Area I leaders are encouraging single and unaccompanied Soldiers, including KATUSAs, to make the most of the Area I BOSS program, which offers them a broad array of recreation and community volunteerism opportunities as well as a chance to voice suggestions on quality-of-life matters.

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www.army.mil/korea THE MORNING CALMFEATURE
Area I Soldiers enjoy a BOSS-sponsored Beach Blast this summer at Daecheon Beach
in South Chungcheong Province. – U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Gheorghe Banaduc
Soldiers make their way up the slopes of Soyosan during a BOSS-sponsored
hike this summer. Eighty Soldiers took part. – U.S. Army photo by Dave Palmer
Area I’s Boss program thriving
A snowboarding Soldier soars during
an Area I BOSS-sponsored ski trip in
February. – Courtesy photo
CAMP RED CLOUD – Area I
leaders are encouraging single and
unaccompanied Soldiers, including
KATUSAs, to make the most of the
Area I BOSS program, which offers
them a broad array of recreation and
communityvolunteerismopportunities
as well as a chance to voice suggestions
on quality-of-life matters.
BOSS, or Better Opportunities for
Single (and unaccompanied) Soldiers,
serves Soldiers at Camps Casey, Hovey,
Stanley and Red Cloud.
BOSS organizers keep up a steady
offering of activities and events and
see more than 1,000 Soldiers take part
each year.
“One of the aspects of BOSS is
taking them out, showing them the
community, it gets them involved in all
the activities Korea has to offer,” said
Command Sgt. Michael L. Hatfield,
the U.S. Army Garrison Red Cloud and
Area I’s senior enlisted leader.
Area I BOSS hosts sports
competitions, beach trips, ski trips,
mountain hikes, visits to points of
historicalandculturalinterest,chances
to do charitable volunteer work, and
such thrill-seeking challenges as
bungee jumping, whitewater rafting,
rock climbing, zip-lines, and All
Terrain Vehicle (ATV) rides.
“We average about nine events in
a month,” said Sally S. Hall, Area I’s
BOSS advisor. “So we keep very busy.”
In July, for example, BOSS arranged
a trip to Korea’s internationally famous
Boryeong Mud Festival. Soldiers
paid $140, a sum that covered hotel,
By Sgt. Mark A. Kauffman
mark.a.kauffman.mil@mail.mil
Area I Soldiers go whitewater rafting during a BOSS-sponsored rafting and bungee jumping trip in Gangwon Province this
August. Area I’s thriving Boss program sees more than 1,000 Soldiers take part each year. – Courtesy photo
transportation, and an English-
speaking guide.
In June, BOSS took 80 Soldiers
hiking the scenic slopes of Area I’s Soyo
Mountain, known by its Korean name
as Soyosan. They took on the challenge
of climbing Soyosan’s second-highest
peak, and gota look at nearby Buddhist
monasteries.
Also in June, BOSS took 169
Soldiers to the annual BOSS Beach
Blast at Daecheon Beach in Korea’s
South Chungcheong Province. Along
with a chance to swim in the Yellow
Sea, BOSS organizers set up other fun
activities: limbo, hula hoop, tug-of-
war, and a watermelon-eating contest,
among others.
Each of Area I’s BOSS Councils – at
Casey, Stanley and Red Cloud – have
one or two trips each weekend, said
Hatfield.
Program organizers also keep a
focus on building good relations with
the local Korean community, a major
emphasis of the BOSS program.
For the past year BOSS volunteers
have been teaching weekly English
classes to members of the Korean
community, usually at a local library.
But BOSS volunteers have also
taught English at local schools and
universities.
“The students have been improving
every week,” said Staff Sgt. Gheorghe
Banaduc,AreaI BOSScoordinator. “We
started the year with four students and
now we have 10 that attend regularly.”
And BOSS volunteers help out at a
soup kitchen setupat Ganeung Station
in Uijeongbu that feeds about 300
members of the Korean community,
according to Hall.
In addition, BOSS volunteers
give their time at some of the
garrison’s biggest annual community
recreational events, including the
Independence Day celebration and
Labor Day Festival.
Another critical element of the
BOSS program isthatitaffords Soldiers
achance to bring to theattentionof the
seniorenlisted leader their suggestions
and concerns, Hatfield said.
Members of the Area I BOSS
Council provide leaders at USAG Red
Cloud and Area I with weekly reports
on Soldiers’ quality-of-life concerns.
Those suggestions or questions
may be about fitness facilities, cable
television, or other matters that bear
on Soldier quality of life, Hatfield said.
As senior enlisted leader, Hatfield
can then take steps to see that to the
extent possible those needs are met.
Besides the good it does in building
good relations with the Korean
community and giving Soldiers a voice,
Area I’s BOSS program can also make
their Korea tour fun, broadening, and
memorable, Hatfield said.
“Our calendar is packed,” said
Hatfield. “If there’s something that
you want in the community, bring
it up to a BOSS member. They know
an avenue to go out and find another
activity.Youwanttogosnowboarding?
C’mon. We gotchya. You want to go
bungee jumping? We got anything
you want to do. I really do think Area
I has the best BOSS program in the
Army.” x