Category: USFK

The suspension of the USFK curfew will continue for another 3 months for all Soldiers except for those in the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team:

 American troops in South Korea received at least three more months without a curfew after Gen. Robert Abrams extended the temporary suspension of the policy on Tuesday.

However, the 1-5 a.m. off-installation curfew has been slapped back on the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, also known as the “Greywolf Brigade,” which began a nine-month rotation in South Korea in early June.

Abrams, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said the temporary reprieve has been going well, but he’s not ready to make it permanent.

“The vast majority of our personnel have conducted themselves appropriately, but I felt it was important to implement an additional 90 days to ensure we are making the correct decision regarding the curfew,” he said in a statement.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but the article didn’t say but I assume there must have been enough incidents of misbehavior in the brigade to warrant being subject to the curfew again.

I guess this change really doesn’t matter because the blackmarketers always seem to get what they need regardless of what AAFES and the commissaries do:

 The U.S. military has lifted monthly commissary purchase limits and eased other restrictions on shoppers at base stores in South Korea.

The new policy, which took effect Wednesday, also allows even patrons who don’t have purchasing privileges to enter commissaries and department store-style exchanges, although they’re not allowed to buy anything.

The change came as U.S. Forces Korea, the main command for some 28,500 troops based on the divided peninsula, is trying to make it a more attractive assignment.

However, limits remain as USFK seeks to prevent black market sales of goods sold on base. Alcohol sales, for example, will continue to be restricted.

Authorized shoppers also must show a military ID or ration card at the cash register, according to the new policy that was announced in a Sept. 11 memo signed by Air Force Maj. Gen. Stephen Williams, USFK chief of staff.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but some of the biggest blackmarket schemes in the past have involved AAFES and commissary employees. If it gets too bad I guess USFK could always send in the clowns again.

Great job by all the Soldiers that participated in the ruck this week:

 Servicemembers and civilians participated in the ninth annual 9/11 Memorial Ruck March at Camp Humphreys on Wednesday, marking 18 years since the worst attack on the U.S. since Pearl Harbor and the prelude to the nation’s longest war.

An estimated 500 people signed up for the 9.11-mile memorial ruck, beating a record set in 2017 when 264 participants signed up and completed a slightly different route.

Many of the participants were mere toddlers on the morning of 9/11, more concerned with putting one foot in front of the other without falling over than shouldering a pack and moving out.

Pfc. Alison Malmborg, a supply specialist for the Eighth Army Wightman NCO Academy, was 2 years old when those tragic events unfolded.

“There are a few sergeants and people we work with that were in the military during 9/11, so it means a lot to spend this time with them and show that we are dedicated,” she said. “Even though I was only 2, I am here today serving alongside them.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Here is an important update from Yongsan Garrison in regards to its upcoming end of medical services on October 1st. There will be a town hall on September 9th at the Post Chapel at 1500 to discuss.

Here is the slide that lists the dates of when services on Yongsan Garrison will end. The slide is from the recent town hall held at Yongsan Garrison Of particular note is that the PX will close on January 1, 2020 and the Commissary sometime in September 2021. The Post Office is scheduled to be open all the way to August 2022. Considering how the Moon administration is claiming the expedited hand over of Yongsan Garrison this year, these close out dates do not indicate that will happen. It all appears to be political posturing.

It will be interesting to see what the fate of the Dragon Hill Lodge will be as well since the ROK government wants to demolish it, while USFK wants to keep it open after the relocation of Yongsan Garrison is complete.

The long planned for closure of Yongsan Garrison in Seoul will officially happen over the next couple of months:

The U.S. Forces Korea will end all services at a major military base in the heart of Seoul within this year to prepare the return of the land to the South Korean government, military officials said Saturday. 

The U.S. military has been moving its bases from around the country to a refurbished garrison in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, since 2017.

While the USFK headquarters and the Eighth Army have moved to the new headquarters, called Camp Humphreys, the U.S. military has been preparing to vacate Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul to speed up the relocation processes.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Especially important for those who think are in a online romance with senior military leaders.

I’m married to the love of my life @ConnieAbrams . News alert: She is alive and well and remains the center of my universe.

Scammers will say anything to steal $$ from you. https://t.co/UEvHk4OgMZ

— Robert Abrams (@DogFaceSoldier) July 30, 2019

This has been a long time coming since it has been plague by delays and shoddy construction:

The United States took possession of a state-of-the-art, 68-bed hospital at the new U.S. military headquarters in South Korea during a ceremony Wednesday.

The handover put the $215 million facility one step closer to opening, seven years after the military broke ground on it.

The Brian D. Allgood Army Community Hospital and ambulatory care center, the namesake of the hospital that will close at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, is scheduled to officially open for patients on Nov. 15.

That will be a relief for the more than 30,000 Americans based at Camp Humphreys, many of whom must commute some 55 miles north to the South Korean capital for services, including behavioral health care and childbirth.

On Wednesday, speakers alluded to the problems that faced the South Korean-funded construction project. The hospital is a centerpiece of the nearly $11 billion effort to expand Camp Humphreys, a former remote outpost, as part of the long-delayed relocation of most American forces to the south of Seoul.

“Today is one of those days that I was afraid would never come,” said Col. Teresa Schlosser, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District. She attended the ceremony on her last day as district commander.

“I appreciate being able to close out this hospital after all the years of hard work to get it across the finish line,” she said.The United States took possession of a state-of-the-art, 68-bed hospital at the new U.S. military headquarters in South Korea during a ceremony Wednesday.

The handover put the $215 million facility one step closer to opening, seven years after the military broke ground on it.

The Brian D. Allgood Army Community Hospital and ambulatory care center, the namesake of the hospital that will close at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, is scheduled to officially open for patients on Nov. 15.

That will be a relief for the more than 30,000 Americans based at Camp Humphreys, many of whom must commute some 55 miles north to the South Korean capital for services, including behavioral health care and childbirth.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but ground was first broken to build the hospital in 2012. It took seven years to build this hospital when I have seen entire new neighborhoods in South Korea constructed faster.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to rename the joint US-ROK exercise to not upset Kim Jong-un?:

South Korea and the United States are reportedly considering conducting a joint military exercise early next month as scheduled, but under a different name.

The allies were known to have planned to conduct the exercise, named 19-2 Dong Maeng, to evaluate Seoul’s readiness to take over wartime operational control (OPCON) of its troops from Washington.

But multiple military sources said on Sunday that the two sides are reviewing whether to rename it in consideration of recent warnings from North Korea that the drill could affect its nuclear negotiations with the United States.

One of the possible new names to replace Dong Maeng, which means alliance in English, reportedly includes “OPCON Verification Exercise.”

The military sources said that the allies plan to hold the computer-simulated command post exercise for three weeks in early August.

KBS World Radio

Not as much as you think. Jack-@$$-ery is not limited to only the hours of 0100-0500. https://t.co/u7tdLbiER3

— Robert Abrams (@DogFaceSoldier) July 21, 2019