Adventures in the Army, Part 2
So where were we? Oh yes, 1999. This time we asked to go to Korea. Yep, you read that right! We figured the timing was good, it would be a one year, unaccompanied tour, but Boo and I would go along anyway. We’d come back in 6 months for a mid-tour break, then we’d be home for good in another 6 months. The Army actually said no. I think Phil was the first and only person in the history of the Army to volunteer for Korea and get turned down. Instead, he was assigned to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, CA as an assistant Professor of Military Science. It was a dream assignment. We were an hour and a half from my hometown of Santa Barbara (you must check out that link, just to see the beautiful pictures), and about 4 hours away from Phil’s family in San Francisco. We found a small 3 bedroom apartment in Grover Beach. I thought it would be fun to live in nearby Los Osos, where my good friend Jennifer grew up. It’s just fun to spell: L-O-S-O-S-O-S! It was fun to see our longtime friends from Civil Air Patrol and even participate in some of their activities. They were attempting to make Phil the next encampment commander when we got word that he would be attending the Post Graduate Intelligence Program to get his masters degree in something useful like strategic intelligence.
So we packed up and drove all the way across the country to Maryland. We lived in off-base military housing leased by the Air Force, our nicest quarters yet! Charlotte was born, conveniently during Phil’s Christmas Break, at Andrews Air Force Base. After graduation, Phil was assigned to the Pentagon where he worked for a year.
*note: Phil didn’t actually get to work in the Pentagon. When he was assigned there, the offices he was going to work in were being renovated, so his office was temporarily located in a building in Crystal City. Their move in date was supposed to be August 2001. Well, work was delayed and their move in date was pushed back to October 2001. You know of course, where this is going. On September 11, the plane that crashed into the Pentagon destroyed the newly renovated offices that Phil was waiting to move in to. The Lord does work in mysterious ways.
When that assignment was over, we packed up and moved to Ft. Leavenworth, KS. It is important to note at this time that Philip was assigned to the Command and General Staff College, NOT the Disciplinary Barracks. CGSC is supposed to be the best year of your life, and it really was one of them! We had an ugly house and wonderful neighbors. I look back at our year there with nothing but happy memories.
