Planning for vacation... again!

Planning for the second half of my annual leave in October. On August 14, I hit the two-year mark and complete my initial contract, then enter into 'rolling 90s'. On your anniversary date, KRS awards the value of a round-trip ticket from Kwajalein to Honolulu (currently at about $1200), plus another $1500 to complete your travel round-trip to your point of origin (home of record). Additionally, five days of 'administrative days' (paid time off that does not carry over, unlike accrued PTO) and four days of 'travel days' (two on the way out, two on the way back; if your home of record is Hawaii, Guam or the Marshall Islands, you only get two) are added to your vacation bank. The two-year mark also gives you more hours of PTO accrued every two weeks, from 4.62 in your first two years to 5.23.

Until I receive notice of when the dates are for CAP National Staff College I can't finalize my vacation plans. Traditionally, it's held in mid-October at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. Here's a brief description:

National Staff College (NSC) is the capstone course in professional development. It is designed for members who are, or will be, assuming positions of regional or national importance within CAP.

This college is by invitation only from your wing commander and is limited in enrollment to CAP majors or higher grade. This college is organized by national headquarters and lasts eight days, held at Maxwell Air Force Base in beautiful Montgomery, Alabama. Fewer than 2,500 of all senior members have reached this demanding level of professional development. Are you up to the challenge?

NSC is taught by senior CAP leaders and USAF instructors from Air University, the curriculum challenges students in the areas of executive leadership, management, organizational behavior, and policy formulation. Much time is spent examining CAP's national-level operations. Students engage in seminar discussions, case studies, and exercises throughout the seven day course.

Because of the graduate-level design of NSC, as well as its focus on national-level operations, attendance at National Staff College is restricted to those members who hold the grade of Major (or above), who have completed CAP's Region Staff College (or equivalent), and who have the endorsement of their wing commander.

(CAP grade of Major, got it already; Region Staff College, did it in 2009, 'Wing King's' endorsement, shouldn't be a problem.) Once I complete NSC, I will have completed all requirements for Level V of the CAP professional development program and will earn the Gill Robb Wilson award. (It's the senior member equivalent of the cadet program's General Carl A. Spaatz award - which I never earned as a cadet; I topped off at the Amelia Earhart award and the grade of cadet major, way back when dinosaurs roamed the earth.)

It's going to be a complicated trip plan: Kwajalein to Honolulu, then from Kwajalein to Las Vegas. After a couple of days in Vegas, then to Birmingham, Alabama (it's actually cheaper to fly there than Montgomery), then drive the 100 or so miles to Maxwell AFB. Eight days there and then do the trip in reverse, staying almost a week in back in Vegas before flying back to Honolulu. A couple of days there and then back to Kwajalein. If I plan it well, I could rack up some serious frequent flyer miles on Continental - ahem - United!

Back to more current events... Saturday was the annual PLOPS (PLans and OPerationS) picnic (my department on Kwaj) at the Kwajalein Yacht Club. Yours truly helped out cooking the burgers and hot dogs on the grill - and I was dead-tired at the end of the day. After a brief stop at the Vets' Hall for a beer, I walked back to the BQ, where I promptly crashed out on my bed. Of course, it's karaoke night at the Snake Pit tonight.