Category: USFK

Here is more details about the battalion command team that was suspended at Camp Humphreys:

The Army has suspended a battalion commander and command sergeant major in South Korea while an investigation is conducted into allegations of racism, bigotry and discrimination.

Maj. Gen. Steve Gilland, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, suspended the command team — Lt. Col. Sean McBride and Command Sgt. Maj. Mario Salomone — of the 602nd Aviation Support Battalion after receiving an anonymous tip alleging racist behavior, according to a Dec. 12 Facebook statement from Lt. Gen. W. M. Burleson III, commander of Eighth Army at Camp Humphreys. (……..)

McBride and Salomone will remain suspended for the duration of the investigation, according to the statement.

“These actions do not presuppose any outcome and are intended to ensure a full, fair, and impartial inquiry,” Burleson said in the statement. “Other allegations properly within the authority of Criminal Investigation Division are being addressed by them.”

Military.com

You can read more at the link and the Army Times has more about the racism allegations as well.

USFK continues to slowly but surely give back more its land to South Korea. It will be interesting if any of the left wing groups will use this as an opportunity to protest environmental issues like they have done for past hand overs:

Parts of Yongsan Garrison and the former headquarters of Stars and Stripes in Seoul are among a dozen U.S. military sites that will be returned to South Korea by U.S. forces, according U.S. and South Korean officials.

The decision, which did not include timelines for the handovers, was made during a virtual Status of Forces Agreement Joint Committee meeting involving both nations Friday, according to a statement that day.

“The parties agree that further delays aggravate the economic and social challenges of the local communities surrounding the camps and that the returns process should be expedited,” the statement said.

Included in a list of facilities is the Far East Engineer District Compound in Seoul’s Dongdaemun neighborhood that was home to Stars and Stripes’ South Korean headquarters before it relocated to Camp Humphreys, south of Seoul, in September 2018.

Also on the list are parts of Pilsung Air Range, Taebaek; parts of Camp Walker, Daegu; Commander Naval Forces Korea Detachment, Pohang; parts of Camp Mobile, Dongducheon; Camp Jackson, Uijeongbu; Sungnam Golf Course, Hanam; Seobinggo Compound, Seoul; Niblo Barracks, Seoul; 8th Army (Religious) Retreat Center, Seoul; Camp Kim, Seoul; and parts of Yongsan Garrison, Seoul.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Not a good look:

The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) is facing criticism over a dance party held at one of its bases last week at which participants did not wear face masks amid South Korea’s heightened social distancing scheme to stem the resurgence of new coronavirus cases.

The party took place at Flightline Tap Room at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on Friday, with dozens of people dancing side by side without wearing masks, according to officials.

On the same day, South Korea’s daily number of new COVID-19 cases reached a near nine-month high of 629, with authorities urging citizens to cancel non-vital face-to-face gatherings.

The Seoul government has requested the U.S. military to follow antivirus measures. The U.S. military said Monday that the bar was “closed effective immediately, per command directive.” 

“The facility has been closed, and we are looking into the matter,” a USFK official said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I think these may the pictures causing the criticism that I pulled from the Flightline Tap Room’s Facebook page for a salsa party:

The prior USFK commander General Vincent Brooks was also the U.S. Army Pacific Commander before taking over USFK:

U.S. Army Pacific Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera has been nominated to be the next commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), sources said Friday.

If confirmed, LaCamera will succeed Gen. Robert Abrams to lead the 28,500 American troops based in South Korea, as well as to take the helm of the U.N. Command and the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command. Abrams took office in November 2018.

The nomination is part of a routine reshuffle, though no official term of office is set for a USFK commander, the sources said, adding that LaCamera is expected to face a parliamentary hearing in around February or March.

LaCamera has been in command of the U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) since November last year, which is the land forces component of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and encompasses such locations as South Korea, Japan, Hawaii and Guam.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

If North Korea was going to start a provocation cycle they will wait until the Biden administration is in charge in order to gauge their reaction:

There are no signs of any imminent provocations from North Korea that it would test its weapons, Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), said Friday.

His remark came amid concerns that Pyongyang may conduct military provocations such as a weapon test to draw Washington’s attention after the election of Joe Biden as the 46th U.S. president, as it has done in the past.

“We haven’t seen any signs that a test is imminent,” Abrams, who is also the commander of the United States Forces Korea (USFK) and the United Nations Command (UNC), told reporters during a press conference to mark his two-year anniversary of leading the three separate commands, at CFC headquarters at United States Army Garrison (USAG) Yongsan in Seoul.

But the CFC commander said that the military would need more information before it can speculate whether there will be more missile tests in the future ― next month or January, for example, taking a prudent stance over the matter.

Korea Times