My wedding ring is made of titanium. It is light as aluminum and tough as steel. It is also difficult to machine.

It is what they make the 777 out of.

Our new 155 mm howitzer is light enough to be deployed by helicopter. It can be set up in two minutes and then fire a round every 30 seconds all day long. And with GPS guided shells, it can hit a car 15 miles away with the first round.

It is a great resource. It is not a resource required by Operation New Dawn, however. Fortunately, every artilleryman is first a soldier. And that is how the 1^st Battalion of the 119^th Field Artillery Regiment will be used in Iraq: as soldiers.

They will perform convoy escorts.

I traveled south for an hour to reach the Hinsdale Oasis. To anticipate the morning rush hour, I left with extra time. There was little traffic though, so I was very early. Joe and Jessica were already waiting. Joe hurt his arm and was in the emergency room a few hours ago and they decided there was no time to sleep before meeting the 1/119.

Soon there were others.

A state trooper asked me if I were there for the escort. In the course of the conversation, I learned he was expecting one bus. He learned I was expecting 14 busses. So, he started rousting truckers and sending them down the road. Soon the truck parking lot was empty and ready for the 14 busses.

Joe & Jessica were ready to provide direction and the first welcome.

Then they came: Red and blue flashing lights of the leading squad car were followed by out-of-state PGRiders.

They were followed by 14 busses.

For the last few days they have been saying good byes, packing, loading.

Last night they all slept at the armories.

This morning, very early, they left their families. They left Michigan.

They are on their way to Iraq by way of Fort McCoy.

And we were making this leg of their journey with them.

But first, the 1/119 would spend an hour in Hinsdale.

It was a pleasure to walk among these reservists. They all have put their civilian jobs on hold so they could guard convoys moving between Kuwait and places in Iraq. Other people would have to deliver our mail, pave our roads, assemble our cars because these 700 strong, patriotic and dedicated Americans from the state of Michigan were on their way.

This deployment will entitle these soldiers to wear the distinctive unit insignia of their higher command – a Military Police command.

Members of the 1/119 who had previously deployed as part of the 42^nd, 20^th or 50^th could wear these shoulder patches.

They are entitled to wear that patch for the rest of their career.

SFC Stewart wears the Crazy Eight.

He and SGT Maroszek are the only ones in the battalion entitled to the Crazy Eight insignia.

Sometimes veterans continue to wear the patches and decorations they have earned after they are out.

I was never in. My Patriot Guard patch is the only one I am entitled to.

But finally, the patch is only what you make of it. It meaning comes from (1) who gave it to you and (2) for what.

Jessica walked over to CW4 MacLaren and gave him a knife.

A few days ago she selected a knife to give away.

Today she selected a soldier to give it to.

We were done with Hinsdale. Time to go.

Shooting over my shoulder, I got eleven of the busses in one photo.

The bikes led the busses.

Our convoy stretched out over a mile.

We weren’t expecting an ambush. The escort was armed with flags only.

For 90 minutes we traveled at 70 mph. I was the third bike behind the state trooper and ahead of the other bikes and all the busses. For 90 minutes my two hands and two feet did not move from their places as I rolled down the road holding my place in our formation.

It was a ceremonial escort, as we might do at a funeral or a “welcome home”. We didn’t need to be there; we weren’t transporting anything. We just rode along for a while and then turned back. That was the plan.

The Michigan PGR had handed-off to Indiana. I photographed the Indiana PGR leading the convoy into the Hinsdale Oasis. And now I was part of the Illinois PGR that would turn back at the Wisconsin border.

The route through Wisconsin was not finalized until an hour before we left Hinsdale. Instead of I-94, we would take I-90. That’s good for OpSec but tough for planning. There would be no hand-off at the Wisconsin border.

I knew that when we left. The Ride Captain had confirmed with each of us that we would stop at the border. 90 minutes at highway speed is a lot and, after all, we were only ceremonial.

So it really should not have been a surprise when the Illinois trooper took the first exit after crossing into Wisconsin. But somehow it was.

The busses barreled northward while we curled around the cloverleaf. It just didn’t feel right. So I did a U-turn on Wisc 81 and headed back into the cloverleaf.

I didn’t know what my goal was; I only knew that I had to get going north to accomplish it. It took some speed to catch the busses and it took some aggressiveness too. Other traffic had been reluctant to pass the flashing lights of the state troopers and there was congestion behind the busses.

I got through the traffic and, one by one, I passed the busses.

We were still south of Madison, but Tomah was now listed on the signs.

I found a disused truck scale and did a quick stop so I could salute the 14 passing busses.

Three of the bus drivers honked as they went by. I appreciated it.

But that is not the best part of my story. Judy is a hard-working Ride Captain. She must have been unsatisfied to abandon our convoy.

As I was pressing through traffic as hard as I could, she was right behind me in her big SUV. Between the two of us we probably convinced a lot of Wisconsin drivers that Illinois drivers are idiots.

On the other hand, there she was. I was standing on the hill and she was matching speed with the busses. I learned later that she went all the way to Tomah.

She turned back before she got to the gate, so the bus riders probably didn’t know she made the trip. And even if they did, we were only ceremonial.

So I don’t know what the point was. I just know what I think. I think that the soldiers of the 1/119 will do enough convoy escorting of their own soon.

The odds are that none of them will be killed. But odds are that many of them will be targeted by IEDs and some of them will be shot at too. Their escorts are not ceremonial.

And they won’t turn back early.

I took US 12 back. I saw the first evidence of autumn in Whitewater.

I met a nice couple from the Colorado PGR near Lake Geneva.

I got home in time to meet Kevin’s school bus and hear about his day at the Third Grade. He has done enough flag-holding, so I spared him the details of my day.

But it never escaped me that I can take ride around in the countryside and take pictures of turning leaves only because 700 better people than I are rushing forward into danger.

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