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General Bell has come out and supported the US-ROK alliance, sort of:

After days of speculation about how much and when the United States will reduce its armed forces in South Korea, the top U.S. commander here reaffirmed the importance of the more than 50 year alliance in a message posted on the U.S. Department of Defense Web site under U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).

“We will remain in Korea as a reliable ally as long as we are welcome and wanted,’’ Gen. Burwell Bell said in the message.

“USFK is a steadfast partner with the ROK military as guardians of the Korean democracy. We will fight alongside our ally to defend this nation,’’ he said, using South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea (ROK).

Notice the key words, “as long as we are welcome and wanted.”

have uploaded by latest photo album to the GI Korea photo archives, which just happens to be Dobongsan mountain which is part of the Pukhansan National Park and located just north of Seoul.  The mountain is great place to escape the summer heat and an easy subway ride from Seoul or from the 2ID area since the mountain is located just south of Uijongbu.  Go check it out.

From the Stars and Stripes:

A military policeman was sentenced Tuesday to two months¿ confinement, a $2,000 fine and a reduction of two ranks ¿ from sergeant first class to sergeant ¿ after he admitted to an adulterous affair with a younger soldier within his own platoon, according court-martial proceedings.

But James E. Thompson, who enlisted 19½ years ago, was spared a discharge from the Army, and he promised to retire as soon as he is eligible, he told the court in a tearful statement.

¿I¿m no longer fit to serve in the Army,¿ a weeping Thompson told Col. Gregory Gross, chief judge for the 6th Judicial Circuit. ¿I am totally ashamed and humbled to be here today ¿ I have fallen from my path.¿

Earlier in court, Thompson, 47, admitted to having a sexual relationship with Pfc. Lindsey Bishop, who also is a member of Bravo Platoon, 557th Military Police Company within the 8th Military Police Brigade.

This MP is very lucky to be allowed to retire.  However, think about the loss of pay this guy is looking at.  An E7 retiring with 20 years in service would make $1,783 a month in retirement pay.  An E7 would even make more if they stayed in service longer or was promoted, so this is the bare minimum number.  Now compare this number to what he will get instead which is an E5 pay which is $1,263 month.  That is loss of $6,240 retirement dollars a year.  This guy is 47 and let’s say he lives to the average age of 72 years old.  That is 25 years from now, so the total amount of money he would then loose is $156,000.  Also, remember that is the conservative number of what this guy has lost not to mention that his marriage is probably over and the damage he has done to his kids if he has any.

Looking at the monetary consequences of stupidity in my opinion is a great way to pound home a point into soldiers about indiscipline.  I have always been a big believer that informed soldiers make good decisions.  It is a shame that a platoon sergeant, an MP to boot, couldn’t make good decisions for himself.

Nomad is all over the story of another shooting of fellow soldiers by a ROK Army serviceman:

A South Korean soldier who deserted his Army unit after opening fire on colleagues was found on a mountain Thursday with a bullet wound in his head, a military official said.

The Army private, identified by his family name Lee, was immediately sent to a military hospital south of Seoul, but is in a coma, an Army official said.

¿There is little possibility of his surviving because the bullet seemed to have been shot through his head,¿ the official said.

Lee, 20, was returning from guard duty when he abruptly went on a shooting rampage around 1 a.m. Friday, killing one soldier and injuring another. The motive for Lee’s shooting isn’t known yet.

After the incident, Lee fled his unit in Gapyeong, a city just south of the demilitarized zone, with a K2 rifle and 13 rounds of ammunition.

About 12 hours after his desertion, Lee was found on a mountain near his unit with a bullet wound in his head, an official at the Army said.

This comes on the heels of a ROK Army soldier that was killed last week north of Paju not to mention last year’s shooting rampage in Yeoncheon near the DMZ.  Is this a symptom of a bigger problem?

Then:

 Uijongbu in 1973 courtesy of Mike Ward.  Camp Kyle can be seen towards the lower right of the photograph.  The amount of rice paddies inside the city is amazing compared to Uijongbu today.  Also the stream running through the city is now completely canaled with concrete or rock.
Now:

Uijongbu as seen today.  In this picture you can see Camp Kyle in the foreground with Camp Essayons in the lower right.  Dobongsan Mountain is in the distance.  Notice no more rice paddies in Uijongbu and the stream is not even visible due to all the buildings.  The changes in this city are really amazing.

One of the very few Congressmen that currently understands what is going on in Korea, Congressman Henry Hyde is bringing the big time smackdown to Seoul and Joshua at the Korea Liberator has the scoop on what Congressman Hyde is going to tell President Roh.  Here is what he is going to tell President Roh about a topic I have been covering extensively:

* You want operational control of all forces during wartime. How is that going to
work? Will there be a U.S. general and a Korean general commanding the entire force jointly or two forces separately? Either way, aren¿t those both recipes for chaos, given that the two generals might not necessarily share the same immediate goals? [Yonhap reports that Hyde has said (Yonhap¿s words), ¿South Korea is now ready to reclaim its wartime operational control from Washington.¿]

Here is the parting shot he is taking at Roh:

* We¿re going to watch ¿Yoduk Story¿ when it comes to Washington in September. Have you seen it?

Check out the TKL link and read the rest of what Congressman Hyde is going to tell President Roh because he is taking many more good shots at Roh and I don’t want to take all of Joshua’s thunder from his scoop.  God, I hope there is video of this because this is going to be one brilliant conversation.

On one good note for Roh, Congressmen Hyde said he would help out with the visa waiver issue.

John has posted an insightful letter he received from the former 8th Army Chief of Staff who just completed a 14 month tour in Iraq.  It is a great non-sugar coated look at the situation in Iraq.  Great read.

If you haven’t seen them yet Robert has some great photos posted of his trip to Chunju Lake in the central Korean province of Chungcheongbuk-do.  This lake is one of my favorite places in Korea because by Korea standards it is not swamped with tourists, has beautiful scenery, good hiking opportunities, and some great nearby cultural attractions.  In my GI Korea Photo Album page one of the albums I have posted is a few of my pictures from Chunju Lake, of particular interest is that I have pictures posted from both summer and autumn.  I still need to work on creating more albums on some of the nearby attractions such as Woraksan National Park and Mireauksaji, however feel free to check them out and comment if you like.

Usually speeches from the brass during graduations or change of command ceremonies are not something anyone remembers from the ceremony, however this speech is definitely one that I’m sure the young soldiers in that formation are going to remember for a long time.  This is actually one of the best speeches I’ve heard from anyone during the entire War on Terror.  I wish our political leaders had the same kind of moral courage and convictions as this lieutenant colonel.

Hat Tip: Korea Liberator, Big Hominid

Another US Army camp in South Korea is ready to close it’s gates for the last time:

The U.S. military plans a retreat ceremony later this week at Camp Hialeah to mark the close of the post, which has been part of the American military presence on the peninsula for more than five decades.  The ceremony is set for 4 p.m. Thursday.

Located in Busan¿s Nam-gu district, the 133-acre installation served as the main receiving point for supplies, equipment and other goods slated for delivery to U.S. military installations in South Korea.

It was also at the core of the U.S. militarys operations in Busan and provided administrative, medical and other services for U.S. personnel at the Pusan Storage Facility, Pier 8, the Defense Reutilization and Management Office, and Gimhae Air Base, a South Korean air force installation.

The post¿s closing comes as part of an agreement between the U.S. and South Korea called the Amended Land Partnership Plan.

Camp Hialeah is one of the oldest US camps on the Korean peninsula and has in fact been operating since 1950 with the break out of the Korean War.  Camp Hialeah served as the main logistical point during the war to bring supplies into Korea and pushed to the front line troops on the Pusan Perimeter.  Since the Korean War it has remained the first logistical point for supplies coming into Korea for USFK units.

What will be interesting to see is if and when USFK will formerly hand over the facility to the Korean government due to the fraudulent environmental issue between the Korean government and USFK.