Category: USFK

Here is an interesting article about two ROK female infantry NCOs that were awarded the US Expert Infantryman Badge:

Two women have earned the U.S. Army’s coveted Expert Infantryman Badge — and they’re members of the South Korean army.

Staff Sgts. Kim Min Kyoung and Kwon Min Zy are the first women, Korean or American, to earn the special-skills badge created in 1943.

“There were 21 soldiers from the (South Korean army’s) 21st Infantry Division that competed with them, pushing and pulling each other, helping each other out,” Kwon, 21, said through a translator.  [USA Today]

You can read more at the link, but the article is a bit misleading by making it appear these are the first women to pass the EIB test.  The US Army has for years allowed women to take the test:

Two Soldiers received special honors Friday during a ceremony at the Hilton Field Softball Complex recognizing those Soldiers who recently completed a week of tasks to earn the Expert Infantryman Badge.

Sgt. 1st Class Scott Wilkie, a drill sergeant with Company E, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, was the only Soldier who received the “true blue” designation, meaning that he completed all the tasks without making any mistakes. Capt. Michelle Roberts, commander of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, was the only female Soldier who passed the test.

Wilkie and Roberts were two of 42 Soldiers who passed from a field of 97 who began the testing.

“This is the first year that (I’ve seen) a (woman) compete in the 27 years I’ve been in the Army,” said Sgt. Maj. Michael Love, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the Expert Infantryman Badge, or EIB, testing. “I think it’s great.”

Roberts, an activated National Guard Soldier, said she believes it is her duty to be trained as well as possible in Soldiering skills, which is why she did not want to pass up the opportunity to go through the test and the two-week training in preparation for the EIB.  [Army.mil]

The problem that females that pass the EIB test have is that they are not in an infantry MOS, so they cannot wear the badge, but they receive the training certificate.  This is the same for non-infantry MOS males as well.  People have complained about this for years that the infantry branch are being badge protectors by not allowing other branches to wear the badge.  Since the ROK NCOs are in the infantry branch they get to wear the badge on their uniforms.  This seems very unfair to everyone else that has passed the testing that they cannot wear the badge, but foreign military personnel can.

This whole EIB testing gets back to my whole point of view on this that women should not be barred from any MOS or training as long as they meet the same established standards.  So did the ROK soldiers meet the same established standards as the US soldiers? According to this comment left on Facebook by an NCO claiming to have graded the testing, they did not:

If this claim is true and the ROK soldiers did not have to meet the same standards as US soldiers than this was nothing more than a PR stunt by 2ID.  The statistics may also give some indication that different standards were used.  According to the article only 18% of 2ID soldiers passed, but 18 of 21 (85%) of ROK soldiers passed the testing.  That is a big difference in percentages though the ROK Army likely sent 21 of their best soldiers.  Even if it was their best soldiers should the percentages be that skewed?  Anyway I would be interested to hear what others who may have been part of the EIB testing have to say about this issue.

Considering all the attention given to sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military it was only a matter of time before USFK did this because if they didn’t one of the activist groups would have exploited this issue to bash USFK with:

U.S. Forces Korea has banned servicemembers from buying drinks for workers in “juicy bars,” which have long been suspected of involvement in prostitution and human trafficking.

While the military has maintained a zero tolerance policy toward both practices and some commands have taken their own steps to shutter juicy bars, the prohibition on buying “juice” in exchange for female company is USFK’s latest country-wide effort to close the establishments, which used to cluster by the dozen outside some bases.

“Paying for companionship directly supports human trafficking and is a precursor to prostitution,” USFK commander Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti wrote in an Oct. 15 policy letter announcing the change. “This practice encourages the objectification of women, reinforces sexist attitudes, and is demeaning to all human beings.”   [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link, but like I have always said the easiest thing to have done was to put all juicy bars with third country nationals in them off limits.  It is much harder to human traffic Korean women when they understand the culture, language, and do not have to worry about having passports held from them.  This latest ban pretty much has the same effect.  It will be interesting to see what new business model the juicy bar owners come up with to get money from troops.  Anyone have any ideas?

So it appears the Koreans are still hoping to turn Yongsan Garrison into a giant city park:

Yongsan, along with other U.S. Forces Korea bases in and north of Seoul, will eventually be turned over to South Korea as part of a long-planned relocation of most Army forces on the peninsula to regional hubs in Daegu and Pyeongtaek. Although a handful of buildings at Yongsan are expected to remain under U.S. control, South Korea plans to turn the 635-acre base into a massive Central Park-like green space. (Stars and Stripes)

You can read more at the link, but I would not be surprised if a good chunk of that land becomes apartment buildings.

It will be interesting to see how this turns out:

The U.S. wants to keep an artillery brigade stationed near the Demilitarized Zone after the planned relocation of American forces to the southern half of South Korea, according to media reports.

The request to keep the 2nd Infantry Division’s 210th Fires Brigade at Camp Casey was made earlier this week during military consultations in Seoul, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News. U.S. officials claimed that moving the brigade would hurt its combat readiness, and have “repeatedly and strongly” pushed to keep the unit in Dongducheon, the report said, citing unidentified diplomatic sources.

Officials from South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff would not comment Friday. But earlier this month, South Korean officials said the U.S. would not leave residual forces along the DMZ, though American officials didn’t rule out the prospect of leaving some troops behind “temporarily.”  (Stars & Stripes)

I guess this all hinges on what the word temporary means.  The Fires Brigade could be there temporarily until North Korea is no longer a threat.

For US military members in Korea with dependents be advised that the Courageous Channel exercise is coming up:

Military family members and a number of civilian employees in South Korea soon will take part in the annual Courageous Channel evacuation drill, essentially a dress rehearsal in case of war or natural disaster on the Korean peninsula.

The noncombatant evacuation exercise, frequently called NEO, will be from Sept. 15-Oct. 5 at various installations on the peninsula, U.S. Forces Korea announced Tuesday.

During the exercise, participants will undergo a walkthrough of a potential evacuation that will include NEO binder checks, briefings and practicing assembly and registration procedures at on-post NEO centers. All Department of Defense-affiliated noncombatants with a date eligible for return from overseas of Nov. 1, 2014 or later, including nonemergency essential U.S. government employees, are required to participate. [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

After the decision to created a combined US & ROK division the two allies now have differing views on whether there will be a residual force left behind in Area 1:

South Korean defense officials said Friday the U.S. will not leave residual forces near the Demilitarized Zone after it shifts most of its troops on the peninsula to southern regional hubs, while American officials didn’t rule out the prospect of leaving some troops behind “temporarily.”

The two statements reflect the sensitivities north of Seoul, where cities already have plans for the land that will be handed over as American forces vacate bases there.

The Ministry of National Defense’s announcement that no residual forces would remain in Area I came one day after the two allies said they would form a combined division next year.

The division will initially be headquartered in Uijeongbu but will eventually move to Pyeongtaek as part of the relocation; and be led by an American commander with a South Korean deputy. Officials from both countries said the creation of the combined division would not affect the relocation.

U.S. Forces Korea, however, issued a statement Friday that said “no decision has been made to temporarily keep a U.S. residual north of Seoul. As with other issues involving Alliance agreements, a decision to keep a residual U.S. force will be managed in a collaborative manner.”  [Stars & Stripes via reader tip]

You can read more at the link, but it will be interesting to see how USFK defines “temporary”.

I have always liked this idea of a combined division and it appears it will become a reality:

South Korea and the United States have agreed to establish a combined division of their troops next year that will be tasked with carrying out wartime operations, Seoul’s defense ministry said Thursday.

The unit, slated to be organized in the first half of next year, will be comprised of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division and a South Korean brigade-level unit, according to the ministry.

The 2nd Division commander plans to head the newly-made joint staff of the combined unit, with South Korea’s brigadier general-level officer to be its vice chief, the ministry said, adding that an equal number of dozens of service personnel from the two sides will form the leadership.

“While being operated in a separate fashion in peacetime, the 2nd Division and the Korean brigade will carry out joint exercises when necessary,” a ministry official said, asking not to be named.

In time of war, the two entities will get together to carry out diverse “strategic operations” such as eliminating weapons of mass destruction as well as civil missions against North Korea, he noted, without elaborating further.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but the article says this will not impact the relocation of the 2ID to Camp Humphreys.  However, I wonder how it is going to impact the residual combat power in Area 1 that has long been discussed.

In recent years the US military has seen massacres committed by  fellow soldiers such as the 2009 Nidal Hasan and the 2014 Ivan Lopez shootings at Ft. Hood.  However, these recent massacres are not something new as an incident that happened over three decades ago in South Korea proves.  On June 5, 1981 soldiers from the 2nd Engineer Battalion were conducting an M-16 qualification range at Ingman Range on Camp Casey.  Ingman Range is named after Corporal Einar Ingman Jr. who was recognized with the Medal of Honor for heroic combat actions on February 26, 1951 while serving with the 7th Infantry Division.  During the battle he was seriously wounded and survived his wounds to become one of 39 living Medal of Honor recipients from the Korean War.

In recognition of Corporal Ingman’s combat actions the 2nd Infantry Division named Ingman Range in his honor.  Unfortunately a range that was named after someone so honorable would become the scene of possibly the most dishonorable act committed by soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division.

As the 2nd Engineer Battalion soldiers conducted the M-16 range in 1981 everything started out quite normal.  Ingman Range has 8 firing points with two firers per foxhole with a Non-commissioned Officer (NCO) working as range safeties standing behind them.  However, an unusual feature of the range was that firing points 6, 7, and 8 are obscured from the range control tower due to terrain masking caused by the range being built on the slopes of Mt. Soyo. The website KoreaATourOfDuty.us has a 1968 picture of the steps leading up to these firing points on Ingman Range:

After the range control tower gave the command, firers in the foxholes began to engage their assigned targets on the range.  After the first round of firing the personnel in the tower saw something strange happen.  The white helmet that designated a range safety was seen rolling down the hill from between firing point 6 and 7.  The tower immediately called a halt to firing on the range.  The NCO range safety on firing point 6, Sergeant Bruce Cardinal ran up the steps to firing point 7 to see what was going on.  He was then shot and fell back down the hill.  Other soldiers rushed to him to give him first aid.  While first aid was being administered to SGT Cardinal, two soldiers Specialist Archie Bell and Private First Class Lacy Harrington were then seen walking down the steps from firing point 7 with Bell claiming there was a crazy man up on the hill shooting people.  Bell then fainted and was carried over to a shady area while the rest of the soldiers gathered on nearby bleachers.  By this time the Military Police had arrived and began to investigate the scene on the hill.  At firing point 7 they ended up finding 4 dead soldiers, 3 white and 1 Hispanic who had all died of gun shot wounds.  The names of the deceased soldiers were:

• SPC Ralph M. Clark
• SGT James M. Elliott
• PFC Richard L. Marteny
• (Could not locate the 4th name)

By this time SPC Bell had become the chief suspect because he had woken up shouting in Arabic and English “They are Devils” and that he did it.  He also told people to “Study Islam, then you’ll understand.  I took the first step, the rest is up to you.”  The wounded SGT Cardinal told the MPs that Bell had shot him and PFC Harrington would later tell investigators that Bell came down from firing point 8 and shot the scorer and safety NCO there after he had already shot the two people up on firing point 8.  Bell apparently did not shoot Harrington because he was his roommate, but told him to keep quiet about the killings. The fact that four non-black soldiers were killed by a black soldier with a Nation of Islam background who did not kill a black soldier caused immediate concern within USFK that this could be interpreted as a racial hatred incident.  In 1991 Richard Machamer wrote a detailed case study about the Ingman Range murders and how the Public Affairs Office (PAO) handled the messaging to ensure that it was not interpreted as a racial incident.  It appears that the PAO’s messaging worked because there was little state side news coverage of the killings and what stories there were did not dwell on the racial angle.  Here is an example of the limited news coverage of the massacre at the time:

[Times-News – June 6, 1981]

This link shows a Miami Herald article that provides another example of the limited news coverage this massacre received that trumpeted the messaging put out by USFK. The article also shed light on the fact that Bell was a 21 year old high school drop out from New Jersey who was considered “well adjusted” before joining the Army.  This “well adjusted” individual was ultimately arrested for the murders of four soldiers and the attempted murder of SGT Cardinal.  However, SPC Bell would never stand trial for the murders because a medical board met the same night of the murders and declared that he was crazy and lacked the capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct.

Armv Declares GI Insane SEOUL, South Korea (UPI) An American GI charged with shooting to death four fellow soldiers during rifle practice has been declared insane by an army sanity board, U.S. military authorities said Thursday. An army official indicated Spec. 4 Archie R. Bell would not be put on trial. He said the board Wednesday also found thai Bell, 21, of Long Beach, Calif., “does not possess sufficient mental capacity lo intelligently coop- crate in his own defense.” Bell apparently went berserk June 5 and was one of two soldiers who fired on a group of -10 men taking part in Ml 6 qualification firing on a rifle range. Four soldiers were killed and one wounded. Pvt. Lacy M. Harrington, 19, of Baltimore, Md., also has been charged in the shooting. Army officials said he, too. was examined by a sanity hoard, but no official report on those hearings have been released. He remains in custody of U.S. military authorities at the 8th Army confinement facility at Camp Humphrey, 40 miles south of Seoul. Bell was charged with four counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. The official said he will be transferred to the Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Fort Gordon. Ga., for further treatment.  [Syracuse Post Standard – June 19, 1981]

It is interesting that this diagnosis happened so quickly after the incident and coincided well with USFK not wanting this to be interpreted as a racial incident.  Plus Bell would not have to stand trial which could inflame racial tensions if he decided to take the stand and make provocative statements.  However, the diagnosis of Bell as being crazy would not end USFK’s racial tension concerns because it would later come out that Harrington may have been involved in the murders as well.

On June 9th Army investigators questioned Harrington after his account of what happened on the hill did not match the forensic evidence.  Faced with the ballistic evidence and then failing a polygraph test, Harrington admitted that Bell forced him to shoot the range safety on firing point 7, SGT James Elliott.  However, Bell would go on to maintain that he killed all four soldiers on firing point 7 and 8, but could not remember shooting SGT Cardinal who ran up the stairs to see what was going on.  As the investigation turned to focus on Harrington’s involvement, SGT Cardinal began to change his story as well.  Under hypnosis he began to remember that it was Harrington that shot him and not Bell as be had originally believed.  That fall Harrington would receive a court martial for murder and attempted murder and it would be the first time that hypnosis induced testimony would be used in a trial:

[Pacific Stars & Stripes – Nov. 4, 1981]

During the trial Bell was also brought in to testify against Harrington where he maintained that he killed all four soldiers on the firing points, but that Harrington shot SGT Cardinal.  Ultimately the jury convicted Harrington of unpremeditated murder and sentenced him to 20 years of confinement.

[Eugene Register Guard – Nov. 5, 1981]

However three years later in 1984 a military appeals court over threw the convictions due to the hypnosis induced testimony by SGT Cardinal.  Harrington was released from confinement in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas with an honorable discharge from the Army.  So an admitted killer of a US Army NCO was set free and treated as if nothing had happened because Army prosecutors were dumb enough to enter hypnosis based witness testimony into the trial to support the attempted murder charge.

Whatever happened to PFC Lacy Harrington after the trial is unknown.  He is from Baltimore, Maryland and would be around 52 years old today. I was able to find this MyLife profile for a 52 year old Lacy Harrington living in Baltimore, but I have no idea if it is the same person.  It would probably be an interesting article if someone from the media was able to track him down and interview him about what happened that tragic day in 1981.  As far SPC Archie Bell, I could find nothing out about what he is doing today either.  I would hope he is still locked up in a mental institution somewhere for these murders.  Justice would not be served if both of these individuals are both walking free today.

As far as Ingman Range is concerned, today it is still used by soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division stationed on Camp Casey:

The range has gone on to train thousands of soldiers each year living up to the honor shown by the range’s namesake CPL Einar Ingman.  Today what happened in 1981 has largely been forgotten by the US Army, but here on the ROK Drop the lives of the soldiers lost that day will not be forgotten.

Further Reading:

• 1981: GI Kills Fellow Soldiers
• An Incident in Korea: A Case Study of US Army Public Affairs Activities in Response to the Ingman Range Murders in 1981

Note: You can read more from the ROK Drop featured series “A Profile of USFK Bases” at the below link:

(Note: This is a guest posting from ROK Drop reader Steve McGee that served in Korea when the below incident happened.)

It was a normal day on March 6th 1970 and in the evening one of our guys had to pull guard duty at the motor pool at Camp Red Cloud.  The camp is located in the city of Uijongbu, South Korea.  The slicky boys would try to steal parts from the trucks if not the whole truck. It was fenced with barb wire at the top but they would still try. Earl Harms checked out his M-16 and two clips of live ammo that night and headed to the motor pool. Around 10:00pm he came through the barracks and I waved at him as he passed back by on his way out. The next morning we got up and headed for chow. After chow we went to work at the motor pool.

Camp Red Cloud’s main gate in 1966.  Picture from Flickr user Ottmar.

When I got there some people who had arrived early were already talking about not being able to find Earl. The motor pool was the old wood style with bays on one end and offices at the other with an OVM equipment room loft above the offices. The bays were high for the trucks which made the offices and OVM room two story. There were three offices, an outer office, a middle generator office and the tool room and a desk. The loft OVM room is where we stored extra equipment. The tool room had a ladder on the wall that went up to the OVM room. You could also access the OVM room from the bays.  In the outer office we had file cabinets and desk. His M-16 was leaning up against the file cabinets and the clips were laid on top. We started a search for him and some went out to check the grounds. I had a key to the tool room and went back and keyed the door. I sat down for  a minute at the desk and picked up a comic book.

When I sat down I looked up and noticed the sliding wood door to the tool room was slightly open and the light was on. I figured maybe he went up there and was sleeping. I went up the wall mounted ladder and slid the door open. There I found Earl hanging from the end of a rope stark naked. Why he was naked I don’t know. There was a five gallon gas can that was tipped over beside him. His clothes were all piled neatly just a couple of feet from him. His hand behind his back. I have tried over the years to zero in on my memory to see if his hands were tied. I froze in shock. I fell backwards off the ladder and landed smack on my ass. I jumped up and went running out screaming he’s dead, he’s dead. SGT Corey caught me outside and shook and slapped me. I had run by everyone one else as they thought I was nuts.

They took me next door to the other office and left. I remember sitting there watching an ambulance and MP’s rolling into the motor pool. After awhile the ambulance left. The MP’s and people still all over the place when they realized where they left me. They took me to the dispensary where I don’t remember a whole lot of. I remember seeing a doctor then I left with two guys with me. As we walked out the back door there was the ambulance with the back doors open and a black body bag inside. I did not find out until years later when I got my records that they had drugged me up pretty good. I do remember that I had two guys that went with me no matter where I went. To the bathroom even. I called them my shadows. I don’t know how many days after it happened my shadows told me the brass wanted me down at the motor pool. I told them No. They almost carried me down there.

Picture of Camp Red Cloud in 1966. Picture via Flickr user Ottmar.

When we got there we went in the outer office and they sat me in a chair. I remember there were MP’s, some officers and the CID. I should say here that he had just re-enlisted and was married to a Korean national, thus the CID. They started asking me questions and then opened a brief case and took out 8×10 glossy black and white pictures of what I already had burned in my mind. It was him hanging and where they had cut him down. I flipped out again and ran out of the motor pool with my shadows running after me. I never went back there again. I transferred to another unit until I left Korea. Earl was a friend and he drove the 5 ton wrecker and we use to make runs to the different units. I still have pictures of him in our year book. No one ever talked to me about it nor did I get any counseling. I was never told the end results of any investigation. I went on to spend 18 months in Germany with the 8th infantry division motor pool.

Since I got out I never talked to anyone about it. I have had PTSD and back problems from the fall off the ladder for which I am now totally disabled from. back in the early 80′s after joining the VVA and through the first councilor I ever talked to about it, we got my medical records. By chance I found a friend that served with me there. His name was Gerald. He lives just a short way from me. I had to have my wife call him and afterwards she says that he doesn’t know much more than me. He was the second one up the ladder after me and I did not know that. He said that he thought that it had to do with something sexual.  I started posting in the web site, Korean Tour of Duty and ROK Drop  about the incident to see if anyone I served with at that time could tell me more than what I knew.

This last year out of the clear blue I get an e-mail from Earl’s niece. She lives in Nebraska where the family is from and she had read my post as she was looking for answers to.  After several e-mails I told her what I knew. Earl’s mother is still alive and in a nursing home. The family does not believe what the Army report says. The funeral was held and Earl’s Korean wife came over for it. The funeral home director told the family that there were bruises on his body around his shoulders. Debbie ask if it would be alright if her uncle (Earl’s brother) could call me and I said sure. He did and after I told him he just said thanks and hung up. The mother must have a report from the military but she is not sharing it and Debbie is not wanting to ask her for it yet. Only family can get the official report until 60 years after the incident then  it opens to anyone. I was never told if it was suicide, a sexual thing or it was murder. Sure would like to know.

Note: You can read more GI Flashbacks articles by clicking on the below link: