Category: USFK

The moral of this story is, don’t piss off your co-workers if you are over staying your visa:

A Pakistani man in custody for overstaying his visa did not plan a terrorist attack against Camp Casey, U.S. and South Korean officials confirmed Monday.

The man — identified only as “S” — was arrested May 9 after someone called an FBI hot line a day earlier to say the man was a member of a terrorist group and intended to attack the base.

The FBI relayed the information to South Korean police and intelligence agencies as well as U.S. military intelligence officials. Officials say they determined he was not a threat.

“They confirmed to us that there was not a credible threat to U.S. installations, and that was corroborated by our intelligence people,” said Lt. Col. Anthony Allen, U.S. Forces Korea deputy chief of force protection.

“S” said he believes a Pakistani co-worker whom he owes 300,000 won (about $325) called in the fake tip, police said.

USFK leaders are once again emphasizing the danger of an off post terror attack in wake of the Fort Dix terror bust:

“The terrorists are being more wide range,” said Lt. Col. Anthony Allen, deputy chief of antiterrorism and force protection. “They’re not here looking at striking the United States. They’re looking at representatives of the United States, and a representative of the United States is an American soldier.”

He also said South Korea is “the perfect place to plan a future attack” because it is safe and has stable businesses, a growing Islamic community, and a small group of people who oppose the U.S. military presence here. “They want to pick places that haven’t been hit,” he said. “Korea is a prime target.”

The terrorist threats against South Korea is nothing new considering the number of terror cells including Hezbollah, Al Qaida, and Jemaah Islamiah have been detected or broke up in Korea before.  I still think an attack on the Seoul subway system is more likely than an attack on a club because of how easy it is to transport a bomb on the subway and the amount casualties it would cause.  Can anyone imagine what the back lash against foreigners and USFK in Korea would be after such an attack?  It would not be fun to be living in Korea after such an attack.

With that said though I am very confident in the Korean authorities ability to monitor and break up terror cells in Korea as is evident by their past performance.  Any guesses on how many bugging devices are in the Itaewon Mosque right now?

Well now after initially testing positive for mercury the water at Hannam Village near Yongsan is apparently safe to drink again:

Andrew, his father and Brig. Gen. Al Aycock, who runs Installation Command Korea, all spent time drinking the tap water on Hannam Village on Wednesday in an effort to revive residents’ confidence in the water following a recent mercury scare.

“In my opinion, most of the residents at Hannam Village, their concern is for their children,” Stephens said. “I wouldn’t have my son drink this water if I wasn’t confident there was no mercury in it.”

On Friday, the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventative Medicine at Camp Zama, Japan, alerted Yongsan that a monthly drinking water sample taken April 6 was positive for mercury: slightly more than allowed in Hannam’s water and nearly five times the acceptable level in samples from the Army Corps of Engineers Far East District Compound.

Yongsan officials scrambled to alert residents — warning them not to use the water for brushing their teeth, cooking or drinking. They placed several 1,000-gallon water tanks on Hannam and held a special town hall meeting on Sunday to answer concerns.

New samples were rushed through an approved South Korean lab and when the results returned Tuesday evening showed negative for mercury, officials breathed a sigh of relief.

Now the question residents have to ask themselves is if they trust the Korean lab or a Japanese lab to give accurate test results. 

Just another reason why you should only drink bottled water in Korea:

Tempers flared as about 100 Hannam Village housing residents unloaded frustrations with mercury-tainted drinking water during an emergency town hall meeting Sunday.

Yongsan Garrison commander Col. Ronald Stephens hosted a 90-minute meeting to discuss Friday’s announcement that drinking water samples showed higher-than-tolerated levels of mercury at Hannam and the nearby Army Corps of Engineers Far East District Compound.

Residents were warned Friday not to drink the water — or use it for cooking — until additional tests taken Friday could be evaluated Tuesday. On Saturday, the military confirmed the samples were taken on April 6 — nearly a month before they learned about the mercury.

This also another reason why the USFK plan to close down Yongsan and relocate to Camp Humphreys is needed, so families do not have to live in the Hannam ghetto anymore. 

8th Army Commander General Valcourt answered a number of questions during a recent question and answer period during an AFAP conference held at the Dragon Hill Lodge in Yongsan.  You know it must be Yongsan when soldiers are asking him questions like this:

Issue: The use of umbrellas while in uniform in garrison.

Suggestion: Re-evaluate the regulation forbidding the use of umbrellas in uniform.

Valcourt: Laughed, saying there was a lot of pride in being able to get rained on and still accomplish the mission.

You don’t need an umbrella, that is what your rain jacket is for.  Fortunately General Valcourt was given some more pertinent questions such as this:

Issue: Family members are not given priority employment preference on base, resulting in financial hardships for military families.

Suggestion: Re-evaluate the USFK regulations and SOFA agreement to see if changes are possible.

Valcourt: Called this issue another contentious one, but stressed it isn’t impossible to address.

I have to assume the person asking this question probably already knew the answer, but to give family members more jobs on post would mean less jobs for Koreans and that is what makes it contentious.  I really don’t see much change coming on this issue especially with Koreans already losing jobs due to camp closures and funding cuts. 

This is something if you are stationed in the Second Infantry Division that you should really take advantage of:

A “Manchu Mile” involves some tricky math: it equates to 25 standard miles, “more or less,” as its tradition’s keepers like to say.

The 2nd Infantry Division’s 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment “Manchus” began their biannual march Thursday night at the Camp Casey theater, where at least a few soldiers from most 2nd ID units joined them.

The “Manchu Mile” even drew some airmen, a couple of judge advocate lawyers and Brig. Gen. John Johnson, assistant division commander for maneuvers.

Each marcher dressed in battle gear, including helmet, rifle and backpack.

“After Mile 10 you don’t feel anything,” said 2-9’s Sgt. David Bullock, who completed the march last year. “Your feet are already swollen. You’ve probably made up your mind if you’re going to make it.”

Others labeled Mile 20 the toughest of the march, which commemorates the regiment’s 85-mile trek to battle at Tientsin during the 1900 Boxer Rebellion in China.

It is probably more or less the same course, but when I did the Manchu Mile six years ago the course went out the back gate of Camp Hovey and up and down a number of mountains past the ville of Toko-ri.  It really wasn’t that bad and like was mentioned in the article the enforced breaks were the worst part of the march.  By stopping to take a break and drink water your legs stiffen up and the breaks only make the march take that much longer.  However, overall a great experience and highly recommended for anyone in 2ID, plus you even get a belt buckle for it. 

The mass punishment for the airmen and soldiers on Kunsan Airbase has ended:

The order at Kunsan Air Base that kept troops restricted to base for five days was to be lifted Saturday morning, a base spokesman said Friday night.

Wing spokesman Capt. James P. Lage said 8th Fighter Wing commander Col. Jeffrey Lofgren had decided the restriction would end at 5 a.m. Saturday.

Lofgren ordered the restriction Monday after two airmen and a civilian employed at the base allegedly choked and punched a local cab driver and tried to steal his car in Kunsan city.

The restriction affected nearly all of the 2,000 airmen at the base, as well as about 150 Kunsan-based soldiers of the Army’s 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade.

The Stars and Stripes has a good article today showing the various viewpoints from airmen stationed on Kunsan Airbase in regards to the restriction they have been hit by due to a taxi cab related incident from this past weekend.  Here is what one of the airmen had to say they were told the reason was for the lock down:

Airmen said their unit leaders told them the measure was ordered partly to protect them from “retaliation” from any angry South Koreans, and to avert possible violence against South Koreans by U.S. servicemembers who might be angered over last week’s Virginia Tech shootings. The killer in that deadly rampage was South Korean.

If the Kunsan leadership was so worried about retaliation from the airmen against South Korean civilians over the Virginia Tech shooting than why didn’t they lock the camp down after the shooting?  Additionally if they are so concerned about retaliation from South Koreans over the latest taxi cab related incident than why aren’t other USFK camps closed down when a taxi cab related incident happens? 

I’m not sure what the context of the lock down is because there may be more alcohol related incidents that have happened on Kunsan that we don’t know about, but usually lock downs are used to create the appearance that the command is "doing something".  I have seen these lock downs used before and what happens is that the guys that were locked down usually show an improvement in off post conduct, but after a few months a bunch of people PCS and are replaced with an equal number of new guys who all have heard wild stories about the ville in Korea and are ready to do a thunder run or two once they hit the country, but the only thing they end up hitting is the blotter.  It is those new guys who get in trouble and screw all the guys that got hit with the prior lock down.  Additionally the guys that are just a few days from PCSing are equally as likely to screw everyone else as well. 

I have never been an advocate of lock downs because they are only a short term solution to the bigger problems that are never addressed.

General Bell is definitely persistent in pushing this issue:

The top U.S. commander in Korea urged Congress Tuesday to help him introduce standard three-year rotational tours for military forces in South Korea over the next several years.

Army Gen. Burwell B. Bell, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the current “dysfunctional, one-year, war-zone rotational tour mechanism” has outlived its day.

Fifty-four years after the end of the Korean War, Bell said it’s time to end the arrangement that needlessly adds to the already-high U.S. worldwide operational tempo. At the same time, Bell said, it handicaps readiness and engagement opportunities with South Korea.

“I’m abdicating three-year, normal accompanied tours as an objective and a goal that we should work toward in Korea, and I would appreciate your support as I work this initiative over the next several years,” he told the panel.

Some may remember that General Bell was pushing this issue last month as well in front of Congress.

I would be surprised to see this happen before the Camp Humphreys expansion if the expansion happens at all judging by General Bell’s earlier comments this week.  The infrastructure to support three year tours is not available right now.  Would you want a soldier living in the Dongducheon ville with his family for three years especially if they have kids?  The hustler landlords would have a field day.  Additionally there are no schools on post and the PX and commissary could not support that type of increase in people.  Plus you have to take into consideration the force protection of all these people living off post.   

I just don’t see this happening anytime soon, but three year tours after the Camp Humphreys expansion should definitely become the norm.

Ironically enough considering recent events in USFK, April is sexual assault awareness month:

I guess these two didn’t get the memo.