New and Next...See you in Korea

Hi Again,

If you look closely at the new picture I posted, you will notice that Corey is now wearing glasses. He went for a routine exam and well, his parent's genes finally caught up with him. The army gave him some what I hear are pretty ugly frames and will supply him with prescription inserts for various gear. Corey did have the chance to choose his own new look and can display it when off duty.

The big news is that Corey will be posted next at Camp Casey in Korea. We believe it is for one year. This is an 'overseas' home base as opposed to a 'deployment' to a war zone. He does receive hazard pay and will train constantly to be ready to go if called. Sometimes joint Korean and US forces have been sent to the mid-east but who knows? We don't even know the full description of Corey's assignment other than second infantry. Corey says that his work in Korea will consist mostly of sick call and maybe working at the base infirmary.

I've begun to do a little research about Korea and am trying to understand why we have such a military presence there. North Korea, which as we all know has nuclear capabilities, is still a huge threat to overrun South Korea. There are several US bases in Korea and Camp Casey is in the area north of Seoul and close to the DMZ. It is freezing in winter and hot in summer, but Korea in general sounds like an OK place to be. (At least to me - Corey is not so sure.) He does know a few other medics who are going there so perhaps some familiar faces will help.

At the moment Corey is due to leave for Korea on June 10. He will do what is called 'home town recruiting' for 2 weeks where he works in the office where he enlisted. Then he will have a week or so of real vacation before he goes overseas. His friends in Needham are counting the days until he is home, so I hope it will be a hard earned and much deserved fun and relaxing time for him.

Laurie