Muster 2009

Muster is a moving event. There's no way to describe it to someone who hasn't been a part of it. This post is not meant to explain what Muster is. Only to make note that we went and that we are proud of our son and the things he's accomplished this year. I do have to explain that there are several Muster ceremonies, not just the one on campus every April 21st. Muster is held all over the world and there was one in Tarrant County where we live but the one on campus is most certainly the largest.

This year's speaker was Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense and former President of Texas A&M. We sat to the speaker's left as this cell phone picture indicates. In the section just to our right and only a few rows up was Bush, 41. We also got to sit behind Cameron's good friend Sara Alex. (Wish I'd known she was in Maggies... I let something slip I shouldn't have.)

The other reason to write about attending Muster is to relate Cameron's involvement. Muster doesn't just happen every year. It takes planning. And like any major event, there's a committee. The Muster Committee has a huge responsibility to make sure one of A&M's most hallowed traditions goes off without a hitch. It's a great honor to serve on the Muster Committee and there were only two freshman that asked to serve. Cameron was one of those two freshmen. This honor came through his involvement in Fish Aides, a Freshman Leadership Organization.

In February, two months before Muster, by chance I happened to meet Rusty Thompson, A&M faculty advisor to Muster and he was very complimentary toward Cameron and his involvement. Rusty is an Associate Director for Student services and it was great to hear that out of 47,000 students, Cameron was already making a mark.

As for the ceremony itself, it was moving. Muster's purpose is to remember the Aggies that have passed in the previous year. Secretary Gates made a point in his speech to read the names of every Aggie soldier that lost their lives in Iraq where he had signed their orders. It was painful to hear him talk of how hard that task has been. Most Aggies who are remembered that night had family present to light their candle. Cameron held a candle for one such Aggie who could not be represented by a loved one.

The following morning, Cameron and the rest of the Muster Committee got to have breakfast with Secretary Gates. Ironically, that was Secretary's Day. And yes, I think Cam wished the Secretary of Defense for the United States of America 'Happy Secretary's Day'.