---

KIL(& nephew Ryan): KILCHANG, ISTJ, SUEONIM

Short version of what a Kil Chang is :
     Kil P. Chang, 29 years old
     DOB:  13 Nov 67 (Scorpio ;)
     Born in S. Korea
     Middle child (Older sister, younger brother )
     Delphi:  KilChang and ISTJ
     Education:  US Army Infantry and Military School,
          Sr. (118 credits) majoring in Sociology and Psychology
          Towson State University, Towson, Md.
     Likes:  Traveling (actually, driving by, stopping, nodding head, and
          then moving on), Camping/Hiking, fishing, road trips, learning
          more about computers, honest/sincere/trustworthy friends, movies
          (dramas, sci-fi, action) , music (a little bit of everything
          esp: Suzanne Vega, 10,000 Maniacs, Cranberries, Stevie Nicks),
          Reading for FUN (esp. Clancey, Irving, King, Coyle) .
     Favorite Books:  "A Farewell to Arms", Hemingway,  and "A Piece of my
          Heart" by K. Walker .
     Favorite Color:  Green and blue .
     Favorite Movie:  Star Wars trilogy, When Harry Met Sally, The
          Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire, The Last of the Mohicans.
     Favorite Junk Food :  Pizza and coke .
     One Wish :  Peace on Earth and good will to all .
     Pet Peeves :  Lame drivers on the road and folks who show up late .
     Hobbies :  That's a good one lol ... well, I like taking my guns to
          the shooting range.  I have a Taurus .9mm pistol, .22 Mauser
          (Trainer) rifle w/ scope, 12 gauge Mossberg shotgun, and an
          AR-15 rifle w/ scope.  I'd really love to get a Sig Sauer
          228 or 229 .9mm pistol but they cost major bucks :(  Other
          things that I enjoy doing is building models.  I especially
          like building airplane and helicopter models as well as
          models of military vehicles (tanks).  A long time ago, I used
          to collect US coins but gave that up.
  
Long version of what a Kil Chang is :
     Kil Chang was born in S. Korea on 13 November, 1967.  Exactly where
in S. Korea is unknown to me.  When I ask my parents, they would only tell
me that it was in the suburbs of Seoul, S. Korea's capitol.  Our family
moved to the USA when I was 3 or 4 years old ( 1970).  I am the middle
child, there are 3 kids:  1 older sister, me, 1 younger brother.  My
family settled in Baltimore city (15 minutes from the University of
Maryland, Baltimore County - UMBC).  Not being able to speak English very
well, my dad settled for a job as a welder for Bethlehem Steel (a ship
yard) because welding was what he had done back in the old country with
the Republic of Korea (ROK) army.  Having settled in the city, I first
attended kindergarten and part of the 1st grade in an elementary school
located near by.  The school was a poor school.  I remember that this
school did not have rest rooms down the halls like other schools did.
Instead, there was only one rest rooms in the whole school for the
students and that was located in the basement of the school.  Down in the
rest rooms, I remember that it was a large and dark room.  That's right, it
was dark down there  because there were no lights there to guide us.  It
was also a frightening place to be;  one interesting thing about this dark
rest rooms is that I still have nightmares about this place.  One other
thing that I remember about this school was that there was no playground
suitable for young children.  Just outside the building, there was a
concrete court, with lines painted on its hard surface for basketball and
other various sports.  This court had a very high fence that surrounded
its perimeter and I remember that the ground was always littered with
broken glass (welcome to the "inner city", pal)..
     Some time during my 1st grade, my parents were able to save and
borrow enough money from friends to move us to the county.  We relocated
to the east-side of Baltimore, to a place called Dunned, where we lived
until I was in the 2nd week of the 9th grade.  Living in Dundalk was a
lesson in survival for me.  Dundalk was a lower-class, blue-collar region
of town.  Growing up there in the 70s to early 80s, there were problems
there at Dundalk that more middle-class neighborhoods are recently finding
out for themselves.  For example, the Junior High school that I went to
had 2 major gangs there that were always warring with each other.  Several
times a week, there would be fights where almost the entire school showed
up to watch this event.  Of course the police would be out there in force
to stop this.  I also remember smelling marijuana on the way to and from
school. The favorite place for the pot smokers was behind the 7-11 store
in an alley while listening to AC/DC crank out "Back in Black".  Despite
of all the negative things that went on while I lived in Dundalk, I also
found time to see the positive side of living in Dundalk.  For one, I had
many friends there, kids that I went to the 1st grade with (kids that I
knew very well to the time I moved) and whom were always around to get a
friendly game of baseball at the nearby "beach" (a small park located next
to water, which was probably filled with a lot of pollutants from the
nearby factories). Not only did I have a lot of friends at home, most of
these kids were my friends at school.
     During our time in Dundalk, Md, my parents managed to save and borrow
some more money and then decided to move.  Our family decided to settle on
the northern part of town in Cockeysville, Md (1982).  Upon settling into
our new home, I was busy enrolling into the 9th grade.  In the first 2-3
weeks at this new school, I first learned the politics of "socialization"
(of course there is politics everywhere).  There were basically two
different types of kids at this new school:  1.  The "preppies" , and
2. the "burn-outs".  The "preppies" were kids who's parents made major
bucks and could afford to buy their kids the latest in clothing
fashion/style.  These clothes were typically the Izod/ "Alligator" shirts
and anything else that basically cost over $50.  Then there were the
"burn-outs" which was made up of kids who wore denim and plaid as well as
hiking/work boots.  In this new school, I had 3 problems:  1.  I  didn't
belong to either of the cliques, 2.  I was the new kid in town, and
3.  most of the kids had known each other since elementary school.  Its
really tough trying to make new friends when you're already labeled by
what you look like on the outside. So basically, during my first year at
our new house, I didn't have any friends.
     In the following year (1983), I went onto Senior High School.  Up to
this point, I had thought Junior High School was a bitch.  Boy was I
wrong! In Sr. High school, the kids were worse.  Instead of 2 major social
groups, there were at least 5:  "preps", "burn-outs/geeks", "jocks",
"brains", and those who didn't fit into any clique (like me).  There was
so much hob-knobbing, ass-kissing, etc that I needed to bring a shovel
with me to school just to get inside.  I had never known that people could
be so "plastic", manipulative,..... snobby to another human being.
Although Sr. High school was the most miserable time of my life, I
learned how to survive without friends.  Unfortunately, that resulted in
me building a wall around me for self-defense.  The only group I belonged
to at school was the wrestling team (10 & 11th grade) and that was only
to get in shape for military service, for I knew that the military was a
good way to do the FTA thing (FTA:  Fun, Travel, and Adventure; aka "Fuck
The Army").  Most importantly, the military was the fastest way to get the
hell out of Baltimore and put some distance between me and these assholes.
Then in 1985, I graduated with the rest of my senior class and went where
ever the 4 winds took me ...first stop being California to visit a friend
of mine, and then the next stop being Ft. Benning, Ga. for 3 months of
Infantry training.
     September 5, 1985 I got to the airport on time and flew onto
Atlanta, Ga. and then to Columbus, Ga. where an Army Sgt. met us in
silence and then led us to an Army bus.  The bus took myself and 50 other
"wanna-be's" to our destination.  The Sgt. was silent the entire ride
until we had just passed the Main Gate onto Ft. Benning.  At that point in
time, the Sgt. broke his silence for the first time and shouted
YOUR ASS NOW BELONGS TO ME!!!"  (welcome to the army, pal) .  At Ft.
Benning, we went through 3 months of Basic Training and then AIT
(Advanced Individual Training) as a member of Echo Company, 1st.
Battalion, 1st Infantry Training Brigade (E-1-1).  Being an Infantryman
was not my first choice in picking an MOS (Military Occupational
Specialty). My first choice was Military Police and then helicopter
mechanic.  However, due to a lack of US citizenship I was not able to get
any assignment that required a security clearance.  The worse thing about
Basic/AIT Training was the daily morning 2-3 mile runs.  To begin with, I
was never a runner (wrestling training never included distance running)
and second, I was prone to shin-splints whenever we ran anywhere over 1
mile. I would also get terrible shin-splints during 10-mile forced-
marches.  However, I had learned not to quit ...never, ever quit anything
until its done!
     I graduated from Infantry school in early December 1985  and elected
to stay home until after Christmas before shipping out to my first duty
assignment somewhere in (then) W-Germany.  After all, once there I would
not be able afford to find time or money to come home on leave.  At the
Replacement Center, I was assigned to Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 36th
Infantry, 1st Brigade, 3rd Armored Division, 5th Corps (the reason I
mention this is because of all the many interesting things about the 3rd
Armored Div, Elvis Presly was in the 3rd Armored Div.).  Our Brigade was
THE largest combat brigade out of all the US Forces in W-Germany.  It was
made up of 2 Tank battalions, 2 Infantry battalions, 1 Field Artillery,
and 1 Support battalion.  Needless to say, in my brigade there were about
5,500 male soldiers and only about 20 female soldiers.  Being located in
the middle of nowhere didn't help either.  To give you an idea of where I
was assigned in Germany, get a map and look up the town called
"Giessen/GieBen" (the B means that there is two "s" there) or a town
called Butzbach (the oldest US military base in Germany, which was in use
by the ancient armies of Rome!)  or more specifically, look for a town
called Kirchgoens (we were 2 km from there).
     If there is such thing as the "best of times, the worst of times", it
was in Germany.  It is said that in Germany, there are only two (2)
seasons: 1. Cold, and 2. Colder.  I say that with first-hand experience.
I remember that when the temperature outside was in the 50s, we'd be out
in shorts and t-shirts because it didn't get warmer than that !  Going out
to the "Field" (training exercises away from the base, which usually
lasted anywhere from 3 days to 30 days) were a lot of fun except for the
harsh weather which usually consisted of either cold, cold rain or snow.
During one 30 field problem (exercise) at a place called "Hohfelds"
(pronounced like "Hornsfeld") in the middle of the winter with 6 inches of
wet snow everywhere, I managed to get exposure on both of my feet.  The
lesson I learned from that exercise was never, never, never, never, never
complain about a medical problem.  If you do, you're quickly labeled as a
"sniveler" (a wimp) and then the medics and doctors will try to tell you
that your condition is all in your head.  Well, my exposure lasted 30 days
in my head, and could have lasted another 30 days had I not decided to
"suck it up and drive on".
     One interesting thing about being stationed in Germany was that one
of my roommates, S. Daraskavich "Drack", was in the same Basic Training
company that I was in!  We were best friends while in Germany however,
when we left Germany for another assignment, we went to separate units
(although both of use were reassigned to Ft. Benning, Ga. ).
 

[Cpl Arie(Fire Team Leader), "Drack", and Kil at the range]

                   



     After finishing up my two years in W-Germany, I was reassigned to Ft.
Benning, Ga. and was attached to D. Company, 2nd Bn, 18th Infantry, 197th
Infantry Brigade (Mechanized, Separate), 18th Airborne Corps.  When I
arrived at my unit, most of the battalion was at the National Training
Center (NTC) out in California.  So, until they returned I had no place to
sleep or store my equipment (2 weeks in which I had to find my own
quarters).  When the unit returned from NTC, I soon learned that 8 black
soldiers in my platoon were being kicked out of the Army for stupid
things.  I also found out that these 8 black soldiers were the only
minority soldiers (welcome to the Army, pal) in my platoon.  Shortly after
this discovery, someone in my platoon told me that "you're next" and about
7 months later, I was.  They busted me for "disrespect to an NCO" which is
like passing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500.  But among the happier
times that I had with this unit, we went to Puerto Rico for 30 days to be
an OPFOR (Opposing Force) against a Ranger Battalion and we also went to
Germany for 30 days to participate in the 1988 REFORGER (Return of Forces,
Germany) Exercise.
     Although our Brigade was in the USA, it was located out the boonies
of Ft. Benning.  Our Brigade's location was on one of numerous hills
spread out on Ft. Benning and was called "Kelly Hill" (whom I suppose was
some hero of a previous war/battle).  Similar to my Brigade in Germany,
this Brigade was also similar in composition.  That is, we had 2 Infantry
Battalions, 2 Tank Battalions, 1 Field Artillery Battalion, and 1 Support
Battalion which came out to about 5,500 males and about 50 females.
However, there were other units spread out all over Ft. Benning as well as
Columbus, Ga (the local town which was located just outside the post).
Another interesting thing about Ft. Benning was that a lot of my buddies
from Germany were also assigned there to include my former Squad Leader
(SSG Bob Linschoten) and Platoon Sgt as well as many of my friends from
the company.
     In March of 1988, my time in the Army ended.  In Army terminology its
called "Expiration Term of Service" or simply "ETS".  Among the troops, it
was known as "Echo Tango Suitcase" ;)  and we very much looked forward to
our next duty station at Ft. Livingroom ;).  My buddies Drack and
Linschoten took me to the airport but before arriving there, we stopped at
the local tavern and got blitzed on some green-colored concoction.  I made
it to the airport and flew home in silence.  Upon arrival at Baltimore/
Washington International airport, my parents met me there and we drove the
40 minutes home.
     For the next 4 months, I literally did nothing, nada.  I woke up, sat
down, and then stared at the wall of my room until it was time to go to
bed. I don't really know what was running through my head at that time.
Some of the things that I thought about were the good times in W-Germany,
my friends that I left behind, the bad times, what the future held for me
in the civilian world, etc.  The WHAT of my future occupied most of my
time.  I had no idea what I wanted to do in the civilian world.  Finally,
my sister got me to enroll at the local Community College and it was there
that I began my academic life.  My first declared major was Criminal
Justice and then after taking a Sociology course I changed my major to
Sociology.
     During the first two weeks of college, I was in an English class and
there were a bunch of kids there ... KIDS.  Begin older (21 yrs), I felt
like I was 40 yrs old compared to these kids.  But then again, ever since
I was in the Army, I always felt very old...much older than I was (I
entered the Army when I was 17 and left when I was 20).  I also remember
how none of the kids would talk to me.  I remember that I use to carry my
books in an Army flier's bag that had patches from my previous Army units.
One particular day I over heard some girl behind me make a remark about it
to another girl and then I heard her say "oh, he's probably showing off"
(welcome to college, pal).  It was at that moment that I realized how much
I really missed the Army with its comraderie among its members regardless
of age, gender, race, religion etc.  So, in my second week of college I
joined the Army Reserves.  I was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters
Company, 400th Military Police Battalion , 220th Military Police Brigade
at Ft. Meade, Md.
     In my second year at the Community College, I made a lot of friends..
well not a whole lot but enough to satisfy me.  Although I didn't hang out
with these friends outside of school, we did spend a lot of time together
at school.  Then we got to the point where we were doing things outside of
school.  I remember that for my 22nd birthday, they brought presents and
gifts to school and gave me a party at one of the study lounges.
Unfortunately, on that I day the only reason I was on campus was to
officially drop out of all my classes because my Army Reserve unit was
mobilized to go to Saudi Arabia to take part in Operation Desert Shield.
I was kind of disappointed in going because I had to drop out  of school
the day before midterm exams.
     Our unit, the 400th MP Bn mobilized and flew over to Saudi Arabia in
early December 1990.  Since my unit was in Saudi, I knew we were going to
have a shooting war because my unit's only mission is to operate a POW
camp.  Actually, POW is inaccurate because enemy prisoners are now
referred to as Enemy Prisoners of War (EPW) and our guys/gals that get
captured are called POWs.  My unit, the 400th MP Bn, was attached to the
800th MP Brigade (New York) and were directly under the 301st MP Bn which
was aka "3-oh-Worst" MP.  Our prison camp was located 1 hour north of King
Kahlid Military City (KKMC) right outside the town of Halfar Al Batin.
     I was a member of an EPW-Control Team.  Basically an EPW CT's job was
to literally baby-sit 600 Enemy Prisoners of War.  The 600 prisoners were
held in a fenced-in compound and a 3-man EPW Control Team was responsible
for watching them (armed tower guards were provided by other MP units.
Five "compounds" made up an "enclosure", so basically for my unit, 15 MPs
watched over ...hmm...lets see...600 x 15 = 9,000 enemy prisoners ==:0
Then our camp held 6 enclosures for a total of 54,000 prisoners!  Our camp
received the first 7 EPWs of the war.
     In the EPW Control Team , there were 3 MPs in it:  "Compound
Commander", a Sgt, a "Accountability NCO", suppose to be a Sgt but I was
it for my group at the rank of Specialist, and then the "Security
Specialist", a PFC.  My job as the Accountability NCO was to count the
number of prisoners twice at random times as well as ensure that we get
enough logistical stuff for them prisoners such as:  Food (3X a day),
sandals, mattresses, blankets, medical/dental treatment, etc.  Other
duties included making sure the EPWs followed camp rules, make sure they
were not hoarding food (which can be used in an escape), search for
anything that can be used as a weapon, etc.  One thing for sure, I never
did see Bob Hope, Pres. Bush, Gen. Powell, nor anyone else in
government :)
     I remember the night when the "ground war" began.  We were at KKMC
and at about 1:30 am klaxxons rang all over the base (KKMC was so huge
that it had 10 airfields on it !).  Everyone donned their chemical suits,
called MOPP suits (Mission-Oriented-Protective-Posture aka "Nuke Suit").
In peace-time, it takes the average soldier about 13 minutes to put it on
properly.  When that klaxxon went off, I think we all had our's on in 4
minutes!  After dressing up in our Nuke-Suits, we sat and waited...
and waited...and waited .  Then we finally got bored of waiting and began
to take pictures of each other and laughed as well.  KKMC was not only
important for its airfields, it was also important for its POL points
(Petroleum, Oil, Lubricants) which carried ALL the fuel for forward combat
units;  jet fuel, diesel (for tanks, armored personnel carriers), mo-gas
(very low octane unleaded fuel), kerosene , etc ).  KKMC also held what
was called the "Theatre Morgue".  That's the place where soldiers get their
very last assignment ...
     Operation Desert Shield/Storm came and went, all the prisoners were
sent home, and now it was time for us to come home.  My unit came home in
mid-May.  I remember we landed at JFK sometime in the late evening and we
weren't even allowed off the airplane while it refueled.  Then finally
someone gave the OK but, we were not allowed to go beyond a certain area,
that is, we could not go out to the lobby and get beer nor talk to any
civilians (welcome home, pal).
     After demobilizing, the members of my unit went back to their homes
and their civilian lives.  I immediately enrolled at the local university,
Towson State University, and unlike the last time I got out of the Army, I
got my shit together and began working on my 4-year degree in Sociology
and then later on with my other major Psychology.  At the time of this
writing, I am in my Senior year at Towson State U working on the last 5
classes until I graduate!  Next semester I only need 3 classes and then I
will have earned my BS in BS ;)  What will I do with my degree, you ask?
Hmm...I've always wanted to be a truck driver ;) (just kidding) .
     Before I forget, I know my writing isn't any where near "good" and I
know my grammar sucks as well as my paragraph structure (I'm writing my
thoughts as they come to me) so, here are these things to be placed where
they belong :
     ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
     ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
     [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []  [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
 
     As for Delphi, I've been online with Delphi for about a year.  Before
that, I was on Prodigy.  Before Prodigy, I had nfi what cyberspace was.
For you see, I didn't have a computer until I began my 3rd year of
college.  When I bought my computer, I didn't have ANY computer skills
(as most of you already know ;)  and still really don't.  But thanks to
Stew91, Soloflex8, Ricken, BillP49, et al, I'm learning...slowly, but I'm
learning :)  Perhaps if I get this computer thing down pat, I'll
computerize my parent's business and take over when they're ready to
retire...nah (I'm not the business-type, although the idea of being my own
boss is very appealing :).  I want to thank all my friends on Delphi :
VGChris (Laura), Billp49, Stew91, Solo, Ricken, MadC, Dave49, JCMGD,
Adriannel, Larisa, Harvmech & Isabella, Howard and Star, Arwen, Rugby,
Closr2fine, Geez, Kilo, Maven & Merm, Blue, Manny & Liz, Meesa, Purp,
SarahT, Stark, Waldo, Mike, Baddog, Angi_1, Melinda, Dawn (Mac1n2)
Blondie, BethT, QtPie, ABMack, et al for all the laughs and fun!  Also,
thanks for lending an ear when a listening ear was needed.  Most
importantly, thanks to all who took the time to d/l and read my BIO.  If
you did happen to d/l and read my bio, E-mail me and let me know what you
thought about it.  I know this is kind of a long BIO but, I wanted you to
know the things one wants to know from a BIO.
 
     So, what does the future hold for Kil Chang ?  Hmm......
 
"Cracking"
 
"It's a one time thing
It just happens
a lot
Walk with me
And we will see
what we have got
ah...
 
My footsteps are ticking
Like water dripping from a tree
Walking a hairline
And stepping very carefully
ah...
 
My heart is broken
It is worn out at the knees
Hearing muffled
Seeing blind
Soon it will hit the Deep Freeze
 
And something is cracking
I don't know where
Ice on the sidewalk
Brittle branches
in the air
 
The sun
is blinding
Dizzy golden, dancing green
Though the park in the afternoon
Wondering where the hell
I have been
 
ah..."
 
          -Suzanne Vega-