Change of Command Article

Here's a recent article on our joint change of command ceremony held on 25 June 2010.  This was also the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War.  The weather cooperated in a huge way for the ceremony and reception.  We had over 400 people in attendance onboard the USNS WATSON.
                                                                    

June 25, 2010

Korea-based Military Sealift Command office changes leadership

Military Sealift Command’s operations hub on the Korean peninsula changed hands today when Cmdr. David Bartell relieved Cmdr. Christopher Cruz as commanding officer of MSC Office Korea in a unique, joint Army/Navy change of command ceremony aboard large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship USNS Watson at Pier Eight in Busan, Republic of Korea.

Army Lt. Col. Kristian Rogers also relieved Army Lt. Col. Samuel Blanton as commanding officer of the Korea-based 837th Transportation Battalion during the ceremony, which had more than 300 attendees and incorporated traditions from both services. 

MSCO Korea plays a vital role in defense of the Republic of Korea by supporting MSC ships in the Korean theater of operations and providing fuel, supplies and ammunition to forces operating in the area. MSCO Korea coordinates closely with the 837^th Transportation Battalion, which oversees and executes shoreside movement of supplies delivered to shore by MSC ships.  More than 90 percent of all cargo destined for U.S. forces in Korea arrives at Pier Eight.

“Today’s joint ceremony is just another example of how the Army and Navy coordinate closely on all levels, even though we are different services with different cultures,” said Capt. Chip Denman, commander of MSC’s Sealift Logistics Command Far East, which oversees MSCO Korea. “Here in Korea, this coordination ensures that U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, as well as international military partners operating in theater, have the equipment and supplies they need at the precise time and location they need them.” 

“Under both Cmdr. Cruz and Lt.Col. Blanton, both MSCO and the 837^th have forged a deep friendship and unity that is unmatched in the history of Pier Eight,” said the ceremony’s principal speaker Army Brig. Gen. Thomas Harvey, Commanding General, 19^th Expeditionary Sustainment Command. 

A 1994 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Bartell comes to MSCO Korea from the staff of the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C.  Bartell is a seasoned naval aviator who served aboard aircraft carriers USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS John F. Kennedy in support of operations Southern Watch and Allied Force.  He completed two deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“I’ve heard nothing but great things about MSCO Korea, and I am very fortunate to take command of this fine organization,” Bartell said.

In Cruz’s 24 months at MSCO Korea, the command’s operational tempo tripled as it provided logistics support to more than 240 MSC ships visiting 10 Republic of Korea ports.  Cruz also led the command’s participation in major Korea-defense exercises including Ulchi Freedom Guardian and Key Resolve. 

Cruz was also a champion of numerous charities in and around Busan.

“The Cruz family forged special relationships with our host nation, which will last for years to come,” said Denman.  In recognition of his efforts, Denman presented Cruz with the Meritorious Service Medal.

All honored guests were piped aboard Watson and, per Army tradition, both incoming and outgoing commanding officers participated in the passing the command flag, symbolizing the transfer of command. The ceremony concluded with a rendition of both the Army and Navy songs.

Watson’s civilian master Capt. Chris Larkin served as the ceremony’s host. Crewed by civilians working for a private company under charter to MSC, Watson is a Navy ship named for Army hero, Pvt. George Watson, who received the Medal of Honor for service during World War II. With more than 390,000 square feet of cargo space, Watson is ideally suited to transport military cargo anywhere around the world. 

MSC operates approximately 110 noncombatant, civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships at sea, conduct specialized missions, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world and move military cargo and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces.

Wrecked 'Em, Dang Near Killed 'Em...

If anyone knows the joke that goes along with the punchline I mention in the title of this blog post, please let me know. Even though it's probably one of the most infamous punchlines ever, I've still never heard the actual joke.  Anyway, the punchline reminds me of our last morning in Korea, where we were minding our own beeswax and making good time to the airport to sadly leave this great country.  When all of a sudden, we come to a screeching halt because of this:

If you look to the left of the picture, you'll see the wrecked tractor trailer jack-knifed on the highway.  This thing blocked traffic for hours.  The side walls of the highway were banged up and wreckage was strewn all over the place.  I felt like we were on the inside of a giant tumbled over Jenga game.  One of the policemen told us the driver of the truck was drunk.  The drunk driver hit some foreigners in another car.  One of the accident victims was still stuck and the other was in critical condition when I took this picture.

It took awhile just to get the emergency vehicles to the scene of the accident.  Haney and her father were kind enough to drive us to the airport.  She insisted actually.  Now that I look back on the situation, I'm very glad that she did.  Her father was awesome.  He was a real leader out there, directing traffic and having people move their cars so the ambulance could escape from that crowded scene to get the victim to the hospital.  The accident victim was in really bad shape too.  I don't know what happened to the person in the ambulance but I do know that Haney's father helped get them to the hospital a lot faster.

I didn't know the Jedi Mind Trick worked in Korea until that morning.  Haney's father used it with great efficiency that day.  He would motion people to move their cars... and they would move their cars.  He was also a heck of a driver.  He drafted closely behind the ambulance like a NASCAR stock car driver and passed a bunch of traffic.  They felt bad about us missing our plane, which wasn't a big deal at all.  We ended up re-booking a better flight route but more importantly, I think we ended up being bystanders in that accident rather than being in the accident ourselves.

We got a little bit of a late start that morning, departing our hotel five or ten minutes late.  Our best guess is that we missed the highway accident by only five or ten minutes.  We also got to spend a little more time with Haney, one of the sweetest girls you'll ever meet in your life.  She's a very faithful person and believes that we received some help that morning, especially considering the timing of everything.  I tend to agree with her.

 

That's Haney and her father on the right during a visit to Pier 8.

And now we're getting back into the groove here in the US.  Definitely feeling some reverse culture shock.  More on that later.  Until next time.

Airborne Blogging

So I'm chilling in first class on our flight from San Francisco to Atlanta.  Just finished my first John and Coke.  Most people call it Jack and Coke but when you know him as well as me, you call him John.  Anyway, life is good.  Never blogged while airborne so now I've got that check in the block.  There's that other airborne milestone too.  We won't go into that.  This is a family blog.

What a whirlwind the last couple of days have been.  Between the turnover with the new Commanding Officer, finishing up last minute work items, the Change of Command ceremony, personal good-byes and the hectic travel, it's been a memorable couple of days.

Okay, down to only a couple of minutes left on the battery so must type fast...

I'm back.  Battery died on me.  In Alabama now catching up with family.  Here's a quick snapshot of the last couple of hours - Def Leppard on the radio, $3 for a luggage dolly (free in Korea), actually stopping at red lights, birds chirping like it's going out of style, dogs lazily sunbathing on hot concrete, fresh blueberry muffins from Aunt Joy, pot roast from Aunt Annie, CJ enjoying Golden Flake potato chips, Atlanta Braves on TV and the boys chopping the head off a small snake with Uncle Don - life is good.  Off to a pool party now.  We're not in Korea anymore...

Can't Leave Korea?

So I'm blogging from the airport in Busan (Gimhae actually).  We got up at 4am, departed the hotel at 5am and should've flown out of Busan by now.  But dang, there was a massive accident on the highway involving a tractor trailer (drunk driver) and some foreigners.  Crushed walls on the side of the highway, debris all over the road and a jack-knifed truck blocking our path to the highway made for an eventful morning.  Needless to say, we didn't make our 6:50 am flight.

Hanee and her father, who were kind enough to take us to the airport, said that Korea really doesn't want us to leave.  Trucks are blocking our way, flights are getting cancelled - things just aren't lining up.  On the positive side, we got to spend more time with these two awesome people.  This is just another piece to our great adventure here in Korea.  Gotta love it.  Well, Carol reminds me that I should save the battery on the laptop.  Signing off for now...

BTW, what an awesome day yesterday was.  Will never forget it.

Living Out of a Bag

The horror - a blog post with no pictures!  I must remind you that our iMac is packed in a box on the way to the US so adding pics is a little more challenging right now.  I'll fix that real soon though.

It's that time again.  Like many deployable sailors, for a significant part of my Navy career, I live out of a bag.  Whatever I can stuff inside a Navy-issued green sea bag, that's what will sustain me for that six month (or longer) deployment.  Actually, we're able to take more gear than that but you should never let the facts get in the way of a good sea story.

Carol and the boys get a small taste of this kind of living when we move.  What to pack and what not to pack.  What toys do they want to play with for the next couple of weeks that won't take up too much space?  Some items to pack are no-brainers - laptop, iPod, camera, underwear, etc.  But then there's the stuff that's not so obvious that you should take with you - chargers for your electronics, USB adapter to transfer pictures, movies loaded up on iPods and laptops to keep the kids entertained, proper uniform items to check into the new command.  Other things like birth certificates, report cards and other school paperwork to register the kids into the new school.  There's also the fun stuff like goggles and sand toys to take advantage of the beach for the next ten days.  They are on summer break after all.  I remember prunes being an important item on previous moves when the boys were just babies.  We want the boys to poop, right?  And then there's the stuff you need to bring along if you wanna get funky - Barry White music, etc.  I won't go into detail here cause I'm thinking it might not pass Carol's editing.

So all of our stuff is packed away and we're now living in a hotel for the next couple of days.  My replacement arrives in Busan this weekend.  It'll be a fast and furious turnover all the way up to the big change of command ceremony on 25 June.

Another challenge while on the road - eating.  Carol is not proud of the fact that she had 3 buffet meals yesterday - the Seacloud Hotel breakfast buffet, the Party and Play buffet at the BEXCO for lunch and the awesome D-Maris seafood buffet at our farewell dinner last night.  I hope I can fit into my summer whites for the change of command ceremony this coming Friday.

Real time update:  Carol just said, "Man, why didn't I pack a lint brush?"  I'll add that to the pack list for the next move.  Gotta go.  Jake just flooded the bathroom.

Moving

Well, the two year adventure in Korea is just about over for the Cruzers.  On Friday, the movers came to take away the stuff that will be traveling back to the US via airplane.  This is the stuff that will arrive first.  In this shipment you should pack away stuff that will help you out the most when you arrive at your new location.  Things like basic kitchen stuff so you can cook, bathroom stuff so you clean yourself up (hard to shower without a shower curtain), lamps so you can see at night, some bedding so you can have a pillow fight and a chair or two so you can stay in shape by doing dips.  You get the picture.  The chair thing is actually pretty important if you want to sit down.  Not a big deal for Koreans.  There's always the floor. 

So this first shipment is the stuff that you'll get first. We made sure to put the iMac in this shipment. I'm already having withdrawals. That computer is like crack. I'm now slaving away on a tiny Acer laptop.  Woe is me. I think I will hug the iMac when we are reunited again.

It's like a massive ice cream headache trying to figure out all the stuff you'll need to keep with you for the next two months.  That's about how long it'll take to see our main household goods shipment in the US. 
Today, the movers came and packed out the rest of our household goods that will trek back to the US the old fashioned way - by boat.  Tomorrow will be the last of our move days with the final inspection of our apartment hopefully happening in the afternoon.  Then we live in a hotel for the next ten days.  Ah, Navy living.  Gotta love it.

The boys keeping themselves busy during the move.

Things went pretty smooth today.  The only negatives was a busted plate and the movers packing up our bedding and pillows even though we told them not to.  We still need that stuff because we're spending one more night here.  We were also disappointed that they didn't pack our booze.  It's hit or miss.  Sometimes they will.  Sometimes they won't.  I'm sure we'll have some takers that can help us unload our stash.  I also wasn't crazy how they packed our many frames.  Hopefully, they'll arrive undamaged.  Overall, we can't complain.  The Navy takes pretty good care of the move piece.

You'd think with as many moves as we've done, we'd have this down pat by now.  For the most part, we do.  We know that if you don't want something packed, you have to put it in the designated "non-pack" zone.  Maybe a bathroom or a closet with a sign that makes it clear that the stuff in there doesn't go with the movers.  If you don't do this, they will pack EVERYTHING.  We've had our trash cans filled with trash packed away once.  If it ain't nailed down, it's going.

We make sure to have plenty of drinks available for the movers.  We also buy the guys lunch.  Back in the States, pizza is always an easy thing.  We've learned that movers are kinda sick of the pizza thing and offer to get them whatever they want - chicken, burgers, whatever.  In Miami, we went out and got some good Cuban food.  I'm drooling just thinking about those plantains, flank steak and beans and rice.  Yeah, those guys took great care of our stuff.

I remember one challenging move in Rhode Island where there was a bunch of snow on the ground.  Those movers did their thing though and made it look easy.  No falls or slips even though they were lugging heavy furniture through the snow.  I'm always wary of that temp help that sometimes comes with the main moving crew.  Seems like it could just be some down on his luck dude they found on the docks that needs a few bucks.  The movers we've gotten in Korea though seem really professional - other than wearing slippers while moving heavy furniture.  Oh well.  If they lose a toe, they've got nine others.

Gotta go.  More move prep to do.  One random thought.  What to do with the blog now that we're leaving Korea?  Gotta think about that.

The Fred Paintings

Losing our dog Fred was tough for the entire family.  Our niece, Jena took it pretty hard too.  Her family was taking care of Fred in Suffolk, Virginia while we were doing our thing in Korea.  CJ and Jena have always been pretty tight.  They are both extremely bright and have similar interests in art, writing and other stuff.  Sometimes they'll get on the phone and just talk for hours.

As a form of therapy over losing our pet of 16 years, CJ created this painting tribute to Fred:

Little did we know, Jena created her own Fred masterpiece at the same time.  There was no prior coordination on this.  I guess the two cousins had the same thing weighing heavy on their hearts.  Here's Jena's artwork:

We found out about their artwork during a Skype video call.  First, CJ brought his Fred painting up to the webcam to show them what he had been working so hard on in Art club.  The reaction was of astonishment.  In a few seconds, I found out why.  Jena ran off to grab her painting.  When we saw her art via the wonderful invention of Skype, we all smiled and began to tear up.  It was a touching moment.  We miss you Fred.