I am with the 607 th and I just got here 7 days ago. I am i temporay lodging AKA 303rd IS dormitory. This has to be the oldest dorm on base, not very pretty thank god I will be moving. I do not know of any body having a roommate. This is Bldg 475 and I am an NCO so I don't know if you are or not but if you are with the 303 you will probably be here with no roomate and no linen.

Excuse my ignorance, but can someone clarify the part of signing you out of the reception area? I must have missed this part from my "brochures". Is this at the airport and does the sign out apply to all AF of all ranks? I was told that Osan is a 2 hr bus ride. It is nice if your sponsor can meet your there but I personally would not expect my sponsor to come all the way out to meet me especially if my flight arrives at night. Nice gesture though and would be much appreciated but not necessary for me. Of course, not everybody has PCS'ed more than once....

I'm coming to the 607 AIS, any input on the AIS? If you have any.

Hi! Always ready to help a fellow Skivvy Niner in need. Sorry to say our unit doesn't have the best sponsor program. I've been here for 18 months this tour and was here for 30 months on my last tour 99-01.

As a tenant unit, we have some of the oldest dorms on base. So no 1+1 dorms for us although the base does have some 1+1. Our dorms have sinks and refrigerators in the rooms and two rooms share a bathroom. Residents use a community kitchen. And like all dorms, there are dayrooms for use. Our unit is trying to get funding to improve our dorms as some don't have wall coverings and others are full of mold.

I don't know your rank so I'll tell you about our Airman and NCO dorms.

Airmen live in building 1447 which is right next to the gym and in 746 which is near the BX. Both are a 5-10 minute walk depending on your speed. 1447 is the older of the two dorms and is two Airmen to a room although many rooms have only one Airman. The bathrooms have bathtubs and toilets (and yes, mold). 746 is newer and is one Airman to a room. The single rooms are based on seniority and when you move from 1447 to 746 you do it on your own (although we have plenty of command sponsored people who could probably help).

The [junior] NCOs live in building 475 which is located somewhat near the main gate and is about a 15 minute walk to work. These rooms are on the small side and have a double bed, dresser, and a desk. They have a sink and refrigerator and residents share a community kitchen. Two rooms share a bathroom with a toilet and shower. Unfortunately due to age and poor ventilation, the bathrooms tend to be pretty moldy. 475 is mostly inhabited by the non-linguist members of the unit as most linguists are able to live downtown after getting on a waiting list upon arrival. If you're a linguist and an NCO, go to housing on your first day and get the necessary paperwork started!

Welcome to the unit!

Oops! I just read the name of the original poster and I know you! Because you're here!!! I didn't realize this was a year old thread. Oh well, maybe it will help someone...

Your reply helped me! I'm an NCO and apparently heading to the moldy dorm you mentioned. I was hoping they would have fixed the place up a bit if they're that old and run down. Do they have a self help store where you can at least fix your room up a bit and make it somewhat more livable?

Ok, I know that it's my responsibility to paint a nice happy picture of Korea for newcomers. People see "Korea" on their assignment rip and then hearing about mold on top of that probably doesn't make the feeling any better.

So sure, there's mold in the dorms. It's really not a problem unless you're allergic to it (and unless you have a suitemate who doesn't clean and lets the mold grow). Heck, I paid about $300K for a house that had some mold. There's a self help store where you can get what you need to fix the place up a bit. And if you have a good sponsor (do you even have a sponsor??), they can see your room ahead of time and make sure it's good to go.

Even though our dorms aren't too hot, our Skivvy Nine family is awesome. A lot of the Airmen who live in the dorms spend all of their time outside at the hooch with each other and don't do much in their rooms but sleep. There's a ton to do here in Korea and between spending time with friends and everything else there is to do, you probably won't spend much time worrying about the mold.

Anyway, where are you going when you get here?

Nice to hear there's a self help store. As a homeowner, I sometimes feel the need for a little "home improvement" type work. As far as mold goes, that's what bleach is for I guess. I just hope my suitemate is cool and doesn't make more cleaning work than there needs to be. I tend to be a clean freak actually. I do have a sponsor, but he lives off base I believe, so I haven't really asked too much about the rooms. I also have a friend that just got there about 8 days ago so he's been giving me some scoop as well.

Glad to hear it is a fairly tight knit unit too. Where I'm at now, there isn't a whole lot (if any) comeraderie especially since I'm the only enlisted in our entire directorate. We also have people scattered all over the DC area so you don't get to see too many other military people. I have to knock out about 6 classes to get my degree before I retire. I'm going to put in my retirement papers around September, then when my tour is up, so is my time in the AF.

I'm going to the conventional maintenance shop (SCMC, I'm a 2E2) and will arrive on 10 July. How about you, where do you work?

OJ