In this photo provided by the Yangyang county government, farmer Kim Kwang-seop sprays agricultural pesticides by using a drone on his paddies in the eastern county on June 8, 2015. Kim said he has completed the work in just five minutes with the drone, compared with more than 20 minutes with manual labor. The utilization of drones is on a gradual increase in the country’s agricultural sector. (Yonhap)
I would not be surprised if the perpetrators thought they could get away with this simply because they were on a remote island that had no police station:
Koreans have been appalled by a gang rape of a female teacher in her 20s on Heuksan Island off Sinan County, South Jeolla Province, after the case was made public last week. The predators included the parents of the teacher’s students, triggering public uproar about the blatant disregard for teachers and women.
The authorities need to ensure that the men in this case are duly punished and that the victim is given proper physical and emotional care before resuming her duties.
The rape case is a shocking reminder of the unsettling work conditions women are exposed to in remote areas such as Sinan County.
What is also shocking is the reaction from some of island’s residents, who seemed to be siding with the predators and blaming the victim for getting drunk in media interviews. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but the Korea Herald had more details about the case:
The police revealed details of the case on June 3. The victim’s distress call came in the wee hours of May 22.
According to police, the victim had dinner at one of the local restaurants where she was asked to join the three suspects, two of whom are parents of children at her school.
The men insisted that the victim drink, despite her repeated refusal as she had plans to explore the village the next day.
Once the victim was inebriated, one of the men volunteered to drop her home and raped her at her residence, followed by the other two. [Korea Herald]
Considering the few friends Pyongyang has this is a big diplomatic win by South Korea by getting Uganda to enforce the United Nations sanctions against North Korea:
Uganda has told North Korean military and police personnel stationed there to go home, according to multiple diplomatic sources.
One diplomatic source told the JoongAng Ilbo that President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda asked about 10 North Korean military training officials and another group of 40 police personnel stationed there to leave the country. No deadline was specified by the source.
Another source said Museveni had diplomatically told the North Koreans that his government no longer required their aid and cooperation in the field of national security and military strategy. Both sources asked not to be named, given the classified nature of the information.
If true, Museveni’s decision to drive North Koreans out of his country comes just a week after he promised visiting South Korean President Park Geun-hye that he would honor UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea approved in March, which bars Pyongyang from having any military links with foreign countries, including weapons trade and training deals. The South Korean government estimates about 50 North Korean military and police training officials were staying in Uganda as of February 2016. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
Is it accurate to say that someone was “forced” into prostitution when the soldier in the below article willing decided to work for the pimp for financial gain? For sake of argument if a woman decided to break the law by robbing houses while a man sat in the get away car outside would we say the woman was forced into burglary? To me it seems they are both equally guilty.
A man who forced a 19-year-old Fort Bragg soldier into prostitution last year threatened to tell the soldier’s commander about her exchanging sex for money, new court documents say.
The court documents also revealed that the soldier was the victim of sex trafficking as a juvenile.
Jibri Quandel Thomas, 23, of the 3200 block of Brookemere Place, was charged by the Fayetteville Police Department in connection with exploiting the soldier. He turned himself in to Fayetteville police detectives Jan. 11 and was indicted in federal court Jan. 28.
A superseding indictment in federal court filed April 25 charged Thomas with two counts of transporting for prostitution and racketeering for prostitution. [Fayetteville Observer]
You can read the rest at the link, but it sounds like this soldier probably should have never been in the Army in the first place considering she was a practicing prostitute at the age of 17 before she even enlisted. Joining the military was an opportunity for this soldier to turn her life around; it is unfortunate she did seize that opportunity.
Members of a special maritime unit train ahead of their deployment at the western border island of Yeonpyeong on June 8, 2016, to fend off Chinese boats fishing illegally in South Korean waters. The unit has been bolstered in size to deal with the growing problem of Chinese fishing boats encroaching into South Korea’s waters. A Seoul official said the government on the same day protested to Beijing about the violations. (Photo provided by the Incheon branch of the Korea Coast Guard) (Yonhap)
Congratulations to First Lieutenant Ji Eun Jeong for being awarded the US Army’s Expert Infantryman Badge. She is considered the first female ROK Army officer to receive the badge. Two years ago two female ROK Army NCOs became the first Korean females to be awarded the EIB:
May 26, 2016 – CAMP CASEY, Republic of Korea – Soldiers congratulate Republic of Korea Army 1st Lt. Ji Eun Jeong, a platoon leader in the 115th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, 90th Mech. Inf. Brigade, 30th Mech. Inf. Division, on earning an U.S. Army Expert Infantryman Badge. Jeong, a 25-year-old from Seoul, South Korea, is the first female ROK officer to complete the EIB. South Korean officers are not actually authorized to wear the U.S. badge, but were pinned during the ceremony and awarded a certificate of achievement. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Keith Anderson, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs, 1st Cav. Div.) [PACOM.mil]
Here are some statistics of how many failed to pass the testing:
Republic of Korea Army 1st Lt. Ji Eun Jeong, a platoon leader in the 115th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, 90th Mech. Inf. Brigade, 30th Mech. Inf. Division, raises her hands in victory May 26, as she approaches the finish line of the 12-mile ruck march at Camp Casey, South Korea. Jeong is the first female ROK officer to earn the U.S. Army Expert Infantryman Badge. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christopher Dennis, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs, 1st Cav. Div.)
Included in the final number to complete the challenge were more than 40 ROKA Soldiers, including Republic of Korea Army 1st Lt. Ji Eun Jeong, a platoon leader in the 115th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, 90th Mech. Inf. Brigade, 30th Mech. Inf. Division. Jeong was the first female ROK officer to earn the EIB. A female ROK NCO completed the grueling challenge last year to earn her EIB.
“I want a specialty for infantry, and EIB is a challenge for female Soldiers,” said Jeong.
Of the 627 Soldiers who started the EIB testing in South Korea May 22, only 131 finished and earned the honor of wearing the Expert Infantryman Badge. And of those, 29 distinguished themselves as “True Blue” Infantryman by successfully completing every event without retest and receiving first time “go’s” on every evaluation – 18 U.S. and 11 South Korean Soldiers. [DVIDS]
That is a pretty high attrition rate and thus shows how hard the awardees worked to get the EIB. According to the Korea Times 1st Lt. Jeong did 200 pushups, 200 sit-ups and ran 7 kilometers each day to prepare for the test. She also qualified for the ROK Army’s version of the EIB in November 2015 which made her eligible to compete for the US Army’s EIB last month. Incredibly the attrition rate for the ROK Army EIB is much higher than the US Army EIB:
Only infantry personnel are eligible to participate in both the EIB test and South Korea’s equivalent test.
The U.S. military officially opened the door for women on ground combat jobs beginning in January and there were no female participants from the U.S. side this year, according to the South Korean military.
In November 2015, Jeong was the only woman among the four successful candidates who took the South Korean infantry test. A total of 85 soldiers took the test then. [Korea Times]
Only 4 of 85 passed the ROK Army EIB testing which is pretty amazing. It sounds like the US Army get our infantrymen to compete in the ROK Army EIB testing for an additional skills challenge.
With the recent passing of Muhammad Ali I figured it was as good as time as any to remember the Champ’s visit to South Korea back almost exactly 40 years after ago in 1976. Ali visited South Korea after participating in a celebrity wrestling match with famed Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki. Incredibly Ali threw six punches in the wrestling match and earned $6 million for it.
Pacific Stars & Stripes, June 26, 1976
Ali landed in Korea at Gimpo Airport and a motorcade took him on a tour of downtown Seoul where an incredible one million people it was estimated greeted him. Here is what Ali had to say about the welcome he received in Seoul:
“When I go back to America and throughout my tours I will tell people of the world how nice Korea is,” Ali said.
Pacific Stars & Stripes, June 29 1976
Ali also had good things to say about US troops stationed in South Korea:
“I’ve many American brothers over here, black and white who fight for the freedom of the world and are doing a job we can’t pay them for,” he said. “I am a fighter myself and I realize how lonely it is when you’re in combat-how lonely you are in training.”
After the motorcade tour of Seoul, Ali was next driven north to Camp Casey where he boxed and entertained 2nd Infantry Division soldiers:
Ali fought exhibitions for the U. S. 2nd Infantry Division after receiving a hero’s welcome in downtown Seoul from hundreds of thousands of Koreans.
“One million dollars a punch,” Ali said of his 15-round draw Saturday with professional Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki, who spent most of the bout on his back trying to kick Ali down.
“And you are going to see hundreds of punches for nothing,” he told more than 2,500 American soldiers at the Shoonover Bowl outdoor theater 12 miles below the demilitarized zone between South and North Korea. [Stars & Stripes, June 29, 1976]
So for soldiers stationed on Camp Casey the next time you are at Shooner Bowl remember that decades ago Muhammad Ali once entertained US soldiers there. Here is a cool story from the visit:
“All right, fellows. Do you have any boxers out here?” Ali asked.
Specialist Fourth Class Gerald Noble, 28, stepped out. The 202-pound soldier was a Michigan State heavyweight champion in 1967.
They agreed to a five-minute round, in which Noble tried hard but was no match for Ali. The champion danced in and away and landed scores of accurate but soft punches on the soldier-boxer.
After the fight, in which Ali patted Noble on the seat of the pants with his right fist after forcing him into a corner, the champ declared the soldier one of the best men he has fought.
The soldiers booed, and a 149-pounder volunteered to “put up a better fight, if not knock you out.”
The challenger was Private First Class Larry D. Rice, 20.
Ali faked being knocked down twice in a five-minute round with the welterweight, drawing big cheers from the crowd. In the end, however, it was Rice who became exhausted and gave up.
“Ali is a great fighter but today he turned out to be a greater entertainer, too. We love him in this remote area. He must be second to none in every sense,” an enlisted man said. “Second to None” is the slogan of the division.
What an awesome story Gerald Noble and Larry Rice were able to tell for the rest of their lives of boxing Muhammad Ali. It is such an incredible story they probably had a hard time getting people to believe them. I am sure the Koreans and GIs that saw Ali back in 1976 will never forget his visit much like many people in the world will not forget the legacy Muhammad Ali left before his passing.
The resolution by lawmakers on Okinawa cannot be enforced, but it just shows that they will use any incident to make a political statement against the US military on Okinawa. What I find interesting though is that this statement calls for only the US Marines to withdraw and not any of the other services:
An aerial view of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on Okinawa, Japan. Okinawa lawmakers have unanimously adopted a protest resolution calling for the U.S. Marine Corps to withdraw completely from the island prefecture after a U.S. base worker was arrested in the death of a 20-year-old woman.
Okinawa lawmakers unanimously adopted a protest resolution Thursday calling for the Marine Corps to withdraw completely from the island prefecture after a U.S. base worker was arrested in the death of a 20-year-old woman.
“Such a brutal act by a civilian military employee, who is a former Marine, was absolutely unacceptable,” says the prefectural assembly’s strongly worded declaration. It demands that all Marines leave the island that was returned to Japan from the U.S. post World War II military administration in 1972.
“Pains and sorrow of the family are immeasurable, and a torrent of anger is growing among people of Okinawa,” says the resolution, which was adopted during an emergency meeting by a majority from ruling parties that support anti-base Gov. Takeshi Onaga, while the opposition, including the Liberal Democratic Party, abstained.
The resolution also questions the effectiveness of preventive education by the U.S. military after past crimes by U.S. servicemembers, and demands a drastic reduction in the U.S. military presence on the island, the closure of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and the cancellation of a plan to move Futenma’s operations to Okinawa’s remote north. [Stars & Stripes]
