Talk to the TOP!

OK, took me longer than I thought, but here is the rest of the story on my conversation with the USFK CSM, CSM Wheeler. A little bit of intro….I am the very first caller on his very first session of Talk to the Top, which happens once a month with the top enlisted guy in Korea. As soon as the show starts on AFKN radio, I call in and get connected with him. Right away, I realize something is not right from similar venues held before because I can hear the radio playing in the background, and in past sessions with the previous USFK CSM, CSM Welch, questions were fielded live on the radio. I had called in before to CSM Welch about dependants driving while E5's and E6's could not, and was told by him that was not how it was, that the policy addressed underage dependants ability to drive. Well, I researched it and it doesn't, so strike one against them.

Back to the present….I bring up the same questions to CSM Wheeler and all he does is keep changing the topic and saying that due to too many drinking and driving incidents E5's and E6's can not drive, and the policy will not change. I kept responding that I wasn't arguing that, and I was wondering why underage dependents had the privilege to drive when of all people in Korea they needed it the least. Well, he finally got frustrated and told me that was how it was and it wasn't going to change, and lectured me for a while on things not even on topic. At the end, I told him that I thought the policy was self serving to the Senior Officers and Enlisted that helped shape this policy, as it is their kids who are driving. More than once I have seen these same kids acting very recklessly on post with their cars, but I guess our leaders are too busy in their units to discipline their kids.

Well, CSM Wheeler gets on the radio and talks about our conversation to the AFN listeners, and he doesn't even mention one thing that I said about dependants driving, but instead just talks about why E5's and 6's can't drive. Fine, touché, but I will get the word out one way or another.