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Dear Uncle Joey... Farewell KoreaI don't hate my job; it's not a bad job at all and I don't mind the work load. What makes me hate coming to work are our work conditions-I don't mean the stress of producing sorties or the great amount of effort it takes to accomplish our mission-I just don't think our management, our leadership, our supervision; they don't look after their own people. I am not afraid to tell you, sir, that the money is not worth what I do, day in and day out, for this country. On the flight line, we come to work (even at home station!) not knowing what time we'll get to go home, every day, yet, everywhere else on base is shut down by 4 o'clock. People are overworked and underappreciated and fed cookie cutter praises, with no incentive to work any harder than they do when one sees another in a desk job career field with the same rank and the exact same pay have a better work environment, have more amenties, more privilege, more opportunities and work less hours. These support shops shutdown at least 3 times a week for P.T., to go to the gym (not adding to the work day, but in spite of), even while being deployed to the desert. Whereas our time revolves around a flight schedule and does not allow time for P.T., yet, we're held to the same physical standards as these other shops. Not every flightline shop is provided with coveralls or proper protective equipment, because of what "they" think of as cost effectiveness, even though just being on the flightline will produce extreme wear and tear on our uniforms and boots, yet we're still held to the same uniform standards as these support shops. We spend more money, out of pocket, than others, more frequently, on uniforms, polish, and maintainence just to be serviceable. Requests for rain gear and proper winter gear are turned away, saying that it should have been the responsibility of ones' last base. But not every base has the same climate conditions so there was not a need for such a clothing issue and first-term airmen who've come straight from tech school were issued nothing of the sort. I've seen troops wear civillian parkas and snow pants and "San Diego Zoo" ponchos, while working on jets, just to keep warm and/or dry. During surges we're instructed that we're not allowed to go to the chowhall and will receive box lunches, yet we have a flight kitchen to alleviate the time it would take to feed troops, driving all the way to the actual chowhall. That alone takes away from our morale. Being able to sit down at a hot meal provides us with a small break from work, to collect ourselves, put our brains on pause, a chance for smokers to smoke and for those who need to use the restroom, to do so in something other than a portapotty. But when we're given box lunches, that tiny little break in our day disappears and we eat while we work in unsanitary conditions (I, myself, have had the pleasure to eat a sandwhich after I had just left jet black fingerprints in it), so our 12 to 20 hour days ARE actually 12 to 20 hour days. Every day, we practice making war, fighting a war, by generating aircraft on a 3 shift, 24-hour opreration with an eight-hour fix rate. So why is it, when we go into excercise, we change our entire system of operation, causing chaos, confusion and disarray, while producing the same amount of output with twice as much of the normal input? I understand that in the AFI it states that if so many sorties are produced we are to go to 12 hour shifts and less will be lost in translation in turnover after a 12 hour shift. But, at the same time, what kind of troops do you have, what kind of production and what kind of effort could you expect to have on the way to that 12 hour shift? In my experience, just like in normal operation, things seem to go better by rotating in fresh, rested troops in an eight or nine-hour turn around. During an excercise, the chowhall and the BX are off limits, but in the desert, where war is relatively taking place, establishments such as these are not off limits. These are just a few of many concerns I have about our "job environment." I love Osan AB. There have been so many quality of life amenity additions since I've been here and I could only see it getting better. I think it's a fantastic assignment and if I had command sponsorship and my follow-on, I'd extend in a heartbeat. Korea is wonderful and so are its people. I enjoy Korea when I'm not working. “When I'm not working?” What does that say to you? To dismiss prior “work condition” issues and pawn it off on individual attitudes is demeaning and inconsiderate and poor leadership/management. We define what we go through every day as status quo just to comprehend the rationale of why things aren't better, because fixing things is so cumbersome and hindered by beauracracy. I don't wanna hear that it takes time for change, because it doesn't; truly, it doesn't. All it takes is for someone with enough rank to have the compassion to ask, "hey, what about these guys?" People I've talked to about these issues in casual conversation dismiss it by saying, "all AMUs are gonna suck, that's where ever you go; it's aircraft maintenance," or "that's just how the flightline is," or "I don't know why we're doing this, but it happened to me, so it's going to happen to you," but why? Why does it have to be this way? I know why we're here and I know what's expected of us; in an extreme example, if my superiors handed me a rifle and told me to walk north, I would do it, no questions asked, and the bottomline is that it's difficult for these words to not fall on deaf ears because, I know, everybody in the Air Force thinks they have the hardest job in the Air Force, so I'm not complaining... but I AM complaining, because morale is everything. Morale can turn the tide in a war, in a sports contest and morale IS the difference between two days worth of work... and just another 12-hour shift. world...I am here at Humphreys. You definitely have said the truth. I am a civilian though but I can't put on here where I work. Wow, I haven't even seen Korea since I been here, I work so damn much. Did you get a chance to go anywhere over the last holiday and training holiday? My co-workers went to Saipan. I worked every god damn day, it sucks but hell it needs to be done. It's hard when your the only one who is focused. Wow, my hat is off to you, I appreciate everything you and your fellow soldiers do for us. I mean that from the bottom of my heart and whatever I/we (civilians)can do for you let me know! Have a good evening....
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Experian® Triple AdvantageSM Credit Monitoring monitors all 3 of your national credit reports daily for key changes! * Due to New York state law restrictions, coverage cannot be offered to residents of New York. More on Credit Score... Credit scores are calculated based on data in your credit reports and, as fluid numbers, change over time, sometimes on a daily basis! That´s why it's so important to stay on top of your credit reports for changes that could affect your credit scores. Other than pulling your credit report on a daily basis, credit monitoring is the best way to know what's happening in your credit report. Triple AdvantageSM Credit Monitoring lets you do both-it monitors all three of your credit reports for key changes and alerts you if any are found, plus you can pull your credit report and check your credit score every day as a paid member! Try Triple AdvantageSM Credit Monitoring FREE for 30 days and get a FREE See where your credit stands Try for better interest rates Check for possible inaccuracies Get Your FREE Credit Score & Credit Report in Seconds!* IMPORTANT INFORMATION * For your protection, we must verify your identity online before providing your credit report. ConsumerInfo.com, Inc. is licensed to use the Experian trademark, other trademarks and service marks. The products on this Web site are offered by ConsumerInfo.com, Inc. Questions? ©ConsumerInfo.com, Inc. 2007 - All Rights Reserved HI I do appreciate your remarks, thank you, they mean a lot, they really do. Lemme tell ya, Korea is the dark horse of assignments! Don't leave without living the lifestyle. If you don't know the train system already; learn it, it'll be your best friend. You can pick up a lil' map at Family Support or get one at the train station for free. When you're taking cabs in Seoul, always take the gray colored ones; never take the black ones, they charge more and the meter moves faster. July 1st is Canadian Day. Don't miss that. It's like a right of passage for someone from (haha) Canadia to go to Korea to teach english for a year after they've graduated University. To honor Canada for giving them the gift of... learning english?, the Koreans have named this day. Find yourself a bar Canadians frequent in Busan, Haeundae (Hay-oon-day) Beach, preferably and party on. This one bar I went to; I enjoyed $10 bucks all you can eat whatever they're grilling, whether it'd be lobster, steak, chicken, squid, various seafood - anything! Now, for an extra $15 bucks, it was all you can drink open bar to include house spirits. You can hang out with the teachers and professors, they play Canadian trivia games and they're really great, laid back people; very kind. Haeundae should be about a 7 hour Korail ride from where you are, I believe. And if you haven't heard already, July 15th through the 21st is the Mud Festival. DO NOT miss this! I don't know how accurate all this information is I got stored in my happy memories but, the mud festival is at Daechon Beach (I think it's pronouned Tay-chon). I believe Daechon is a prefecture of Boeryong City (Boar-ee-yong) where this naturally occuring mud,indigenous to that particular region, is that supposedly has anti-wrinkle properties; it has stuff like, uh, germanium in it or... something. Anyway, this internationally known cosmetic company has harvested this mud (...if anyone can ever harvest mud) and refined it and marketed it and they sponsor this festival. People from all around the world come there for this festival. It's so much fun. There are free televised concerts on the beach. There's also mud wrestling and mud jail and a mud slide and vats of the stuff that you can just just literally cover yourself in. There are some sub par bars and clubs there, but with the right group of friends it'll be a blast. But also, there are many seafood restaurants and vendors and fireworks and though the hotels are a little pricey because of the festival, it really is a fantastic time. If you haven't been to a mall yet, Korea has some really amazing malls. The CO-EX is one of my favorites, you'll need to get on the green track and get off at Samseong Station, it's connected to the world trade center and an artys-fartsy hotel. It's huge, you can spend several days at this mall, actually. There's a movie theatre and casinos and I think there's a wax museum and an aquarium and a 7 Eleven?; they've even got a Dave and Buster's! There's an outback across the street too, but in the mall, there's hundreds of restaurants and the main food court is quite classy. There is also a Monestary across the street that you can walk around and check out. Anyway, Samseong is two stops away from Jamsil Station (depending on where you're coming from) on the green track as well. Jamsil Station is the stop you wanna get off at if you're wantin' to go to Lotte World. Lotte World is a Mall/theme park-ish. It's really pretty cool. I think it's $27 bucks to get in. You'll dig it. Don't miss the Seoul tower space needle thing; it's in Yoiido (yoy-doe) in Seoul, I believe. You can take a lil' Ski lift up to it for, $8 bucks and cheaper for round trip, like, $12 bucks... or you can walk up the other side, up a hill for 20-30 minutes (not as fun-did both several times-not exerting any force is definitely the way to go). When you get there, there are restaurants and shops and kiosks and you can see all of Seoul, it's amazing. Bring a camera and/or camcorder. Umm... Let's see... if you go to Seoul Station, that's where the electrontics mall is, there's a movie theatre there and nine floors of electronics and there's an amphitheatre in the middle of it all where there are sometimes concerts. AND! connected to the electronics mall is an E-Mart, which is like a Target/grocery store. You'll dig it. I think that's on the Dark Blue/purple track. Namdaemun Market is like a BAzaar/flea market place thing that spans, literally, city blocks. There are a lot of homeless folks at the station you get off at; come to find out there's a severance building right outside... and a Haagendaz. A few times, I've gone out there with my guitar and played and sang and helped some guys get money for food or whatever. Also, nearby, is a huge temple thing right in the middle of an intersection, it's definitely something worth seeing. I'm sorry, I'm spewing out, probably useless information with no sense of organization, it was all so exciting. Dongdaemun Stadium is another shopping district that's another neat place to be. There are many skyscraper-sized clothing shops and whatnot in that area to see and also, there are very beautiful canal ways you can see. Lots of people stroll down to the water area to sit and have lunch. It's very picturesque at the right time of day as well. As for night life, Korea's got some of the best in the game. People party until six in the morning, it seems, like, every night - especially if their soccer team is winning. I always try to go where there are no Americans and immerse myself in the culture. I always take a phrase book with me, as well, really, just for directions. I stay away from Songtan, where Osan AB is and Itaewan where the soldiers frequent, and even the Honguk University/Hongdae area, because we really do make asses of ourselves, and I'm not trying to be a part of that. Those are great if you wanna stay local and hang out with your friends, but it's also quite sad at the same time. That's why I didn't find a whole lot of places in Busan/Pusan to hang out, because between the Army and the Navy and the boys from Kunsan, that place is crawling with GIs. There is a place... Gangmnaum (pronounced Kawng-Nawm). It's an off-limits for us, but it's not off-limits because it's a bad area, it's off-limits because we've messed it up for ourselves, the Koreans don't want us there. We're too rowdy and start fights and date rape girls. I also know that some off-limit areas are usually where the high brass like to hang out as well. But, that's neither here nor there. Gangnaum is on the green track and there are two very famous clubs there: Club NB and Club Harlem. They're hard to find from the train stop but you'll be able to ask the locals, they'll be able to point you in the right direction; everyone knows where NB is. These clubs are right next door to each other and they're owned by the same company. NB (Noise Basement) is the better club by far and I wouldn't bother with Harlem, but if you pay for one club, your wrist band gets you into both. NB's bartenders do tricks and juggles and do flips and give out free drinks - so... why aren'tcha there already? I've found that if you just show your stateside ID, pay the fair, which is, like, $15 bucks (totally worth it, your entry fee comes with a free drink, so really, it was only $10 bucks to get in) and don't cause any trouble, you're free to have a good time. Also, the city blocks that encompass these nationwide famous clubs are filled with bars and clubs and bistros and restaurants and boutiques of all kinds. It's not a bad district to spend a weekend. Now, I haven't actually done this, but I've seen it; on the Southwestern tip of Korea, there's a beach, where, at certain times of the year, the tide will go out so low that you can walk to an island. Witnessing this is pretty cool, it really looks like thousands of people walking on water. Make sure that when you're swapping trains at the station and you see a Deli-Manjoo vendor Kiosk, stop and have some; it'll change your life, it's so good. If you haven't had some of the local food already, I would highly suggest something called Summ-yop-so. It's bite-sized cut, thick slabs of grilled bacon cooked right in front of you or are to cook yourself,which you, yourself, then wrap in some kind of leaf (low quality vendors tend to use lettuce, it's just as good, I think) along with some kind of garnish or whatever side you want - I normally just used the red sauce and sprouts and mushrooms - anyway, once you've got your little palm-sized wrap, you ball it up and shove it in your mouth; amazing. I love it. Don't worry about manners either, when you look around the restaurant, you'll see good-looking people doin' it too. Try the Kiwi-Soju drink, it's very good and very classy. Essentially, it's purree`d Kiwi, sprite and Soju, I think. Also, if you're the drinking type (I'm hardly the sort, despite my profession), A kettle is also GI favorite and that is Baachus, soju and sprite. Korean films I would suggest (Korea produces very good artistic films, by the way); My Sassy Girl and Almost Love, are very good and they're classic. TV shows I would get my hands on are Full House and,uh, I beleive it's called, My Girl. They're very good Soap operas, I suppose. If you can't tell, I really loved it there. If you have any more questions about anything, I'd be more than happy to answer them the best I can, obviously, my romanized Hangul spelling is not so good, but, I did try to do some phoenetic pronunciation to give you some kind of idea of the hell I was talkin' about. I hope it all made sense. I did join the rugby team at Osan, although, to this day, I have no idea on how to play rugby. Traveling with the Rugby team, I got to go |
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