ELDP: Boston and Korea

So, I got picked up for this program called Executive Leadership Development Program, and I am one of only 5 active duty officers in the 60 person program. The rest are civilians, and we get to travel to gain better insight into how best to lead and support the warfighter. It has been amazing so far and this is a glimpse of some of the travel... I was going to put everything to this point, but "there is too much, let me sum up." So I'll do Boston and Korea and get to Hawaii and San Diego at a future date.

 These are the members of Squad 3, with the notable exception of the actual SWAT team member in the center. The uniform for this program looks like we're on a SWAT team, so when we met the real deal on our walk around Boston, I asked if he'd get in a picture with us.

 It is a beautiful area, and it was a beautiful time of year to be there

Beautiful Fall colors

 We started (well I did, since I got picked up as an alternate after the orientation weekend in DC) with CORE in Southbridge, Massachusetts near Boston.

 This is me in from of a depiction of stuff about me.

A lot of class, a lot of working out, and a lot of sleep deprivation.

 Fun stuff

 Did I mention sleep deprivation?

 One of the highlights was walking the Boston Freedom trail.

I had never been to Boston, and I will have to take my family back.

 Paul Revere's house.

 Squad 3 Amigos in front of it.

 A statue commemorating the midnight ride.

Very cool

 Showing the other squad members how air refueling works

 they thought it was pretty impressive

For warrior day we were Ninjas

I look forward to killing you soon!
The next deployment was to Korea in December. It was awesome, but very cold, as you can imagine.

 Squad 3 visiting with Air Defense Artillery

 Up close with the hardware

 again

 speaking of hardware, we got to meet these guys, which gave me much appreciation for my brother-in-law

 Crazy Horse, indeed

 this pic doesn't adequately convey how freaking cold it was

 impressive

 then it was to the range for a live fire demo

 you would see the fire then the shock wave would literally hit you in the chest

 I'm a huge fan of Korean food, especially Korean BBQ; it was most excellent

 good times

 We went to this memorial to commemorate Task Force Smith

 This was the location of the first US involved combat of the Korean War

 This was an impressive animation of the conflict

 Later we went to the Korean Museum. Could you imagine bombing like that?

 Or fighting in that battle? That was a little before US involvement...

 This drum is about 8 feet tall

 Seoul at night on the way to Seoul tower.

 Seoul Tower

 And then the craziest pics. So This selfie is into North Korea. That table behind me is where North and South meet. The guard is ROK and the blue walls tell that you are in a UN building, but right after taking this I walked around the table into North Korean territory. Very grateful to be able to walk back immediately. A pretty impressive program that visits this otherworldly place.

 The blue buildings are UN across the border (defined by the concrete slab connecting the buildings). The gray building is North Korea and you can see the guard that was watching us.

 There he is.

 Unreal

 More of the DMZ

 Monument

 The bridge of no return

 DMZ, then lunch

 Squad 3...my friend on the far left was eating spice so hot he's sweating

 and the other side

 a beautiful and fascinating part of the world

 defectors try to run across the river when it freezes...there are mines all along the banks

 for family members separated

 prayers for reconciliation

 so sad

Such an odd thing to become a tourist locale.

 On my last day I got to have breakfast with some friends of ours from Okinawa.

 Proving how small the Air Force is getting, my friend is friends with one of my squad mates.

 Pretty cool to be able to see them.

 They are a great family and my kids miss them.

 Seoul tower as seen from our hotel.

Then it was off to Hawaii by way of Japan for some curry and CC lemon as well as calling my brother from a payphone since we were both briefly in the same country. I love travel and learning and this program affords some great experiences. Stay tuned for Hawaii and San Diego!