January 2001

Commander’s Column

Gentlemen, I will be brief since I do not have a lot of information for you this month. As always, Company business is moving forward - Annual Meeting, Camp of Instruction (COI) and such. My friend, Mrs. Sins, has agreed to be our EMT for the COI; she will again bring the full medical unit to meet the Fort A. P. Hill EMT requirement. She is also checking on the tables and chairs for the Annual meeting. Once again, they will be placed in the building the night before and set up prior to the meeting. Please get there early to help set up.

A call is going out to the membership - do you have some extra room that you could store the Company durable goods: tents, poles, water cans, etc? With the 1^st Sgt.’s retirement, there will be a need for places to store pots, pans, cleaning supplies, etc. There are two caveats to this; one is that you will have to also transport said items to events on an as needed basis. This means if you are not attending, and the company still needs some of the stuff, you will have to make arrangements to get it there and back with one of the other members. The other caveat is that I would prefer to keep them all in one place for inventory control reasons, preferably in the Richmond area. I know, I know, this sounds like a pretty big hassle and you are right, it is and there are members that are taking care of this for the Company right now.

Another solution to this problem was brought to my attention; how about the Company purchasing a cargo style trailer to store and transport these items. WOW, what a great idea, no more loading up for an event then having to unload it all when you get home after an event. I know I am ready to get a shower and relax, not unload all the company equipment. Right now, Mr. Stafford and I are looking for the best price on this type of trailer - a 5X8 Cargo Trailer is $1495.00. Since F Company’s members are spread around the East Coast, there may be some better prices out there. If you would like to get involved in this process, please check around and see if you can get someone to beat this price. If not, and you still want to be involved and want to perform the other choice of storing and transporting the equipment, let me know that too, right away. Mr. Stafford will continue to be the Quartermaster Clerk, until he says uncle, however, I would like to relieve him of the task of storing and transporting all the other Company equipment. If said trailer was purchased by the Company, Mr. Stafford said that he would not mind keeping it on his property if it was needed. We will most likely talk some about this at the annual meeting.

As most of you may know by now, Chuck Hillsman has passed away. He was the commander of Longstreet’s Corps, and a friend of F Company. There were many times at events I sought him out to have a larger organization to fall in with, when the rest of Jackson’s Division was not in attendance. He was a good man and will be missed.

Commander

1^st Sergeant’s Report

1. Farewell Report- This will be my last report as First Sergeant of F Co., 21st Virginia. To put rumors to rest, I will be continuing my membership with the company and turning out for events while starting to make plans for my next employment opportunity as I contemplate retirement from the Federal government. Additionally, I will continue to serve as the unit Training Officer and as Chairman of the Uniform Committee. In the twelve years I have served as the senior NCO, I have appreciated all the cooperation and support I have received from the general membership, as well as my opportunity to implement a number of programs for improvement of

the company's military impression. So, yes, I will still be around! I appreciate all the kind words and expressions of well wishing at the recent Autumn Soiree in Ashland, and Mrs. Vice wanted me to thank everyone for their hospitality at the soiree.

2. Journey to Ft. Branch- Once again, I made the mistake of going South, which is always nostalgic for me, because once I get below the James River, I want to move from damn Yankeeland! The second major mistake of this trip was letting Mr. Pearson ride with me again! You would have thought I learned my lesson two years ago, but no, not me! This man has a phobia that I am going to fall asleep at the wheel and he is going to die, so he talks all the time and grins at me like a half wit! I know, it's my contribution to helping the handicapped.

However, this was all once again overcome by the great hospitality from the Perry family. Having a dry place to sleep on Saturday night during the rainstorm was certainly appreciated on my part. Ft. Branch appeared to be in good shape; we had an interesting tactical on Saturday; and we all seemed to have a good time. I know that I got my fill of oysters and pecan pie; saw cotton waiting to be harvested; and everybody talks like they’re supposed to, so I was happy!

Uniform Committee

There is nothing dramatic to report for this month, however, Lt. Wilson and I are working on the development of battle shirts for use by the company in an early war impression for the 140th First Manassas event to be held in August 2001. Hopefully, we have more specific information for the February annual meeting. As soon as I get some more computer disks, I will have the Vendors List updated.