"TWICE THE CITIZEN"
USAR ORGANIZATIONS
Third annual Minnesota Military Expo draws thousands
By Staff Sgt. David Bennett, 367th MPAD, Whitehall, Ohio
FORT SNELLING, Minn. -- The 1999 Minnesota Military Expo, held July 31 and Aug. 1, was packed with enough "oohs" and "ahs" to last into the next millennium.
The Expo, sponsored by the Army Reserve's 88th Regional Support Command, showcased the past and the present, the historic and the futuristic. Precision drill teams and military gadgetry attracted thousands of visitors to the two-day event.
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The Old Guard, the 3rd Infantry Division's drill team, performs a drill at
the 1999 Minnesota Military Expo.
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In an effort to make the joint-service, community outreach event bigger and better, 88th officials coordinated special events, including The Moving Wall, a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial located in Washington, D.C.
"There are many people who have never had a chance to visit Washington," said 88th Command Sgt. Maj. Robert H. Bowden. "We placed it in a place by itself and there were no vendors."
The U.S. Army Drill Team's silent drill routine, a mass casualty exercise by the 114th Combat Support Hospital, and a Kid's Basic Training put on by the 88th RSC were other events that combined to draw approximately 40,000 visitors to the third annual Expo, more than double any previous year's crowd.
| Visitors search for names at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Moving Wall exhibit during the 1999 Minnesota Military Expo.
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Maj. Gen. George Steiner, who retired from the Army Reserve as 88th RSC commander in 1997, said informing the public is key.
"The two words that come to mind is dynamic and entertaining," said Steiner, who chaired the Expo Committee this year. "Static (displays) are the old way of doing business. We have to look at doing better for the people coming out here and acquaint the community with what the military is doing."
Email Webmaster: webmaster@ocar.army.pentagon.mil Revised: August 27, 1999