Really?! WTF were you thinking?!

     That sums up what my mind set was for the weekend. I wish I could say that I had this big adventurous weekend touring Korea. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I spent most of my weekend having to deal with soldier issues. Since that was the topic of my weekend I will make it the topic of my posting.
    
     I haven't really made much mention of what I actually am doing in Korea so I will start there first.
I am now a Platoon Sergeant in charge of about 50 soldiers. I would say at least 80 percent of my platoon consists of soldiers fresh out of intial training. What this means is that many of them are around the age of 18. You realize just how old you feel when you talk to soldiers that, when asked where they were when 9/11 happened, they have no detailed recollection. They say, "I was in second grade and don't really remember it." Really? Seriously? I can remember every last detail of what was happening that day. Just shocking is all.

     As with all "young people" (now that sounds like something an old man would say!) they do stupid crap. Heck I still do stupid stuff but it seems likes the younger you are the more extreme the dumb crap is. The problem is that here in Korea, the liquor sneeks up on you real quick. For those of you who have never experienced soju, let me explain. It is a Korean liquor that is vitually tastless except for a hint of fruitiness. It goes down real smooth and you feel fine when you are sitting down. The problem comes when you go to stand up. Then it hits you like a punch to the face. You go from feeling fine to feeling like, "WTF just happened!" The soldiers go out and start having a good time and drinking the soju and before you know it they are so messed up that they do stupid crap. This is exactly why I spent my weekend running around dealing with the actions of soldiers. I am not complaining about having to deal with soldiers issues, in fact the exact opposite. I really enjoy working with soldiers and helping them grow. There are just those time that you have to stop and look at them and say, "Really?! WTF were you thinking?!"

     Anyways, so as you can see, not everything here is happy exploring and cultural immersion. In fact that is a very small aspect of the everyday life in the Army here in Korea. The operational tempo here is very fast and there is very little time to do much. I look forward to my Saturdays but not every weekend is going to be filled with stories of happy travels. On a more positive note I did attend a hail and farewell on Friday. It basically is a get together with senior leaders that welcomes newcomers and says goodbye to the outgoing personnel. It was the first time I had ever attended one of these and it was actually a really good time. You get to see a more relaxed side of your leadership. I think more organizations should hold events like this.

     I wish that I had a more exciting posting to make, but really that pretty much sums up my weekend. I am hoping that next weekend brings a little more adventures of the positive kind. Until next time...