| Unit Impression Quality - A Letter from Vice President Tim Ertel |
| Dear Mr. President (Ira)
& Elf Associates, At the last event, Chancellorsville, our unit was somewhat in the limelight having been the color company. Overall our unit does a nice field impression. However, I would like to bring to attention the things we need work on along with solutions to correct them. 1. Gaiters(black) - Chancellorsville was a 63' event. No other unit in the NR was wearing them. Solution: Leave them home 2. Kepis - Among our ranks are a few gift shop style kepis.Your lid tops off your impression. Our unit should be wearing the 1858 Regulation forage cap (see Echoes of glory, page 182 Enlisted Men's Headgear) for examples. Solution: Order Recommendations -
3. Too Much Stuff - I saw knapsacks that would have never made it beyond the Camp to Parking Lot distance. Along with furniture. We need to think about carrying only what we would need when doing these types of events. It's ok to have loads of stuff when doing garrison or a living history with permanent camps(even that is questionable). Solution: Knapsack and Haversack Packing 101, The Watchdog Fall 1999. I handed this out at the company meeting last January. Its very informative as to how and what to pack in order to be comfortable and authentically correct. These suggestions are only to benefit our unit, which in the 80's & 90's was one of the more Authentic Federal units in hobby. We need to uphold that reputation and keep up with our brother units in the NR. V.P.Ertel |
