Final Day of Exercise - (Korea) Day 270

The front and back of the coins that our KATUSA gave me. The one on the left
is from the ROK 2-Star general, and the one on the right is from his
counterpart...the US 2-Star general.

Work call this morning was at 0430. Oh yes…last day of the exercise!!!! I picked up the augmentees and headed back to the office. We were planning to leave 15 minutes earlier that the previous days. As I was waiting in the SUV our KATUSA jumped in the seat behind me and then asked to see my hand. Strange request, but I put my hand back there and he promptly placed two coins in it. Evidently the reason he had to stay behind yesterday was because he was selected to receive a couple coins from a two star general. I told him I couldn't take them and tried to give them back, but he insisted that I keep them. He said he thought I worked the hardest out there and that I deserved them more than him. I told him no way…he worked his butt off too, but he would not take them back no matter what. To tell you the truth, having a co-worker notice the effort and work that I put in was worth more than a supervisor in my eyes. It was an awesome gesture and I think these coins will hold more meaning than any of the others I have so far.

We arrived at CP Tango and immediately started to prepare for the awards ceremony from the four star general. There were 5 people getting the "Joint Service Award" and 30 folks receiving the 4-star coin. This is a lot less than previous exercises, I heard the new general wants to give more value to his coins. Our KATUSA and I were proctors for the ceremony. Our KATUSA held the case with the awards and coins and I handed them to the general as the folks came up to accept their award. The funny part is that this put me in all the photos that the people took with the general…lol. I thought about making a funny face, but kept it professional. Our NCOIC was one of the people that received a coin.

After the ceremony we started cleaning the office. Our NCOIC and our KATUSA headed to breakfast at the DFAC. During their meal she kept asking to see his coins, that's when he told her that he gave them to me and why. She was pretty impressed and ended up telling the Major in our office, who in turned told another person in the command group. The Major then ended up giving our KATUSA a different coin because everyone was impressed with his gesture. What I found out later is that our NCOIC was also given two more 4-Star coins that she was going to give me and Special K, but since our KATUSA gave me his coins she gave one to an augmentee that did a great job the entire exercise.

We finished cleaning the CP Tango office and waited for the end of exercise announcement. Finally it finished…North Korea invaded, South Korea along with it's UN allies repelled the attack and took over North Korea…thus reunifying the Korean peninsula!

We headed to K-16 and picked up some individual pizzas for lunch, then had to wait for the generals to leave CP Tango before we could pack up the office and head back to Yongsan. When we did get back, we still had a lot to do before we could call it a day. We had to drop off all the weapons at the armory, then take all the supplies into the office and turn back in all the rented vans and SUVs we had. Once this was done we prepared for our own ceremony for all of our augmentees. This is a little different than previous exercise ceremonies because it was only for the augmentees getting their Certificate of Achievements. These are worth 5 promotion points. Usually they are all handed out to everyone in our office at the same time, I'm not sure why we are doing it separate this time…I hear ours will be next week sometime.

I was unable to see the little ceremony though because I got a call about a "spillage" in our admin department. Classified data had found it's way to an unclassified computer. When this happens we have to immediately unplug the machine from the network and report it to the folks who are in charge of the secret network. I then got a call telling me that our colonel was unable to access the network. Turns out that his computer still thought it was on the CP Tango network and there was nothing I could do to change the settings, so I had to call the help desk and submit an urgent ticket. The only problem is that all the help desk technicians had all left for the weekend. Ugggghh. I had to setup an alternate laptop for my colonel to use over the weekend, but it wasn't a great solution because he didn't have access to any of his desktop files. Grrrrr!

My NCOIC mentioned going to eat at Taco Bell and asked if me and our KATUSA wanted to go. I said definitely…it sounds good. We had to wait for our KATUSA though…the two weeks of eating an MRE every day for lunch had caught up with him and he was stuck in the bathroom with a major case of diarrhea. When he did come out he politely declined and said he was heading home.

After dinner I got back to my room and shortly after laid down for a nap, but that nap turned into sleeping all night…13 hours total…much needed!

9th Day of Exercise - (Korea) Day 269

A photo I snapped at The Point. This is just the line of treadmills (all with individual
TVs). Compared to the 4 that Trent Gym has, this place always has an open one.
Around the corner are a number of stationary bikes & weight machines.

Work call this morning was at 0430 as usual. We had the same old routine (pickup the augmentees, stage vehicles, and leave to CP Tango). After setting up the first meeting I was able to settle in and do all my schoolwork. I don't care for the exercise that much, but I do like that I have had time to do my schoolwork. The exercise itself isn't too bad except for getting up so early. We also have to have our gas mask in it's case strapped to the side of our leg at all times. This makes sitting in an office chair a little awkward. It also adds an inconvenience when going to the bathroom.

We cleaned up the morning meeting and then I read a newspaper for a while. Our NCOIC got all excited all of a sudden, then announced that she got promoted. She knew she was eligible and had been checking online daily to see if it happened…today she found out. It will be official on the 1st of September. She will be an E-7 (Sergeant First Class)!

The second shift arrived only a few minutes late and I took off to get the car ready. For some reason it took them forever to come out, but I didn't really mind. I was tired and quickly fell asleep with the air conditioning blowing and the radio on. We ended up leaving about an hour late and for reasons unknown our KATUSA had to stay and work with the second shift. When I inquired about it the subject was changed, so I didn't ask again. I'll have to ask him tomorrow morning.

After returning the augmentees to tent city, I headed to my room and changed into my workout clothes. I have to get some cardio in. I headed off to The Point and started running on the treadmill. I would love to say it was an awesome workout, but the truth is that it was one of those times when I struggled just to keep jogging. I never reached anything faster than a quick jog and even had to slow to a fast walk at one point. I had no stamina and my knees were hurting. I did get a sweat going, but it was a pretty dissatisfying workout. Better than nothing I guess, hopefully I'll feel better next time.

When I got back to my room I showered and then settled in for my nightly routine of TV shows and SkillPorts. One more day of the exercise left and then we get a 3 day weekend! I can't wait.

8th Day of Exercise - (Korea) Day 268

Work call this morning was at 0430 as usual for the exercise. It was a normal morning with me picking up the augmentees and then staging all the vehicles. We left on time and arrived to CP Tango without incident. We setup for the morning meeting and then I did schoolwork. One nice thing about this exercise is that I've had plenty of time to do my schoolwork during the work day…even if there are interruptions from time to time.

My NCOIC came into my little office and started to take off her boot so she could scratch her foot that was itching. Our KATUSA came in and for some reason asked what color her socks were. She said green of course, that is the standard. Then she asked our KATUSA what color his socks were. He tried to change the subject, but she wouldn't be sidetracked. Finally he said he had white socks on. She gave him a hard time and then said he's her "soldier of the day". She gave him a hard time the rest of the day…lol.

I've been overhearing discussions about awards and coins for this exercise. I guess the new commander wants to significantly cut down on the number of coins that are given out. He wants them to have more value when someone does receive a coin. It made me doubt that I would be receiving a coin because they are being so strict with the process. If that's the case it would suck because since this is the first exercise for our NCOIC, she has relied heavily on me and Special K to train the augmentees and make sure everything runs smoothly. I have been getting up earlier than everyone on the first shift so I can pick up all the augmentees and staying later so I can drop them off. The only place I ever complain may be this journal, but it would be pretty crappy to put in all the extra work and not be recognized for it. I guess we'll see, the exercise will wrap-up this Friday.

We setup a few meetings and cleaned them and the 2nd shift actually arrived on time, I was pretty surprised. We left the earlier than we ever had previously and made pretty good time getting back. After I dropped off the augmentees and got back to my room I passed out again on my bed. This time when I got up though I talked myself out of going to the gym. My entire body is sore and I figured I would give it a day of rest. I almost went just to go in the hot tub, but it seemed to much of a pain to go all the way there just for that. Instead I did the usual…TV shows and more SkillPorts. The closer I get to maxing out my Military Education points the faster I want to get it done. One of the augmentees told me today that he found out that he just missed getting promoted by 6 points! I've talked to him before and he told me about his recent promotion board experience and how crazy it was. He was really looking forward to this promotion, but found out the cutoff scores today. The army publishes the cutoff scores for promotion each month. Each MOS has a different cutoff score which changes based on the needs of the army for that rank and position. He'll get a certificate of achievement for the exercise which is worth 5 points and I told him to get crackin' on the SkillPorts!!

7th Day of Exercise - (Korea) Day 267

Since I can't take photos at CP Tango, I figured I would take some around post 
of various landmarks. This is The Dragon Hill Lodge, The Point is 
located around back and below the hotel.

Work call this morning was at 0430…starting the normal exercise routine once again…at least until the end of the week when it's over. I picked up the augmentees and staged all the vans. We were all ready to go, but we were missing our NCOIC which was pretty strange. We still had 15 minutes until departure time, but normally she is there long before then. I gave her a call and she had just arrived. Turns out a cab hit her while she was riding her scooter into work. The streets in Korea are a dangerous place. Luckily she didn't get hurt and her scooter didn't sustain any damage. I guess the taxi bumped her and knocked her over, it could have been a lot worse.

We headed over to pick up the weapons for the officers and then took off. We still made it on time to CP Tango. Our KATUSA and I setup for the normal morning meeting and when it came time to call "stand by" our KATUSA was nowhere to be found. I stood near the door of the meeting room keeping an eye out for the general. Finally our KATUSA came, but he was so late we couldn't switch places. I usually don't ever call "stand-by" because I don't like to do it, but I was stuck this time. Our KATUSA gave me "the signal" that the general was coming. Usually we do something funny to let the other know it's game time and to get ready. Our KATUSA stared at me and started pulling his ear over and over again. I nodded and started laughing. The general came up and when he was about 10 feet from me I turned and headed towards the conference room. I was hoping there would be some officer standing near the door with his back towards me when I yelled so I could scare the crap out of him…no such luck. I yelled "Stand by" and then let the general walk in.

I then spent time doing schoolwork until the meeting was over and we headed up to clean up. At this point it was time for me to teach my class. My NCOIC gave me the subject of "semi-centralized promotions" last week to give a class on today. My students were my NCOIC and our KATUSA LOL. Luckily this is a subject I had previously checked into thoroughly because I wanted to know exactly what I needed to do in order to get promoted. I had a slide show already that my previous sergeant sent to us, so I went through the slides explaining the new system and what has changed. I also threw in that I've personally maxed out my civilian education and I'll have my military education maxed out before I leave Korea. Gotta let my NCOIC know that I'm not fooling around here.

I had some ramen with the ROK soldiers in our office and our KATUSA. After lunch we just hung out at the table and came up with silly games to play by flicking a piece of candy at each other to pass the time. Finally the second shift arrived only a few minutes late and after briefing SPC Mick and Special K we took off.

Once back and after dropping off all the augmentees, I headed to my room and passed out for a half hour. I then woke up and headed to The Point to go for a work out. After that I slipped into my usual routine of watching TV shows and doing a couple SkillPorts. SPC Roy stopped by for a bit to vent because right after he arrived at CP Tango for his night shift, he got sent back to Yongsan to drop off an urgent packet for his office. He needed to blow off some steam about an E7 in his office, then he was good to go and headed back.

Time to try and get some sleep now…..

6th Day of Exercise - (Korea) Day 264

The "IR" or "Subdued" flag insignia. This is part of the uniform during the exercise.
Normally only soldiers who have been deployed have these, we had to be issued these on the
second day of the exercise. It is worn in place of the colored American flag on the right shoulder.

Work call this morning was 0430 once again. My body did not want to get up this morning, I think it knew it was a Saturday and was just not cooperating. I moved quite a bit slower, but still made it on time. I picked up the augmentees at tent city and then loaded our SUV as usual and our convoy took off. Once at CP Tango we setup for a morning meeting and I did my morning ritual of checking my email and drinking my coffee. My NCOIC decided that it would be a good idea if I teach a class. Sergeant's time training will be me teaching a class on the semi-centralized promotion system. The class will be held next Tuesday (during the exercise) and my students will consist of just my NCOIC…lol. I'm not sure how well that will work out because it seems the SACO from our office is always calling her back to her laptop for something anytime she gets up. The good news is that I already have a PowerPoint that my old sergeant sent out explaining all the changes, so I will be able to use that for my "class".

We cleaned up the meeting and then as we were in the office our supply KATUSA called and asked if we had seen his helmet. Evidently he lost it and is freaking out. He is actually scheduled to finish up his service in a couple weeks. If you don't have all your assigned gear, you end up paying for it. We all looked around and I checked with the CP Tango security to see if they had seen anything…nothing yet.

I worked on my schoolwork and then read the news, it was a pretty laid back afternoon. At the end of our shift we cleaned up and also packed up most of our stuff since it is now the weekend. The second shift ran a few minutes late…no surprise there, but somehow SPC Mick missed the convoy coming out…now that was a surprise. Our NCOIC was not very happy about that. They were going to have one of our drivers pick him up when we got back and then return him, but the traffic was pretty bad. There is a bus run from Yongsan to CP Tango, so SPC Mick had to catch one of those.

I found out I have to work a little on Monday. Somehow I think I'm getting the shaft with the work schedule. I come in earlier than anyone else to pick up the augmentees. I stay later to drop them all off. The morning shift was screwed at the beginning of the exercise by working a night shift the first day, then turning around and working the morning shift the next day. Now I find out I have to work in the office on Monday because there was a meeting scheduled…WTF? Everyone else has the day off. At least I don't have to go in early and only have to work a few hours.

I headed back to my room and rested on my bed for a while. I entertained the idea of working out, but decided to just do a longer workout tomorrow after I finish laundry and such. Instead I watched TV episodes and did some SkillPorts. I haven't been able to do too many during this exercise, so this weekend I want to get at least a few in.

I get to sleep in tomorrow!!!!

5th Day of Exercise - (Korea) Day 263

Work call today was at 0430. The morning started off with the same ol' routine (pickup augmentees and head off to CP Tango once everyone is ready). Once there I got settled in and checked my email. Before too long my NCOIC came to me and asked me to take care of a semi-secret issue. I won't go into details, but i had to drive back to Yongsan and then back to CP Tango. I didn't mind because it passed the time and I listened to the radio. Speaking of the radio…here in Korea if you're an English speaking person you have a couple of choices. The main station is AFN "The Eagle" which serves the US service members stationed in Korea. Since it is only one station and it tries to satisfy the needs of a wide variety of tastes, they end up playing all kinds of different styles of music. One minute you will here a current pop tune, then the next song will be an 80's hit, then a country song.

Once back in the office I did all my schoolwork and then basically read the news for the rest of the day. We setup a meeting, then clean it up when it was finished. It was basically an uneventful day, but you can tell that the early mornings are starting to affect people. As I was reading the newspaper our SACO looked at me and pointed at our KATUSA while giving me "the look". I looked over and saw our KATUSA sound asleep in his chair. I slapped him and told him to wake up. There were times when I was reading the paper that I wanted to fall asleep, but our office is so small it's not a good idea. Near the end of the shift one of the ROK soldiers was asleep in his chair, then during the drive home my NCOIC and our SACO both fell asleep almost instantly for the entire trip. When I got back to my room after dropping off the augmentees at tent city, I video chatted with my wife for a while. I then watched a TV show and fell asleep in my chair halfway through it.

We also found out today that we have to work tomorrow as well. It's been a long week!

4th Day of Exercise - (Korea) Day 262

USAG - Yongsan "The Assignment of Choice in Korea" I probably have to agree with
this statement since we're right in the middle of Seoul. (A photo I snapped on the way
back from my workout to my barracks)

Work call this morning was at 0430 and as usual for the exercise I picked up the augmentees and then got our SUV ready to take off to CP Tango…we left on time at 0530. Surprisingly it was a pretty easy going day today during the exercise. There were no emergencies or "cold coffee incidents", which is always nice. I started the day checking my email…now I have to make a little side note here. Having access to a laptop full time is a special privilege during the exercise. I have it because I'm the daytime IMO for the exercise. There is also nobody from our admin office participating in the exercise, so I don't have to share it with anyone. It's been awesome to have because not only can I check my email and such, but I can also do my schoolwork during any downtime…and there is a lot of downtime.

The graveyard shift had already setup for the first meeting of the day and promised they checked the coffee and it was hot! We only had to call "stand by" when the general arrived to the meeting. A ROK soldier in our sister office asked if he could do it and of course I said sure (I hate doing it…I'm just not a loud person by nature). The great thing is he loved it, so I'll encourage him to do it anytime he wants to…lol.

The day was pretty mellow after that…more schoolwork…cleaned up and setup a couple meetings. The ROK soldier I mentioned earlier that called "stand by" had an accident yesterday. I guess he was cutting paper and somehow almost chopped the top of his thumb off. He is now walking around with 8 stitches in his thumb. His hand is all bandaged up and he looks like a cartoon character with a big thumb in the permanent "thumbs up" position. So of course I had to poke fun at him a little throughout the day.

The ROK soldier, me and our KATUSA took turns playing each other at a Korean game which is very similar to "connect 4", but instead of connecting 4 you have to connect 5. It passed the time and before too long it was time to leave. The second shift was only a few minutes late and after briefing Special K and SPC Mick I headed out to get the SUV ready. We all were loaded, but had to wait again on the navy warrant officer. He was actually not as late as usual and we ended up getting back to the office at 1530 which is the earliest so far.

I received my second package in two days back at the office. The previous package was from my wife and this package was from my mom, sister and nieces. It was full of birthday cards and treats. It's funny, if I wouldn't have received this package I would have totally forgot that it was my birthday tomorrow. Strange how being isolated from your friends and family changes things. My birthday will come and go and it will be just another day, similar to all the holidays that have come and gone this year. When you can't spend them with the ones you love, they seem kind of pointless and even depressing.

I dropped off the augmentees and then headed to my room. I had energy and not wanting to see it fade, I quickly changed clothes and headed to "The Point" to go work out. There were plenty of treadmills available and I put in some much needed cardio. I also weighed myself and I've lost everything I gained during my leave…and then some. During the exercise I seem to eat a number of much smaller snacks throughout the day instead of big meals, so I always lose weight.

After working out I headed back to my room, ate dinner and then watched some TV shows along with completing a couple SkillPorts since I was able to do my schoolwork during the day. Hoping tomorrow goes as smooth.

3rd Day of Exercise - (Korea) Day 261

(Unfortunately I probably will not be taking any photos during the whole exercise. We are not allowed to bring cameras, iPods, iPhones, or any cell phones into CP Tango)

Work call this morning was at 0430 and I did my usual routine of picking up the augmentees at tent city and bringing them to the office. Once everyone was ready to go we headed out and arrived at CP Tango without incident. I thought it was going to be a normal uneventful exercise day…that was all about to change with "The Case of the Cold Coffee Incident"

I was in the office getting ready to start the day when my NCOIC says our four star general is in a meeting and his coffee is cold. The midnight shift that we relieved actually setup the meeting and they are supposed to take the coffee crafts there right before their shifts ends so it stays hot. So I had to grab a spare craft and run to the DFAC located on the entire other side of CP Tango. CP Tango is located in a mountain, so all the hallways are underground and there are a number of fire doors that you must go through to get around. I started breaking a sweat before even arriving at the DFAC. I headed to fill the coffee only to find out that their coffee machine is broken…it's serving cold coffee. This is why the previous shift (our supply KATUSA) served the cold coffee, he didn't even realize it wasn't hot. I headed back to our office and started brewing coffee in our big coffee pot (used for emergencies). The coffee wouldn't be done before this meeting was over, but we were planning to have it ready for the next meeting which started shortly. To make matters worse, we don't have enough coffee crafts to stock two meetings back to back. We need a little prep time to transfer from one meeting to another. I was running all over that stupid freakin' place trying to make sure everything was good to go for the next meeting.

After setup was complete I ended up getting stopped in the hall by one of the general's aids (a Lieutenant Colonel). He had to spend about 5 minutes telling me how important it is that we check everything before we setup a meeting. Instead of talking about the exercise, they talked about cold coffee and so on. I just said stuff like "Roger That" and "Yes Sir" every 30 seconds or so until he was done. What really sucks is that none of this was our fault…it was the previous shift's fault. I think I may strangle our supply KATUSA.

The pace kept a little busier than yesterday. We setup a couple more meetings and of course cleaned up and washed dishes. I was able to do some schoolwork at one point as well. I had planned to do some SkillPorts, but unfortunately the computer I'm working on does not meet the browser requirements and I can't do any updating until I get back to our office.

Our KATUSA is awesome. I always bring some snacks to eat, but he will always bring me back something from the DFAC when he goes and gets breakfast and lunch. It’s worked out quite well so far.

The next shift arrived almost on time today. I said hi to SPC Mick and Special K and briefed them on everything that's going on. The second shift really has it easy, their schedule is much more relaxed than even our most relaxed day! Anyway…I head out to get our SUV ready and warmed up, then wait…and wait. Same old story as yesterday. I was hoping that having our own SUV would allow us to leave on time and not wait for anyone, but it turns out that everyone wants to ride in my car…so I have to wait. Today we were waiting on a navy warrant officer who works in the command group…we left an hour late again today.

Traffic was slow again and there was a light rain, so it wasn't quite as bad as yesterday's ride back. Once we arrived back at the office I did my usual routine once again, I had to wait for everyone to arrive and then take a van to drop off all the augmentees at tent city. I then headed to my room and just laid on my bed for a bit. I just feel completely exhausted. The rest of the night only consisted of me eating dinner, taking a shower and watching a TV show.

the wife

Your Katusa is a good person. You have to remind yourself it could be worse then dealing with the complaints of cold coffee. The weekend is almost here... than you get to finally see me via video chat.

Kisses my love.

Thursday, August 18, 2011 - 10:49 AM

2nd Day of Exercise - (Korea) Day 260

A picture someone took while inside CP Tango. This is a hallway inside the mountain.

Not sure how the guy was able to take a photo and post it on the web.

Here's the website I found this image.

Work call this morning was 0430 for me. I woke up and quickly shaved, then grabbed my snacks and coffee and headed to get the van to pick up the augmentees at tent city. Once we were all back at the office, the augmentees drew their weapons and our KATUSA and I loaded our SUV with everything we needed for the trip to CP Tango. We headed out shortly after and I had a special guest in our SUV…our colonel. Surprisingly the ride was pretty smooth with very little traffic.

When we arrived our KATUSA checked on the setup for the first meeting and then waited to call "stand-bye" for the general. I then took the opportunity to use one of the laptops to complete my required yearly IA (Information Assurance) training. This is training that anyone who has access to the network must complete each year, or else you will lose your network access. The training is pretty simple and so are the questions. Most of it is just common sense about safe computer usage.

I then found out that our colonel was unable to log into the network with his laptop. It turns out that it has to be set to use DHCP instead of a static IP and I was unable to make the change because I didn't know the local admin password. Normally I would just use my "demigod" card and either change the password or just use it to make the change, but since we were not on our office network, my "demigod" card would not work….grrrrrr. I had to forfeit my laptop and setup the colonel's email on it so he could work. What a pain!

We cleaned up the morning meeting and unlike back at our office where we just take all the dirty dishes to have them cleaned, we have to clean them ourselves because there is no cleaning lady here at CP Tango. I can add dishwasher to my ever growing list of job skills I've gained through the army…lol.

I then sat down in the office and read a newspaper…..then I read another newspaper…then I started looking over the newspapers again to see if I missed anything…even the boring stories. There is a lot of downtime for us during the exercise and without a computer it is even worse. I had visions of doing massive amounts of SkillPorts…not today.

We setup for the afternoon meeting and then cleaned up our office in anticipation of our shift change. For some reason our shift change arrived 15 minutes late. I was anxious to get out of there, so after briefing Special K and SPC Mick on our current status I headed out to get our SUV. I pulled up to the entrance and waited…and waited. We ended up leaving an hour after shift change…WTF??? Hopefully it will get a little smoother as the week goes on.

We head back to the office and it started pouring down rain. There was so much…so fast, that a river was actually starting to form on the right lane. The drive back to the office was slow due to all the rain and a lot of traffic. Once we did get back I quickly fix the colonel's computer while I have it back on our network. It should be good to go for tomorrow now. Once the augmentees turned in their weapons I took them back to tent city. I thought about working out for a split second, but was having trouble just trying to stay awake, so I pushed that thought aside for now. I made myself dinner in my room and watched a TV show…I ended up falling asleep during the show for a bit.

I wake up and promptly take a shower. I feel all sticky as usual because of all the humidity here in Korea. That is one thing I will not miss. I then did schoolwork. I'm taking my last class of this year's TA (tuition assistance). I feel good that I was able to use all of the allotted money and I've made some good progress so far towards my degree. In October I should be able to renew for another year. There are a lot of rumors going around at this point that TA will be getting cut soon because of all the budget issues the government is having. I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens with that.

Time to get some sleep before starting this all over tomorrow...

1st Day of Exercise - (Korea) Day 259

That box is where we stick all the confidential paper to be shredded. Not sure if a
KATUSA wrote that or what, but it made me laugh.

Work call this morning was noon. It's a ROK holiday and for some reason the 1st shift for the exercise was told they will be working the 2nd shift schedule for Monday only, while the 2nd shift works a normal day at the office. Our KATUSA and I are on the 1st shift along with our NCOIC. I enjoyed sleeping in and being able to video chat with my wife for a while. I headed into work about 1100 so I could check my email as well as my promotion points. My current status is:

Military Education - 260 Maximum Points

Correspondence Course (Hours = 918) Points = 183

This means I have 77 more points to go before I max out, I'm slowly getting there! I then helped out setting up a meeting down in the secret conference room before getting ready to leave for the exercise. We headed over to check out our weapons and it took forever for the augmentees to get all of theirs. I think we ended up leaving an hour later than planned. This exercise is going to be a little different with the transportation. We have the normal drivers and vans, but our NCOIC picked the best SUV and I have become her personal driver. It's kind of nice because I will not have to squeeze in the vans with all the other folks, instead I will just drive. I also don't have to wear all the gear because I'm now technically a driver.

We headed out to CP Tango and after arriving we spent some time straightening up the office, basically getting it ready for the next two weeks of exercise. One of the offices were selling chili dogs, so I bought a couple for me and our KATUSA. After that we had to go to a very long and boring brief about the exercise. A lot of people in a big room which got hotter by the minute. Finally we had another brief by the fire department and promptly had a fire drill complete with fake smoke and all. (Everyone made it out safe)

We then quickly setup for the next morning's meeting and then left. We drove back to the office and after the augmentees turned in their weapons, I drove them all back to tent city. I was also nominated to get up early and pick all of them up for the morning shift tomorrow morning…not much sleep will be happening tonight. I ended up getting to my room after 2200 and then taking a shower because I was all sticky from the humidity. (CP Tango gets pretty hot and humid as well, so working in there all day leaves you a sticky mess)

I go to bed at around 2300 and for some reason have a hard time falling asleep. Most likely because I know I have to be at work at 0430 and sleep time is slowly ticking away…..

Got The Levy - (Korea) Day 256

The augmentees hanging out in front of our office. This is where a lot of their
time was spent while waiting to go on the drives. The cover provided a little
shelter from the heat.

Work call this morning was at 0730. As usual for this week me and Special K took the vans down to tent city and picked up the augmentees. They all received their schedules, so they know what shift they will be working, who will be the drivers, and who will be the augmentees. The first shift then drove to CP Tango and then K16, then back to the office.

I helped out with setting up the secret conference room for a meeting and then ended up going to lunch in my room where I video chatted with my wife. After lunch I headed to the company to pick up a hard copy of the levy brief that I need to fill out in order to get the the process started so I can get my orders. Special K took the augmentees back out to CP Tango so they could practice some more pickups and drop-offs in the access tunnel, so I was free from augmentee duty for the day. I helped clean up the secret conference room and then gathered office supplies together for us to take to CP Tango.

I then had to wait for a conference that was going on in our conference room to end before I could leave. It lasted until 1800 unfortunately. Grrrr! Since I worked late I ended up not working out. Instead I headed to my room and rested for a bit before watching some TV shows and doing a SkillPort before going to sleep.

Driving in Circles - (Korea) Day 254

Work call this morning was at 0600. We had to setup for a meeting in the top secret conference room. This was the only "normal" work I did for the day. The rest of the day consisted of training the augmentees. Special K and I took two vans and picked them all up at tent city at 0745.
We took 4 vans and made a convoy out to CP Tango. We had Special K driving the lead van, with me driving the 2nd van, an augmentee who already knew the way driving the 3rd, while our NCOIC drove the 4th. We made it there without any issues and I tried to show the folks in my van the various landmarks I use while navigating to and from CP Tango. When we arrived at CP Tango, we walked around the outside showing the augmentees the various portals and the helicopter pads where they will be picking up the generals and other VIPs. We then all loaded up and headed back to Yongsan where we broke for lunch.

I ate lunch in my room and was able to video chat with my wife which was nice, I wasn't sure if I would have the time or not because of our schedule. After lunch we all met up once again and made the same trip to CP Tango only this time our NCOIC did not come. We also had the augmentees drive the route while me and Special K sat in the passenger seat helping them out and answering any questions. We ended up making this round trip twice in the afternoon switching out drivers so everyone could get a feel for driving in Korean traffic and feel comfortable making the drive back and forth.

Speaking of Korean traffic…it gets so bad at times there was actually a food vendor standing in the middle of the road selling stuff. We went by quicker than I could get my iPhone out to take a photo, but it was definitely something you don't see everyday. He had on a surgical mask, I guess that was to protect him from all the exhaust fumes…lol.

We ended up losing 3 of our augmentees when we got back from the first trip after lunch. I guess they weren't screened well enough before they were assigned to us. Because they will be transporting high ranking officers and VIPs in the vehicles, they have to have at least a "secret" security clearance and these three did not. They are going to go to another unit and we will be getting three new ones tomorrow.

By the time we got back from the 2nd trip after lunch it was almost 1700, so we turned all the augmentees loose for the day. I was able to check my email in the office and quickly finish only 1 SkillPort. We then left for the night and I changed in my room and headed to the gym. After my workout I ate a snack and did the usual….TV shows and a SkillPort. I start class again next Tuesday, so the number of SkillPorts I have time to do after work is going to go down.

PT Test - (Korea) Day 164

One of the photographers took this photo during our colonel's ceremony the
other day. Our colonel is in the middle next to some of the ROK soldier's in our
sister office. I'm in the back row with SPC Roy to the left and CPT Hooah! to the right.
Our supply sergeant is on the bottom right.

This morning we had a PT test scheduled at 0700. Our KATUSA and I were picked up by Special K and we met our sergeant at one of the areas they conduct the test here on Yongsan Garrison. The place is located in Camp Coiner which is actually a portion of the post here. A couple of sergeants met us there to do the grading. There is a little grassy area that we settled down in and each of us performed the push-up portion and sit-up portion of the test one at a time. We then ran on the road in Camp Coiner. They do not block the road off at all, which I soon found can present some challenges. Each lap is 1/2 mile, so we did 4 laps to finish our 2 mile run. During my run I had to be mindful of traffic as I was inhaling the exhaust fumes with each deep breath. At one point a bus heading to the DFAC turned right in front of me forcing me to stop and go around it. I hit the side of it with my fist out of frustration, I couldn't believe I'm trying to take a test and have a freakin' bus cut me off. I ended up doing OK. My unofficial results are 55 push-ups, 42 Sit-ups, and a 16:20 2-mile run. In my old age group this gave me a score of 221. Not the 240 I was hoping for, but not too bad for all the pizza and ice cream I've been eating. I also have hardly done any exercise since being in Korea. Our KATUSA failed his sit-ups, so I'm sure we'll be doing a number of sit-ups here in the near future.
We then headed to the gym to get our height and weight measured. After that we headed back to our rooms to shower and get ready. I video chatted with my wife for a bit and then headed into work about 0945. All day I was sore and tired and so was Special K. We may be getting too old for this! We had no meetings in the morning so I watched some NBA playoffs for a while before setting up a meeting in the secret conference room. We then all headed out to lunch at the food court. We had to make sure to get back before the meeting started, so I could be a door stop (hold the door open for the general) and someone else could call stand-by when he walks in.

Today was the last day of our colonel. I helped him back up all his documents and email to a DVD before he left. He had a ton of email. O6s and above are not given a mailbox restriction on the email server.

One of the SACOs in our office found that the Wikipedia article pertaining to CP Tango was changed. Someone with a sense of humor changed the second paragraph to:

"It is also rumored to be holding an alien spacecraft from AREA 51, and the lone surviving Bigfoot which was taken there for his safety from extinction.

It is composed of highly trained Army Special Forces, Army Rangers, and a few select members of the Black ops group CAG. These service members were hand picked by the President of the United States and are authorized to shoot on site. Command Post Tango is patrolled by 6 trained "Counter Affronted Tigers". These CAT's are rumored to be fed black gun powder to make them more aggressive. These soldiers are rumored to be working on a top secret "Laser Weapons" to defend the world from the alien invasion expected in December 2012."

Around 1600 our sergeant said we could leave early if we clean up the office, but when we were done he gathered us all around and was talking to us for about a half hour. We ended up only leaving about 15 minutes early…lol. When I got to my room I had to lay down for a bit and rest. I then ate a snack and watched another episode of "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena".

I started schoolwork after that. This class I'm currently taking is a bit tougher than previous ones. I'm finding it hard to get motivated to to work. I block out time each night, but I have to force myself to start studying. I can't wait until I have my degree, I'm already tired of going to school. It would be different if I was in an actual class, I've always excelled when in a classroom environment. When I'm taking classes online though it's much tougher for me....uggg!

Overheard Quote: "I'd rather have a chick with an arm missing, a foot missing, and be retarded than be with her anymore" (Our sergeant isn’t too happy with his wife right now)

Going Commando - (Korea) Day 100

I was not allowed to take any photos while in CP Tango, but thanks
to USFK Flickr I am able to share these photos with you. Both photos are
of our 4-star general in command of USFK. All of this command post are under a mountain
and you can see the actual rock on the photo at the top, which some of the hallways are like.
The photo on the bottom shows a typical hallway as the group walks through a huge doorway.
You can't really tell in the photo, but the doors are huge and really thick. I think they could stop
some serious firepower.

Today is our last day of the exercise…my last day at CP Tango for a while. I’m a little bummed I couldn’t take any pictures while I was there, but with the place being top security and all, I wouldn’t want to do anything that would get me in trouble. I'll be happy to get back to getting a little more sleep. It seems that no matter how early I go to bed, waking up at 0400 is too early. Work call this morning was at 0500. The morning was pretty unusual though. Right as I put on all my gear in the office, SPC Roy asked me to open our conference room for him (He doesn't have a key). I opened it for him and didn't think much of it until later on in the day. I went back and hopped in the first van with our colonel. I have to arrive there first so I can get all the laptops setup. Once that was done SPC Roy and I setup for the morning meeting. It was then he told me why he needed up in the conference room back at the office this morning. Yesterday he had some monster poop as I noted. I guess he had another great one this morning and somehow when he thought he was done…he wasn't. He had crap all over his underwear and it was sticking to him again. When he went in our conference room in back at the office, he actually cut off his underwear and threw them away. The rest of the day consisted of him asking me to look at his butt and tell him if I could see any poop stains or anything…that and him saying "free willy" a lot since he was free balling it.

We played some more hangman, this time with the ROK soldiers in the office playing with us. They choose some interesting words at times. After the last meeting we had to have a coin ceremony. The 4-star general in charge had each office select one or two people to receive his coin for doing well on the exercise. I was originally told I would be getting one, then found out that they gave it to the air force master sergeant in our office. They gave it to him because this will be his last exercise and they told me I still have one more. Great…but the person that told me and I think most of the rest of the folks in our office will be gone by then as well. Oh well…I still got my SMG coin. Instead of getting a coin I ended up being the coin holder for the ceremony. We heard the general say they won the war (the exercise is a simulated attack from North Korea and they play war games for two weeks in all the meetings). He thanked everyone for their hard work and then started handing out the coins to all the people in line. I stood with a box full of coins while our sergeant major would grab them and hand them to the general. The ceremony didn't take too long.

After the ceremony we started cleaning up the office. We also packed everything we brought to CP Tango and loaded it into a van. SPC Lee and I took off and unloaded everything back at the office. We then took the weapons back to the armory. We finished and also setup for a meeting that will be going on tomorrow, but for some reason we had to stay until 1700, while the night shift who didn't even come out to Tango came in at 1000 and then got off at the same time as us. I think I got screwed a little being on the day shift, but my hangman skills are much improved. Before we left we were all up in our conference room. SPC Roy told Special K and our KATUSA about his morning incident and Special K mentioned "I wondered why there were underwear in the garbage". That was when SPC Roy pulled his underwear out and proceeded to show us all the damage he did…it was pretty bad, I don't blame him for cutting them off. He was laughing so hard I thought he was going to hurt himself.

I ended up getting home too late to video chat with my wife, so I did my schoolwork and some re-certification studying. Ended my night relaxing with some TV shows and went to bed. Looking forward to the weekend!

the wife

OH! MY! GAWD! just saying.

Friday, March 11, 2011 - 01:19 AM

FS SPC Miller

That guy reminds me of Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Along Came Polly. Little disgusting.

Friday, March 11, 2011 - 02:39 AM

Deja Vu - (Korea) Day 99

A photo I found on the web showing the command center

in CP Tango. The windows at the top are the room where we usually

setup everything for the command. 

(Original photo can be found here)

Today seemed like a repeat of yesterday. We had the same work call (0500) and pretty much did the same thing all day. Setup for a meeting in the morning and cleaned up in the afternoon. We played a lot of hangman…so much that we got bored drawing the little man hanging and instead drew animals, then did away with drawing the hangman all together and switched to all sorts of creative ways to execute people. Other than hangman part II, the highlight of my day at work was reading the newspaper.

When I got back to the office we had to setup a small meeting. It only took a few minutes and then I was outta there. I came back to my room, changed and then worked out for a bit. My PT test should be sometime this month, I just hope I get a little advanced warning. I would just like a little time to mentally prepare for it and to also give my body a day or two of rest. I don't think I'll have any trouble passing it, especially since I've moved into the older age bracket.

Video chatted with my wife, then a little schoolwork with a little studying for the Apple re-certification exam I have coming up.

Overheard Quote: "I have to go dump alcohol in the tub and just sit in it" (SPC Roy describing his butt after taking a dump. He said he was going to have to throw away his underwear and then do some heavy cleaning to get it clean down there)

Beards & Guts - (Korea) Day 97

This is the only image I could find that closely resembles
the insignia the civilians are wearing. The only difference is 
that the triangle is bigger and takes up most of the square.

Work call this morning was at 0500. We loaded up and headed out to CP Tango. The admin master sergeant was sporting her new gift from our colonel… A travel coffee mug with a lid. He said he has had it for a long time and was told to give it to someone, only he gave it to her a day late. There will be no spilling on the colonel this morning.

I setup the laptops for everyone, then we setup for the morning meeting again as usual. I forgot to mention this before, but some of the briefers here have on army uniforms. They are civilians, but since they are part of the exercise they have to wear the uniform. I find myself doing a double take sometimes when I see a dude with a big gut and a full on beard or goatee walking down the hall. Instead of a rank patch they have a small triangle that says US.

SPC Roy took off early today to take his son to an appointment, so it was just me to clean up from the morning meeting and setup for another smaller meeting in the top secret conference room. I was able to do that, but I started to work up a sweat going back and forth to the conference rooms. I hate setting up a conference table when folks are already there. I have to try and work around all their crap and then make sure I have everything out there that is needed…there is also a little sense of urgency to get it all done quickly to get outta there.

I was asked if I could setup the color printer next door on a couple of the laptops and I thought "no problem". I went next door (the command group). It's secure, so I have to knock on the door and be let in. The sergeant in there was very helpful and gave me a sheet with the printer's IP address on it as well as a disk with all the drivers on it. When I got back to our office I started to set it up, but needed the local admin password. I checked with our admin master sergeant and she didn't know it. She called the IMO and I guess the previous IMO didn't share that information. This is a little crazy…nobody knows the local admin username or password! We were able to call some guys from J6 to come give us a hand. The guy that came in had a "god card" which he could log into the machine as an admin and have his way with it. He installed the printer on three of our laptops. A 25B came in with him (an augmentee from further down south in Korea). We were talking and found out that we were in the same company at Fort Gordon for AIT. We had some of the same platoon sergeants. (one of which is here at Yongsan by the way…I hope I don't run into that evil bitch!)

After heading back from CP Tango I worked out a bit, then video chatted with my wife. I then did my nightly routine of schoolwork, a little studying for my re-certification exam and some TV shows. I found out there is a pool right above our barracks, my KATUSA roommate visits it often. I'm going to have to check that out…or at least the hot tub. It sounds very relaxing!

Above Sea Level - (Korea) Day 94

The coin I received today. Challenge coins come in a variety of shapes and sizes

Work call this morning was at 0500 once again. We loaded up as usual, but the 1st van I usually get in had some issues. One of their headlights was out, so they had to take a spare van. I usually ride with the admin master sergeant, an air force captain and our colonel. This was the first time we rode with these particular drivers. As we took off our colonel made a comment to the admin master sergeant asking if that was coffee or tea she was drinking. She said it was pumpkin tea, then the driver went over a speed bump without slowing down and the pumpkin tea shot up and a lot of it spilled on the colonel. The master sergeant was drinking out of a normal coffee cup and not a travel mug. She started trying to wipe the colonel down and I was laughing really hard (on the inside of course). It was pretty funny. The driver is lucky we have a pretty easy going colonel.

When we arrived at CP Tango I setup the secure laptops as usual. SPC Roy came in and was in an exceptionally good mood. It was a little strange. I started to think he took some drugs or something. Then he got all excited and said "I have to go take a dump" and off he went. A little while later he came back even more excited exclaiming that "it was above sea level". He kept going on and on about his poop. It was actually pretty funny. I ended up hanging out with him at the table in the office for as long as I could before I had to go do a little computer work in the IMO office. Our secret computer was quarantined because it hadn't been on the network since the last exercise, so no updates were installed on it. I have been working with the help desk trying to get this resolved and finally this morning the computer was up and running on the secret network (SIPR). I setup the admin master sergeant's email accounts on it (had to do a little thinking back a few jobs ago when I worked with Outlook and Exchange to setup two profiles…it's been a while). She was happy I was able to get it all up and working for her though.

Later on that day the 8th army sergeant major came in and started talking to me. He then shook my hand said keep up the good work and gave me a coin. Army coins are kind of like an "atta boy". It's a nice way for them to say thanks and give you a token of their appreciation. They are coveted items by most soldiers because usually you have to do something special in order to get them. I think my hard work all week splitting time between IMO and operations was noticed. I think I deserved a coin just for putting up with SPC Roy all week!

When we got back SPC Roy and I took the broken van to the repair shop to get it's headlight replaced. We then headed back and were given the safety brief. "Don't drink because you're on exercise and don't be stupid". That was it…we were released for the day at a little after 1500. I worked out and then video chatted with my wife for a bit. I then left to the PX and ate some taco bell and had some ice cream to celebrate receiving a coin…lol. Unfortunately I have to work tomorrow as well, so I'm going to bed early tonight after I do a little schoolwork.

the wife

Keep up the awesome work asagua! Ice cream was well deserved!

Saturday, March 5, 2011 - 01:41 AM

Would You Like Cheese With That - (Korea) Day 93

My roommate's side of the room is getting a little out of control.
Hopefully an NCO doesn't come in anytime soon!

Work call this morning was at 0500 again. Same ol' routine in the morning, drive to CP Tango and then get all the secure laptops setup. All the unsecured laptops are just left out and stay on the network, but secure laptops all get put in a huge safe at the end of the night shift. So we have to open the safe and hook them up, not a big deal. It just takes a few minutes, but we try and do it right away so the officers can get to work.

I then helped SPC Roy setup for the morning meetings. Once that was completed I did a little more 25B work, I helped my NCOIC print and set her default printer…lol. Not big stuff, but it's nice to be able to help out people when I can. Seaman surprised me and brought me lunch today. This was an extremely fortunate thing because I totally forgot the snacks that I usually bring. When I was getting ready in the morning I took off without bringing cough drops or anything. He brought me some microwaveable rice, seaweed and Vienna sausages. It was all surprisingly very good. The seaweed was dry and came in very thin slices. The rice was a perfect serving, I need to pick up some of that stuff at the commissary. I thought about a rice cooker at one point, but thought it would be too much of a hassle. These little single serving rice bowls are perfect!

By the time we left for the day on our way out we saw our sergeant coming in for the second shift. I said hi and shook his hand. He yelled at SPC Roy asking why he looked so down. SPC Roy said "I'm tired, I've been working by myself all day". WTF? Even though I've spent some time in the IMO office, I helped him out with every single meeting and probably even did a little more than him while he sat around and pouted. His attitude just really sucks. He's normally a pretty cool guy, but since the exercise started he's been such a whiner. I just rolled my eyes and left. When we got back to the office SPC Roy practically jumped out of the van and left for the day. I had to stick around to help the NCOIC with another computer issue. I'm not sure all the circumstances, but I guess someone else wanted a desktop out at the exercise. There was a spare one in the conference room office, so I went and grabbed it. I hauled it down and then we walked over to the tech building. They found out I was a 25B and asked what I do here. I told them "I serve coffee" LOL. When we got in they told our NCOIC that they didn't have an image for it, only laptops. I thought our NCOIC was going to blow a gasket. I ended up taking the desktop back to the conference room office while she vented to the tech folks for a while.

After that I had to check out our office car for the week at the TMP. This includes driving it to TMP, filling it up with gas, washing it and having the inspector sign off on it. Then I have to get new paperwork for the week. Once that was done I headed back to the office and dropped off the car. Now it's 1600 and I finally get to go back to my barracks. I wonder if I should help SPC Roy with anything tomorrow? I'm sure I will…I'm not a Blue Falcon.

Since I was late I decided to just video chat with my wife and skip the workout tonight. I'll get back on point tomorrow. Tomorrow is Friday, but I hear we have to work for a bit on Saturday as well. If so that will mean I've worked at least a partial day every day this week.

Roy on the Rag - (Korea) Day 92

I haven't had much to take pictures of lately...this is my view most of the time
when riding back and forth to CP Tango in the van :)

Work call this morning was at 0500. We ended up leaving the office about 20 minutes later. The master sergeant from admin didn't come this time, instead she sent her assistant who is in the navy. He's a little Vietnamese dude who has a thick accent. I have to really pay attention to him to understand what he's saying…I'll call him seaman. Seaman and I setup the secure laptops for the officers and then I was off helping SPC Roy get the meetings setup. There was a number of meetings in the morning back to back which I think stressed out SPC Roy a bit.

After the meetings I actually did a little 25B work. Our sergeant major in the office asked if I could figure out why one of the extra laptops wasn't working. I checked and found that the laptop was fine, but the network cable was bad. I didn't have any supplies or tools to fix it, but the there is a network group at CP Tango that was able to put a new RJ45 end on the cable to fix it (the previous one was pretty corroded). I also helped our NCOIC in the office get her email working. All pretty basic stuff that I used to do on a daily basis before joining the army and what I thought I would be doing after I joined…lol.

Speaking of me doing 25B work and being in the little IMO office…it is driving SPC Roy nuts. He really hates that I'm not out there with him even if it's doing nothing except sitting at the table. I think because the master sergeant IMO wasn't here today he felt like he had to explode a little. He freaked out a bit and told me I can't go in the little IMO office any more. He went on to say I was SPC Short's replacement (a 42A mind you) and not an IMO. He started to go off a little more and the sergeant major told him to shut up. I don't know what he wants me to do, I'm just doing what I've been told. All he has to do is ask me for help anytime he needs it and I drop everything I'm doing to give him a hand. I know he hates his job and can't wait to be reassigned, but he needs to learn how to keep his cool. I'm very easy going…perhaps to a fault, but he needs to find some middle ground. Stress is no good and being mad at people doesn't do anything positive for you. I'll have to play it by ear and see what I should do tomorrow. I don't really care, just tell me what to do and I'll do it. I just can't have two people telling me to do two different things.

We setup in a small top secret conference room this morning, so I got to see a bit more of CP Tango. The place has normal hallways like in any office building, then you turn and go down another hallway and instead of a wall it's just solid rock. I guess you have to be reminded now and again you're inside a mountain. There are doors all over the place that look like they can be shut and locked tight. They are so big that I think it would take some heavy explosives to take them out. Every day walking around in there I just keep thinking I'm on a movie set or something. Pretty crazy!

I think the conditioned air in CP Tango, or perhaps the small office with a number of people in it is making me sick. I started getting a scratchy throat last night. I took some extra vitamins and bought some cough drops today. I really don't want to get sick…what a downer. I went to the food court tonight with my laptop with all intentions of downloading a ton of crap (so it wouldn't count towards my own bandwidth). After sitting down with my food I found that their internet was down. Poop! Well I had a good dinner with some vegetables (really trying not to get sick).

Went back to my room and did some school work and checked my email before watching some TV shows and then going to bed. Maybe I should've picked up some Midol for SPC Roy while I was at the PX earlier today…hmmmm.

We got off at 1400 and SPC Roy and I sat in the vans waiting for the rest of the office to leave. It took everyone a good half hour to get out to the vans. We drove back to the office and I ended up in my barracks about 1530. I went to the gym (I have a PT test coming up sometime this month) and then video chatted with my wife. I'm going to take the rest of the night off and relax, I'll start homework again tomorrow.

FS SPC MILLER

From what I understand, we will have to get used to those little fits from higher-ups, even though he's not even a NCO.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011 - 11:14 AM

Assault and Rape - (Korea) Day 91

Selfie while riding in the van back from CP Tango

Work call this morning was at 0515. I went to the office and put on all my gear and loaded into a van. We headed out shortly afterward. The morning was the same as yesterday, I arrived and setup all the laptops…only there was an issue with my colonel's laptop. He said "I can't seem to connect". Well that would be because I didn't plug in the network cable… D'oh! After that I helped SPC Roy setup for a meeting and then spent the rest of the day surfing the net and reading the newspaper. For our office this exercise is pretty boring. I helped the admin Master Sergeant work on her resume (she's retiring soon). I also found out why there were protesters yesterday. I guess a PV2 from up north (2ID) assaulted an old man and tried to rape an old woman. The Korean's protesting don't see it as a stupid kid that needs to be punished, they see that as a reflection of the entire US Army. In the other big news of the day an augmentee backed into something and put a dent in the bumper of the van. I wonder what will happen about that??

We got off at 1400 and SPC Roy and I sat in the vans waiting for the rest of the office to leave. It took everyone a good half hour to get out to the vans. We drove back to the office and I ended up in my barracks about 1530. I went to the gym (I have a PT test coming up sometime this month) and then video chatted with my wife. I'm going to take the rest of the night off and relax, I'll start homework again tomorrow.