Category: USFK

I hope the US pushes back hard on this proposal because this is a total concession to North Korea which has few aircraft to fly along the DMZ compared to the US and ROK.  USFK should be respond by saying that North Korea should withdraw all of their artillery 80 miles away from the DMZ if they want this no fly zone.  Now that would be a more equitable agreement:

Last month, North and South Korea signed an agreement that is designed to de-escalate tension at the demilitarized zone between the two nations, which have technically been at war since the 1950s. One major feature: a no-fly zone over the border.

At the time, some South Korean government officials called the agreement the “equivalent to declaring an end to the Korean War.” But the call for a no-fly zone over the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ) is facing pushback from the South’s biggest backer, the United States.

Last week, South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told reporters that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed “discontent” with the agreement during a phone call. This week the pushback seemed to escalate as unnamed officials told Reuters that U.S. military commanders are specifically unhappy with the no fly zone, which is to begin on November 1.

So why is the U.S. so upset?   [Popular Mechanics]

You can read the rest at the link, but the reason for the displeasure is because US helicopters and fixed wing aircraft routinely train in the border areas.  The proposed no fly zone would extend any where from 25-50 miles from the DMZ making this training impossible and further eroding the readiness of US forces.

This proposal gets back to what I have been saying for months, the Moon administration will not openly say they want US forces to leave, but will create conditions that will make US forces withdraw on its own accord.  If this agreement is implemented this is just another example of this strategy

This is an issue I hope at some point the Trump administration confronts the Moon administration on because this blockade of the THAAD site is ridiculous and could be ended at any time by the Korean government:

“The buildings we have weren’t built to house soldiers,” she said. “It’s not unlivable, but it’s not nice.”

She says the protesters not only force her troops to fly in and out every week via helicopter, but also stop U.S. vehicles from shipping in goods and supplies.

“Currently, the only way on and off of the site is by helicopter,” she said. “A week at a time at least, every single one of my soldiers is away from their barracks room, their family.”

She said if the gates weren’t blocked they wouldn’t require the extended rotations and could keep more people at Carroll, which is only a 25-minute drive away.

Spc. Josiah Welch, a THAAD operator, said conditions have improved since he started at the site in November.

“There was pretty bad mold initially,” said the 25-year old from Winter Park, Fla. “There was a week where we didn’t have running water – we had baby wipe showers.”

Now they have air conditioning and showers, he said.

The military finally began shipping fresh food three times week last month, reducing some reliance on pre-prepared field rations, Theilacker said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

The big test is going to be if the Key Resolve exercise that happens every March is cancelled.  I would think by then we would have a good idea of which way the whole denuclearization negotiations is going to go:

The United States and South Korea have canceled an annual air exercise scheduled for December, the Pentagon announced Friday, emphasizing ongoing diplomatic discussions with North Korea.

The Pentagon and South Korea’s military will not conduct Exercise Vigilant Ace as the two nations negotiate with North Korea over its nuclear program, said Dana White, a Pentagon spokeswoman. It’s at least the fourth military exercise that the nations have canceled since President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced he was suspending military “war games” on the peninsula after his June summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

Very sad news to share that the recently retired and former 8th Army Commander Lieutenant General Thomas Vandal has passed away from cancer:

A former commander of the Eighth Army and 2nd Infantry Division died over the weekend, according to a message posted Tuesday on Eighth Army’s official Facebook page.

Retired Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal, who oversaw the highest Army headquarters unit on the Korean Peninsula from February 2016 until his retirement earlier this year, died Sunday, officials told Stars and Stripes. No other details were provided.

“LTG(R) Thomas S. Vandal … you were a tremendous leader and a charismatic mentor,” the Facebook message said. “You were the epitome of the Eighth Army Motto: “Fight Tonight!” The hearts and prayers of the Eighth Army go out to the family and friends of LTG Vandal.”

The 1982 West Point graduate served prominently as one of the Army’s top generals in South Korea this decade, first taking the reins of 2nd ID in 2013 before becoming the Army’s top general in South Korea a few years later. He retired shortly after handing command to Lt. Gen. Michael Bills in January.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but first of all condolences to LTG Vandal’s friends and family.  It is shocking how quickly cancer can kill someone, even someone as fit as LTG Vandal was.

Besides being highly involved in completing 8th Army’s move to Camp Humphreys LTG Vandal was also a key player in the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea.  These were definitely two major legacy efforts he was part of during his time at 8th Army.

Rest in peace LTG Vandal.

The 1st Armored Division is the next rotational unit to come to Korea.  The division did not participate in the Korean War and according to the division’s history it made no rotational deployments to Korea either over the years.  So this is likely the first time that the “Old Ironsides” patch will be in Korea:

Tracked vehicles and other equipment for a new U.S. unit on a 9-month rotational mission here will arrive in South Korea next week, the U.S. Eighth Army said Thursday.

The equipment from the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Armored Division based at Fort Bliss, Texas, will arrive in the country’s southeastern port city of Busan, 450 kilometers south of Seoul, early next week.

The new team is set to replace the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division based at Fort Stewart, Georgia, which is completing its rotational deployment in support of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division, a forward-deployed unit in Korea.

Aside from the equipment, approximately 490 troops of the new team have already arrived. The Eighth Army refused to elaborate on the total number of its personnel.

Unlike previous rotational deployments, the outgoing team will take some of their equipment, including M1 Abrams tanks and M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, back to the United States, while the new team will bring in some of their own equipment.

In the past, equipment stayed in Korea while rotational troops moved on and off the peninsula.

The exchange of equipment is aimed at ensuring “proper maintenance” and service of the old equipment and aligning deployed forces with current U.S. Army-wide modernization and readiness efforts, the Eighth Army said.

“The noticeable difference this time is the movement of tracked vehicles,” Col. Joseph R. Morrow, the Eighth Army logistics chief, said. “This added complexity gives our soldiers the opportunity to maintain skills in shipping and safely moving large-scale equipment.  [Yonhap]

I think it is arguable that USFK’s part in the US’s overall North Korea strategy is to do everything possible to not be the ones’ to blame if the current peace process falls apart because North Korea does not denuclearize.  The Kim regime would need an excuse for reneging on giving up their nukes and claiming that USFK is training to destroy them is a good excuse.  With that said they can just claim the US military presence in South Korea is enough to justify keeping their nukes as well:

Robert B. Abrams, a four-star US Army general who is nominated to become the next US Forces Korea (USFK) commander, stated that the suspension of joint military exercises between the US and South Korea has undermined combat readiness, and that an “atmosphere of detente” is being created on the Korean Peninsula.During a hearing to vet him for his new position at the Senate Armed Service Committee on Sept. 25, Abrams talked about the suspension of the Ulchi-Freedom Guardian joint military exercises in the wake of the US-North Korea summit meeting on June 12. According to an AFP report, he said “I think the suspension of the exercise this past August and September, I would say was a prudent risk if we’re willing to make the effort to change the relationship with [North Korea].”  [Hankyoreh]

You can read more at the link.

The FED became an oddly located military installation after Seoul’s explosive growth.  It is now about to finally close:

A few blocks from the sloping, spaceship-shaped Dongdaemun Design Plaza in one of Seoul’s trendiest fashion districts is another odd sight.

A tiny U.S. Army base sits just across the street from a hospital morgue and adjacent to a park that blocks its view from a major thoroughfare.

Know as FED, the compound has been home to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District, headquarters since the 1950-53 Korean War. Before that it was the site of a Japanese-built school from the nearly four decades when Japan occupied the peninsula until its defeat in World War II.

Surrounded by concrete and brick walls lined with concertina wire, the 13-acre base can be easy to miss, one of several sub-installations that belong to the larger Yongsan Garrison just a few miles away.

But its history reflects the highs and lows of the U.S. presence in the South Korean capital. In a final act, the Corps of Engineers is preparing to close the base after it moves to Camp Humphreys as part of the long-delayed relocation of most U.S. forces south of Seoul.

Kenneth Pickler, 64, the Far East District’s transportation chief, has worked on the compound since he was first deployed there as a soldier 1989, then took a job as a civilian after retiring from active duty.

The Cloverdale, Calif., native plans to retire after the FED compound closes, although he plans to remain in South Korea.

“My last official duty is to shut off the lights, lock the gate and hand the keys over … back to the garrison,” he told Stars and Stripes in an interview last month. “And that’s supposed to happen in mid-November.”  [Stars and Stripes]

You can read much more at the link such as the fact that a third of the buildings at the FED were built by the Japanese.  The first building was the Gyeongseong School of Education built in 1922 that is the main building used on the compound.

There is also an interesting story about a fuel leak mess created by the South Koreans when they razed an old Japanese courthouse adjacent to the FED back in the 1990’s that the US had to clean up.  It reminded me of the current fuel leak controversy over at Yongsan Garrison frequently blamed on USFK.

After the base closes in November there are not current plans on what the ROK will do with the land.  Considering that there are a number of Japanese era buildings on the property the bulldozer is likely coming for them.

I think these hearings should not provide any controversies though I would not be surprised if some members of Congress try to get him to say comments critical of the Trump administration’s North Korea policies:

Washington is set to replace the commander of US forces in South Korea amid a rapid diplomatic thaw on the peninsula, even as denuclearisation of the North stalls.

The US stations 28,500 troops in the South, a treaty ally, to defend it against its nuclear-armed neighbour, which invaded in 1950, triggering the Korean War.

General Robert B. Abrams, commander of the US Army Forces Command, will undergo a confirmation hearing next week to be head of US Forces Korea (USFK), the Senate Armed Services Committee’s website showed.

If his nomination is approved, he will succeed General Vincent Brooks as commander of USFK, the UN Command and the South Korea-US Combined Forces Korea, who has been in the post since April 2016.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

I swear this did not come out the Duffel Blog:

Col. Kerry Proulx, former commander of the 51st Mission Support Group, also improperly allowed subordinates and one subordinate’s wife to pay for her meals, and did not always repay them, according to a commander-directed investigation report obtained by Air Force Times through the Freedom of Information Act.

Proulx was relieved April 13 by Col. William Betts, commander of the 51st Fighter Wing. At the time, the base said she was removed due to a “loss of confidence in her ability to effectively lead,” but did not elaborate further. Proulx is now chief of the personnel division at Air Education and Training Command at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph in Texas. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment submitted to AETC.

It looks like General Brooks is keeping an open mind about this ROK proposal:

The top U.S. commander in South Korea expressed support Wednesday for a plan to remove some guard posts from the tense border, saying it’s a “reasonable” risk that may help denuclearization talks with the North.

South Korea’s defense ministry has said it plans to close about 10 guard posts along the Demilitarized Zone and expects the North to reciprocate as part of a bilateral summit agreement to ease tensions.

Gen. Vincent Brooks — who wears three hats as the leader of U.S. Forces Korea, the United Nations Command and the Combined Forces Command — said he supports the initiative to reduce tensions and build trust between the rival nations.

“I have some concerns about what that means militarily to the ability to defend along the Military Demarcation Line and in depth beyond it,” he said at a press conference at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents’ Club.

“I believe that there’s a reasonable amount of risk that’s involved in this, not an excessive amount of risk,” to the defense of South Korea, he said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.