Well, it's now officially 2015 in Bavaria and we're off to a new year. The past few years have been an extreme learning curve for the unit as we have pushed hard to establish ourselves as a unit.
In 2014 we managed to start work on our own bunker and while it's far from finished and we made a few wrong turns, it's still a major step in the right direction. I am hoping that we will make significant progress before the Spring Battle but as with all things, we'll just take things as they come.
We also made significant progress in the area of uniforming. This is an area that I feel has greatly hindered efforts at recruitment. Although it's not been explicitly said to me, I sense that this has been a major obstacle; in short it's the old "But where can I get the uniform?". Well, that problem has been solved for the most part. I am awaiting shipment of the next generation of uniforms and from the pictures so far, I think this will nail it.
Along with uniforming, I have established sources for reproducing the necessary Bavarian "lion" buttons in tombak/white. With this, the final loop will be closed. As things stand now, we have enough buttons for several tunics so we can proceed but it's good to prepare for the future. In short, do not let uniforming stand in the way! It can be done at an affordable price that will not require a second mortgage or sale of your first born.
Now, the push is going to be recruitment. The bottom line is that we need more dedicated people to help carry the torch forward. With more people, more can be done to develop the unit and the activities it participates in- the excuse of "there's only two events a year so why should I invest in uniform and kit" does not hold. There are plenty of events out there and there will be even more with the Centennial of WWI upon us. If nothing else, I'll create the events!
Finally, I'd just like to comment that we are striving to become an organization that's dedicated to history and preserving the heritage of the German/Bavarian cavalry soldier and in the broader sense, the history and heritage of Bavaria itself- I'm not Bavarian but I striving to learn as much as I can with the assistance of my friends in Germany.
So there it is- our proverbial New Year's resolution of a sort. So onward!
Horrido!
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