Category: USFK

I feel bad for the guy that died trying to stop one of these suicides from happening, but I do think there was probably more going on with these two that killed themselves considering the corruption probe that is happening:

Failure to meet deadlines and pay contractors on time may have contributed to the deaths this past spring of three South Koreans working on the U.S. Army’s massive expansion of Camp Humphreys, according to local police.

Two South Korean workers committed suicide in separate incidents in May, while a third man died from injuries after trying to intervene in one of the deaths.

The head of a subcontracting company set himself on fire May 8 at a Humphreys work site and died at a hospital 10 days later. The man, surnamed Han, claimed to be nearly $1.8 million in debt, police said. Media reports said that Han may not have been paid by the contracting company that hired his firm and may have been unable to pay his company’s taxes.

Another man who tried to save, Han died May 22, police said.

The third man, an employee of Samsung C&T Corp. surnamed Kim, hanged himself May 7 in an off-post dormitory for Samsung employees, a Pyeongtaek police official said.

Kim had been overseeing the base hospital’s construction but failed to meet building deadlines and was demoted to head of construction for the dental clinic, the officer said. Kim killed himself because he was upset over the demotion, police said.

Suicide in South Korea is the fourth-leading cause of death overall, after cancer, stroke and heart disease, according to the World Health Organization.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link.

Considering how much of the Army soldiers in USFK are now rotational it is not surprising there were not force cuts in USFK:

America’s commitment to the Pacific pivot and unease about a more assertive Russia appear to be driving the Army’s decision not to reduce troop numbers in Japan, South Korea and Europe.

The Army plans to cut 40,000 soldiers and 17,000 civilian jobs over two years, but details released Thursday show the plan affects only the Pacific on the western side, with U.S. Army Pacific saying Hawaii and Alaska will lose 3,800 soldiers. None of the cuts will affect units in Europe.

Officials have yet to determine which Army civilian personnel will lose their jobs, and they warned that there will likely be further troop reductions if Congress and the White House can’t avert another round of defense budget cuts. Those opposed to the cuts question their wisdom amid a number of troubling developments: Cold War-style tension with Russia, Chinese aggression in the South China Sea, North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs, and the rise of the Islamic State in the Middle East.

If there are further cuts, the Army — which will shrink from 490,000 to 450,000 active-duty soldiers — will be “incapable of meeting current deployment requirements and responding to overseas contingency requirements,” U.S. Army Pacific said in a statement.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

Having spent time serving in the Iron Brigade it is a bit sad to see it deactivate:

A unit that has guarded the Korean peninsula’s tense border for five decades has been inactivated and replaced with the Army’s first rotational brigade combat team deployed to the area.

The 2nd Infantry Division’s 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team — known as the “Iron Brigade” — was inactivated Thursday morning during a ceremony at Camp Casey. Assuming its responsibilities is the Fort Hood-based 1st Calvary Division’s 2nd “Black Jack” Brigade Combat Team, which is in Area 1 on a nine-month deployment.

Military officials have touted the move to rotational deployments of units stationed along the Demilitarized Zone as a way to maintain cohesion in a theater where constant turnover is the norm. Troops are typically stationed in South Korea on one- or two-year tours. But under the rotational deployment plan, entire units will train for and deploy to the peninsula together.

“I can tell you that when this transfer of authority takes place, our amount of readiness goes up,” said Gen. Theodore Martin, 2ID commander. Having intact rotational units deploy to the division also means he won’t see a turnover of about 10 percent of his forces each month, he said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link.

Here is some good news that these USFK family members tested negative for MERS and have been released from quarantine:

Two U.S. military families in Seoul were released from quarantine Wednesday after testing negative for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, a virus that has killed 27 South Koreans over the past month.

U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan described the quarantine as a precautionary measure in a Facebook post Tuesday. The families, who had been under medical supervision since last week in line with South Korean government guidelines, were described as asymptomatic and not contagious.

Each family had a member who was treated at an off-post hospital affected by the MERS outbreak. The families were quarantined from the time of potential exposure.

No other U.S. Forces Korea families or individuals are under quarantine for the virus, the Facebook post said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

No details on what caused this death other than the soldier was found unresponsive on post in the middle of the day:

The 8th Army said Tuesday that a soldier has died while attending the Warrior Leader Course at the Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Camp Jackson.

The soldier was found unresponsive by South Koreans near the base’s northern boundary Monday, taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead at 12:52 p.m., according to an 8th Army statement.

The incident is under investigation. The soldier’s name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.  [Stars & Stripes]

It will be interesting to see where this important airbase is relocated to and if the Patriot missile units located there will follow them:

U.S. military officials have yet to determine where a Patriot missile battery will be stationed after its current site, a South Korean air base, closes.

Suwon Air Base, roughly 20 miles south of Seoul, will be relocated following noise and damage complaints and a formal request from the local government, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense recently announced.

Four batteries with the U.S. 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade are stationed there along with South Korea’s 10th Fighter Wing. A U.S. airman from the 607th Materiel Maintenance Squadron is also permanently stationed at Suwon.

The base’s relocation, which could take a decade, is projected to cost $6.3 million, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency has reported. The defense ministry said the search for a new site will begin soon. No particular sites are under consideration for the relocation of the base or the U.S. forces stationed there, an MND spokesman said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but fortunately the ROK Air Force has given themselves 10 years to figure out where the new airbase will go.

Hopefully these two USFK servicemembers under quarantine will eventually test negative for the MERS virus:

U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan said Monday evening that two others in Seoul — a servicemember stationed at K-16 Air Base and the family member of another servicemember stationed at Yongsan — are under quarantine, though neither has shown MERS symptoms and are not contagious. The garrison said USFK health officials are closely monitoring both, and the quarantines are a precautionary measure.

The K-16-based troop is under isolation in off-post quarters, while the family member is under quarantine at on-post quarters.
The three are the first members of the military community acknowledged by USFK to have been tested for MERS since an outbreak of the potentially deadly virus began in South Korea last month, with 150 cases reported as of Monday evening.

Sixteen people have died since the initial patient — a man who had traveled to the Middle East — was diagnosed, Yonhap News Agency has reported.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but fortunately the USFK servicemember who was quarantined on Camp Humphreys was ultimately found to have tested negative for the virus which was good to hear.

Here is a pretty cool story about how a USFK civilian was able to save a co-workers life using CPR:

As heart attacks go, Jerry Giefer’s timing was impeccable.

Giefer, 64, doesn’t recall much about what happened Dec. 30 at his office at the Army Corps of Engineers compound in Seoul.

One moment he was working and the next, everything went black.

It was 11:30 a.m., and co-worker Robert Lamoureux walked in after his lunch break tofind Giefer on the floor, his head bleeding from the fall.

Lamoureux, who first learned CPR as an 11-year-old Boy Scout, was about to use his training for the first time.

Lamoureux felt a pulse and then turned Giefer over. He asked a co-worker to call for an ambulance and returned his attention to his fallen friend.

Giefer’s face had turned purple, indicating an airway obstruction. Lamoureux cleared Giefer’s mouth and gave him a breath, but Giefer’s chest didn’t rise. He showed no sign of a pulse.

Lamoureux knew that his friend might not survive.

“If I’d have been here a minute later, that would’ve been it,” he said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link, but great job Mr. Lamoureux.

Via a reader tip comes news that a USFK servicemember stationed on Camp Humphreys may have contracted the MERS virus:

USFK Service Member in quarantine

YONGSAN, South Korea – A USFK service member at Camp Humphreys self-reported a potential exposure to the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome virus and is experiencing some symptoms associated with MERS.  The service member previously received treatment at an affected Korean hospital before the hospital was identified as having a MERS patient. USFK is continuing to monitor the service member’s health and the individual has been isolated to on-post quarters, pending test results to assess infection.  If test results establish that the service member has been infected, the individual will be placed into a special-care facility for MERS treatment and isolation.

For the most current MERS information, please go to USFK.mil and listen to AFN radio and television.  [Camp Humphreys Facebook page via a reader tip]

I checked the USFK webpage for any updates and it is currently down.  The USFK Facebook page however has a message on there from U.S. Forces Korea commander, Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti directing service members, civilians, and their families to contact their chain of command and healthcare providers prior to completing any off-installation hospital referrals within the Republic of Korea.  Let’s all hope that if this USFK servicemember does in fact have MERS that he has a speedy recovery.

This is probably a good idea considering that all of the transmissions of the MERS virus has occurred in Korean hospitals:

U.S. Forces Korea is recommending that troops and civilians avoid South Korean hospitals as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome continues to spread across the peninsula.

USFK is also recommending that members of the military community who have been seen since May 15 at any of two dozen South Korean hospitals affected by the potentially deadly virus call their health clinic for a phone evaluation and guidance.

Those who have been treated at other hospitals and are displaying MERS symptoms – fever, cough or shortness of breath – should contact their military medical care provider.

The South Korean government on Sunday listed hospitals that have treated MERS patients, all of whom have contracted the disease in hospitals.

No U.S. troops or USFK civilians have been diagnosed with MERS.

As of Monday morning, 87 people in South Korea had been infected with MERS, including the first teen to contract the disease on the peninsula, and six patients have died, South Korea’s Yonhap News reported.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.  By the way here is a complete list of the hospitals in Korea that the government announced had cases of MERS:

MERS affected hospitals

Samsung Seoul Medical Center (ER)

365 Seoul Yeolin Hospital (Outpatient Clinic)

Pyeongtaek St. Mary’s Hospital

ChoongNam Asan City Asan Seoul Hospital (Outpatient Clinic)

Daejeon Seogu DaeCheong Hospital

Seogu GeonYang University Hospital (ER, 10th Floor)

Seoul Asan Hospital

Seoul Asan Medical Center (ER)

Yoido St. Mary’s Hospital (ER)

Hanaro Clinic

Yoon Chang Ok internal Medicine Clinic

Pyeongtaek Good Morning Hospital

Pyeongtaek Pooren Hospital

Pyeongtaek 365 Yonhap Clinic

Pyeongtaek Park Ae Clinic

Pyeongtaek Yonsei Hub Family Medicine

Dongtan Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital

St. Vincent Hospital (ER)

Medihalls Clinic (Outpatient Clinic)

Bucheon St. Mary’s Hospita21 Gunpo City St. Mary’s Family Medicine Clinic

Osan Hanguk Hospital

CheonAn Danguk University Hospital

Daecheon 365 Yonhap Clinic (Outpatient Clinic)

Soonchang Choi Seonyeong Internal Medicine Clinic (Outpatient Clinic)

It appears most of the hospitals are in the areas of southern Seoul and the Pyeongtaek area.  So people living in those areas should be a little bit more vigilant in regards to washing their hands and going to public places until this outbreak is contained.