Category: USFK

Hopefully everyone recovers from their injuries with no serious issues:

Two Apache helicopters collided Friday at Camp Humphreys, injuring four U.S. soldiers, a spokesman said.

The AH-64 helicopters were getting ready to take off when the collision occurred at the base south of Seoul, said Lt. Col. Richard Hyde, the 2nd Infantry Division spokesman.

The four soldiers were taken to nearby hospitals with minor injuries, but all have been released, he said Sunday.

The military did not give a cause, saying an investigation is under way. [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

The Secretary of the Army recently got a hands on experience with the great soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea:

The Army’s new civilian leader has taken a real hands-on approach during his first tour of the Pacific, even firing a rocket from a Kiowa helicopter during a demonstration flight near the border with North Korea.

But it’s the real military drills held regularly by the U.S. and its allies that impressed him the most.

Army Secretary Eric Fanning kicked off his visit to the region in Hawaii where multinational naval exercises were being held and wrapped it up in South Korea where the U.S. and its ally are preparing for annual war games later this month.

“Those integrated exercises are one of the ways we’re enhancing our capabilities as we draw down the Army,” Fanning told Stars and Stripes in an interview Wednesday.

Fanning said his trip, which also included stops in Guam, Malaysia, Japan and Alaska, highlighted the challenges facing the Army as it deals with budget constraints, aging equipment and a massive troop drawdown.

“We’re asking a lot of our soldiers, and the requirements are going up, and you see more of that here certainly on this peninsula,” he said after meeting with soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division that mans the front lines near the heavily militarized border with North Korea.

“Part of that is the rotational concept that we’re using, which allows us to have a bigger footprint even as we draw down the Army,” he said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

Condolences to the family of this deceased 2ID soldier:

 A 2nd Infantry Division soldier was found dead over the weekend in her apartment north of Seoul.

Sgt. Jacqueline M. Anderson, 26, of Leesville, La., died Sunday afternoon in her Dongducheon residence, a 2ID press release said. Cause of death is still under investigation.

Anderson’s husband asked a neighbor to call police after finding her unconscious, said a police official in Dongducheon, home to Camp Casey and other U.S. bases near the border with North Korea. She was already dead when officers arrived, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

Anderson, assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 38th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Field Artillery Brigade, was stationed in Dongducheon with her husband, Sgt. Carl William Anderson, who is also with the 210th Field Artillery Brigade.  [Stars & Stripes]

US-South Korea military drills to proceed despite North Korea's warning https://t.co/MsSUK3t8a7

— KimcheeGI (@KimcheeGI) July 31, 2016

I am glad to hear General Brooks say this because this is something that the left wing activists are implying that the US Army is intentionally letting its soldiers be exposed to dangerous electromagnetic waves which is not true:

U.S. Forces Korea Commander Vincent Brooks on Wednesday dismissed South Koreans’ concerns over health risks linked to the advanced missile interception system that will be deployed in the country by the end of 2017.

Despite efforts by the government to allay health risk concerns associated with the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and its powerful radar, some residents of Seongju have called on the government to reconsider its decision. The county, located 296 kilometers southeast of Seoul, has been tapped to host the country’s first THAAD battery.

“None will be closer to the (THAAD) system than my soldiers. I would not recklessly endanger them under the circumstances where they are protecting someone else (in South Korea),” the commander told reporters after attending the 63rd anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement held at the truce village of Panmunjom.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but the health risks have already been proven to be false when reporters had an opportunity to travel to Guam and see electromagnetic waves readings from the THAAD battery stationed there.  The readings showed the electromagnetic waves were well below what is required by Korean law.

It is finally happening which is amazing considering how many years we have been hearing that this was going to happen.

 U.S. forces in South Korea are finally starting to move to their new headquarters south of Seoul, although the much-delayed expansion of Camp Humphreys won’t be finished for several years.

First up is the Fort Hood, Texas-based 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, which is packing up and redeploying south this week from the mountainous area near the border with North Korea.

Soldiers loaded Abrams tanks and other armored vehicles on flat rail cars Thursday, taking advantage of a new railhead at Humphreys and using late-night convoys to avoid worsening Seoul’s tangled traffic. One whistled the theme song from “M*A*S*H,” a long-running TV series about the Korean War that was set in the area. A separate train was carrying soldiers to Humphreys along with the vehicles so they could jump out to fight if needed.

Several units, including the 304th Signal Battalion and military police, have already redeployed to Camp Humphreys — which will be spread over more than 3,500 acres near the port city of Pyeongtaek.

But the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, will be the vanguard of the historic move by the 2nd Infantry Division, which has been stationed near the world’s most heavily militarized border for decades.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link.  Just think this was supposed to be completed back in 2008.  According to the article USFK officials have declined to give an end date of when the move will be complete and instead call it conditions based.

As far as what I have read in the media USFK has never publicly said that the THAAD deployment to South Korea was intended to defend Seoul.  The deployment has always been pitched as adding protection against longer range missiles the North Koreans have fielded that the Patriot missile system cannot intercept.  North Korea is not going to use a long range missile on Seoul when shorter range missiles and artillery can strike the capitol city.  Where they would use their longer range missiles is against Busan thus why THAAD needs to be positioned in the southern area of the Korean peninsula:

Along with the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system to South Korea, military authorities are working on a separate missile defense plan to protect Seoul and the surrounding area from attack by Pyongyang.

A high-ranking Korean military official told the JoongAng Ilbo on Monday, “There is a high likelihood that the final site for the Thaad system, which Korea and the U.S. are deciding on now, may be a location that might make it difficult to protect the Seoul metropolitan area, so we are making preparations.”

A working group established by Seoul and Washington to discuss the placement of the U.S. Forces Korea anti-missile system began in March. During the initial discussion over where to place a Thaad battery, Korea proposed a site in the central region. Washington preferred a more southern site to cover Busan, the site of the U.S. Naval Forces Korea headquarters, and its other military assets.

One government official familiar with the negotiation process over Thaad said, “The United States has said that the Thaad battery had to be out of reach of North Korea’s new 300 multiple rocket launch system, which has a range of 200 kilometers (124 miles), and in an emergency situation, should protect U.S. military personnel.”

The official continued, “The specific location cannot be revealed, but to my knowledge, the Thaad will be deployed to a southern-central region so that in case of an emergency it can protect the Busan port and other areas that will be used by U.S. troops from North Korea’s missile attack.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

Like I said in my previous posting, I had a little confidence that the ROK would be able to keep the deployment location of the THAAD battery in South Korea secret if this report is accurate:

South Korea and the United States are likely to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system to Seongju county in the south central region of the country, a military source said Tuesday.

As early as next week, Seoul and Washington are likely to announce where they will place the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, said the official source who declined to be identified. The source also said the Seongsan-ri region of the county, about 296 km south of Seoul, will be chosen as the site of the missile system.

The two countries evaluated that the location is optimal, given that the site is suitable for military operations and is sparsely populated, the insider said.

“The allies have reached an understanding that Seongju, which already has the Air Force’s Hawk surface-to-air missile battery, is the best location for the THAAD system,” he said, adding that they are awaiting final approval from their respective national military authorities. [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but according to the article residents in the county are preparing to protest the decision.  At this point I don’t even know if the residents even realize what they are protesting against?  The THAAD is going on military land thus no civilian land will be taken and there is no danger from the radar as long as it is positioned 100 meters from homes which is assuredly will.

Plus there is already a Hawk radar at the location that the ROK Air Force is using and no one is protesting that?

It looks like the “Not In My Backyard” crowd has already started protesting the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea:

The official announcement of deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in Korea is bringing a huge backlash from residents of areas which are rumored to be candidate sites for the system.

People in the regions claim the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) will pose serious health risks to them and environmental damage due to strong electromagnetic waves.

Immediately after the announcement Friday, residents in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and Waegwan of Chilgok County in North Gyeongsang Province, the two key candidate locations, expressed vehement opposition.

A coalition of 25 civic groups in Pyeongtaek, where the United States Forces Korea (USKF) headquarters will be moved, said they will hold a press conference on July 19 to announce their protest plans to block the possible deployment there.

“The noise and electromagnetic waves emanating from THAAD radar will pose grave health threats to residents here,” the coalition said in a statement.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but like most Korean protests these people are blatantly lying to get public sentiment behind them.  Anyone can Google and find out the safe keep out zones for the THAAD radar.  In fact it is published in the draft Environmental Assessment document for the THAAD unit on Guam that can be downloaded at this link.  Here is an excerpt from the document that discusses the safe keep out zones for the radar:

The 7th Air Force at Osan AB has a new commander:

A new deputy chief of United States Forces Korea (USFK) took command on Friday, vowing to put more effort into enhancing the alliance between the U.S. and South Korea so as to forge an “ever stronger” partnership, the U.S. military said.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Thomas Bergeson took office as the deputy commander of the United Nations Command and the USFK, replacing Lt. Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy in the ceremony held at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, the USFK’s Seventh Air Force said in a statement.

With the new position, Bergeson also serves as the commanding general of the Seventh Air Force, as well as the air commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command.

“I look forward to enhancing the capabilities of our team and transforming the alliance into an ever stronger partnership,” Bergeson said.

He stressed the role of South Korea as a “key contributor” to regional peace.

“We will continue to refocus our training and exercises in order to maximize our combat capability and enhance our readiness to ‘fight tonight.'”

His inauguration came at a critical time when Seoul and Washington are deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), an advanced U.S. missile defense system, on South Korean soil.

If THAAD is deployed with the USFK, the chief commander of the Seventh Air Force will effectively be in charge of controlling the THAAD unit on behalf of the USFK commander, according to a South Korean military official.

Bergeson served as the director at the Pentagon’s legislative liaison for the U.S. Air Force secretary. He is an F-15 and F-22 pilot who has a more than 3,100 hours of flight time under his belt, the U.S. military said.

O’Shaughnessy will assume command of the Pacific Air Force at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, it also said.  [Yonhap]

Lieutenant General O’Shaughnessy in my opinion was a great commander for 7th Air Force and will do great things at PACAF as well.