Category: USFK

US troops in South Korea are about to get some more freedom:

American troops stationed in South Korea will soon be allowed to dine in local restaurants after U.S. Forces Korea announced on Thursday that it was lifting some COVID-19 restrictions.

USFK is loosening some social distancing measures Friday, and will permit “any indoor and outdoor activity” allowed under South Korea’s guidelines, according to a command news release.

That means service members, their families, civilian employees and contractors may again dine in off-base restaurants and visit shopping malls. USFK, the command responsible for approximately 28,500 troops, banned those activities on Jan. 8 as the number of COVID-19 cases increased throughout the country. (…..)

However, USFK is not changing its coronavirus risk level, which is at condition Bravo-plus. Travel to Seoul is still limited to official duties or to visit the Dragon Hill Lodge, a hotel at Yongsan Garrison. Local bars, clubs, bathhouses and karaoke clubs are still off-limits.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Some good news from this article is that quarantine for USFK Soldiers has been lessened to 7 days and on-post indoor dining is now open again:

 New coronavirus cases from the U.S. military have declined for the fourth consecutive week, though infections across the country continue to reach record highs. 

U.S. Forces Korea, the command responsible for roughly 28,500 troops on the Korean Peninsula, counted 153 new COVID-19 cases in a seven-day period ending Monday. That’s 43 fewer than USFK reported the previous period and far below the pandemic high of 1,599 cases between Jan. 4-10. 

USFK leaders have said they are “proud” of their community’s “continued efforts” in adhering to mitigation measures.

“Their actions are reflected in our numbers and they speak for themselves,” spokesman Army Col. Lee Peters told Stars and Stripes in an email last week. “We’ve seen a continued downward trend … and expect to continue this trend.”

Dining in off-post restaurants remains off-limits, but after a monthlong pause, most dining facilities on U.S. installations are open again for indoor eating.

The command on Monday shortened its 10-day mandatory quarantine period to seven days to align with South Korean mandates. Those who already live in South Korea may quarantine at home with approval from their supervisors.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

If USFK servicemembers are any indication South Korea may still have a few weeks before they enter into a decline in COVID cases:

South Korea reached a new pandemic high of 20,270 coronavirus cases on Tuesday as the nation wrapped up the Lunar New Year holiday, three days typically marked by widespread travel on the peninsula.

Tuesday’s count was 1,928 cases higher than the previous record of 18,342 infections logged the day before, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Center. Over 6,000 cases were reported in Gyeonggi province, where Camp Humphreys, the largest U.S. military base overseas, is located.

Meanwhile, U.S. Forces Korea reported 196 new COVID-19 cases for the week ending Monday, its third consecutive week of declining numbers. USFK confirmed 379 new infections the previous week and a pandemic high of 1,599 between Jan. 4 and 10.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but in Japan USFJ servicemembers are experiencing the same trend of lowering cases while Japan’s daily COVID case rate surged to over 142,000.

In the Stars & Stripes they have an article posted about how the Camp Humphreys garrison commander’s wife is a Korean adoptee who has returned to Korea for the first time since she was a baby:

Tara Graves celebrates her birthday Saturday in South Korea, her first since she was born here more than 45 years ago.

Graves, 46, a personal fitness trainer and the wife of Camp Humphreys commander Col. Seth Graves, is among tens of thousands of South Koreans adopted to families around the world in the decades following the 1950-53 Korean War.

In 2020, the Army sent the Graves family from Brussels to South Korea, where Seth took command of the largest U.S. military base overseas. 

The new assignment hit home for Tara Graves: She had not been in South Korea since she was adopted at 6 months old, she told Stars and Stripes in December.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It looks like it is going to be a tough few weeks for U.S. troops in South Korea as they face nearly a soft lockdown on their off post activities:

 U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Saturday it has decided to toughen social distancing rules for its service members amid the growing number of infections among its troops.

The USFK had confirmed a weekly record high of 682 additional COVID-19 cases among its personnel from Dec. 28 to Tuesday. It did not offer more details, including the number of breakthrough cases or locations of the infected members.

“Due to the continued presence of COVID-19 within United States Forces Korea and South Korea, USFK has increased its health protection condition to ‘Bravo Plus’ peninsula-wide effective today at 12 p.m. until further notice,” the USFK said in a statement.

Under the scheme, the U.S. military will prohibit all personnel from visiting off-base facilities, such as indoor malls and gyms.

Access to bars and saunas will also be banned, though the USFK had previously banned such activities for non-vaccinated personnel only.

Seated dining at restaurants outside the base will also be restricted.

The USFK added it will prohibit its personnel from traveling to Seoul except for official duties or those who live there.

The total number of COVID-19 cases reported among the USFK-affiliated population totaled 3,027 as of Tuesday. The USFK said nearly 90 percent of its affiliated community is vaccinated.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I have said for years that China would not just be a bystander during any conflict on the Korean peninsula and retired USFK General Robert Abrams believes in this viewpoint now as well:

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense on Monday pushed back against remarks by a former commander of U.S. Forces Korea who said wartime plans against North Korea must account for China’s militaristic influence in the region.

North Korea’s weapons testing demonstrates that it persists as a threat, but the Chinese military also has “to be accounted for in the war plan,” retired Gen. Robert Abrams, who led USFK and U.N. Command until July, said on Voice of America on Saturday.

“It’s not a secret that they have increased their presence in and around the Korean Peninsula since 2010,” Abrams said, referring to China’s military.

“These are indications of things that have to be accounted for in the war plan that the current [guidance] does not contain,” he said.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Here is a good news story, great job by all the doctors and nurses involved with helping keep this baby alive:

An extremely premature baby of an American military officer couple has grown healthy enough to be discharged from the hospital and sent to the United States, hospital officials said Monday.

The baby weighed only 720 grams when born on Sept. 10, just over 25 weeks into pregnancy, through cesarean section at Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital in Hwaseong, about 40 kilometers south of Seoul. 

The baby, who could not properly breathe due to not having fully developed lungs, was sent to an intensive care unit (ICU) upon birth and received urgent CPR treatment. After that, a team of doctors, including a pediatrician, thoracic surgeon and physiatrist, focused on helping the baby recover. 

After 98 days of hospitalization, the baby was discharged at a weight of 2,510 grams without any neurologic complications. The baby was transferred to a U.S. hospital, as the parents were reassigned to posts in the country.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.