2007 Pacific Region Veterinary Command's Technician Conference

Bi annually our command holds a conference for the technicians working here. Since the Kadena AB vet clinic is the largest military clinic in the world we hold it down there. That means a free trip down there in Hawaii-like climate.

The conference was great and I learned and re-learned alot of stuff for use in our clinic up here, but having them be so big and us so small alot of the devices I learned on down there we couldn't even fathom getting them in Sasebo. It's alot different seeing approximately 100 paatients a day compared to our 100 a month. But overall I walked away with a bit more knowledge so everything was alright.

After the conference each day we ventured out in town to see what Okinawa had to offer. There are about a dozen bases down there so the island is very Americanized, which suited me just fine especially when it came to eat. We tried to go jet skiing one afternoon but were saddened that we needed a license and the class was two days long, two more than we had time for. We settled for 9 holes of golf though and had a blast on the new course.







Our final day there we had a 'cultural day' where we got to go to one of the cultural centers on Okinawa. We went to Okinawa World which was way down on the southern part of the island. There was a cave that stretched the entire length of the park and alot of agricultural products. Glass blowing demonstrations, snake shows, and taiko (sp) drummers also helped pass the time. The one thing I was interested in was the distillery for a drink called Habu-sake. The Habu is a poisonous snake that lives on the island and in some areas on mainland Japan. They take these snakes and preserve them then put them into the bottle to make it a little more potent. It is rare to find it on mainland and when you do it's rather expensive to drink. I got my souvenir bottle and was glad to see where this stuff comes from.

I got lucky and was able to attend this conference twice ('05, '07). Hopefully I'll be able to make it down there again one last time before I leave.

In the cave:






The Habu sake, yes you drink this stuff, even with the snake in it......

Birthday Poker

Whats the best way to improve your chances of winning in poker? Play on your birthday!!! There was a big tournament scheduled on the 10th and I couldn't be lured away from the game even on a night in which I should be celebrating my birth, but oh well. It looked like an early night but I kept pushing the envelope (who wouldn't with such a thing as birthday luck) and wound up taking 2nd place out of 24 people.....maybe next year I'll try this in Vegas (?????)

In Like A Lion Out Like A Lamb?

Not this year.

I don't know if this saying about March weather is just a Kansas thing, but while in the gym it came to me that this has not been the case so far. We have had the two nicest days back to back so far this year. Spring fever hit hard yesterday when we got a call from headquarters saying we could cut out of work early if all the work was done. The sun was out and it was impossible to just sit inside and look out so I just took a little stroll around town. Today just being outside in the 70 degree weather was nice enough. I walked out to the park with my Anthropology homework and was in no rush to get it done, alot of other people were out there already.. The cherry blossom trees are about to start blooming, I saw one the other day already there. March is the best time of year......

Finally

After two years of being promotable and 24 months of agony I finally saw my name on the promotion list that comes out every month. After missing the cutoff on numerous occasions I didn't know what to think when I saw that two others were picked up as well. For our MOS thats a big number since I think the Army has picked up 10 (maybe less) in the last year. So anyways, SGT (seargent, E5) Kersting is the new title. Yesterday was the first day wearing the chevrons (shown below) and almost every one that I knew who saw me noticed it right away. People recognize the 3 stripes alot more than the upside down teardrop I have been wearing. I now am part of the NCO (Non-Commisioned Officer) Corp which is considered the backbone of the Army and couldn't be any happier. Later in the day I was still answering the phone as 'Specialist Kersting', but I guess 4 years of saying that is a hard habit to break. Anyways, Thanks to everyone who has already congradulated me. This great year just keeps on getting better.........