Its been two months since I last wrote on this site, and until know I wasn't sure I was going to write any more. However, I received some saddening news and I felt I had to start again.

I have a very long military tradition in my family, in fact, it can be traced back to the founding of this country, and with little exception I have had a member of my family in every major conflict this country has seen. And with similarly few exceptions, those men (and women) have served in the Army. The matriarch of my family is my mother's mother, Harriet Parker, who married my Grandfather Hugh Parker, shortly after he returned from World War II. And I'm not sure how she did it, but my grandmother was able to memorize (and retain to this day) the entire family's involvement in the US Army (she's over 90 now, and has a better memory then I do). My grandfather passed away when I was only 3 or 4 years old, as a retired Lieutenant Colonel, so I never really got to meet the man whose photo hangs in my office today, triumphantly receiving a bronze star for his actions in Germany. However, I grew up hearing stories of the man from my grandmother, who would recite the events (or exploits as she would call them) of her husband, as if she had lived them herself.

When I joined the Army roughly nine months ago, I did it for many reasons, but none more important to me then carrying on the family's tradition, that had skipped a generation. My grandmother tried to make me promise that I would stay in until I surpassed my grandfather in rank. I'm not sure that is going to happen, but in November of 2010, my grandmother was there, at Ft. Benning where many of my family had served before, as I, and all of my classmates, finished our training and officially entered the Officer Corps of the United States Army. She told me that day, she was as proud of me then, as she had been of her husband the day he had returned from Europe. She also told me that she reads these blogs while she drinks her coffee in the morning, and she tells her friends and my uncles that she is "having coffee with her grandson, the lawyer officer." I found out this morning that doctors have found a tumor and that it has likely metastisized. I also learned that, just as she has been my entire life, my grandmother remains as chipper as always, probably because she knows she will soon be with her husband, the Field Grade Officer and gentleman in due course. So, after a two month gap, Grandma, this and the remaining entries are for you, so that you may continue to enjoy that "godly nectar" you so love, with your grandson the lawyer officer.

Since my last entry, quite a lot has happened. For most of April life continued as normal in the Legal Assistance shop at Camp Casey. However, as April came to a close, there were murmurs that I might be moved to a Trial Counsel position within 2ID, something I had been bugging my command about since the moment I arrived in country. At first it was just rumors, and then slowly, it all came to fruition in a rather speed way. On Friday, 1 April, I was informed that I would be taking the Trial Counsel position at Camp Humphreys, and that I needed to be cleared and moved South by the end of the following week. Not an easy task, particularly when you have to do it without the help of professional movers, like you do when you PCS. However, with the help of several paralegals, and two Government vehicles, I was able to clear Camp Casey (even the housing, which cost me $100 because I had to return the place to a clean it hadn't seen since the day the room was constructed) and I moved into the ridiculously spacious Captain's quarters at Camp Humphreys. I assumed my position as the Second Combat Aviation Brigades Trial Counsel immediately, and I was thrown headlong into 11, yes Eleven, General Court-Martials (GCMs) and the myriad of related tasks a TC must complete.

Fortunately, I was not alone. The old TC, CPT Montgomery (who I affectionately call Senei) was still there to help me get my feet underneath me. Josh had been in this position for a little less then a year, having come to Korea from Ft. Huachuca where he had been a TC as well. He is a wealth of knowledge, and between the two of us, we are able to keep our heads above water, most of the time. It is a very busy job, and I rarely get out of the office before 1900, and there have been nights where I was there until 2300 or later (last Friday night included). However, I feel as though I am back practicing the law I love, criminal/military justice. And in the next several months, I am going to be devouring GCMs like a fat kid at Thanksgiving.

The other really cool part of the move is that I am now at the Installation/Post of the future, with amenities I couldn't imagine at Camp Casey. Also, my colleagues at Humphreys are fantastic people, and unlike at Casey (where they are fantastic as well), we are all in the same office. So, we eat lunch together, we work out together, and we generally see each other over the weekend as well. But the coolest and most different part is that a Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) has all the cool helicopters the Army has to offer. So now when I go for a run around the airfield in the afternoons, I usually have a close encounter with a Chinook, or Apache. Just the other day, I was driving my car (yes, I bought a Joe-riffic Ford Escape) around the airfield, and I came across an apache hovering. Since no cars were around, I stopped just to watch and marvel at this machine. Just as I was settling in, the pilot snapped the birds tail around, pointing the nose of the helicopter squarely at my car. And for those who don't know, Apache's have a 30 caliber "cannon" on the nose, that moves where ever the pilot is looking. Well, in this case, the barrel of the weapon started shaking at me from left to right, which meant the pilot was shaking his head. I got the hint and drove on.

In the last two months, I have also made another visit to Thailand. This time to the Southern portion near Phuket, and the tiny Island of Koh Phi Phi. This vacation was significantly more pleasureable then the last trip to Bangkok. I had a number of friends meet me there, and we had an amazing time. i have also continued to explore Seoul on the weekends. CPT Kumar has been more than gracious and we have been living it up.

This Thursday, my parents are coming for a two week get-away in Asia. They come to Korea first, and then the three of us are spending two weeks in Vietnam and Cambodia. I know, you're wondering how I can take this time off with all these GCMs on the horizon. First, my Sensei can handle it as all of my cases are under control at the moment, and Second, this trip was planned before the idea of me moving to Humphreys had even been hatched, so it was part of the deal and everyone has known about it. I do feel guilty, but I think I will survive the emotional toll it will inevitably NOT take on me.

Beyond that, Korea remains an interesting place to be stationed, and with each day, I get a little more comfortable with my position. I did AIP, which means I have extended my stay in Korea for an additional year, in exchange for $300 extra dollars a month. But really, I did it so that I can continue to be the TC at 2CAB for at least 18 months, and really get all the criminal law experience I can handle. I'm sure there is more that I could write about, but its late 2300 and I have my first PT test since training in the morning, and though I'm not nervous about passing it, I don't think I will "crush" it like in the days of old. However, once that is completed, it'll be back to the office, and a very long day of preparing and getting ahead.

Grandma, I love you and hope your coffee is delicious. Yours truly, The Lawyer Officer Gentlemen Grandson.