An elderly woman spreads out harvested red peppers and sesame on the ground to dry them in the sun in the city of Chuncheon, northeast of Seoul, on Aug. 27, 2015. Sun-dried hot peppers, known as “taeyangcho” in Korean, are considered to be of the highest quality and fetch high prices at local markets. (Yonhap)
If at your next SHARP training session you get taught that it is not okay for you to go to spouses in your unit and kiss them on the lips this is why:
As Congress wrangled with the growing clamor over sexual misconduct in the military in 2013, a Fort Bragg commander made it a practice to give the wives of subordinates unwelcome kisses on the lips at public events.
After an anonymous letter was sent to the commander’s superiors, a subsequent investigation led to his removal from his job. But he stayed in the military and was allowed to quietly retire in April 2015 – more than two years after the initial complaint about his conduct.
An Army investigation – triggered by an anonymous letter to Lt. Gen. Daniel Allyn, commander of the 18th Airborne Corps at the time – reveals that Col. Chad McRee, former commander of the 16th Military Police Brigade, violated five of eight core expectations for Army leaders, made inappropriate remarks toward officers and noncommissioned officers and was unfairly authoritative toward Family Readiness Group members, officers and noncommissioned officers. [Fayetteville Observer]
You have to read the whole thing at the link to appreciate how outrageous this Colonel and his wife’s behavior was in regards to spouses in their unit.
It would be interesting to see what the leading causes for veterans leaving government jobs is since the article does not really provide one. I think it could be the difference in culture where in the military you have a team and can do attitude that maybe is not replicated in the government sector. Does anyone else have any theories on the high attrition rate?:
The share of federal jobs going to veterans is at its highest level in five years, new data shows, with former servicemembers comprising almost half of full-time hires in the last fiscal year.
One in three people in government is now a veteran, proof that the White House’s six-year push to give those who served in the military a leg up in the long hiring queue for federal jobs is working.
The bad news is that once veterans get into government, they don’t stay long. They’re more likely to leave their jobs within two years than non-veterans, the Office of Personnel Management reports, even if they’ve transferred from other federal agencies.
The Small Business Administration had the most trouble keeping veterans in fiscal 2014, with just 62 percent staying two years or more, compared to 88 percent of non-veterans. Former service members left the Commerce Department at similar rates, with 68 percent staying two years or more compared to 82 percent for non-veterans.
Even the Department of Veterans Affairs, traditionally a draw for former troops, lost a little more than a quarter of its veterans within two years, compared to 20 percent of its non-veterans.
The only agencies that kept more veterans than non-veterans on board were the Defense and State Departments, the report released last month shows.
The growing presence in government of men and women with military backgrounds is the most visible federal effort to reward military service since the draft ended in the 1970s. President Barack Obama pushed agencies to increase hiring of veterans starting in 2009, in response to the bleak employment prospects many service members faced after coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq.
The initiative has fueled tensions in federal offices, though, as longtime civil servants and former troops on the other side of the cubicle question each other’s competence and qualifications. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link.
The strategic messaging to the Kim regime in North Korea continues:
South Korea and the United States performed a joint war simulation on Friday involving live-fire bombings and flights of combat jets in the latest show of joint force against North Korea.
The allies mobilized the biggest-ever number of troops, artillery pieces and military vehicles for this year’s Integrated Firepower Exercise 2015, marking the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule in 1945.
Under the scenarios of a local attack and all-out aggression by North Korea, the forces fired off K-55 and K-9 self-propelled guns, recoilless guns, and Vulcan automatic cannons at mock enemy camps in a remote drill field in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, near the border with North Korea.
A host of KF-16, F-15K and F-4 fighter jets were also flown to bombard mock enemy command facilities, with A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft, tanks and machine guns spreading a barrage of shells and rockets. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link.
Dog cosmeticians trim the hair of pet dogs during an international dog show, organized by the Korea Kennel Federation, at the Korea International Exhibition Center in the city of Goyang, west of Seoul, on Aug. 28, 2015. (Yonhap)
So did any ROK Heads see this pier being built last month?:
A Trident Pier supports Combined Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore 2015. CJLOTS is an exercise designed to train U.S. and Republic of Korea service members to accomplish vital logistical measures in a strategic area while strengthening communication and cooperation in the U.S.-Republic of Korea Alliance.About 17,000 U.S. service members — including Marines, sailors and soldiers of the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary)’s 10th and 11th Transportation Battalions from Fort Eustis — deployed to Korea last month to build the world’s longest floating pier.
The Republic of Korea Army also participated in the exercise called Combined Joint Logistics Over-The-Shore, which allows the services to transfer cargo from the sea to shore. Essentially, a temporary pier is fixed to a barge off the coast connecting it to shore, so supplies including troops and equipment can be driven across the floating dock. This is one of the 7th brigade’s key functions.
The training lasted two months from May to July near Amyeon Beach on the western shore of Korea, and it was one for the record books, according to a statement from Fort Eustis. The pier the soldiers built measured 560 meters, or about one-third of a mile. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link.
Here is an interesting analysis by a North Korean defectors on how the Kim regime is using propaganda to influence their domestic audience that the recent provocation cycle was a success. Also of note is how the defectors believe that the ROK propaganda speakers were of great concern to the Kim regime:
One of the most notable aspects about the joint statement issued by South and North Korea is that Pyongyang expressed regret over the land mine incident that maimed two South Korean soldiers. It’s not unprecedented, but it’s certainly not common for the North to do so. Today we sat down with our reporters Choi Song Min and Kang Mi Jin, who both are from North Korea, to get some more insight about the matter.
My first question goes to Choi Song Min. Pyongyang has failed to apologize for its many previous provocations in the past. Why do you think it took such a different path this time?
CHOI: It’s because the loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts on the border can do much more harm to Kim Jong Un’s leadership than any other weapons of mass destruction. Just as Kim Jong Il said, ‘You may not be able to gain surrender with bullets and shells, but propaganda broadcasts can change the hearts of ten million.’ He himself knows just how powerful broadcasts can be. It’s because it exposes the many atrocities committed over the three-generation leadership, and it could lead to discontent and resistance against the current leader.
In expressing its regret, Pyongyang specifically referred to itself as ‘the North’. By doing so, it in some ways claimed responsibility — completely different from the many times in the past when it denied its involvement. How are we to interpret this action?
KANG: That’s right. Just until a few days ago, the North was out with its ambassador to the UN, its General Reconnaissance Bureau chief Kim Yong Chol, and its diplomats all over the world to publicly deny its involvement in the land mine incident that occurred on the southern side of the demilitarized zone. Having been so stubborn about this matter but then going along to express its regret over it and admitting to it is akin to bowing in front of the world.
What I think is more interesting is not the use of the word ‘the North’ but the word ‘regret’, which even to the smallest extent expresses its acknowledgement of wrongdoing. As mentioned earlier, in the past, North Korea has always denied its involvement, so for it to express regret shows just how desperate it was to get those loudspeakers to stop, as they could play a role in changing people’s perceptions.
The joint statement was also made public to people in the North through state-run media. What do you think people there are making of this?
CHOI: Based on the fact that the North’s media reported on the joint statement very quickly, it’s very likely it has branded this whole incident as one of ‘Kim Jong Un’s great achievements’ and a ‘grand victory in a fight against the South’. It will play it up through public lectures and broadcast propaganda and paint it as a victory ahead of the 70th anniversary of the Party Foundation. Casting aside its regret over the land mine victory, it will promote the fact that the South halted propaganda broadcasts and agreed to hold reunions for separated families. But, North Koreans all know the typical methods used by Pyongyang, so they will have a bitter smile for themselves. [Daily NK]
You can read more at the link.
The Abe Statement: A Korean Perspective http://t.co/bDdv5KoiFF
— The Diplomat (@Diplomat_APAC) August 26, 2015
In this photo taken from an observatory on South Korea’s Ganghwa Island on Aug. 26, 2015, a North Korean soldier takes a nap at a sentry post in Kaepung on the North’s western front-line bordering South Korea, one day after North Korea lifted the quasi-war state of its armed forces. The two Koreas’ reached an agreement the previous day on defusing tensions after four days of intensive inter-Korean talks. (Yonhap)
I wonder if the Chinese Communist Party will take credit for the fighting that the Nationalists primarily carried out fighting Japan during World War II?:
Seoul’s presidential office has officially announced that President Park Geun-hye will visit China from September 2 to 4 to attend Victory Day events marking the end of World War II.
Along with the main commemoration ceremony on Thursday next week, the South Korean president will also attend a military parade in Tiananmen Square, featuring 12-thousand troops and conventional and nuclear missiles.
Presidential Spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters Wednesday that Park decided to attend the event in consideration of South Korea’s friendly and cooperative ties with China, and its hope for the country’s role in the unification of the two Koreas.
A day ahead of the Victory Day celebration, President Park and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a summit. On the last day of her visit, Park will be in Shanghai to attend the reopening ceremony of the historic building where the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was located during Japan’s colonial occupation of the Korean Peninsula. [KBS World Radio]
