During the pandemic, Sea Cadet activities were severely curtailed. Sadly, we were not able to give a proper farewell to our graduates, and many of the summer training opportunities beloved by our Cadets were unavailable. All of the news was not bad, however. Our Cadets were able to stay in touch via virtual drills, and had the opportunity to complete various online trainings that would satisfy advancement requirements. A previous entry told how we were able to get eight Sea Cadets through RT this summer as well, which was a major achievement for the Cadets and the unit.

In October, we are going to attempt to resume in-person drills, scheduled for October 17-18. There are many details to work out and our adult leadership is planning for us to be together again somewhere in the San Antonio area. We also hope to welcome a few new, prospective Cadets.

If you are interested in visiting the Alamo Battalion to see whether you would like to join, or have friends who are interested, please have them mail the PAO at alamobnpao@gmail.com to let us know who is coming. The PAO will share scheduling information with families and prospective members as we get closer to our planned October 17 visiting date.

We are excited about partnering with the National Museum of the Pacific War for our September drill. The museum is a truly moving and informative tribute to the veterans of World War 2 in the Pacific Theater. Our cadets will not only be able to experience the museum as visitors, but they will be staying overnight at the museum and exploring the museum's Pacific Combat Zone.

With school starting again, and the Sea Cadets nearly done with summer training, it is time for drills to start up again. Our first drill will be August 10-11. The POD is available on the Shutterfly site, and on the battalion website homepage. This will be a fun drill, beginning with swim qualifications (and hopefully some waterslide runs). On Sunday we will have a STEELBEACH picnic at the NOSC for cadets, parents and visitors.

There should be a good number of prospective recruits in attendance. This is a great time to join, because recruits will have plenty of time to start their BMR work and earning their uniform before the winter holidays. If you have friends who are interested in becoming a sea cadet, send them to our "Join Us" page for instructions.

We hope to see everyone at drill to catch up with shipmates and exchange their summer sea stories.