2x "Slam Eagle" Sims

I had my first two simulator rides for the F-15K today (technically, the F-15K is called the "Slam Eagle", as opposed to the F-15E "Strike Eagle"--I believe it's a reference to its ability to carry the SLAM-ER air-to-ground missile). So, finally, I've done something vaguely "tactical" rather than completely administrative.

The first sim was was "normal operations" sim--basically, I just ran through all the startup procedures, local procedures, some flying, and working in the Daegu traffic pattern. It was pretty uneventful. The second sim focused on emergency procedures, and also went fine.

From a systems perspective, no big changes. The Suite-1 F-15K is essentially a Suite-5 F-15E, in terms of avionics. So, a few minor changes, mostly good ones in terms of improving the "user interface" to be more consistent. It also has bigger motors, which will probably be the biggest new thing for me to think about. The General Electric 129 motors require the Asymmetric Thrust Departure Prevention System (ATDPS), like the Pratt & Whitney 229 motors, in order to prevent a loss of control at high speeds if one of the engines malfunctions and loses thrust (ie if one of the afterburners fails at high mach number). The bigger motors mean I'll need to pay a little more attention to where my left hand is--especially since the ROKAF basically can't go supersonic in any of their airspace.

That brings me to local procedures. There are some differences in comm, some of which are kind of annoying, but that's pretty minor. People will think up whatever brevity words seem most appropriate to them. The two biggest changes are probably "conservativeness" and "extreme supervision". They kind of go hand-in-hand.

There's a lot of oversight of a ROKAF aviator by agencies outside of his airplane. He's watched--and directed--more closely in the tower pattern than a US aviator, for better or for worse. Same in the airspace--apparently I can expect to have GCI periodically terminate my BFM fight because (ie with a "Terminate!" call) they think an airliner is getting too close, or perhaps they will direct (non-tactical) maneuvering because they think they two fighters in an engagement are not adhering well enough to blocks.

As is probably to be expected with brand-new $100 million aircraft (price from a Google search), they're pretty conservative with their jets. They've lost one in a training mishap, and you just can't afford to lose an airplane, or more importantly a crew, when people aren't even shooting at you. It's a new jet for them, and so they're very cautious with how they operate it. It means that some things will surely be a little grating for me, but it makes sense.

Photo credit

A "Bad Scrape" Sunday

I didn't get myself to church today. There is no English-speaking church on base--the American compound has only 30 people, so there's no pastor, and nobody meets at the small chapel--so I need to go off-base to get to an English-speaking church. I'm currently without transportation, other than public transportation, which is challenging in a city of 3 million people who generally don't speak your language! However, this is all a poor excuse. Why? Because the Koreans have a Protestant chapel on-base about 50 yards behind where I'm sitting right now!

Granted, I wouldn't understand their language. Perhaps there's screwy doctrine--maybe some of the "prosperity gospel" type stuff that I've heard is fairly common in Korea. So what? I'll quote our old (not in age, of course!) pastor, John Musgrave of Clayton Community Church, in an e-mail he wrote me (hope you don't mind, John!):

With the Korean Protestant chapel: sometimes it's heartening just to be around people as they are in worship, even though you can't understand the words. Participate as much as you can and be blessed by your Korean brothers and sisters. It'll give you a better picture, for sure, of the throne room of Jesus, surrounded by people of every tribe, tongue, and nation.

A victorious theology should one confidence to worship with other Christians, regardless of cultural, social, linguistic, or even theological differences.

That reminds me... I still need to write one more part in my series from last Sunday, about being "just" a worshiper, and I had an idea for another entry as well. I was considering the various views of the Christian life (and life in general) as being about the end, or about the journey. I think there are pitfalls to thinking about the Christian faith as exclusively about one or the other, but I think that there are very important elements of both to consider as well--and I mean that in the least wishy-washy politician-speak way possible! Anyhow, hopefully those will show up at Scrape the Tails soon.

Otherwise, this was a pretty low-key Sunday--still in recovery from SR!

SR Day #3 - Mission Complete

Today was the final day of SR. Breakfast and dinner were standard--it almost felt, by this point, as if the trip was a series of bus rides from restaurant to restaurant! Hm, ejection seat weight limits...

Anyhow, probably the most interesting part of the day today was a visit to a wine cellar. I don't recall the name of the town, but basically, it's the only place in the world where they make persimmon wine. The wine is brought to this tunnel to be stored in while it's aging. During WW II, the tunnel was constructed by the Japanese as a place to store weapons and equipment. Now, it provides a year-round 15C environment for aging persimmon wine.

We tasted samples of their Regular and Special grades of wine. They're both somewhat sweet, though not excessively so. The color of the wine is a light yellow or orange.

The tunnel itself is about a kilometer long, and quite a bit of that length is used to store bottles of wine.

SR Day #2

Day 2 began unbelievably early, given that we didn't get back until after 1am the previous night. I must be getting old. Anyway, after breakfast in the room, we had a couple hours to kill, so I went on a walk around town with Mickey.

I should mention the hotel room. This was a Korean-style hotel room and, since apparently the ROKAF can't spend too much money on this boondoggle, we stayed about six to a room. However, lack of bed space is not a problem--there are no beds! Instead, everyone sleeps on a yo, which is to say, everyone sleeps on a blanket on the floor. This apparently allows the heated floors to properly warm the sleeper... but it still means sleeping on a hard floor. Ouch.

Mickey and I walked around the beach area a bit, and also a nearby island. I don't recall the name of the island, but it was very pretty, and apparently it was used somewhat recently for an economic conference among Asian leaders (to include President Bush, since of course we are a Pacific nation... Hawaii and Guam, right?!).

Later, we went to the ROK Navy headquarters and toured a frigate (FF-class, primarily anti-ship, via Harpoon missiles and torpedoes) and a patrol boat (PCC-class?). They're both Korean-manufactured vessels, I believe. They also gave us a briefing, but as with the Hyundai presentation yesterday, I didn't understand a word! I know they mentioned Link-16 in there a few times, so I'm guessing that the ROKAF guys were asking about if/when the Navy would be on the datalink, but I'm not sure about that. Sadly, no photos.

Dinner was by flight group. I'm assigned to Safety, so I went with all the guys from safety. Evidently I didn't bring my camera, because I can't find any photos. Anyhow, this was interesting. Guys had been asking me all week if I could eat raw fish. They clearly figure their food scares me or something. Anyhow, I assured them I had eaten raw fish in the past and could do it again.

So, our first stop was the fish market. Here, we selected the (live!) fish that we wanted to eat that night. Then we took the fish to a restaurant, and sat down while they prepared the fish in the back. Then, they brought out the chopped up raw fish for us to eat. We ate it in a similar manner to the kalbi (Korean BBQ): basically, put some raw fish on a piece of lettuce or sesame leaf, put some little bits of vegetables in there, a chunk of garlic, some sauce, then wrap it up and stuff the whole thing in your mouth. Copious amounts of soju were consumed, but once again, I think the Koreans underestimated me and my 240 pounds.

At some point, they wanted me to give a toast, and when I provided what I thought was a suitable one, they told me I needed to make a longer toast. So, after some quick thinking on my feet, I managed to provide about 3 minutes worth of rambling that received a decent amount of applause, so I guess it was good enough.

We went to a nightclub after dinner. I made it very clear to my companions that the only woman with whom I dance is my wife (well, okay, my mom or sister too), so I didn't have to worry about them engaging in the apparently very common practice of paying the bouncers to find a woman for me to dance with. (I say "bouncers"--I don't know exactly what to call them, they're these Secret Service-looking guys walking around the nightclub everywhere, with walkie-talkies and such.

"Last round" was again some soup and soju. I stuck to a relatively normal soup rather than the one that contains chunks of clotted baby cow's blood, which evidently was a popular dish this particular night.

SR Day #1

Thursday was the first day of SR. As far as R&R-type activities go, this one was pretty well organized. We got on a bus in the morning, and from then on, it was clear at every place we stopped that our activities had been pre-coordinated extensively.

The first place that we stopped was the Hyundai factory in Ulsan. This is the largest Hyundai factory--in fact, it's the largest automobile factory in the world, period! They gave a multimedia presentation (which I didn't understand a word of), and then they took us on a tour through the factory floor. The assembly of a car is rather interesting. I was actually surprised at the amount of "touch work" involved--the amount of work that actual humans have to do. Nonetheless, one of the parts that most impressed me was completely automated--the installation of the windshield. The car is moved into place on the automatic conveyor belt. Then, a large robotic arm uses suction cups to pick up a new windshield off a stack. It then maneuvers the windshield under a nozzle dispensing glue or epoxy of some sort, running the adhesive all around the edge of the glass. Finally, through a series of 3-dimensional maneuvers, the arm rotates the windshield into position and presses it down onto the frame--perfectly!

Next we had lunch. The restaurant was clearly expecting us, as they had food for 40 on the table inside 5 minutes. All standard Korean fare, although I don't recall exactly what we had at that meal.

After this, we went and played soccer at the Ulsan stadium. I managed to twist my ankle inside 10 minutes, and was sidelined the rest of the time--that was probably the first time I've played soccer in twenty years! Soccer is quite popular for the Koreans.

After that came the public baths. 'Nuff said on that.

Dinner was by small groups. For dinner, I went with the 47th class--that is, the 47th graduating class of the Korean Air Force Academy, which graduated in 1999, like me. This is pretty typical for social events in the ROKAF, as I understand it. Age is a strong enough factor in Korean culture that one's peers seem to really just be those who graduated at the same time as you--anyone else is either a superior or a subordinate.

We did some karaoke after that, and then finished the night off with some mekju (beer), soup, and compressed fish (I don't know a better way of describing it!) at a Japanese restaurant in Pusan.

Soju Refueling

First of all, I apologize for not writing for the past two days. They were mostly filled with admin stuff, so no biggie. And, that's okay, because this will be a relatively long entry!

Today was the first day of the squadron's "SR" which, loosely translated, refers to something like "Self Replenishment." Basically, it's R&R or, as some of the squadron members say, "Soju Refueling". Soju is the traditional Korean alcohol produced using rice--although apparently they now frequently use potato, sweet potato, or other starches. It's vaguely similar to Japanese sake, although, to be honest, I think soju tastes kind of like I imagine rubbing alcohol would taste. I'd much prefer a shot of Jeremiah Weed to a shot of soju.

Anyhow... so today kicked off "SR". I actually spent most of the day on trains or taxis to and from Osan, which was largely a fruitless endeavor. My intent was to find a car, which I suppose I may have done, but I spent a lot more money and time traveling than I'd intended. C'est la vie. I did pick up some Jeremiah Weed at the Osan AB commissary. Why, you may ask?

The Koreans were holding a naming tonight, and I was asked to get some Weed (not a common product in Korea). The F-15K community is currently the only portion of the ROKAF fighter community that names their pilots and WSOs--it's a tradition imported to Korea by the Korean aviators who graduated the F-15E transition course at Seymour Johnson AFB several years ago. They now name all of their squadron members with American (ie English) callsigns at some point during their Transition course. (They don't have a Basic course, because currently F-15K aircrew are all selected from other aircraft, that is, F-5E, F-4D, or KF-16--there are no direct-from-pilot-training K-model drivers.)

The names don't always quite "work"--even when explained to me, most of them were a little "off" or could have been a lot better (1)--but they are a good-faith effort by those pilots and WSOs who've experienced American fighter culture to bring some of that culture to Korea. Callsigns are just a superficial example--the "big" things they want to be able to bring to the ROKAF are more challenging, because they involve some counter-cultural elements.

For example, "rank" is a big deal in Korea. That isn't to say that we don't respect rank in the USAF as well. Rather, I mean a "rank" that goes a lot deeper than bars and stripes. I mean a deeply rooted respect for age, status, position, and so forth--not inherently bad things, but they can be bad when they completely override respect for performance.

One thing that I think "the West" has done well (generally) is to separate "role" and "position". Hence, in a fighter squadron, we have rank (position), which should always be respected, but we also have role in terms of things like Flight Lead, Instructor, and so forth. Thus, there is a mechanism in place for a person of lower position (rank) to influence, and even exercise a degree of authority over, someone of higher rank--because perhaps the lower ranking individual is
an instructor or flight lead. This still requires respecting the position (and just simply respecting the person as that--a person!), but it allows us to recognize that the right/ability to command people (rank) doesn't translate into an absolute superiority in technical expertise--we can all learn from each other.

I've clearly strayed from the topic of the naming, so I'll return for a minute. So, their naming is a little different. That's okay, because "American" doesn't mean "better". Some things are just Korean, and some things are just American. A naming ceremony at an American fighter squadron would never involve families, for example, because they're usually extremely off-color affairs. Korean namings are not like that (I think--I couldn't understand 99% of what was being said), so families are present. In either case, American or Korean, plenty of alcohol was consumed. And goodness sakes, apparently they either didn't realize or didn't care that Americans normally drink Jeremiah Weed (a whiskey) as shots, because they poured half-cups for everyone getting named! There were plenty of people stumbling around afterward--including the guy handing out the "anti-hangover drinks" (not sure what they actually are; some kind of herbal health drink or something).

I walked back with a friend tonight, and we had a good chat. He's one of the guys who went through the American program, and he wants the ROKAF to be a little more American. As you can imagine, that meets some resistance--not because of an anti-American sentiment, but rather "but this is how we've always done it" type of thing. He tries to model a lot of what he saw in America to his fellow Koreans. Two small, and seemingly superficial, examples that he gave involved food and eating:

(1) He wished that the ROKAF were more like the USAF in social events, where US squadrons let the women and children get their food first, then the aviators go, whereas in ROKAF squadrons, it's all rank-based.

(2) In the chow line, if he arrives after junior personnel, and they attempt to give him their spot in line, he tells them to keep their spot. Normally, senior officers, even if they arrive later, get to skip in line in the ROKAF.

To be honest, I think this feature of Western culture (which I do believe is more widespread than merely fighter squadrons) has to do with the West's exposure to Christianity on a massive scale for two millennia. It doesn't matter whether or not people are conscious of it; the simple fact is, the West has been exposed to Christianity in a way that the East has not. The specific facet of Christianity seen here is servant-leadership, and it was modeled for us by Jesus. Though he was God, he took upon Himself the nature of a servant. Though he could have judged, he instead suffered judgment. He told us that the first will be last and the last, first.

So, hopefully I encouraged my friend to continue this attitude. He is a (relatively) new Christian, and sometimes that can be a challenging role in a fighter squadron.

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(1) As an example, their squadron commander received a name today. They called him "Centri", I believe because he G-LOC'ed (lost consciousness) during a centrifuge ride. It works... but I would have gone with "GLOC" or perhaps "Glock". One syllable is better than two, and it has a cool standalone sound even though it means that the guy couldn't hang with the G's (and the centrifuge is admittedly a pain in the keister).

Note from Jamie

First, if you're reading this blog-- THANK YOU!! Please know how important you are to our family and grateful we are that you've signed on to take this journey with us. What a blessing!

As you undoubtedly have noticed, Rob is contributing mostly to this site so far-- since, well, he's actually in Korea. Those of you who know me well, know that I'm rarely short on words-- (understatement!)-- but right now I'm somewhat like you, dear reader-- looking at pictures from a distance and enjoying hearing about Rob's encounters with folks in Daegu so far. With each new image, I'm trying to picture ourselves there and getting more excited! Have things been perfect so far? No, but that's just life. Can I get an 'AMEN'?

So, until we arrive, you'll probably hear more from my hubby-- who is doing such a great job for our family. He's taking care of so many details from getting us a vehicle to doing everything he can to make sure our apartment is ready to go. (He went wallpaper shopping for goodness sakes!). We love you-- thanks, honey!

Now, even though the kiddos and I aren't in the "Land of the Morning Calm" quite yet doesn't mean I won't have any blogging material! I'll try and keep y'all posted on how the little peeps are doing, how we're preparing for the journey that lies ahead, and what the Lord is teaching us along the way.

I'll leave you with a picture that was captured during a recent getaway Rob and I enjoyed just before he left for Korea. Miss you, Rob!

Please continue to pray for us as we make this transition!

Much love,
Jamie

Gallery Link in the Sidebar

If you look in the sidebar to the right, you will see a new link to the photo gallery for our trip to Korea. Note that you will have to have a Yahoo/Flickr ID in order to view the galleries, and you will need to be invited (e-mail Rob or Jamie).

You can read a lengthier discussion of the security/privacy items, and how we're handling photos on this blog, in the note at the end of this blog entry.

If you're content simply to view photos on the blog itself, then you don't need to do anything special (assuming I remember to post them via Picasa rather than from Flickr!).

Two More Pics

Here are two more photos for the present.

This is the Catholic chapel that sits on the top of the hill on base. Korea boasts either the largest number of Presbyterians as a whole, or perhaps as a percentage, or perhaps both, of any nation on earth, but there is also a sizable Catholic population.

Building #2, at the right side of the photo, is the building we'll be living in. I'll post some photos once the new wallpaper and flooring is installed, and we get it cleaned up! There's a small playground on the other side of the parking lot, which will be nice for the kids.

A Note on Photos

We generally store our photos on Flickr, and this trip is no exception. You can access photos of our trip to Korea at this link.

Privacy/security issues have changed the way we'll handle photos on this blog, however. The photos that are actually posted on this blog are hosted on Google's Picasa Web Albums, which is the normal way that photos are posted on Blogger. This will make it so that people don't need to have (and be signed into) both a Google/Blogger account and a Yahoo/Flickr account just to view this blog properly. (These photos are thus publicly accessible via Picasa Web Albums, but ONLY if people know the URL in advance.)

If you want to go view the actual albums on Flickr, you will need to have a Flickr account, and you will need to be invited--the albums are restricted to family and friends. You can e-mail either Rob or Jamie in order to get access to the Flickr albums.

This is the downside to using Google (ie Blogger) for one set of services, and Yahoo (ie Flickr) for another set of services! Perhaps in the future we'll switch everything over to one service (although we don't get as much storage on Picasa Web Albums as we do on Flickr), or perhaps at some point we'll have a way to unify all of the security/privacy aspects.

More Photos from K2

Ok, apparently Picasa will only post up to four photos at a time in a blog post. So, here are some more pics.

These trees out in the "air garden" have been trimmed in a most interesting manner! That's an F-86D in the background--it was a version of the F-86 that had a radar added to it, intended to be an all-weather interceptor.

This is the view up the hill toward the housing area. The area includes a gym (which unfortunately requires a paid membership) and a couple of churches (one Protestant, one Catholic). There's also a driving range just off the right side of the photo (the golf course is to the left, behind the row of trees).

Here is the Protestant chapel. As this photo was taken, they were presumably in the process of an after-church luncheon outside.

This is a view from the top of the hill, behind the Catholic chapel, looking toward the mountains behind the base. I think that orange-roofed building is a VOQ for senior officers. Behind it are some one- or two-family homes for colonels.

A Few Photos from K2

Here are a few photos taken on K2 Air Base, while I was walking around today (Sunday). Enjoy!

The photo above was taken from the steps of the Sabre Inn, which is a restaurant on the American "side" of the base (the American compound is actually rather small, as the American presence on this base really just consists of a skeleton crew to take care of prepositioned assets that basically just sit there until they're needed, ie, North Korea crosses the line). You can see a little bit of the city of Daegu in the distance, with the mountains beyond.

This is the small chapel on the American side of the base. I attempted to attend worship today, at 11:00 as the sign outside said. However, there was no one there! So, I sat in the front pew and read my Bible for an hour or so, and then went to launch. In fact, the only person I even saw on the American compound was the Korean waitress who waited on me at the restaurant.

I assume this is some Korean hero. His statue is out in front of the golf club, I think. It was on my walk back from the American side to my lodging, which is a 20-25 minute walk. Sorry, I didn't hold the camera very straight.

This is an F-4, which the ROKAF still fly (I think they'll be phased out by either 2010 or 2012). They've got one squadron flying here at K2, which means I get to teach William "F-4... F-4 Phantom!" along with the rest of the airplanes that he knows.

Wallpaper, Party

Suffice it to say that the apartment we're staying in is not quite ready. The previous tenants didn't leave it very clean (which apparently is a no-no on base, but it doesn't really matter--because I'm trying to move in, and it's not clean!). So, we're going to have all of the wallpaper replaced (they don't do paint here), as well as the floor coverings in the bedrooms (it'll be a fake wood covering).

I was helped out greatly by Sue (that's how I'll spell it), Jedi's wife. They both came over to the apartment and looked it over, and then later Sue to me to a store in Daegu to pick out the wallpaper (for the ceiling, too!) and to schedule the installation. Supposedly, they'll complete it all on Monday.

In the evening, we went over to Jerry's new apartment for a housewarming party. He works for Boeing, and is clearly doing well! (He's also been there for a number of years, and will continue to live there for at least another four, I think). The apartment appears to be at least half of a floor of the Hyperion tower in downtown Daegu. Impressive!

It turns out that Jerry is also quite the musician, and he "wowed" the crowd with a number of tunes on the piano.

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Rockin' and Rollin' in St. Louis

While Rob is preparing the way for our arrival in Korea in early May, here's a peek at what the kiddos and I have been up to in St. Louis! From earthquakes to adventures removing Vaseline from Will's hair-- there's rarely a dull moment! Enjoy.

Shake, Rattle, and Roll!

TREMORS!

Well, I guess it officially takes a natural phenomenon for me to post on our blog nowadays! For those who don't live nearby and didn't feel the tremors, the midwest experience a 5.2 earthquake at about 4:30 this morning. The epicenter of the quake was about 120 miles east of our location and, yes, it literally shook me out of my sleep! As I lay there a snoozin' I was suddenly awakened by a very loud rumble. I jumped out of bed, checked the crib-- Sadie was fine. Next I ran to William's room thinking maybe he woke up early and may have knocked something over. Sure enough it wasn't my two-year-old rocking the house!! My mom, also startled by the event, ran to William's room, too! After about 15-20 seconds or so it was over. That's when my mom and I said to each other, "Do you think that was an earthquake?" And, sure it enough, it was! Thankfully each of my babies were just fine, but needless to say everyone was awake and stayed that way! Oh well, I guess that means early naps for all of us today! Thank you for your protection, Lord!

GOING PRIVATE

Now about my 'blogging procrastination'. Lately I've been toying with whether or not to make our family blog private. While I love making new friends and the idea of knowing that an old friend/acquaintance could happen upon our blog-- we've decided to go private, at least for the next year as we are overseas. My friends and dear readers, there is so much more I want to share about our lives that at this time and, for good reasons, I just can't. So, if you'd like to join us on our overseas adventure--and we'd LOVE it if you would-- PLEASE e-mail me at jamie@thefrenchfamily.org or leave a comment. If you do, I'll be sure to send you a personal invitation. It doesn't matter if we're old or new friends, Internet buddies, or you've read our blog and never left a comment--it doesn't matter-- just drop me a line and I'll add you to 'the list'. We'd love to have your join us and look forward to hearing from you! And, by the way, I promise I'll update more frequently! :)

HAVE YOU EVER GOOGLED...

Before I go, a quick question: Have you ever had to google this ? Well, I did this past week after William woke up from his nap looking like this:

Yes, Will had found a container of Vaseline and rubbed it in his hair. After a good laugh and a photo shoot, I realized that getting this jelly out of his hair wasn't going to be a piece of cake. After looking at this site, I was a little depressed! Needless to say, after rubbing a good bit of baby oil in his hair (I know it sounds crazy!)...

Three washings with Dawn dishwashing soap (he loved this part)...

And an ice cream sandwich...




William's hair was Vaseline-free and as soft as I can remember. Shoo! Never a dull moment! I hope you never experience this, but if you do I hope this helps!

I'll leave you with some other recent pics-- Enjoy! And again, PLEASE join us as we go private! Just leave a comment or e-mail me at jamie@thefrenchfamily.org As a fantastic blogger once said (Rachel!), your comments are like Christmas morning to me! It's true!! :):)

Love in Christ,
Jamie

America's next...

American Idol!?!

I don't know...it looks like we have some competition!

Yep, better start reaching for those high notes!

Checking out elephants at the zoo!

Sweet One-Sock Sadie!

Have a great day everyone!

OH MY! Just as I was about to post this...another small quake! CRAZY!!! I think that's my cue!

AAAARGH!

It's pretty sad that this post is going to, yet again, deal with administrative junk. Sometimes, working for the US government is annoying. Again, the ROKAF--the Koreans--are great. The US government, and the military, are a bureaucratic nightmare, however. I am assigned to JUSMAG-K, at Yongsan AG in Seoul. That's associated, somewhat, with the Army. Of course, I'm an Air Force officer. I'm assigned to live and work at a Korean Air Force base, with a small US Air Force contingent, but any large items have to be taken care of across town at Camp Walker or Camp Henry, both Army bases. I can't get access to any of my work e-mail right now, because I have an Army account, and of course, the Army and Air Force use different systems--even though theoretically they're on the same network infrastructure. WITW?! The Army system let me login up at Yongsan, but the Air Force system requires me to go over to the Army base (!) and update my information in the system (DEERS), so that I can login on Air Force systems. Assuming I get this straightened out, I'll still have to login on an Air Force system using my Air Force ID, then go to Army webmail to actually check my e-mail.

I hate bureaucracy.

Clipart credit

Vehicle Woes

Mickey drove me over to Camp Walker today, to see if there were any cars for sale. I saw one, a 4-door sedan, for $2900. I've got the info written down, so I'll have to call the owner shortly. I also need to look into cars back up in Seoul, at the embassy, which would already have diplomatic plates.

Camp Walker is a decent base. It's where we would be living if we weren't living with the Koreans on K2 Air Base. Frankly, the Koreans are quite helpful, but all of the hassle involved with the US government is making me almost wonder if it would be better if we were living at Camp Walker.

Clipart credit

Korean Food... Do I Like It?

So, here are my thoughts on Korean food, now that I have a few meals under my belt (literally!). I've not eaten anything that I just plain don't like (except anchovies, but I don't like those in any other cuisine, either!). Kimchi is fine, and this evening I had some very good Korean barbecue. Nonetheless, even though I don't dislike any of it (so far), I also am already a little tired of it! Perhaps it's the result of being "spoiled" in the US, where we tend to eat many different international flavors.

I also established a Korean bank account today, to help with paying some of my bills. That was kind of amusing. Mickey helped me through everything, but I don't know the specifics of what I signed my name to about ten times! I just know that (theoretically) I have a bank account, a couple of check cards, and online banking access!

Housing is an interesting situation. Apparently, it is standard in Korea to pay the complete year's rent up-front, as a deposit! Then, when you move out, you get most of your deposit back! No monthly payments, but that means I've got to write a $25,000 check for my rent for the year (actually, it means I need to figure out the correct paperwork process for the Air Force to pay for it!).

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Welcome to Daegu...

The big day--heading to Daegu! I began the day by "attending" a video teleconference with a number of U.S. generals--as is to be expected, I had no speaking part! After that, I finished packing my bags and checking out of the lodge, and then I got a ride to the KTX station.

The fast train is, indeed, fast. The scenery blazed right by! It'll be a useful way to get to and from Seoul periodically, or Osan, for that matter.

And so, I arrived in Daegu. I was picked up by one of the Captains from the 122 Fighter Squadron, one of the two ROKAF squadrons that fly the F-15K. (There's also an F-4 squadron, the 151 FS--I can't wait to see a Phantom taking off--an oldie but a goodie!) He took me to the squadron building, where I met many of the pilots and WSOs. I've started learning some of the customs and courtesies of the ROKAF (and perhaps Korean culture). As I start getting more familiar, perhaps I'll compile a list of interesting customs and perhaps some cultural differences.

One of the squadron members, callsign Mickey, is sort of my "guide". Technically, I think they're calling him my sponsor, and another term: IMSO. I can't remember what that means. He's done a ton of great, helpful work for me. I'm staying in the Bachelor Officer Quarters. It's small, but completely fine: a kitchen small office, and bedroom. I'll be staying here for a few days, perhaps a week, while the apartment that my family and I will be staying in is prepared.

I've also now had a couple of Korean meals. I'll be eating a Korean breakfast tomorrow with some of the squadron members.

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Trip to Osan

Today I attempted, somewhat unsuccessfully, to finish outprocessing from Yongsan. Tomorrow I'll be heading to Daegu on the KTX fast train.

I did get my flight records and medical records turned in down at Osan Air Base, southeast of Seoul. One of the KATUSAs drove me. (I think that stands for "Korean Attached to the U.S. Army--basically, an enlisted Korean Army soldier who works for the U.S. Army. It's supposed to be a pretty good deal for them.) Other than that, it was a pretty low key day. I purchased a ticket to take the fast train down to Daegu--it's about $40 for a fairly quick (1.5 hour) ride.

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Sunday Worship

I worshiped at one of the chapels on-base at Yongsan Army Garrison today. The service was nice. In fact, I'll be posting some thoughts that came to mind based on the sermon, over at my personal blog. You can find the first post here; I'll be posting several others throughout the upcoming week.

The service began with a nice organ prelude. There's just something about the grand old songs, especially played on an organ. Even without words, I get the sense of the victory already achieved, of the kingdom already come.

The sermon, to which I allude more in the post linked above, was based on John 10:1-16, the parable of the good shepherd. It was less of a "Sunday school" sermon (ie, a "scholarly" sermon where lots of Greek words and such are thrown around) and more of an exhortation and word of encouragement to God's people. I actually have come to prefer this more in a sermon--save the deep hermeneutics and exegesis for Sunday school, make the sermon more about worshiping God.

All in all, it was a good service, and a good day.

Praise God!