little breezy and our the rain made it no better. Anyways, back to the early formation........
Today was haircut and uniform inspection day. This beloved day of the week involves us standing in formation longer than necessary in order to have our shoes, belt buckle, and hair cut to be inspected. What is the purpose of this weekly ritual? Of course, it is to maintain the standards and decorum of the Corps. In order to prepare for this I had to have one of my roommates cut my hair in the bathroom last night. Had I not done this, disciplinary action would have likely ensued. It may sound like I am very put off by inspection but really its just a small annoyance. Another weekly ritual is WAMI (Wednesday AM Inspection). I would argue that this is more hated by cadets than is haircut inspection. WAMI (in short) involves our room being organized in a military manner, free of dust, and having all uniform items arranged in accordance with the BAG. The BAG (Barracks Arrangement Guide) is whole different monster. This document provides the exact way in which our underwear should be folded and in what order our clothes should be hung up and how many of each item are allowed in each specific drawer. On a Tuesday night when you have a lot of work to do, WAMI is a looming evil and quite the annoyance. Despite this, I do recognize the value of WAMI. Without this once a week cleaning of our rooms, I know some rooms (possibly including my own) would turn into literal fallout zones or junkyards. Also, it is pretty amazing how much dust collects in these rooms, so its nice to clear it all out once a week.
Onto the other topic which I want to discuss today: Drill and Parade. So drill is practice for parade. We have parades for home football games, important people, and special events. I would reckon 8 out of every 10 cadets at West Point would say that drill is worst thing that ever happened to them upon coming here. We drill right after classes and walk circles on the plain and stand in formation. It is no fun at all and a seemingly complete waste of time. I don't know about you but I can't wait to use my parade skills when I am commanding a platoon in Afghanistan. IEDS and Guerilla fighters beware, theres a parade formation coming through. A popular form of worship for Cadets is that of the god Odin. We pray to him for rain and anything that will possibly get us out of drill and parade. The guys at the smoke pit only use white lighters on such days as this is said to help things go your way. Today we lucked out. The steady drizzle of rain throughout the day has made the plain unusable. This particular day we were to have a parade for Ross Perot as he will be accepting the Thayer Award at our special dinner this evening. Sadly Perot doesn't get a parade, which is a shame because he was going to get to ride in a Willy's Jeep in front of the Corp before our pass and review. Oh well, no parade for the Corps and free time in the afternoon for all (except the Corps Squad Athletes). We still have to dress up for a fancy dinner which means we will actually get some decent chow (I will make a post about the Mess Hall sooner or later).
I guess that is all for now. I am going to savor the rest of my free time before dinner by listening to the beatles and whatnot. Hope the weather where you guys are at is better than here.