Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Cost Benefit Analysis

I know that I do not want to make a career out of being in the Army, but yet I do not have any clear idea of what I would around this time next year if I were to get out of the Army at the first available opportunity. It’s not for lack of trying to come up with ideas of what to do next, and perhaps no neon arrow pointing the direction I should go on 12 July 2010, but I’m at least trying to narrow down my possible courses of action. One option that I know is available to me here in Korea is the incentive program to extend my tour by a year. This in itself is worthy of it’s own analysis, but for now I’m only considering how any additional time in service will affect my post-9/11 GI Bill benefits (http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_Bill_Info/CH33/Post-911.htm/). Under the GI Bill you are granted tuition assistance, a monthly housing allowance, and a yearly stipend for books.

I’ve made many assumptions and generalizations while doing my cost benefit analysis and I’m not going to spell most of them out, though I know that would be the proper thing to do. I will say that I decided to use the cost of one year of studying for a Masters in Early Childhood Education from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Three consecutive terms made up of nine credits each comprise the year resulting in a cost of $8,816/term or $24,448/year. One other assumption is that the basic housing allowance provided under the GI Bill for Ann Arbor is $997/month or $11,964/year.

My initial obligation to the Army is complete on 28 May 2010. To be eligible for any amount of the GI Bill I need to stay in at least 90 days past that date, or until 27AUG 2010. To be on the safe side I’ve added one extra day to each of my calculations of how long I would have to stay in. If I stay in until 27 AUG I will receive 40% of the benefits of the GI Bill.

Active Duty Completed..............Date................% Max Benefit Payable
At least 36 months..............28 May 2013..................100%
30 months to 36 months............NA...........................90%
24 months to 30 months............NA...........................80%
18 months to 24 months....27 NOV 2011...................70%
12 months to 18 months....29 May 2011....................60%
6 months to 12 months......27 NOV 2010...................50%
90 days to 6 months...........27 AUG 2010...................40%

If I were to stay in for an extra 36 months IOT recieve full benefits, then the amount of money I would receive would be as follows:

ETS./Benefit %/Tuition (3 terms)/Housing/Books/Total

28MAY10...100%...$26,448.00..$11,964.00...$1,000.00...$39,412.00

Since I don’t plan on being in the Army until 2013, this is the breakdown of what I would receive depending on if I spend an extra year in Korea or not. Though the last ETS date is May 29, 2011, I would actually have to stay in Korea until July 11, 2011 if I do an extra year. The 50% calculation is thrown in just for fun.

ETS/Benefit %./.Tuition (3 terms)./Housing/Books/Total

27AUG10....40%....$10,579.........$4,785.60......$400.00.....$15,764.80

27NOV10...50%....$13,224.0 .....$5,982.00.......$500.00.....$19,706.00

29MAY11...60%....$15,868.80....$7,178.40......$600.00.....$23,647.20

27NOV11...70%....$18,513.60....$8,374.80......$700.00.....$27,588.40

The 50% calculation is thrown in just for fun. The 70% calculation would be if I went to the Career Course right after Korea and then only did my mandatory one year at my new duty station before getting out, though it would take a huge change of mind for me to go that route.

A very broad generalization is that the difference between me doing one year or two years in Korea is $7,882.40 per year in tuition assistance if I decide to go back to school after I get out of the Army. If I went to the career course instead of getting out getting out right after Korea (see career course assumptions in above paragraph), then it’d be a difference of $11,823.60 per year in tuition assistance.

Decisions...decisions...

20 Years Ago

This morning one of the CW4's I work with was trying to set the stage for a story and asked where I was 20 years ago...he seemed shocked when I said kindergarten. After his initial shock wore off he continued on with the story stating that 20 years ago he was a PFC in Panama.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

First Impression

11 July 09 - Korean Air
So far so good. Luggage was a bit over, but dad paid the extra cost. I'm in a window seat in a 3 person row. The seat is comfy enough with leg room. Next time I'll send more clothes ahead of me so that I don't have to carry them. The plane is nice and the flight attendents are kind so far. there is a small bottle of water, a blanket, headphones, and a little case containing socks, a toothbrush (I think), and an eye cover if you want to sleep. The only thing lacking so far is an outlet to plug in my computer.

Just had my first Korean meal...kinda. I don't know if the plane counts. I had Bibimbap which consists of some vegies (spinich, some sort of root, sprouts of some sort, mushrooms, etc.), sesame oil, rice, and a hot pepper paste. There was also a seaweed soup, a pickle dish, and fruit for dessert. Oh, and free wine.

There is a couple in my row who have a small baby. The flight attendant brought out a bassinet thing that attaches to the wall in front of them that the baby can sleep in.

12 July 09 -First Impressions of Korea
The countryside is rather beautiful with lots of large hills covered in lush green trees and other vegetation. The temp is probably in the eighty's, but it is very humid and the sky is completly overcast. I had the exact same thought as the Soldier sitting behind me on the bus to Yongson, though he was the one who actually voiced it. We both noted that it's nice to be on bus where we can look out the windows and see the country, unlike the buses from the airport in Kuwait when we were deployed where the curtains were kept shut and we where warned not to peek out the window. There are lots of rivers and wetlands here as well as the sea, though the wetlands appear cultivated or at least void of the mess of vegetation one would see in the states. The vehicles on the road are fairly new looking for the most part and mainly consist of mid sized sedans and SUVs. The roads are well paved and free of trash and debris. So far I haven't noticed any strange smells, though many people told me that would me the first thing that would hit me when I got off the plane.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

New Quarters

I’m sitting at the computer in my new quarters enjoying having a place to call home for the next year. The place is rather spacious, though only if you were expecting something the size of a broom closet to start with. I’ve found that if I keep my expectations low usually they’ll end up being surpassed. I’m a pessimistic optimist, or perhaps I’m an optimistic pessimist. I think ahead and plan for the worst case scenario, but deep down I know that it likely won’t happen. However, since I’ve set my expectations so low to start with I end up coming away happy when they are surpassed by any extent.

Let me start by describing the wonderful qualities of my new quarters. First off, I have my own place which is always a huge plus (and by place I mean room in the CPTs quarters on post). Upon opening my front (and only) door guests will quickly be able to make themselves at home because on their immediate right is a full size fridge/freeze which they can easily access to get the cold beverage of their choosing. Should they want a warm snack instead, the microwave is conveniently situated atop the fridge. If my guest decides he/she wants a glass of water instead then all he/she must do is walk one or perhaps two steps if they are vertically challenged, and they will find themselves in front of the kitchen sink and cupboard area. If my guest, having heard the running water from the sink, suddenly realizes that he/she is in dire need of a toilet then all he/she must do do an About Face (180 degree turn) and walk 4 steps in a straight line past the bathroom sink/cupboard area and into the tub/toilet room. Upon completion of his/her business in the bathroom area my guest can return to the kitchen just in time to see me pulling a fresh baked batch of brownies out of my oven (with 4-range stove top).

Having gotten both food and drink, my guest and I will retire into the living room region of my quarters. The dresser/computer desk/entertainment center is situated on the same wall as the kitchen, though there is an open doorway between the two. On the other side of the living room is my bedroom. The bedroom is conveniently designed with no wall or separation of any type between it and the living room and the bedroom. An untrained eye might suggest it is all one room, but they of course would be wrong. There is a cosy two-chair round table pushed against the far wall that nicely divides the room. Of course, to watch TV my guest would have walk four steps to sit in my bedroom on either the recliner that is pushed up against the foot of my bed, or sit on my full size bed. While sitting and enjoying TV my guest can look around and notice that my bedroom/living room also include a nice built-in vanity with plenty of storage space, and a lockable closet with storage overhead.

As all new (or new to the owner) places go, my place does come with its own little quirks. For example, apparently my range-top light is wired to the two electrical outlets in my living room area. In order to have power going to those outlets the range light switch must be in the On position. However, if i have my computer plugged in one of the outlets and a lamp on my round table plugged in the other outlet, then the computer and lamp will both trade turns as to which one gets power leaving me with a lamp that goes on and off every half-second and no range-top light. Should I turn the lamp off completely the range-top light will occasionally turn on, though only for a minute or two. If I manually turn the range-top light off neither the lamp or the computer will have power going to their outlets. As much fun as this sounds, I plan on calling maintenance tomorrow.

Though I have to work out a few kinks, I do think I’ll enjoy living here. My new boss is actually my former company commander and one of the guys I’ll be working with was in my Beast squad at west point and also in my OBC class. Life here is what you make of it. I hope to make it a good time...and who knows, perhaps I’ll end up staying two years.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Productive Weekend

I think I accomplished more today then I have all month and therefore want to record it so that I can someday look back on today and wonder how I did it. Today was actually supposed to be a restful day of going to Mass and then possibly going down to Austin to drop off my bike for a tune-up. Mass happened, the trip to Austin didn't. Here's why:

Saturday morning I woke up to a thunderstorm rolling in. My plan had originally been to go for a bike ride working on keeping a higher cadence, and then coming back and doing my normal Saturday chores (vacuum, clean the bathroom, sweep, mop). I managed to get out of bed and then the pouring rain started, so I made blueberry pancakes and decided to go back to bed. I'm not sure what I did all day until the evening when I went over to my friend Andee's apartment to meet her puppy and go out to dinner with her. All I know is that most of the day I was very lazy and didn't do much of anything; definitely not any chores.

Sunday morning I woke up around 8am and since I had a couple hours still before Church I drove over to Shipley's Do-Nuts to get breakfast. While I was getting ready for Church I decided that since Christ The King (yes, there's a Christ the King Catholic Church in Belton, TX), has mass at 5pm I'd instead go visit my former church in Killeen for the morning service. I enjoyed seeing people I hadn't seen in over 1.5 years and was finally able to return to Mike a DVD set that I borrowed from him in the fall of 2007. After Church I went out to lunch at a Mexican restaurant with Amy and Willy.

Having eaten far too much food and feeling stuffed and sluggish I decided to go for the bike ride that I couldn't go on Saturday and leave the trip down to Austin for Monday or Tuesday after work. I rode 20 miles, got a little more sunburned on my arms even though I was wearing sunblock, got lost in Temple, TX a couple times and decided that if the Garmin Edge 705 has maps for Korea then I am definitely getting one, and was also able to keep my cadence higher than I have before...though I still have a lot of work left to do (thanks MAJ Yee for letting me ride with you the other day and teaching me a ton!).

Upon my return from the bike ride I showered and made it to the 5pm Mass. On the way back from Mass I noticed that I still had some energy left and was in a good mood so I decided to finally start baking the stuff I promised some friends last weekend but never got around to making. Originally I was only going to make a batch of oatmeal butterscotch chip cookies for Andee, but I still felt good after makeing those so i started on the batch of chocolate chip cookies for Mike G. and ended up also baking the batch of caramel brownies for Andy T. Whilst those were baking I was able to do my chores and more, to include: cleaning the bathroom and shower; sweeping and mopping (swiffer mop that is) the all the hard floors and vacuuming all of the carpet; washing, folding, and putting away two loads of laundry; spot cleaning the walls (a pinch of baking soda on a damp cloth works just as well, if not better, and is less expensive then the Mr Clean Magic Eraser); and emptying and taking out the trash.

Now I'm off to bed to read for a bit and then sleep until my alarm goes off at 5am to wake me up for PT. The price to pay for my awesome place is that I have to be out the door by 0530 to make it to 0630 PT on time. It's a price I gladly pay...as long as you don't ask me at 0500 when I'm hitting the snooze button on my alarm and counting the days till I can sleep in again.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Facing the Past

I never thought I’d be one of those people. Those people were the ones who saw action, watched people die, saw real combat. The closest thing I ever got to the action was listening to some indirect fire impact on my FOB the first day I arrived. At first I didn’t even know if it was a controlled detonation or the real thing, so we didn’t take cover until the 2nd or 3rd one landed and the sirens went off. Even then we stood in the doorway of the T-building listening to them impact and watching other people run down the street toward us and away from the DFAC. One person died. One or two wounded. All I heard were the booms. There were a few more attacks during the year, but nothing major. No more people were killed or injured by them. Why then did I find myself sitting in the office of a social worker listening to her tell me that it was going to be okay, that they were going to get me the help I needed and that I could heal. Why was it a relief to hear her say that I could heal? Heal from what? I haven’t seen anything; I haven’t done anything. Why do I need to heal? But she saw the tears that were burning my eyes threatening to spill over; those tears that weren’t for anything at that moment, but yet were never there when I needed them. Those tears that weren’t there when I let down my guard and allowed myself to think about the past and the family and friends I loved who I was so far from, about the past, and about everything that had happened.

Don’t reflect on the past. That was a skill I taught myself at West Point. When I was younger, after a vacation or some exciting event, I would marvel at the passage of time and allow myself to count back the number of days prior that it occurred and think about how different my current situation was compared to what had happened. I enjoyed reflecting on the time I’d had and the memories made. After I arrived at West Point I found that if I allowed myself to count back to the last time I saw my parents, or the last time I was home, the homesickness would overwhelm me. I quickly learned to stop thinking about the past, to stop counting the days backwards, and to stop comparing my past and current situations. If the past was better than the present then it was painful. If the past was worse than the present, then it was painful. Therefore, don’t think too much about the past. Short dosages of memories were okay, dependent on the memories and situations, but nothing more. I trained myself well…too well.

I also learned how to control my emotions to a greater extent, though not so much as control them as bottle everything up. The hardest night of my life, the night that stretched into day and wouldn’t end, I knew I couldn’t hold those emotions in much longer. That night amidst everything else I was fighting for control of my emotions. My reward became telling myself that when it was all over I could go back to my room and cry. I hadn’t cried for a while and it was a relief to know that this time tears would come. After it was finally over and I was safely back in my room I allowed the tears to flow freely and they didn’t stop for hours. When I thought I was done with the crying I would remember the look on the woman’s face as she pleaded for me to tell her what was going on and the tears would come back, along with the doubt about if I had recommended the correct course of action in having her detained. Alone in my room I relived every moment of that night, but in doing so it also took away a lot of the sting. I’d already cried over every moment and the weight of it was lessened. I worried that it would come back when I went to testify before the judge, but it didn’t. Perhaps it was the prayers of my family and friends, though they didn’t know exactly what they were praying about, or the fact that I’d already grieved about that night, or both. It taught me a new lesson: Perhaps it’s time to start facing the past again.