Category: USFK

I would think US military families would be taking this year’s Focused Passage training a little more seriously than in year’s past:

The U.S. military plans to hold a regular noncombatant evacuation drill in Korea next month under the scenario of a crisis here despite markedly eased tensions.

The Focused Passage training will take place from April 16-20, when South Korean and U.S. troops stage a massive combined combat exercise called Foal Eagle, according to the Stars and Stripes newspaper.

It’s aimed at ensuring U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) service members and families are prepared to evacuate designated noncombatants in case of a conflict on the peninsula.

Around 200,000 American civilians are said to reside in Korea.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Here is an article about a new open concept school that was constructed for DODEA students in Daegu:

Wander the halls of the new Daegu Middle High School and a you might feel like you’ve stepped into the future.

One of several “21st Century” schools that the Department of Defense Education Activity opened recently in Korea, Japan and Germany, the $20 million, 299-student facility is a far cry from most people’s childhood memories.

Its open-air studio classrooms are a contrast to the refurbished barracks where kids learned at Camp Walker before the school opened last fall. The school is so new that, on Friday, part of the cafeteria was cordoned off and filled with equipment waiting to be installed.

“This school is way, way bigger [than the old school],” said senior Nurfatihah Melendez, 17, during a tour that showed off spacious music halls, robotics laboratories and an impressive JROTC wing.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but unsurprisingly the administrator have found out that the open classroom concept causes sound from other classes to going on to be a distraction and thus need to install walls.

4-Star General Vince Brooks to step down from RoK-US Combined Forces Command in July or August per Joongang for "personal reasons." Brooks made his decision known to DoD sources and let his acquaintances know that he'll be leaving in the 2nd half of 2018.https://t.co/JtU0aqTPVT

— Noon in Korea (@NoonInKorea) March 15, 2018

It appears the Kim regime is positioning its self for talks with President Trump.  Wanting a peace treaty that would lead to the withdrawal of USFK has been a long term goal of the Kim regime:

North Korea on Wednesday slammed the ongoing negotiations between South Korea and the United States to renew their deal on defense cost sharing, claiming that South Koreans want the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the peninsula.

The North’s claim comes ahead of a planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and its leader Kim Jong-un that would be held by May. It fuels speculation that the North may seek to strengthen its bargaining power ahead of the talks, experts say.

The North has long insisted that the some 28,500 American forces stationed in South Korea should be pulled out for peace. Analysts said that Pyongyang might seek inter-Korean unification by force if U.S. troops are withdrawn.

The Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North’s ruling party, condemned Seoul and Washington’s latest talks on defense cost sharing, claiming South Koreans are the ones who hope for the troops’ withdrawal.

“What South Koreans want is an unconditional withdrawal of U.S. troops from the South, an unwelcome guest that poses a threat to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula,” the newspaper said.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

The 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade has unfortunately lost another soldier yesterday:

A soldier assigned to the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade was found dead Friday at Camp Carroll, a U.S. base south of Seoul, the military said.

The cause of death is under investigation, and the soldier’s name is being withheld until 24 hours after family is notified, according to the brigade’s public affairs office.

More details were not provided.  [Stars & Stripes]

The brigade back in December had a soldier tragically killed during an on duty vehicle accident.

What I will find the most interesting about the final cost sharing number that the ROK agrees to is whether or not they will exceed that number with the aid they plan to give to the Kim regime?:

Seoul and Washington will begin the first round of negotiations for the renewal of a cost-sharing agreement for American troops in Korea on Wednesday in Honolulu, Hawaii, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

Korea’s delegation to the three-day talks on the 10th Special Measures Agreement (SMA) will be headed by its top negotiator, Chang Won-sam, while Timothy Betts, acting deputy assistant secretary for plans, programs and operations at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, will lead the U.S. side. Both delegations will include defense officials.

The SMA, a multi-year cost-sharing deal under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), establishes what Korea will contribute to the non-personnel costs associated with keeping U.S. troops in the country.

Since 1991, the two countries have conducted routine negotiations to decide what Korea’s financial contribution should be, and the current five-year agreement, the ninth of its kind, is set to expire on Dec. 31.  (……..)

Negotiations for the latest burden-sharing deal, set to come into force in 2019, come at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated that he may demand Korea to pay a greater contribution.

Seoul currently pays about half of the cost of the stationing of some 28,500 U.S. troops on the peninsula, and its contribution has consistently increased over the years and reached over 950 billion won ($878 million) currently compared to some 150 billion won in 1991.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but the original Sunshine Policy was bought and paid for initially with a huge $500 million bribe to the Kim regime.  Follow on bribes described as humanitarian and economic aid continued under the Sunshine Policy.  The aid would total to about a $1 billion a year.  To put this into context the South Koreans were paying more money to the Kim regime annually then what they were contributing to the US-ROK alliance at the time.  Will history repeat itself?  We will likely find out this year.

The latest rotational unit to come to Korea has a history that stretches back to the Korean War:

The 3rd Infantry Division is back on the Korean Peninsula for the first time since the Korean War.

The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team out of Fort Stewart, Ga., began a nine-month rotation Friday by unfurling its unit colors at Eighth Army’s new headquarters south of Seoul.

The “Raider Brigade” replaces soldiers from the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas.

“This is the first time soldiers wearing the 3ID patch have served [on the peninsula] since fighting in the Korean War,” Raider Brigade commander Col. Mike Adams said at the ceremony.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

Here is an update from the Stars & Stripes on the ongoing Yongsan Garrison relocation:

The Army garrison has started to shrink, although it’s still hard to tell from outside. The relocation is not expected to be completed for at least two more years.

Yongsan’s population, including the nearby K-16 air base, has plunged from 22,000 in May to 13,500 following the historic move in July of the Eighth Army from its aging red brick headquarters to Camp Humphreys.

It’s expected to drop as low as 8,000 by Aug. 18 according to the current trajectory, garrison commander Col. Scott Peterson said as he laid out a timeline during a town-hall meeting earlier this month.

The food court and post exchange have reduced hours. Gone is the Popeyes near the schools, which had been a popular student hangout. The commissary reduced the number of registers from 17 to 10 after much-needed equipment was transferred to Humphreys. The library also is being cut in size and no longer operates a drop box.

U.S. Forces Korea made the first adjustment to the perimeter in December when it closed a main access point along with some living quarters and offices, sealing off a section of a northern corner known as Camp Coiner. This area will be the U.S. Embassy’s new home.

Camp Kim, which has a USO building that closed Feb. 21, the Special Operations Command Korea and an office for vehicle registration, is on track to close in July, Peterson said, stressing that was contingent on SOCKOR’S plans.

“What’s left of the garrison will stay like it is for the next six to 12 months with no major adjustments to the perimeter. Inside the base, however, there will be some additional reductions of stuff, the losses of a few conveniences,” Peterson told residents gathered in a base chapel.

The next major milestone will be in December 2019 when the on-post hospital is due to close, triggering the departure of the last major unit.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read much more at the link, but I can remember 20 years ago talk of relocating Yongsan Garrison so it is good to see after all these years it is finally happening.

USFK has some new capability forward deployed on the peninsula:

The U.S. is to deploy new attack drones in South Korea that could be used to kill North Korean leaders and launch pinpoint strikes on its missile launch pads.

Twelve Gray Eagle/MQ-1Cs will arrive at an air base in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province in March and April. Their deployment coincides with joint South Korea-U.S. drills that will be staged in early April right after the closing of the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang.

Construction of a hangar and other support facilities was completed late last month, and support personnel have already arrived.  [Chosun Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

This is an interesting story about the relative of the namesake of Camp Casey serving at the 2nd ID installation:

Second Lt. Sarah Casey shares a name with her duty station, a small artillery outpost near the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

The artillery platoon leader from Collierville, Tenn., played along with the ribbing when folks greeted her with comments like, “Casey at Casey!” after glancing at her name tape. Until last month, when she revealed her secret. The camp was named in honor of her great-uncle, Maj. Hugh B. Casey, a World War II veteran killed in the Korean War who was awarded two Silver Stars during the liberation of the Philippines.

“I’m not here to say, ‘Hi, I’m Sarah Casey at Camp Casey,’ ” she said. “I think it’s important to remember the sacrifices of all those who came before us; that’s what the real story is to me.”

Sarah Casey was 26 when she arrived in South Korea — the same age her great-uncle was when he lost his life.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link and learn more about Camp Casey at this link.