US East OB Veterans Monthly Meetup at Backward Flag Brewing

[Ethan N]

Our monthly meetup for Overland Bound Veterans with their families and friends. Held on the 1st Thursday of the month at 6pm Eastern. All OB Members are invited to join us!

Backward Flag Brewing
699 Challenger Way
Forked River, NJ 08731

View Rally Point

 

[Ethan N]

 

[Ethan N]

Hi, I'm your host!
US Army SSG (Retired) Ethan Newago

I come from a long line of military veterans. I was an active duty Combat Engineer for 10 years, most of my time with the 37th EN BN (C) (A) and the 307th EN BN (C) (A) on what was Ft Bragg (Liberty). I deployed to Iraq in 09-10 and Afghanistan in 12-13 and medically retired in 2018. I live about 15 minutes away from Backward Flag with my wife and daughter and can personally vouch that the staff and atmosphere are awesome. They are very accommodating and fully support our monthly gatherings here. I can't wait to meet you!

 

[Ethan N]

Here are our parking arrangements, the purple/pinkish box is the brewery. At the North end of the complex there's a gravel lot butted up to the woods, this area should be big enough and empty enough by 6pm to get us all parked together. The surrounding businesses are still open and the parking lot is typically full. And no, unfortunately the trails you see in the woods are all blocked off!

 

[Ethan N]

Rally Report November 2023:

It turns out that Thursday nights at Backward Flag are also acoustic open mic nights for musicians. The musicians in attendance were mixed genres and most of the crowd were the musicians themselves, if you're interested in playing just show up and add your name to the list. The crowd was relatively older tonight, everyone was very friendly and were not shy to strike up conversation. The beer was very good, I had 3 of their ~10 options and was very happy with what they had to offer. The "house" beer is called Oak Armored and is an American Pale Ale, it was damn good. The staff were very friendly, and we have been invited back - they are happy to have our meetings here. The facility itself is small, with a handful of tables inside and outside and a large community table by the bar. Restrooms inside as well. Also it being more of a community night on Thursdays, pizza is provided for free by some of the regulars. A donation bin is provided to support charity.

_____________________________
Meet notes;

- Introduced myself as event host

- Confirmed parking availability for future monthly meetings (added parking image to post above this one)

- Met with brewery staff and introduced them to OB (owner of Backward Flag was not there tonight, will attempt to chat with her next month)

- Veteran's Day event at the Brewery on Nov. 11 (first 50 veterans through the door get free beer token, ticket for free burger and fries at the food truck)

- Tread Lightly! / Quadratec 50 for 50 Cleanup in NJ will be Nov. 12th, meet at Pic-A-Lilli Inn in Shamong at 9am (more info. will be in Rally Point page)

- Next month's meetup will be Dec. 7th


I stuck around until about 9pm, thoroughly enjoyed myself. See you next month!

 

[Ethan N]

Rally Report December 2023:

Similar crowd as last month, a few different faces and musicians. Pizza was top tier as always! Between a couple of the artists, brewery staff held a moment of silence for the remembrance of the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. It was great vibes all around. We did some chatting with the staff and their next event is this Saturday for the Army v Navy game, free beer if Army wins! Also, they let us know there's an upcoming beer pong tournament and some more events in the works - just stay tuned to them on Facebook for upcoming details.

_____________________________
Meet notes;

- Take photos at future events (rigs, attendance, etc.)

- Snow day wheeling trip, nothing technical or crazy just a fun day out in the Pines (DM me with your name and number to be added to the text list, obviously due to waiting for snowy weather this will be a "last minute" trip sometime in January)

- April 22 Earth Day Clean Up - Sign up is on Rally Point! (Moore's Beach NJ, along the Trans NJ Trail)

- 2nd weekend in June trip to Virginia - Rally Point to be created at a later date (convoy from NJ to Harpers Ferry WV, then Luray Caverns VA, half day wheeling the Peter's Mill Run Jeep BOH Trail)

- July 6th Pines trail ride, camping, cookout to celebrate July 4th (July 6th is that Saturday, will make Rally Point to determine attendance and camp reservations)

- August trip to Canada - DM me if you want to help plan (working on details, probably last weekend in Aug. to visit friends in WI, possible stops: Omega Park Wolf Cabins, Niagara Falls, drive across the UP)

- Next Month's meet will be January 4th




Have a safe and happy holidays!

 

[Ethan N]

Rally Report January 2024:

We finally got to try a new beer that released since last month's meet, it was a nice citrusy IPA called For the Glory. Pizza and music is becoming the number 1 thing I look forward to each new month! It looks like we're finally part of the "regulars" here.

_____________________________
Meet notes;

-January 24th is the Trail Guardian event which is the Wharton SF Open House for the new offroading "MAP". Rally Point is up with more info.

-If you want to be included in the Snow Ride just send me your name and phone number, this is going to be a last second planned trip out into the Pines to enjoy the snowy trails. No sign up needed, once we have some snow I'll text everyone and all you have to do is show up at the meeting spot.

-Rally Point posted for our Earth Day cleanup, Aprill 22 all info is on the RP page.

-Next planned trip is second week of June to Northern VA area. Sightseeing on the way down, Harpers Ferry, Luray Caverns, Dinosaur Land (legitimate roadside attraction, so terrible it's good). Not going to make this one a RP but reach out and let's chat if you want to join.

-Next OB Veterans meetup is Feb 1st!

 

[Ethan N]

This Thursday! Come register for our Snow Ride in the Pines, the weather's getting there! Also come chat about future event plans this year.

 

[Corrie]

Y'all making me want to fly out from CA just to attend! Looks like a blast!

 

[Ethan N]

We made the OB Facebook page and the email blast on the same day! I'm honored, thanks. Can't wait to see you at the next one!

 

[Ethan N]

Tomorrow night! Come join us for the best pizza around and sign up for a bunch of upcoming events we have planned through Spring.

 

[Ethan N]

Small group tonight, but we had a couple new faces and even a guy who just happened to be enjoying the bar who we found out has an interest in overlanding. We chatted about RTTs, campers, pop-ups, etc. (And getting old) This Sunday for those interested we will be heading over to LBI and grabbing our 2024 Beach Buggy passes, come grab one with us or just enjoy the beach for a couple hours.

Next meetup will be March 7th and we have a Rally Point posted for April's Recovery 101 class and hands-on training. There is some talk about a trail ride later this month or in March, DM me if interested.

 

[Corso&Mastiff Adventures]

Hey dudes. Down in South Jersey. Going to try to make it up for a brew! Ya'll know if they're dog friendly?

 

[Ethan N]

They are welcome, just know the inside is pretty small and crowded on a Thursday night.

Tasting Room Faq | Backward Flag (backwardflagbrewing.com)

 

[Corso&Mastiff Adventures]

They are welcome, just know the inside is pretty small and crowded on a Thursday night.

Tasting Room Faq | Backward Flag (backwardflagbrewing.com)

I just saw your post about it. I'll probably skip bringing one of my boys haha hopefully I can catch you guys there. If not, I'll try the following month

 

[Ethan N]

I'll be there!

 

[MuckSavage]

I look forward to meeting up on May 2!

 

[MuckSavage]

I look forward to meeting up on May 2!

 

[MuckSavage]

I look forward to meeting up on May 2!

 

[MuckSavage]

I look forward to meeting up on May 2!