Category: USFK

UPDATE: More details have come out that the soldier’s death was possibly a suicide. It is the holidays so take extra effort to look out for each other during this time of year.

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Not many details out yet, but a 2ID soldier has died at Camp Eagle:

A 2nd Infantry Division soldier was found dead at Camp Eagle on Saturday, according to Army officials.

Pvt. Gristen Buttrey, 23, was discovered by his roommate in his barracks room, a 2nd ID spokesman said. The cause of his death is under investigation, a spokesman said.

Buttrey was an ammunition specialist with the 1st Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade.

This is definitely one of these only in Yongsan type of stories. From the Stars and Stripes:

Some nannies, maids and other household workers whom military families hired in South Korea may lose their base privileges in coming months as U.S. Forces Korea begins limiting access to workers violating local immigration and labor standards.

This stricter enforcement policy — described by USFK’s top spokesman as an educational campaign rather than a crackdown — most likely will affect families who live in South Korea under a status-of-forces-agreement visa and who have hired Filipinas or other non-South Koreans as nannies or maids.

“We’re not on a witch hunt here,” Col. Franklin Childress, USFK’s public affairs officer, said Friday. “We want to make sure we educate our personnel adequately about this situation.”

The situation is this: South Korea’s government, in most circumstances, does not allow foreigners to take household jobs such as maids, nannies or gardeners in the homes of SOFA personnel, according to Childress and the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Those SOFA personnel include servicemembers, Department of Defense workers and contractors and their family members living both on and off military bases, he said.

First we had alcohol related incidents, then taxi cab related incidents, now housekeeping related incidents!

I didn’t even know an illegal Fillipina immigrant could even get an ID to get on post? This just doesn’t sound like a very good force protection policy? Don’t let the soldiers know about this, because before you know it every soldier will have their own Fillipina “maid” in the barracks with an ID card.

This obviously has less to do with upholding Korean law and more to do with protecting Korean jobs and allowing access to more Koreans on post to play the slot machines and golf courses. I’m only half joking here because those who live on USFK base know there is definitely some truth to it.

This claim seems a bit pre-mature to me:

Seoul and Washington will add use of nuclear arms by U.S. forces in response to North Korean atomic weapons in a joint operation strategy codenamed OPLAN 5027, sources said Thursday. That would mean the return of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea 15 years after they were pulled out in 1991.

At the 28th Military Committee Meeting (MCM) between the allies, Gen. Lee Sang-hee, the chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff met his U.S. counterpart Gen. Peter Pace in Washington on Wednesday. The two mandated U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Burwell Bell to draw up plans for the U.S. provision of a nuclear umbrella for South Korea in the wake of the North’s nuclear test, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

I would personally be very surprised if the US redeploys nuclear weapons to the Korean peninsula. First of all the US is trying to decrease the force footprint in Korea not increase it, plus what signal would that send to the North Koreans? This would confirm their hostile rhetoric of why the need nuclear weapons, to defend themselves from American conventional and nuclear attack. The best way to defend out troops is not put more nukes on the peninsula but to continue to move forward with the USFK transformation and draw down of forces despite all the outside actors trying to stop it.

Have you ever wondered why the Dragon Hill Lodge costs so much more than other US military hotels, like the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo? Well the Stars & Stripes has found the answer:

Standard hotel rooms at The New Sanno hotel in Tokyo and the Dragon Hill Lodge in Seoul look much the same.

Both are in modern, well-adorned hotels that feature multiple restaurants, beauty salons, room service, shops and indoor swimming pools. Rooms at both come with a double bed, a sleeper sofa, television, DVD player and mini-fridge.

There’s one big difference, though.

The Sanno, run by the Navy, is $63 a night for a military business traveler, while the Dragon Hill charges $213 more than three times as much.

Both hotels offer similar and much cheaper  rates to servicemembers on vacation. A private on leave can rent a room at the Sanno for $40 a night, and $59 a night at the Dragon.

Sorting out the price difference, hotel officials say, involves fluid financial pressures that range from international agreements to exchange rates to meat deliveries. It also involves the Dragons unique role in the Armys resort system, according to officials who oversee the Armed Forces Recreation Centers.

Basically the Dragon Hill management is saying that they have to make up the costs of other defense hotels that may not be turning a profit or need to pay for renovations. The Dragon Hill receives such a high number of temporary duty (TDY) visitors that are on government travel orders that the Dragon Hill makes sure they charge to maximum room rates to receive the maximum profit from all the TDY visitors.

However, here is the real reason why the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo is so much cheaper:

Gorman knows the Dragons business rates cant always compete with those at The New Sanno. Thats mainly because the Tokyo facility operates under a special agreement in which the Japanese government pays the salaries of Japanese workers, according to Charles Cavill, the Sannos director.

The Sanno has 310 workers, 300 of whom are Japanese, he said.

We have the lowest rate in the system of all military resort hotels, he said.

Could you imagine the up roar if USFK tried to get the Korean government to pay the Korean workers at the Dragon Hill? The Korean government won’t even pay an equitable cost with the US for keeping American forces stationed on the peninsula much less do something that would help the average soldier by keeping hotel rates down at the Dragon Hill.

By the way I have stayed at both hotels and both are quite nice. However, I would never stay in the Dragon Hill on my own dime because of the steep prices. I have only stayed there on TDY and was always shocked by the room rates and always left feeling thankful the government was paying for it. The New Sanno I have stayed at while on leave in Japan and would readily stay there again because the room prices are cheap in comparison to other Tokyo hotels of similar quality. The only problem is that you need to book rooms there way in advance because they go fast because of the cheap room rates. Overall I think the Dragon Hill is a nicer hotel than the New Sanno, but not worth the price to stay there on your own dime, while the New Sanno is worth every cent.

It looks like 35th ADA has wore out their welcome in Gwangju, actually I don’t think they were ever welcomed to begin with:

A battery of U.S. Patriot missiles stationed in the Gwangju area will be moved to Waegwan in North Gyeongsang Province by December, it emerged Thursday. U.S. Forces Korea command plans to relocate the 16 PAC-3 missiles, the 450-member 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade 2-1 and two air defense batteries.

The missiles were moved to Gwangju in Novermber 2004 despite violent protests from anti-American organizations, university students and labor groups, and there is speculation that the move is a belated response to them. But U.S. officials say the move is strategically motivated and has nothing to do with anti-American sentiment. The chief of the air defense unit, Lt.-Col. Marcus Black, met with Gwangju leaders at the base on Aug. 18 to reveal the plans. It is understood that Black would not comment whether the relocation had anything to do with local resentment.

The relocation of the Patriot missiles to Gwangju came after Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff requested that the U.S. deploy the missiles there to protect the Gwangju Air Base. The USFK deplays a total of 64 Patriots at bases in Suwon, Osan, Gunsan and Gwangju.

It wasn’t a very good idea to put PATRIOT’s in Gwangju to begin with because of the anti-Americanism and communist sympathies down there, but incidents like February’s Gochu-gate incident didn’t help matters either. As far as defending the city from North Korean attack, I don’t think the Korean government is to concerned about that because if the North Koreans bombed Gwangju it would be like bombing one of their own cities.

Via Nomad, it looks like the latest Camp Humphreys controversy has ended under the following conditions:

Bar owners objected to Taliento decision, saying the agent who ordered the alcohol was of legal drinking age while the agent who paid was underage. They called it a sting operation in which they were set up to fail.

Kim said USFK personnel on Friday admitted fault in the recent undercover investigations. Kim said future checks are to be conducted by U.S. military personnel, members of the merchant association and Pyeongtaek city officials.

And while bars are required to do everything they can to prevent sales to minors, they wont be held responsible for personnel who legally buy alcohol then sneak it to underage buddies, Kim said.

That is actually a pretty weak case for putting a bar off limits by having an underage person buy a drink for a person of legal age. If that is in fact true I can understand why the bar owners are pissed off. However, this “solution” does nothing to solve the problem of underage drinkers because the people who underage drink will now just get their buddies to buy them alcohol instead. If the command really wants to end the problem put breathalyzers at the gate and that would make the people who want to underage drink have to stay at a hotel because they can’t get in through the gate. That is an additional expense for them plus they would have to get a pass from their commander to stay out. If the commander knows this person may possibly be an underage drinker the commander could not give the soldier a pass. Plus that will keep additional drunks out of the barracks where the vast majority of sexual assaults occur because of alcohol.

Then when these soldiers are caught underage drinking they need to be slammed as in losing rank and doing the maximum extra duty in full combat gear to set an example to anyone else who may be underage drinking. That will shift the underage drinking into the barracks where it is easier to monitor if there is a leadership presence in the barracks which there should be. How come I think we will be talking about off limits bar at Camp Humphreys again in another year?

There has been a change of leadership for the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea:

The 2nd Infantry Division soldiers came out to salute their outgoing and incoming commanding generals at Camp Casey Indianhead Field on Thursday.

Maj. Gen. James Coggin accepted the ceremonial colors from outgoing Maj. Gen. George Higgins in front of dignitaries and the division parading units.

Coggin previously was assistant chief of staff for operations of the U.N. Command, the Combined Forces Command and United States Forces Korea. Higgins heads to Washington, D.C., to become Army assistant deputy chief of staff.

Coggin thanked the Army leadership for trusting him with the division command.

General Higgins is actually leaving command a little bit earlier than most Division Commanders. Usually Division Commanders serve for two years. MG Higgins took command in September 2004. His early departure is probably due to the timing of the job opening at the Pentagon that he heading to next.

MG Higgins really is one of the good guys in the Army. What I liked about MG Higgins the most was that he wasn’t an arrogant cigar smoking MacArthur wanna be, as I have seen many other generals give the persona of wanting to be. MG Higgins is extremely intelligent and the fact that he used to be a West Point instructor is quite evident because he is always trying to teach and educate soldiers that he interacts with. Plus he has spent a lot of time in Korea and understood the country very well. He also advocated very hard for soldiers to take part in all the Good Neighbor Projects in hopes of improving relations with the surrounding communities.

MG Higgins was a good commander and will be missed. It is to bad that MG Higgins tenure will be most remembered for taxi cab related incidents.

MG Coggins during his tenure as commander will most assuredly be faced with moving the 2nd ID to Camp Humphreys once the expansion of the facility is complete. This will be huge logistical undertaking that is sure to keep him up at night. Not to mention dealing with the anti-US protests that are sure to continue as the division makes the move. The next two years could be an interesting time to serve for the new 2ID Commander. Good Luck.

USFK soldiers dominate the Army’s annual Outreach Awards:

The Outreach Awards recognize the best of the Army’s worldwide public outreach initiatives in three categories: individual accomplishment (series of efforts), ongoing programs and special events.

The judging panel received 25 entries from major Army commands, the Installation Management Agency, field operating agencies and from direct reporting units.

Army Chief of Public Affairs Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks presented the following awards March 6:

Individual Category Winners

1st Place – 1st Lt. Chang, Suk Won of the 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team; 2nd Infantry Division, Eighth U.S. Army (Republic of Korea) spearheaded two triumphs – the Dongducheon “Second to None” foreign language school and the division’s “Angel Run.” Through his programs and his unit’s closeness to the demilitarized zone Change reinforced the urgency of fostering positive community ties and in helping tremendously to sustain the ROK-U.S. alliance.

2nd Place –No, Won Hyon, Community Relations Office, 19th Theater Support Command, Camp Henry, ROK, tirelessly ensured Soldiers experienced a continuous stream of tours, cultural activities and community events. Of the many activities he orchestrated throughout 2005, the two which stood out was the program he created to provide English language instruction to less than fortunate Korean school children. He also coordinated with local television media to tell the Army story to more than 500,000 Korean citizens.

3rd Place –Capt. Sungjean P. Kim, chaplain, 307th Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade, fashioned a highly publicized and comprehensive program between the battalion and the Samseong Won Orphanage which became a shining example of how well Soldiers and children can enjoy each others company. He was represented by a Capt. Marilisse Gonzalez accepted the award at the ceremony.

Ongoing Programs Category

1st Place – “Team 19 Community Relations Program,” 19th Theater Support Command, Eighth U.S. Army, ROK was selected for being the most comprehensive and integrated community outreach program and fosters positive relations which have resulted in increased support between the local Korean community and the Army.

2nd Place – “Baker Reach Outreach Project,” Fort Benning, Ga., was selected for its program which focused on Soldiers and civilian employees who took on the challenge of helping to improve the lives of children from the Baker Village housing area who needed role models, positive activities and people who would take the time to care.

3rd Place – “Fort Polk Community Outreach Tour,” Fort Polk, La., targeted a wide variety of key stakeholders in local communities by providing a unique interactive experience for community leaders who were afforded the opportunity to participate as role-players in a joint readiness training center rotation exercise.

Special Events Category

1st Place – “Community Leader Updates: June 14-15, 2005,” Fort Stewart/Hunter Army Air Field, Ga., was a new community relations approach in which base officials wanted to improve understanding by community leaders of the Army’s mission and how much the Army appreciates the support of its neighbors.

2nd Place – “Watchpup Olympics,” 8th Military Police Brigade, HQ, Eighth U.S. Army (ROK), was the culmination of a long-standing relationship between command Soldiers and the Sung Ro Won Orphanage which proved to be the experience of a lifetime.

3rd Place – “Soo Locks Celebrates 150 Years,” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit, Mich., focused on the 150th anniversary of the Corps of Engineers responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the locks that supply waterborne raw materials to the Great Lakes region.

Great job by all the soldiers recognized.

Camp Red Cloud officials help with Korean highway expansion project:

Fifteen years of negotiations and planning came to fruition Friday when a bulldozer punched a hole through Camp Red Cloud’s old outside wall.

The Army Corps of Engineers and its contractors finished building a new base wall several months ahead of schedule, thereby giving Uijeongbu city workers a head start on widening Highway 3, said Army Corps of Engineers project manager Kenneth Jen.

This highway expansion project is much needed because the traffic in front of CRC is absolutely horrendous most of the day and has a high amount of traffic accidents. Hopefully this highway expansion will cut down on the traffic problem and make the road safer as well.

Outgoing USFK commander General Leon LaPorte has two interesting articles in the Stars and Stripes that can be accessed both here and here. The first thing I would like to comment on is the part of the first article that talks about the 2002 armored vehicle accident:

Forty-four days into his command, two teenage girls were crushed by a 57-ton armored vehicle on a narrow road in Uijeongbu, about 15 miles north of Seoul.

The deaths quickly came to symbolize how little the Americans understood the country they were trying to protect, Korean analysts said this month. LaPorte and other USFK officials made repeated apologies, but they were denounced as late and insincere.

“It should have been handled more smartly,” said Assemblyman Yu Jae-gun, chairman of the Korean assembly’s Defense Committee, in a rare criticism of USFK under LaPorte.

Many, including Yu and Oberdorfer, say USFK has learned its lesson and responds more appropriately when tragedy occurs. Even President Bush made a statement right away about a Korean woman who was killed by an Army truck last summer, noted Kim Woo-sang, a professor of political science at Yonsei University in Seoul. “That’s a big difference,” he said.

USFK actually did make immediate apologies, held a candle light vigil on Camp Red Cloud, and offered compensation payments, but the Korean press was not interested in publicizing this. The Korean media was more interested in building as much xenophobic hatred as possible against American GI’s by publishing every wild and crazy conspiracy theory possible. The xenophobic hatefest of 2002 was more a product of the Korean media and their political accomplices than USFK public relations mistakes after the accident.

Here is another example of how the media is not eager to report any USFK good news stories:

LaPorte initiated a Good Neighbor Program shortly after the accident to promote more exchanges between Koreans and American servicemembers. The volunteer program encourages servicemembers to adopt orphanages and nursing homes, teach English and collect food and goods to distribute during Korean holidays.

General LaPorte actually didn’t start this program because GI’s have been adopting orphanages and volunteering in the local community long before 2002. General LaPorte to his credit was the first command to better organize and promote the Good Neighbor activities. Yet even his increased attention to this program has drawn little reaction from the Korean public because they don’t know about it:

It’s unlikely that many average Koreans know about the Good Neighbor Program, or even LaPorte’s name, many interviewed said. But they praised his efforts to reach out, noting there is now a USFK Web site in Korean for this Internet-driven country.

What I most remember about the xenophobic hatefest of 2002 is how the media buried the blatant attack and murder of six South Korean sailors patroling the Yellow Sea just days after the tank accident in order to draw public attention away from South Korea’s surprising World Cup run that year.

A traffic accident in the country with the world’s highest traffic accident rate draws mass protests, discrimination, and assaults against foreigners while a planned murder of six South Korean servicemen by the North Koreans barely draws a whisper of media attention. President Bush apologized for the traffic accident that resulted in the two girls deaths while I’m still waiting for Kim Jong Il to at least even say, “My bad” for killing the six South Korean sailors.