Tag: ARMY DECISION

Hello again! Today my wife's relatives left after a week of vacation in Florida. I am beat! We took them around town and the parks, including Busch Gardens in Tampa. I got sick but kept driving on, the mission had to be accomplished. Only God knows when they will have another chance to come to Florida on vacation.

This is one of my favorites pictures of myself. It was taken outside Camp Humphreys, Korea, back in 1988. I was assigned to the 516th Personnel Services Company. This is a tour that is dreaded and loved as well by many. Some people dislike the distance and the difference in culture, while others just love it because of the same reason! Personally, I got mix feelings about it. I was hoping to be asigned to Germany or Panama, but Korea proved to be a test and a blessing for me. There was a lot of work due to my MOS, I was one of two soldiers with the MOS. In addition, we had training constantly. And live as a Private in the Army is not easy. Well, to make long story short, by the end of my tour I was a Specialist (in 14 months, no bad!), had an Army Achievement Medal, A Commendation Medal, and an Overseas Tour Ribbon (a Korean Defense Service medal will be added two decades later). No bad for a firt tour. and nno, I did not party, I behaved very well, and got married with my fiancee' once I got back to the states. This, 21 years ago...

Well, staty "tuned" for more. See ya'!

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It is sometimes hard to believe that this is actually my life. I am a commander of troops. Wow. Over the last year my focus has been generating a brand new Network Support Company (Go Cougs!) while simultaneously getting them ready for war. It is my job, in conjunction with my awesome First Sergeant, to ensure they have the technical training they need to accomplish our mission and the tactical training they need to bring them home safely from Iraq. It is an awesome responsibility and a far cry from ruffian I once was.

This blog will be about my experience getting my company ready for deployment and our adventures there, but first a very brief bio.

My mother is a Swede whose father owned a farm smack dab in the middle of the White Earth Reservation in Northern Minnesota. My biological father was a Soldier and gave me my Korean heritage but it was my step-father, a Native American from White Earth, who raised me as his daughter, along with two brothers and four sisters. We grew up with polkas and pow-wows. Those two combined cultures gave us the ability to find joy and amusement in just about any situation and taught me a respect and love for simple things. These traits have served me well in my 15 years in the Army.

I didn’t grow up on the rez, rather on the fringes of it. Yet, during the early years my family depended on the rez resources to get along. Every time I stand in line at the DFAC it reminds me of standing in line at a decrepit warehouse waiting for our share of the commodities. I hated it then, but it makes me smile now, knowing how far my family has come and knowing that it was that strength that pushed me to be the Soldier I am today.

My mom always pushed me to become educated. I was lucky enough to attend a fairly progressive school and have been playing with computers since I was five. During high school I was given free reign by a great teacher to “play” with them all I wanted, as long as I could fix what I broke. I was teased often for being a geek but now the Army pays me to be a geek and has given me an entire company of like-minded people to serve beside. Talk about the circle of life.

My Army timeline is:
March 1994 – Enlisted in the MN ARNG as a 31F
-Basic training at Fort Jackson, SC
Sep 1996-May 2000 – MN ARNG and Moorhead State University
May 2000 – Commissioned on Active Duty
2001-2002 – XO in Korea
2002-2005- XO, Space Ops Officer
- deployed to Kuwait ISO First Marine Expeditionary Force
2005- present – Fort Lewis
BDE S1, MI BN S6, MI BDE S6, NSC Commander
-deployed to Iraq, getting ready to go again

It has been a long journey (15 years) but I’ve finally landed the best job in the Army. As a commander your only job is to make the people around you great. Sure, a lot of late nights and headaches (not to mention extremely long meetings) go into it, but overall it’s pretty awesome. Welcome to my journey as a commander of troops preparing for combat.

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When I was very little, we’re talking 2 maybe 3 years old, I would curl up on the basement couch with my dad and watch the movie Bambi over and over and over again. My dad would nod off (perhaps he didn’t find Thumper as an intriguing of a character as I did) only to be awoken by myself. This cycle repeated itself time and time again. I would sit glued to the happenings on the TV screen as my dad would “check for holes in his eyelids.”

My dad, oh my wonderful dad, what a character he is. This is the man who, when the mailman pulled up to the house, taught me how to say “thank you” in German and later, taught me how to cuss in the same language. This is the man who upon the killing of a spider, would run after me with it in his outstretched hand. This is also the man who told me to “walk it off” whenever I fell down and scraped my knees.

The Sarg, as I so fondly refer to my father at times, is my hero. He has given up so much for his family throughout the many years he served in the Army. When I was younger, I did not take the time to appreciate this fact. I did not want to do what my dad did (typical teenage mindset). Now as I grow older, the realization of what the Sarg went through is humbling. It is because of this that my father is my hero and one of the main reasons I too joined the Army.

When I was a little kid, I remember watching my dad shine his black leather boots before leaving for work in the morning. Or I remember the many trips to post for some Army function. I thought it was the coolest thing to sit in the seat of a helicopter that Dad flew in. There’s a photo of my brother in Dad’s flight gear that makes me smile every time I look at it.

Dad would play H-O-R-S-E with me out in the driveway or catch in the backyard. He was my soccer coach (bless his heart for putting up with teenage girls) or was taking me to my brother’s soccer practices to rough up the boys (“Kayley, terror in the backfield,” he would say). He was in the stands during my swim meets and marching band competitions. He was there for my basic training and college graduations. Even though the Army required much of his time, he made more than enough of an effort to show his children that he cared what we were doing.

Dad taught me how to drive, with my first lesson being learning how to park his pickup truck. He taught me how to ride a bike and how to enjoy a good German beer. Now, when I need help and advice, he’s there on the other line telling me to stay positive, where to take my car to get it fixed, and no, that guy is not worth my time. He tells me that I look most beautiful without makeup and when I’m back visiting, invites me out to the deck to talk over beers.

Most importantly, my dad lets me know that he’s proud of me. Well Sarg, I’m proud of you. I’m proud to be your daughter. I’m proud to wear the same uniform as you. If I can find a guy who is half the man my father is, then I’ll know I’ve got a good one.

My dad and me on Family Day during Basic Training at Fort Jackson, SC.

My dad during deployment to Iraq.

The Sarg receiving the Legion of Merit before he retired last year from the Army.

Just Dad and me, all smiles!

Happy Father’s Day, Dad. I love you, hooah!

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First, thanks for reading the blog and congratulations on starting law school this year. It’s going to be a fun, challenging time and my most basic advice is to really enjoy it! Push yourself to try/learn new things, find subjects and activities you enjoy, and use this time to get better-connected with your wife, family, friends, and peers. Three years will absolutely fly by. 

Ok, now to (what I hope is) the more useful advice – or, the basic advice in context.

1.  Beyond your core curriculum, take classes you’re interested in. Don’t take classes you really couldn’t care less about just because you think you should or because they might be a bar exam subject. (I learned this lesson the hard way with Corporations.) Taking classes you are interested means you’re more likely to do the reading, pay attention, give the material some real thought, and just plain try harder. End result: you’ll have more fun (see basic advice above) and your grades will likely be better. One of my favorite classes at law school was Admiralty Law – yes, the law of the sea! It was completely unrelated to my current practice, but I was interested and I enjoyed spending the time to do the reading and think about what was going on in class. (And I did far better on the exam than I did in Corporations.) By the way, if you’re worried about the bar, I recommend a bar prep class after you graduate. BarBri, Piper, and others are in business (and making money) for a reason; spending the cash will be worth it – to either give you what you need to know or to build your confidence enough that you actually use the knowledge you spend all that time/money at law school to cram into your head.
2. Do more than just go to class. Certainly for the JAG Corps (and probably for many other businesses, firms, organizations, etc.), a strong applicant has more than just grades on their resume. You should get involved with your law school and/or your community. You don’t have to do everything and join every group at school, but do something. Find something you enjoy and spend a little time outside of class and studies pursuing it. This can be tough with family commitments (and a new baby) at home, but see what you can do. You’ll be able to add a little personality to your resume and will just be a more well-rounded person when this is all over. 
3. Don’t take it all too seriously. Go to class, do your homework, do some volunteer/school club time, and then make sure you spend time with your family and with your friends. Don’t talk about US v. Name That Case every time you get together with your peers at school. Make connections that are more than book-deep. Take a little time off here and there. Go out. Have a beer. Relax.
4. Stay fit. You don’t have to compete in Ironman triathlons or World’s Strongest Man competitions, but do something to stay in shape. It will help you take a little time away from the books, helps relieve stress, and will make those sleepless nights with the new baby a little easier (not easy, but easier).
5. Keep your options open. You want to join the JAG Corps now (and I think it’s a great plan), but stay tuned to other possibilities that will present themselves during your time at law school. Through a class, club, or summer internship, you may get turned on to a completely different line of work that you hadn’t considered before but is actually perfect for you. If after three years the JAG Corps is really where you want to be, you’ll know for sure and you’ll be able to tell me why.
6. Sell yourself. Ok, I wasn’t going to include this, but I think it’s important to know and to practice. I don’t mean you should be a shameless self-promoter. When you apply for jobs/internships/grants/whatever, don’t focus entirely on what you will get out of it; tell the prospective employer/etc. what you bring to the table, what you have to offer the organization. Describe your unique skills, background, perspective, ideas, etc. In the Recruiting Office here, I see hundreds of applications, and the vast majority of applicants spend their entire personal statement talking about what they expect to get out of being a Judge Advocate. It’s not necessary. I’m a Judge Advocate and so is everyone on the selection board; we know from our own experience what you’ll get out of it. What they need to know is why they should choose you, how will you make the JAG Corps better? (I usually save this bit of advice for one-on-one conversations/interviews with folks who show some genuine interest in getting into the JAG Corps (as opposed to just finding a paycheck). I offer it now because I think it’s pretty uniformly useful (see #5).)

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I overheard a program on National Public Radio called This I Believe. It got me thinking...

I believe that a strong cup of coffee and my newspapers are the perfect start to a morning.

I believe that dreams are worth pursuing. If they were so easy to make come true, they wouldn't be worth it.

I believe in buying the shoes even though my rent is due a few days later; life's too short.

I believe in that rush of adrenaline that I get when I experience something new. I love that feeling!

I believe in not having excuses. Suck it up.

I believe that everyone deserves equal rights.

I believe that joining the Army was the best decision I ever made, hands down.

I believe that guys that drive big trucks are compensating for other things they may be lacking.

I believe that you should never stop learning.

I believe that someday the Mavs will win the NBA Championship and not choke halfway through the final round of the Playoffs.

I believe in furthering my education, hello grad school!

I believe in never burning bridges and always having a smile on my face.

I believe that false motivation is better than no motivation.

I believe that all my hard work will someday pay off.

I would like to believe that there's some special guy out there for me but currently, that seems pretty farfetched.

I believe in enjoying the little things like lemonade on a sunny day, sending a friend a birthday card, etc.

I believe in my country.

I believe in a good cold beer on a Friday night...and I stress the word "good."

I believe in attention to detail.

I believe that I am supposed to do something great.

I believe in praying every night.

I believe that I-45 is the bane of my existence.

I believe that living in Mexico changed my life for the better because of the memories and friendships made and the lessons learned.

I believe that a guy that can't handle my firecracker personality and Hooah Army spirit isn't worth my time.

I believe in getting out of my comfort zone. I can't wait to go skydiving!

I believe in being a role model.

I believe that God only gives me challenges that I can overcome and that He will give me strength if I ask Him.

I believe in pedicures and mimosas with my mom are well worth the money.

I believe my family is amazing.

I believe in me.

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Hello and welcome to my second entry! Keep in mind, my thoughts don’t occur in a vacuum, once I start writing, I might go off on tangents, but I’ll try to keep it organized! I would like to talk about my ROTC experiences and a little bit about my time in the National Guard. I have been in the Guard for 6 years and I have one combat deployment under my belt. The badge that you see on my uniform in my last entry is the CIB. That is the Combat Infantry Badge. It used to be that the badge was awarded to infantry soldiers under direct fire, and returning fire, but the requirements have loosened a bit. Those that serve in a “Combat Zone” such as Iraq or Afghanistan may receive a CIB after their deployment. I actually was under fire during my deployment, which you will hear about in future blogs.

I returned from my deployment in June of 2005. It was probably one of the best summers I can remember. I had plenty of money saved up from the deployment, around $30,000, tax free :), so I didn’t have to find a summer job. It was great to see my family again. We exchanged hugs and wiped off a tear or two. It felt great to be home and with the people that care about me. I could not have done what I did without their constant support. They sent me boxes of goodies, and letters of inspiration. I knew that they had me in their thoughts while I was away, and that helped me get through the tough days.

That summer I caught up with old high school friends and started to apply for college at Minnesota State University Mankato. I really liked the MSU campus. It was a friendly atmosphere, and the buildings had a modern look to them. Once I started going to class, I realized I had made the right decision because I loved my time at school. I was meeting new people and learning new things. It was a great time and I have had many good memories. I am convinced that everyone should be able to experience “college life”, and the National Guard, Army(after being active), or ROTC, is a great avenue of approach to do that. You meet people you never would have, you have a sense of pride for your school, and a sense of belonging to something great, much like the military. And at the same time, if you play your cards right, you should have to pay very little if anything for that great experience. Here is a bit of a breakdown with the following considerations:

11B(Infantry) Qualified

15-month Deployment

Enrolled Full-Time in a qualified College

Enrolled and Contracted in ROTC

Submit a FAFSA

Monthly G.I Bill: $1100 (Because of Veteran Status, the FAFSA is based on your income, not your parents)

Drill Pay: $269 a month (After taxes E-5 pay rate)

ROTC Stipends: ($400-500 a month, depending on what year you are in, I make $500 as a senior)

$1869 a total month

FTA- (Federal Tuition Assistance) $4500 a year (Can be used for all college expenses

STR- (State Tuition Reimbursement) this is from the Guard, and if FTA does not cover any costs, STR picks up the rest. They pay the rate up the to U of M’s tuition.

At the time I did not even think about ROTC. Because I really had no idea what it was. When you are in ROTC, you are considered a “Cadet”. You don’t deploy because technically you are not in the Army yet. You can be in the National Guard still, and a Cadet, but you still will not deploy, because the Army does not want to interrupt your training to become an officer. ROTC is a great path to become an officer, and SMP (Simultaneous Membership Program) is even better. While I obtain the skills and knowledge during my ROTC classes and training, I am able to apply those skills and that knowledge as a leader of a rifle platoon in the National Guard. On top of that, receive all of the fiscal benefits that go along with it.

I am in my senior year of ROTC. That means I have completed the one main requirement of every cadet which is LDAC, The Leadership Development and Assessment Course. I will talk about LDAC in further detail in my next blog. I feel I may be exceeding my word limit soon, so my next blog, I will start off right where I left and begin talking about ROTC in more detail. Hope you can read it!

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My name is Ayan Mobley and I am a Specialist in the United States Army. If you can believe it I did four years in the Marine Corps. I will not say former Marine because once a Marine always a Marine. I joined the Army about a month after I graduated from college in June of 2006. Finishing school was one of my many accomplishment because of the fact that it took me longer to finish because of my deployment while on active duty with the United States Marine Corps( GI BILL is a wonderful thing).

I graduated with a B.S. in Social Science from Radford University located in South Western Virginia. Virginia happens to be the state in which I was born in and spent the majority of my child hood.

I had not idea what I wanted to do after college. I had done the Marine Corps for about four years and wanted to do something different with my life, so I decided to join the Army.

I attended my Military Occupational Specialty at FT. Jackson South Carolina to be awarded the MOS of 42A, which is Human Resources Specialist. I also attended to Postal Operations Course to receive the F5 additional designator.

I graduated number three in my class and was give Korea as my first duty station. I have to admit that I have been away from my parents for extended periods of time because of deployments but I never imagined being station overseas.

I came to Korea and was assigned to 2nd Infantry Division and was sent to Camp Humphrey’s to work in 2CAB S-1. I can tell you from my experience that Aviation units are really different. Korea grew on my so I decided to extend for a year. At the end of 2007. I was given to opportunity gain a job working at 2ID Headquarters a Camp Red Cloud, and that is where I have been every since.

African Art Museum in Korea

Me playing in the water park at Korean theme park

MWR sponsored trip to Korean amusement park

Italian food in Korea

I have the opportunity to be exposed to a lot of things professionally that the average E4 does not experience in a normal line unit. I have worked with various aspects of my MOS included working with the Command Sponsorship Program, and Personnel Readiness statistics that include the whole division. At this point and time I am now working the postal aspect of my MOS due to my identifier (I knew it was eventually going to happen). I am always getting career advice from Majors and Lt Colonels, and Senior NCO’s that I see on a daily basis, even if I only see them when they come to check their mail.

I can’t say that every day has been the greatest, but the Army has given me the opportunity to provide for myself and see Korea, which is absolutely beautiful. What other job actually pays you to travel around the world, and puts you in an atmosphere where you can shop till you drop, or take a hike on


Me and my truck

Me standing in N. Korea during DMZ tour

Taking a hike in Korea with my supervisor

While in Korea, technology has given me an opportunity to stay in touch with my love ones because family, as well as family tradition is very important to me. I am able to call my parents on a daily basis. I come from a religious family and the Sunday services here at Camp Red Cloud, give me the opportunity to look after my spiritual health.
I plan to take full advantage of what the Army has to offer me. For right now the Army is my life, and I plan to re-enlist, at least until the economy is fixed. The Army is not the easiest job in the world but from my opinion, there are more positives and negatives.

Me at church

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When I was little, I had more Barbies than I could count. I recall a birthday Barbie with her long blond hair and pink dress covered in sparkling glitter, almost cupcake like. My favorite Barbie though was the complete opposite of birthday Barbie; her blond hair was not waist length but cropped short and instead of a pink tulle gown, she wore black combat boots and a flight suit. I can almost guarantee that this Barbie was not purchased by my grandma who applauded the fact that I would sport her jewels whenever I visited her in Missouri. I have a hunch that my military Barbie was given to me by my father when he was an Aviator at Fort Hood, probably one of the few Barbies my dad actually bought for me himself.

I write about this because not only does Barbie turn 50 on 09 March but because I really believe that having many Barbies allowed me to believe that I could be anything I wanted to be. Now, I don’t think that my decision to join the Army stems solely from the fact that my dad bought me a Barbie that sported a faux leather jacket with patches on the shoulders. Rather I think that one memory added to my choice to go Hooah.

This weekend I have drill. I will home tonight from work and iron my ACUs (yes, I am “that” soldier) but know how lucky I am to wear those ACUs, the uniform that hangs off my thin frame but gives me a sense of pride that I never had in myself before. Next weekend as I stand in the Houston Bush International Airport wearing the uniform I so dearly love, I hope some little girl catches a glimpse of me. I hope that someday she’ll have a memory of a tiny woman in uniform standing as tall as she can because she’s a soldier. Perhaps that memory will lead her to realize that she too can be whatever she wants because I have yet to see another short haired, combat boot wearing Barbie out there.

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Hello from sunny San Antonio. I am trying blog regularly. I know during my last blog, I discussed the HPSP scholarship briefly. Today, I am going to talk about why I stayed in the Army.

I had a long obligation to the Army. Tax payers paid for my undergraduate degree (BS in Microbiology from the University of Georgia), my medical degree (MD from the Uniformed Services University), and paid me about 70,000 dollars a year (in today’s dollars) during residency which I completed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Internal Medicine.

I completed my obligation to the tax payers and the Army about 2 years ago. In medical school and residency, I never thought about getting out of the Army. Like I said, 2 years ago I had to make a choice to get out or stay in. Ultimately, I decided to stay. Why? As an internist, civilian pay was not that much more than Army pay once healthcare insurance and malpractice was factored in. The pay difference was not enough for me to leave the Army. I started looking at jobs available in my area for internal medicine docs. For the most part, I could be a hospitalist or a clinic doc. I love seeing patients, but seeing patients every 15 minutes – 20 minutes forever did not seem that fun to me. I considered being a hospitalist, but again, I would take care of a team of 20-30 patients for 2 weeks, get 1 week off and start the entire process over again. Didn’t seem fun. In the Army, I get to do a variety of jobs. Every day is not the same. Sometimes I supervise residents on the inpatient service for 2 weeks or supervise them in their outpatient clinics. I see my own clinic or perform consultant duties on our inpatient consult team. Finally, I realized I was only 5 years away from retiring. Retired I will make about 60,000 dollars a year. I realize that is not doctor pay, but I have no education debt. I know that once a doctor has been practicing 20 years, they have paid off their debt. Not only, is my debt paid off, but my house and cars will be paid off. Two of my 3 kid will be through college so I could really retire and not work if I wanted. I retire at 46 so I don’t know if I will be ready to do nothing, but it is nice that doing nothing is an option.

Enough blogging for today.

Have a great day.

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I recently listened to an interview with Jack Welch that I found fascinating. He is widely regarded as one of corporate America’s best. One thing stuck out in particular was when asked about the importance of developing your subordinates, he said “it’s what I believe to my toes, it’s really about them. The radiation of their success flows onto you and you glow.”

He then went on to discuss how junior managers have no conception of this. Our schooling system all the way until graduate school is all geared towards personal development, there is no emphasis on developing others. ROTC of course is one of the only organizations where developing others is institutionalized. I got tremendous satisfaction when I saw a team that did not work well together gradually meld into an effective force where all the cadets did their individual best but also understood what their purpose was in the group.

This brings up a conversation I have had with many of my friends about my military experience. For many of them, they have reservations about joining because they think that you have to disassociate from your individual self. In my experience, what the military is trying to do is get you to widen your identity to include the entire team. You still maintain your own identity, but at the same time you realize it is not only about yourself. If anything, it allows you develop a healthier identity because it allows you to look at yourself from the outside and develop some self-awareness.

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