Soldiers from the Army’s 17th Division show off their martial arts skills during an event in the city of Incheon, west of Seoul, on July 8, 2016, to welcome veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War. (Yonhap)
A drone demonstrates dropping lifesavers to swimmers in distress at Gyeongpodae Beach in Gangneung, about 240 kilometers northeast of Seoul, on July 8, 2016, as the beach opens to the public along with dozens of others on the east coast. (Yonhap)
Here is yet another example of a mass shooter with possible mental issues:
For six years starting in 2009, Johnson served in the Army Reserve as a private first class with a specialty in carpentry and masonry, the military said.
In May 2014, six months into his Afghanistan tour, he was accused of sexual harassment by a female soldier. The Army sent him stateside, recommending an “other than honorable discharge,” said Bradford Glendening, the military lawyer who represented him.
That recommendation was “highly unusual,” Bradford said, since counseling is usually ordered before more drastic steps are taken.
“In his case, it was apparently so egregious, it was not just the act itself,” Glendening told The Associated Press. “I’m sure that this guy was the black sheep of his unit.”
According to a court filing Glendening read over the phone Friday, the victim said she wanted Johnson to “receive mental help,” while also seeking a protective order to keep him away from her and her family, wherever they went. Johnson was ordered to avoid all contact with her.
Glendening said Johnson was set to be removed from the Army in September 2014 because of the incident, but instead got an honorable discharge months later — for reasons he can’t understand.
“Someone really screwed up,” he said. “But to my client’s benefit.” [Associated Press]
You can read more at the link, but just like the Orlando shooting it appears a guy with mental issues influenced by radical hate spread through mainstream and social media decided to take action at the urging of others.
As we have seen with other North Korean missiles the more they test, the better they get at mastering the technology:
North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) off its east coast on Saturday, but the missile failed in its initial flight stage, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
The missile was fired from waters southeast of the coastal port city of Sinpo, South Hamgyong Province, at around 11:30 a.m., according to the military.
“The SLBM was ejected from the submarine normally, but (we) estimate the initial flight was unsuccessful,” the JCS said in a brief press release.
“Our military strongly denounces such provocative acts by North Korea,” the JCS noted.
North Korea’s ballistic missile launches are direct violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions, including its Musudan missile launches on June 22 and the latest launch, the military said.
Military sources said the latest SLBM appears to have exploded at an altitude of some 10 kilometers after being fired from a submerged 2,000-ton Sinpo-class submarine.
The missile flew only a few kilometers before the presumed explosion, they said.
South Korea’s military said that North Korea has achieved progress in the initial undersea ejection stage of its SLBM technology.
The North is probably in the flight test stage of its SLBM before moving onto the final test phase that will require the missile to hit targets, the sources said.
The North may be ready to deploy its SLBMs for service in about three years, according to the military. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but out of all of North Korea’s missiles this is the most dangerous and a game changer because it can defeat missile defenses. That is because submarines can fire without notice from any direction which prevents missile defense units from knowing in which direction to point their radars towards.
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:
Operation of the THAAD battery requires the following exclusion zones along +/- 90 degrees of the axis of orientation of the THAAD radar system to avoid injury to personnel and damage to equipment from electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emitted from that radar: 328 feet (100 meters) for personnel, 1,640 feet (500 meters) for equipment, and 3.4 miles (5.5 kilometers) for aircraft. An earthen berm in front of the radar further reduces the ground-level EMR exposure risks. For aircraft, a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) was established for the THAAD expeditionary mission starting in April 2013. The airspace coordination procedures for this flight restriction were documented in a Letter of Agreement between the Army, USAF, FAA, and Guam Air Route Traffic Control Center. Under Alternative 1, the TFR would continue to be used during THAAD radar operations.
So unless the THAAD radar is sitting 100 meters directly in front of someones house they will not be exposed to harmful EMR. Aircraft will need to stay 5.5 kilometers away from the radar which as the document shows on Guam they put restricted airspace measures over the radar site. These same safety measures will have to be done in Korea which I am sure USFK planners will do.
Gen. Vincent Brooks (L), commander of United States Forces Korea, hands over the flag of the 7th Air Force to Lt. Gen. Thomas Bergeson, new deputy commander of U.S. Forces Korea and the 7th Air Force commander, during a ceremony at Osan Air Base, south of Seoul, on July 8, 2016, to mark Bergeson`s inauguration. (Yonhap)
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.
