Roll forward a bit and I find myself in a unique situation. My ETS (Estimated Termination of Service) Date is right around the corner. Ok, not exactly right around the corner, but it takes longer to get ready for than you might expect. I honestly had no intentions of staying in the Army, I was sick of the pathetic leadership and meaningless crap I often had to put up with. Other than that, the Army was an experience I will forever be grateful for. Please don't misunderstand; I am most assuredly not bashing the Army. I am, however, more than willing to bash some of the people I worked with/for. It's probably best if I save that for another time.
Around this time everyone I knew started pressuring me for a decision. Not on the marriage thing, that was already underway and involved an incredible amount of paperwork. I'd rather re-apply for a Top Secret clearance than go through that as a soldier again. Everyone from my future wife up through our Brigade command was pushing me to stay in. Here is what they were offering: I could stay in Korea, but I would have to move to another company in the battalion (this would mean rack time, ugh), Command Sponsorship (as soon as the marriage was official), a 4B bonus as an E-5. The command sponsorship alone would almost have been worth it. The unit would pay for our housing and utilities, would make it a 2 year tour (which would qualify me for the extra bonus level), would most importantly get K into school. Alas, the unit was unable to persuade me to stay in, but they were highly effective in persuading my future wife to "make him stay", and I have to admit, that tactic worked.
So, I didn't really tell anyone that I had made my decision; I was enjoying turning all those noses brown. I let it ride for a while, and then finally went to see our Re-enlistment NCO. She was stoked! "Finally," she exclaimed, "Who got to you?" Well, being a man, I had to tell her the truth... it was the bonus (obviously I can make my own decisions). She had pretty much already done all the research for my situation and said she would be in touch soon. I think only a day passed before I was summoned back to her office. She said everything was fine on our end, but that I needed to contact our Branch Manager. For some reason I was on assignment. This should not have been possible; you need to have at least 6 months and a day left in service before they can move you. I had less than 3 months left. The Re-enlistment NCO suggested that I call Branch and have them delete the assignment. "It shouldn't be a problem."
Due to the time difference, I had to make the call late at night. Of course I had been talking to Mr. Daniel's, but we had been having a quiet evening, not our usual boisterous arguments. I wanted to be a little on the ball when I spoke to Branch, because for the first time I could remember I didn't know the manager personally.
The call went something like this:
Me: Hi! This is SGT Hanja, calling from XMI BN in Korea. My social is XXX-XX-XXXX.
BM: Hello, SGT Hanja, I am SFC PopularPotatoChipBrand, and I will deny anything you want! What can I deny for you?
Me: Uhm, well, I'm trying to re-enlist.... (tells same story as above)
BM: NO, you are on assignment! Your report date is in 6 days!
Me: But, I don't have orders, haven't taken leave, haven't cleared, don't have plane tickets, haven't shipped any of my stuff, and I have less than 3 months left in service! By the way, where am I going?
BM: Fort Lewis.
Me: In the States??? Nooooo! If I go to the states, I'm going to Maryland where I have a high paying job awaiting me. Can you top $XX,XXX.XX out there at Ft. Lewis?
BM: No.
Me: So, could you please delete my assignment so I can stay here and be a happy soldier?
BM: No, you don't understand SGT Hanja, you are on assignment.
Me: Are you serious?
BM: You don't understand, Sergeant.
Me: No, I really don't. I'm not going to Ft. Lewis. I'll ETS.
BM: You don't understand, Sergeant.
Me: Congratulations, you just lost another 98G!
Me: Click....bzzzzzzz.
Yep, that's pretty much how it went. I was bent. Once I had made my decision, wanted to stay in. It pissed me off that she wouldn't budge on what should have been an obvious and simple decision. I went in the next morning and caught our Orderly Room NCO on the way through the gate at the Flight Line. I mentioned to him that there were a few things I would need from him by COB (that's Close Of Business (end of duty day)). These were just simple, day to day things. Things like my clearing papers and my terminal leave papers. His eyes got big, and he asked if I had orders. I explained that I would have them within 15 minutes after our morning formation. He was truly a dedicated O-Room NCO. I was on terminal leave with my clearing papers before 1030 that same morning. There were some pretty upset people, as I was still on the duty rosters, but once they heard my story they were more upset with the Branch Manager.
Not too long ago, SFC PotatoChip served here as 1SG Unprepared. I knew she was here, and couldn't wait for someone to bring her to the bar. I would tell her that she didn't understand, she couldn't have a beer, would she like a glass of "Shut the F**k Up" instead? Alas, when she did finally visit the bar she was with a friend of mine. This friend asked me to please not say anything this time, just be nice and let it slide. Out of respect for my friend I didn't say anything. After they left, someone told me that this was her last night in Korea. I WAS LIVID!
More later.....