Day 1 - Arrival under "shock & awe" escort
We had a 180 motorcycle escort for the last 31 miles, accompanied by fire-trucks, with the streets of the towns lined with people waving flags. This turned out to be very emotional for the Marines and is not all that hard to do. There are lots of veterans groups who ride motorcycles and they will help. It is essential to get law enforcement to manage traffic so the motorcade is not impeded. It is also important to get plenty of local pre-event press coverage so people turn out along the route.
Get acquainted picnic with hosts and committee volunteers- this was a low-key pot-luck buffet - purpose was to meet hosts break the ice. Plenty of Beer. After the dinner, residents offered them night-time boat rides which further relaxed them. They stayed up pretty late talking with residents on their docks and decks.
Day 2 - Sport Events - water-sports, golf, fishing, kayaking, tennis.
We put together a list of the various opportunities and asked the Marines to rate their interest in advance so we had some idea of numbers, but you will find that once they get there, they will change their minds so you need to be flexible and have more resources for each event than you think you need. Get someone to lead a committee for each event so that the committee works out all the logistics and resource needs.
Evening BBQ with community - Need an event where the broader local community and veterans can participate. We had a band (pro-bono) come in and play. Afterwards, they tended to stay around and drink with the residents. Hosts need to stay with them and get them back home - stay up and talk.
Day 3- Events & Formal Dinner
We provided another day of sporting events.
There was also a formal dinner with hosts & volunteers . They were in uniform and we conducted it like a Military Dining In with toasts, etc (any retired Officer can manage this for you - I can even provide sample toasts) We had a guest speaker. Marines stayed on and drank with participants then filtered on to their homes.
Day 4 - Farewell breakfast.
We had a breakfast for them and put them on their bus back to Camp Lejeune. We had the bus stop by Clemson University and they toured the campus.
