Hiatus Complete

September 26, 2010

For those of you who still faithfully check to see if a new blog post is available, I thank you for your dedication and patience with my life. It has been weeks since I have posted and I only have myself to blame. I would love to catch you up on everything from these past two or three weeks but to be honest I can't remember a lot. Although work is different every day it still seems to have become monotonous as the little details of the days run together. Meetings take up a majority of my day and the rest is spent catching up on the work I haven't been able to do because I am stuck in meetings. Nonetheless I enjoy the fast pace and the constant business because it makes the days fly by as they have recently.

I am now a month and a half into this short tour in Korea and I find myself looking forward to the months rapidly passing by and getting back to Minnesota for a few weeks in May before finishing up my last months here. There are some distinct differences in this unit from the other two that I have been in that bring up many challenges but I find myself beginning to adapt and as many learn in the military it is easier to not question and just follow along with the craziness that comes out. This all may sound rather cryptic re-reading it but hopefully after hearing other stories from my siblings you all are halfway understanding what I am saying.

On a completely different note let me tell you all what I have been up to the last few days and what this upcoming week looks like for me. Even though I have been in the military for over 7 years now, I still find myself having firsts. I have recently begun to take part in my first set of command inspections. Now I know these must have happened in my last units but I can't remember them or wasn't part of them, who knows. But basically for those of you who are not military, command inspections happen at all levels of command to make sure everything is being run according to regulation and policy. Right now we are doing battery/company inspections at my unit so as a staff member I go down to those levels and inspect and grade on how they are operating their personnel management and records. Simultaneously, other staff sections are checking on safety, supply, maintenance, training, and security just to name a few. But let me give you a run down of what these days look like for myself.

Last Thursday was our first inspection. It was for our Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB), on a side note I am in this battery so not only was I inspecting but I was inspected as a Soldier. The morning began with a 0515 accountability formation. This was interesting because over a third of the battery had left last week since their one year tour was competed but they were still on our rosters since they haven't checked into their next units yet for the most part. Once we figured out who was there and if anyone was really missing, we separated the group into those that had medical profiles (meaning they have some medical issue that excludes them from some physical activity) and those who would be taking part in the 4-mile run. At 0600 about half of our battery left on a 4-mile run that we needed to complete in 36 minutes or less as a group. For those of you not well versed in math that is a 9 minute mile. To me this didn't seem like it would be that great of a challenge but apparently not many people run distances during their PT time in the morning. We took off at a strong pace and it seemed after we were halfway done our group had split in half. Camp Carroll is a very hilly area but surprisingly the route we took only had two or three hills, so I thought it was relatively easy but it seemed to be a challenge for many others. At the end we arrived back to the battalion at 33:20 minutes, by 36 minutes 66 of the 83 we started out with had crossed the line however the goal of having 90% finish at 36 minutes was not achieved. But I was proud to say almost all of the Soldiers in my section finished on time!

After the run, I ran (yes I continued to run) back home to shower and change into my Class A uniform. This is my dress uniform. I was hoping to wear my blues but I had found out the day prior that we were all suppose to be in pants. I had yet to purchase the pants for my blues because I like the skirt better and I think the pants are extremely ugly and unflattering. To tell you the truth I was hoping to scape by the next two years without ever having to buy them. This posed a problem for Thursday morning, so I had to pull out my Class A greens and put on all my ribbons and such while also trying to iron them to get out al the wrinkles from the trip here. Had I known I needed pants I would have gotten them pressed but I had to make do with what I had, so I borrowed an iron and went to work. Putting on my greens I also had to sew on my new unit patch. Again normally I would have brought in my jacket to have the patch sewn on but I had to rely on my own homemaker skills to sew myself. With all this stress the night before inspection it was surprising I didn't have a breakdown, just kidding. So anyways I had a little less then an hour to shower, change and get back up to the battalion for an in-brief at 0800. Of course I rock at getting ready super fast so I even managed to stop for coffee on the way back up there.

At 0830 we had our in-ranks inspection. Ironic to the facts I just told you in the previous paragraph, many females did have skirts on, but at least I fit in with the guidance I was given. Oh well. The Battalion Commander, Command Sergeant Major and Sergeant Major went through the ranks inspecting all the Soldiers uniforms and making them random questions on basic Soldier knowledge. This meant I was standing in formation for almost an hour, luckily the heat has passed for the most part and no one passed out. The officers were the last inspected and despite throwing everything together last minute, the commander just told me I should probably go get my uniform pressed again, but other than that he said I looked good. He had a lot to say to some of the other officers, luckily I used a ruler for setting up my uniform so it looked better then those who eyeballed the measurements.

We were finally release around 1000 to go change and get on with our day. In the afternoon I went down to the HHB's orderly room to inspect their personnel files and records. My trusty NCO came with me and explained to me what to look for and how they have done them in the past. After about 30 minutes we were finished and gave the battery a satisfactory rating. They had what they needed for the most part but with all the Soldiers who have left recently, many rosters and such weren't completely up to date. But they did very well.

After getting back to my office I got to fill out their evaluation and make some powerpoint slides for the brief we would be having later to discuss all the inspections that occurred. So at 1800 we all gathered in the conference room to brief the battalion commander on how the different sections did. As the S1 section I always get to go first so I was up and back down in my seat within 3 minutes. I like to get right to the point and be sitting back down before I get asked anything I don't know. Its a good strategy I think, less is more! After an hour we were all finished and I arrived back home around 7:30 or so. What a long day!

Minus the run and in ranks inspection I got to do the same thing on Friday and will get to do the same thing Monday through Thursday of next week. Monday I get to go to Kunsan Air Base where one of our batteries is located. This means I get to leave here at 0500 and not get back until 9 or 10 tomorrow night! Oh I can't wait...haha.

So that is my life this week. Despite the long hours I am excited to go to another base tomorrow for a change of pace.

If you have read this, I am back in the blogging mindset so feel free to tune in on a regular basis.

More to follow later.....

Moving Day

September 6, 2010

I know what you are all thinking, “why hasn’t Allison blogged in a few days?” I apologize for keeping you all in suspense but I have a very good reason for my tardiness. I have finally moved!! After having lived in Army hotels/barracks for the last 8 months of my life, I finally have a place to call my own, that is for the next 11 months at least.

Friday morning I had an appointment with the housing office here at Camp Carroll to sign all the paperwork and get the key to my new living quarters. I had no idea when I was going to be able to fit in this important event into my schedule that day. After arriving at work early to prepare for the weekly training and staff meeting, I was soon bombarded by my boss with at least three projects for the day besides for my normal craziness. That night we were having our monthly Hail and Farewell party to welcome the new people and say goodbye to those leaving in the next month. Apparently it was my job to send out and collect information sheets to all the companies so they could have their people fill them out for short ceremonial aspect of the evening as well as go order plaques for those leaving who had donated money into a special fund that pays for those type of mementos. Not only was I not aware of my tasks beforehand but on the day of is surely not the time to do it all. First I had to pull up rosters of all those who were leaving and had come so I could make a list to send to the commander, then I sent out the email to the company commanders requesting their participation in having their people fill out the information cards only to immediately receive at least two responses saying “we don’t do this anymore.” However the genius that I am I CC’ed my boss on this email so at least she knew I was doing my part whether or not they complied was now on them. All in all I received two cards and one was my own. Later I went to plaque shop on post to order two plaques, luckily they were same day pick-up, unluckily when we took them out of the boxes that evening one of them fell apart because the glue had not dried full yet. Also ironically the “fund” used to purchase these items was recently revoked and declared illegal by the lawyer at brigade, however my boss said go get them anyway and we’ll figure out something different for next month. So unfortunately it was a tad illegal but life goes on.

While rushing to finish these projects that morning I also had to get up to our tactical center by 1030 to input numbers and names for a monthly report that goes up to the Department of the Army. Not only had I never used the system to input all the information it needed, but I had to trust that the junior enlisted soldier who pulled the data together and checked by my predecessor was accurate. If it wasn’t right it will fall back on me, but I guess its just another learning experience for this first month. At least for next time I know what to look for and what documents I need.

By the end of that report, I was already 3 hours late for my appointment at housing. I left the tactical center and headed to housing hoping they didn’t give away my place because I hadn’t shown up. I was in luck it was still there however it took almost on hour to get my key and sign the papers. The customer service there was less then to be desired.

I headed back to work to finish up other work, the went to pick up the plaques. I was happy to be leaving work at a decent hour so I could go home and perhaps shower before the evening festivities. Halfway home I got a call saying I had to return to the tactical center because something was wrong with the information I reported earlier. I finally got back there only to find out that the error was not my own but the captain was reading it wrong. As I left it was five minutes to 6pm, did I mention the event started at 6? So I rushed back to the hotel to change and get over there, I ended up only being 10 minutes late so not too bad considering.

The Hail and Farewell was alright, we had great food and the company was great but then the ceremony part started. I was the first one up to be hailed to the unit. My boss introduced me and after saying my name the first thing that she chose to announce was that I was single, to which immediately a smart ass sitting in the front row shouted “me too” and I then turned bright red. However I was asked to explain how I have the last name Chan, to which I gave my classic response, “I was adopted by an Asian couple.” At this point everyone started at me in an ironical way, and I got “oh really, interesting,” as a comment. I then said I was kidding and everyone burst into laughter and I think I made a good first impression to all those who had yet to meet me. Everyone loves jokes! There ceremony part continued for another 2 hours. Can I just wow some people are talkers? It probably would have been more fun if I knew people better to understand what they were talking about in their farewell speeches, or if I understood any of the unit’s inside jokes that were told but I did not. I did have a couple of guys new to the unit as well standing by me all wishing it would end so at least misery had company, just kidding.

After finally arriving back the hotel at 10pm, I packed up and called a cab to move me to my new place. I threw everything in and headed back to the hotel so I could go to bed because the next morning I had to wake up early to drive up to Osan for another work project. Finally that next day after getting home around 4pm I was able to unpack and slightly settle in. The rest of my stuff will get here in about a week so it is still quite bare. All in all it’s decent for military living. I have a living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom. I also lucked out that the laundry room is my neighbor so not too far to go for that. My only complaint is the walls. Why must I live in a place with concrete walls? And who would choose to paint them yellow with brown doors and trim on the windows? Hopefully once I get a few rugs and put some posters on the walls it will look more homey! Maybe once I get out of the Army I will try and get a contracting job to be the interior designer to Army housing.

But I still Love Technology

Of course Kip said it best in the ending scene of Napoleon Dynamite..."I love technology." I have to be honest I am addicted to the modern world's comforts when it comes to technology. This move to Korea has been a difficult transition technology-wise for me. But today it seemed like everything started to fall into place.

After my glorious 4-day weekend, I arrived at work this morning around 6:30 for my first promotion ceremony as an adjutant. One of the cool parts of my job is getting to read the order aloud that promotes a soldier, it is on behalf of the Secretary of the Army, so pretty big deal right? Well anyways today being the 1st of the month, there were 4 officers in my battalion who were promoted from first lieutenant to captain. Usually this kind of ceremony takes place at a 9am formation but one particular lieutenant wanted his family to be a part of this milestone in his career. He is however serving an unaccompanied tour in Korea, meaning his family did not come here with him. To be a part of the day, his family drove to Fort Hood and were set up with a unit there who set up a video tele-conference with my unit so that his family could be there. This also explains the need for an early day for us due to the time difference. It was really special to be a part of the day for them. And again makes me appreciate technology that gives soldiers like myself and my brothers the chance to video chat with our loved ones on the other side of the world.

I also recently inherited a work cell phone. This has its ups and downs. Obviously its nice not to waste my minutes on work calls during the day and I don't have to give out my personal cell phone number to a large majority of people. But it of course has its downfalls because who likes to carry around two cell phones which is what I now have to do for the next year. It is cool when it goes off though, a pretty sweet ringtone if I do say so myself. I also now call it my Bat-phone. My buddy Josh is one of the officers in charge of the patriot missiles that we will launch if North Korea ever attacks so his phone he has always referred to as the bat-phone because if it goes off he'd be going in to save the planet...haha jk well kindof but when my phone rang the other day he said, is that your bat-phone? So now I have affectionately named my phone that as well!

One of the biggest frustrations I have had a work thus far is that I have not been able to get onto a computer. Not because I don't have one but because with all the security issues it is this drawn out process to get an account. Normally in the states you will be up on a system within 24 hours once you submit your paperwork to get an account, however here in Korea when your higher headquarters is three hours north and people choose to do things slow it takes one such as myself over a week. It is incredibly difficult to do a job that is computer based when you can't get onto one, especially not being up on email. But luckily my prayers were answered today and this afternoon I was up and running. Of course this means I will be at the office late for the next months because I can now actually do real work, but it is a huge relief. I am now once again connected with the world non-stop!

So all in all a successful day! I got to promote 3 officers, finished the last of my in-processing, got on a computer. I am now officially in business!

On a side note I also was taken out on a date last night by a nice guy at my unit who brought me to a Korean BBQ restaurant, a great whole in the wall place, where they didn't speak a lick of English. It was absolutely delicious and I have no idea what half the stuff I ate was. I took my shoes off as soon as I entered the restaurant and sat on the floor with a table where your food cooks right in front of you. Finally had my first real cultural eating experience! Plus I had a date, can we all marvel at that for a moment...haha! Got to love Korea!