Category: Good Neighbors

This seems to happen quite a bit in Korea and I’m glad that at least the Stars and Stripes publishes it:

Jasen was one of a dozen members of the 112th Signal Detachment, Special Operations Command-Korea, who were traveling in two vans en route to parachute training on Aug. 17 when they came upon the wreck. They didn’t see what happened but said they were the first to respond.

“There was glass and debris everywhere,” and smoke was coming from the vehicle, Jasen said.

Jasen, Staff Sgt. Brian Conor, Sgt. Timothy Hasko and Maj. Jeff Foundas began treating the man with a first-aid kit from their van, while Capt. James Austin called for an ambulance. The other soldiers directed traffic.

They said they knew what to do in the situation from their emergency medical, combat-lifesaver and first-responder training.

They could see blood but said they were worried about moving the man because of possible neck or spinal injuries. The man faded in and out of consciousness and began to move on his own, so the soldiers fashioned a neck brace and gently removed him from the vehicle.  They discovered serious head injuries, bones protruding from his chest and a shattered wrist.

Jasen said the soldiers irrigated the wounds and tried to communicate with the unresponsive man, whom they believed to be in his mid- to late-30s.  The soldiers said they really didn’t have the time to think about what they were doing, that instinct and training kicked in. [Stars & Stripes]

I agree with this sentiment:

Conor said it felt good to be able to help somebody in that situation. “It’s better than reading about drunk GIs getting in fights,” he said.

However, it is very unlikely this will be printed in the Korean media and thus no Koreans will ever read about it.  Just wait for the next taxi cab related incident though, that is considered news. 

More over at Nomad.

Here is a way to do something constructive, literally, to help out in Korea:

Nearly 140 airmen from Kunsan Air Base got a crash course last week in this country’s construction techniques when they volunteered to build an eight-family apartment building for Habitat for Humanity.

They learned that hallways are shorter and entryways are lower. Insulation goes up even in the interior walls to keep the house warm during the frigid winters. And Styrofoam ramps are installed under the roof so air passes through and a room doesn’t get too hot or too cold.

Their teachers: South Korean volunteers who worked alongside them. Their method of instruction: Broken English and lots of gesturing.

This is really a great project for the USFK airmen to participate in and Habitat for Humanity is something that USFK has long been involved with.  Great job by the Kunsan airmen involved in the project.

Just another example that most USFK servicemembers are not idiots on the subway.

Via Nomad, comes this USFK good news story that actually made it into a Korean newspaper:

They attend the English class in the Underwood Education Hall of the Saemoonan Presbyterian Church in Jongno, central Seoul, every Thursday and Saturday afternoon.

The class began on April 19 with 15 children, aged from 12 to 13, from the Jongno Social Welfare Center, with cooperation of soldiers from the 14th Military Police Detachment of the USFK and Korean Augmentation Troops to the U.S. Army. But the idea for this program was developed between Park Jin, an entrepreneur and church member, and USFK Provost Marshall Sgt. Maj. Patrick O’Connor, who have cultivated a friendship that dates back to 1983, when they served together as military policemen at Camp Page in Chuncheon, Gangwon province.

On May 20, Lt. Col. David Briar, USFK Provost Marshall deputy commander, and Min Kyung-chang, a Yonsei University professor and church member, signed an agreement to commit ten soldiers from the 14th Military Police Detachment and KATUSAs to teach English to underprivileged Korean children.

If anyone is wondering the signing of such an "agreement" does not mean this soldier are being forced to teach English.  It is more of a formality and possible photo op than anything.  Soldiers don’t need to be forced to do something like this because there are plenty of volunteers.  A battalion usually has around 400-500 soldiers and 10 soldiers volunteering to teach English is not a huge number meet. 

All across USFK there are programs just like this and from my personal experience being involved in them is that they are definitely a positive experience for both the soldiers and the children.  However, programs like this don’t get soldiers out of the ville, because the type of people who hang out in the ville don’t volunteer for things like this to begin with.  Usually the more high speed soldiers who regularly volunteer for things anyway participate, which is fine with me because than the military is putting their best soldiers out to represent USFK. 

Now where I have seen issues arise with these programs is managing Korean expectations.  I have seen programs that were agreed upon to be only once or twice a week suddenly start growing because the teachers start asking the volunteers to come on additional days instead of requesting it through the unit commander.  Like I said before, usually the high speed soldiers that usually volunteer for things anyway participate in these programs and find it hard to tell the Korean teachers no so they agree to the extra days.  So I have had to mediate before with soldiers who felt they were being taken advantage of to ensure that the program stays within the agreed upon days and not expanded without consultation with the unit commander.  The other problem is field time.  Korean teachers have to be aware from the beginning that military duties for soldiers take priority over their volunteer duties with their English program.  So if the program is managed well, it is definitely a good thing for everyone involved, but mismanagement could lead to some hurt feelings and missed expectations.

Anyway, I’m glad the Korea Herald ran the story.  Will many Koreans read about this?  Probably not because not many Koreans read the Korean Herald.  I wish more stories like this would make it in the bigger papers like the Chosun, Joong Ang, and Donga Ilbos.  You will read in these papers though about the next big GI crime case thats for sure.

Here is something you won’t read anytime soon in the Korean newspaper:

It is belatedly known that a KATUSA and a USFK soldier saved a drunken man who fell down to a railroad track.

It was found later that they were PVT Yoon-min Baek, a KATUSA soldier (25 years old, EUSA 18th Medcom support unit), and SGT Eric Ziegenmeyer of the same unit.

They were returning to Yongsan Garrison after participating in an education program. Suddenly, they witnessed the scene of a male in his fifties accidentally fell down to the railroad track at the KTX Seoul platform 7 p.m. June 11th. Without knowledge of when the next KTX runs into, they with 5 other colleagues rushed in to the track and drew him up to the platform.

Even after they drew him up to the platform, this male already fainted seemingly by the shock he had when he fell down. They decided to apply emergency measures quickly or he might lose his life.

You can read the rest here, along with another story in the Stars and Stripes here.

These two soldiers risked their own lives to save this man’s life which is highly commendable and unfortunately very few people in the Korean public will even hear about it. However, the next drunk GI Crime incident is sure to make headlines.

This is a great story to read to go into the weekend with:

Minutes later the one he’d seen with the brick reappeared, “kind of casing the joint,” as if getting ready to try to loot the machine further.

Thomason had seen enough. He put on his athletic shoes and went downstairs.

“I know the people who own the store down below, I shop in there,” he said. “Nobody wants that kind of crap going on in their neighborhood. I just didn’t think it was right.”

Concealing himself, he waited for the man.

When the man came near, Thomason burst into view, all six-feet five-inches and 250 pounds of him.

“He kind of looked like a ghost when I first popped out around the bongo truck,” said Thomason. “He looked like I was the police.”

He grabbed the man’s shirt. The man spun and tried to use an elbow to break Thomason’s grasp. Thomason said he put him in a sleeper hold.

The E7 eventually turned the thief over to police and was awarded by the local police department for his good deed with a watch and 200,000 won.  He ended up donating the money to a local charity.  I checked Naver for the story but didn’t see anything there, but hopefully it gets picked up by some local media.  If every GI incident makes headlines in the Korean media than at least this one should as well.  Great job by SFC Thomason by the way and a great story to read about to start the weekend. 

HT: Nomad

From the Stars & Stripes:

For two U.S. soldiers and a and a South Korean counterpart, duty went beyond the needs of U.S. servicemembers and into the local community recently.  Spc. John Plaia of the 557th Military Police Company, and Sgt. Fitho Simplice of the 348th Quartermaster Company were wrapping up an accident report involving a soldier and heading back to post on Feb. 28, when a small van flipped through the air and came to rest on its top.

The driver of the skinny Daewoo van was trying to pass traffic on the right when a big truck cut him off, running him into the curb on Highway 39 at about 3 p.m. in Hyeonju-ri. The van took flight and landed upside down on the sidewalk.  It wasn’t a servicemember’s van, but the soldiers say they weren’t just going to ignore the accident.

“He didn’t really move while we were running toward the vehicle,” Plaia said. “It looked like it hurt him pretty bad.”  The right tire broke off from the axle and unidentified fluid began leaking from the undercarriage, Plaia said.  Plaia and Simplice got the door open and pulled the man out of the van, while South Korean augmentee Pfc. Park K.M. told the man to lie still.  To their surprise, the slightly built South Korean man suffered few injuries beyond cuts and bruises. A larger man may have taken more of the impact, Simplice said.

“It was scary. If somebody like myself was in that tiny little van, I’d probably be dead,” Simplice said.

Great job by these soldiers.  You can read more over at Nomad.

From the Stars & Stripes:

….. USFK will mandate that incoming family members attend orientation training as they arrive on the peninsula, something other commands have done successfully on a smaller scale at various Pacific bases. 

(…) The revised policy does two things, said Air Force Col. Mark C. Vlahos, assistant chief of staff, J-1. It directs commanders to create an orientation for family members, and it makes family attendance mandatory.

“That’s a key word right there — mandatory,” Vlahos said. “When we give command sponsorship out to a spouse, they have certain responsibilities.”

Getting the command sponsored families to attend will be the easy part, getting all the non-command sponsored family members to attend is a whole other matter. 

Another USFK holiday good news story which you will only hear about in the Stars and Stripes. Any bets if USFK will make it through the holidays without an alcohol related incident getting printed in the Korean media?

A really good article today in the Stars & Stripes about how the Camp Casey USO has been helping non-American spouses in Korea.