Frequently asked questions

Hey guys, I thought I'd take a moment with this entry and try to answer a few common questions we've had lately. I realize keeping up with a military family is a little difficult as to where we are and where we're going. So I hope this answers some of the questions.


1. How long will you be in Virginia?

We will pack up the Range Rover and make the 1100 mile journey back to Kansas City a week from Thursday, April 9th. The intent is to get Shelly back so she can complete our house hunting in Manhattan, Kansas. I’ll fly back to DC on Easter Sunday, April 12th, and spend my final two weeks here before finishing up on April 24th. I’ll fly back to KC that night.

2. What course have you been taking in Virginia?

I’m taking a course within the Army’s Command and General Staff College called Intermediate Level Education, consisting of several modules of instruction. It is a masters level military course that all Army officers attend between their 10th and 15th year of service. It’s also designed to give officers a break and time to focus on family before heading back out to the force.

3. Did you sell your house in Kansas City?

Unfortunately, no. Today marks the one year mark it has been on the market. We switched realtors recently to give it a fresh look and have designed a new marketing strategy. That combined with the upcoming spring and recent housing tax benefits approved gives up hope it will sell this spring/summer.

4. Where do you plan to live while stationed at Fort Riley?

We’ve been house hunting on the internet the past couple of weeks. Well, Shelly is doing 98% of it. Since we’ll still be paying our mortgage in Kansas City we plan to rent something relatively simple in the Manhattan or Junction City, Kansas area. If the right deal came along and it was more economical to buy something, we’d consider buying there as well. We’ll know more in a couple of weeks when Shelly goes there to visit some potential houses. Regardless, there will be room for visitors both there and when we’re in KC on weekends.

5. What does Obama’s plan for Iraq and Afghanistan mean to you?

The units identified to make up the increase in troop levels in Afghanistan have tentatively been identified. Our organization at Fort Riley is not part of that as of now. As for Iraq, the dust is still settling in the Pentagon on what the drawdown means for units projected to deploy to Iraq. For the past few months our unit at Fort Riley has been projected to deploy to Iraq in early 2010. Shelly and I are still preparing for that. But I can tell you that being 5 miles from the Pentagon the past 3 months and around many people who work there that it’s a little unclear right now as far as the composition of the “residual force” you’ve heard about on TV. A significant change in planned units for 2010 happened this past week in fact. As of right now we are projected to deploy. But the powers that be in the Pentagon are still shuffling around different courses of action. So more to follow.

6. Where will Shelly live if you are deployed and how long will you be gone?

Right now, our plan is to lease something for 8 months around Manhattan/Fort Riley if possible. We’re working with a few folks who are willing to do an 8 month lease. If so, Shelly plans to move next January back in with or near her parents’ house in Wakeeney, KS, about 2 hours west of Fort Riley. If our house in KC is still on the market by next January then she may just move back in there. Little too early and too many variables to make a decision on that as of yet. As for deployment times, it would be a maximum of 12 months. A Presidential directive last year dictated the maximum time deployed would be 12 months. I’d come home about midway through for a couple of weeks.

7. Will your job at Fort Riley require you to travel like you have in the past few years?

No, I’ll be back to a normal Army job and will travel some but not nearly like I have been. And that’s a good thing. We’re looking forward to getting into a routine where we are all home together each night. And we look forward to visiting friends and family on weekends. This job, while challenging, won’t be quite as demanding as the assignment I just left at Fort Leavenworth. The hours will be longer but I still plan to be home each day at a reasonable time for dinner with the family.

8. How long will you be stationed at Fort Riley and what are your plans after that?

As of today, our plan is to move about two years from now, in the spring of 2011. Our primary plan is to seek another assignment at Fort Leavenworth which would put us back in the Kansas City area. That would be my last assignment before retirement and that would posture us to remain in the Kansas City area after that.

9. When do you plan to retire?

I currently have over 20 years of military service and 15 of that is active duty. So my retirement date with 20 years of active service would be April 2014. If my calculations are correct I will retire prior to Anderson beginning kindergarten, and that is a good thing for a stable school environment for him.

10. So what will you do then?

Well, the military offers a great retirement pension. I’ll still get over 50% of my current base pay after retirement. So I’ll just need to find something to offset the other 50% in order maintain our current lifestyle. One possibility that is easy is to move into a civilian contractor job on Fort Leavenworth and establish our “forever home” in the Kansas City area. But if I wanted to do something completely different I have actually given serious thought into working in the organization of one of Kansas City’s professional sports teams. Just not sure it would pay what I would require. But we’ll see.


So there you have it. I apologize for the wordiness. But please let me know if there is anything that hasn't been addressed. And we'll keep you updated as we continue this transition. We look forward to seeing many of ya'll soon!

Mike
Springfield, VA

Papa and Granny Essary visit DC

Last weekend, we had a great time hosting my mom and dad from Oklahoma. This was their second visit to DC as they visited here last summer. So we had the opportunity to take them to a few places not quite as touristy while also taking them back to some of the sites they wanted to see again.

We spent a beautiful Saturday morning here at the National Cathedral, 2nd largest Cathedral in the U.S. and 6th largest in the world. It was the site of the National Prayer Service hosted by President Obama back in January and also where President Reagan's funeral was held, among other historic events.Saturday afternoon we visited the National Mall and the monuments.

Jefferson MemorialLincoln MemorialThe Reflecting Pool and Washington MonumentMy dad showed me the Vietnam Wall. As a combat veteran of Vietnam he was pointing out some of the names of buddies of his who died there....including his best friend in Vietnam, who took dad's place on point one day and was killed on patrol.On the way back to the hotel we stopped in Old Towne Alexandria for dinner at this Colonial restaurant, Gadsby's Tavern. It was built in the 1770s and is famous for the many presidents who have eaten there, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams.The restaurant is lit by gaslight lamps and the servers dress in Colonial period dress. Here, Anderson receives a serenade of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".When we returned to the room Daphne had gotten into my mom's bag. If you recall from earlier posts and our stories, she has a habit of snooping in bags while we're gone and she loves sweets.Final tally included 40 jelly beans, a package of peanut butter and crackers, a portion of three different packs of gum, the top of a plastic bag of coupons, and a York peppermint chocolate bar. And believe it or not, she ate an antacid tablet. Guess the pill helped because she showed no signs of sickness the following day.

And finally, after church on Sunday we went to a pet show. These pics are a little blurry but it was awesome watching these dogs in the distance competition.
A long post but a busy weekend. Great to see ya'll again!
Mike
Springfield, VA

An Easter peek

Hi, sorry for the delay. We enjoyed hosting my parents for several days and I'm just catching up. I'll post pics of their visit next but thought I'd better get these posted first.

These Easter pics were taken a couple of weeks ago when Mandy was here but he's growing so fast he may have sideburns and a goatee by Easter. So we thought we'd better put these on here now.That's another one of those pictures that will likely show up in his high school yearbook or his wedding video one of these days, humiliating him once again. But until then, enjoy little Anderson with his bunny ears.These were taken after church at the condo of our friends Matt and Jayna in Arlington, Virginia (just down the road from here).
As usual, always smiling.
Mike
Springfield, VA

Off to see the Wizards

Yesterday afternoon we all went to our first professional basketball game. Of all the sporting events I have been to in my life I had never seen an NBA game until yesterday. So we saw the Washington Wizards take on the Sacramento Kings.The combination of those being the two worst teams in the league and the fact it was raining and cold meant a good chance to get awesome seats at a great price. And that's exactly what we did. After about 15 minutes on the internet I found front row seats on the floor at center court right behind the scorers table. A 20 minute subway ride later and a short conversation and money exchange with a hippie looking guy on a back alley in downtown DC I had the tickets in hand. We were able to see the players up close and personal and even hear their conversations.Our little blue eyed boy had a great time looking at all the action and the lights.
If you know him you know he doesn't cry very often. But he did scream his head off the first few times the buzzer sounded and the first few times the audience clapped loudly. Guess those weren't sounds he was used to hearing. But after a few times he got used to it, although he did continue to have strange and startled looks like this.And this...Guess all those 7 footers intimidated him a little.

Honest Abe Lincoln even made an appearance.The television announcers were just a few feet in front of us and came back to play with Anderson before the game started.This picture was taken when the game was tied up with about a minute to go. Everyone was on the edge of their seats...except for this little fellow.Guess he figured he'd just watch the ending on Sportscenter later. Oh, and Washington actually won 106-104.

Mike
Springfield, VA

Our first "house" guests

Last weekend we enjoyed hosting Mandy and Matt, my little sister and brother-in-law from Oklahoma City. It was a busy weekend of seeing the major sights in DC and I think we're all a little sore from all the walking. Fortunately, the weather was very nice here.Her good friend Jayna lives here so we all had a great time jaunting around DC and the surrounding areas. Jayna has lived here for a couple of years so she and husband Matt have the inside scoop on cool places off the beaten path. And of course little Anderson loves hamming it up for girls so he was always smiling.

Here he is inside the Capitol rotunda on the tour, proudly holding his CVC (Capitol Visitors Center) pass. He's like, "Who cares if the economic crisis is being debated down the hall from me. I just crapped my pants in the most powerful building in the world!"I'm sure he was the youngest person in the Capitol that day.

On Sunday, Anderson decided he wanted to dress up as a cow for church. Okay, he isn't quite old enough to pick out his own clothes so we'll blame Shelly instead. He received it as a shower gift last fall and since it is now part of the clothes that fit him, it was just too darn cute not to let him wear it out.Yes, that's a little pouch in the front with a baby cow inside. And of course it wasn't tied down so my main job that day was to pick it up off the floor a couple of hundred times.
And in case you didn't notice, he even had a little tail.The way I see it is if Jesus Christ can wear a robe a sandals to preach the Gospel then a 4-month old baby can wear a cow suit to church. Can I get an "Amen" out there?

It's always nice to see familiar faces when you're away from home. And we all had a great time. We now look forward to my mom and dad visiting at the end of next week!

Mike
Springfield, VA

Outnumbered 5 to 1

This week my sister Mandy found out she will have another baby girl this summer! Cute little Vivian is 15 months old. Toss in my other sister Marcy's three girls and my dad and mom will have five granddaughters and just little Anderson as their only grandson.

Guess we'll have to make sure there are some little trucks and some footballs and baseballs down at their house in the midst of all the dolls and dresses.

Congrats! And we're excited to see Mandy and Matt in DC tomorrow for a weekend visit.

Mike
Springfield, VA

Ready for summer

After being in Kansas and Missouri during some frigid temperatures and heavy snows in the fall and being here in the DC area for cold and heavy snows this year, we are all ready for some warm weather.

It is snowing hard here now at the pace of one inch per hour. Looks like tomorrow might be a good ole snow day as 6-9 inches of snow are expected tonight. And if you recall from a previous post, less than two inches will gridlock this place.

So last week, we decided to try out Anderson's swimsuit for when it does get warm enough to swim.
With his little towel, he looks like he's ready to wander along the beach flexing his little pecs.
We even got him a little surfboard mat.
Yesterday, we drove to Richmond and spent the day with our friends, Jeanne and David. Since Anderson is becoming so active we borrowed their exer-saucer. He loves it!
Mike
Springfield, VA