Considering how much of the Army soldiers in USFK are now rotational it is not surprising there were not force cuts in USFK:

America’s commitment to the Pacific pivot and unease about a more assertive Russia appear to be driving the Army’s decision not to reduce troop numbers in Japan, South Korea and Europe.

The Army plans to cut 40,000 soldiers and 17,000 civilian jobs over two years, but details released Thursday show the plan affects only the Pacific on the western side, with U.S. Army Pacific saying Hawaii and Alaska will lose 3,800 soldiers. None of the cuts will affect units in Europe.

Officials have yet to determine which Army civilian personnel will lose their jobs, and they warned that there will likely be further troop reductions if Congress and the White House can’t avert another round of defense budget cuts. Those opposed to the cuts question their wisdom amid a number of troubling developments: Cold War-style tension with Russia, Chinese aggression in the South China Sea, North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs, and the rise of the Islamic State in the Middle East.

If there are further cuts, the Army — which will shrink from 490,000 to 450,000 active-duty soldiers — will be “incapable of meeting current deployment requirements and responding to overseas contingency requirements,” U.S. Army Pacific said in a statement.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

I always find these interviews of Korean War veterans in the Joong Ang Ilbo to be very interesting:

Gazing at the F-51D Mustang combat plane, the veteran’s eyes were still sharp. And just like the fighter jet he flew during the 1950-53 Korean War, his face had wrinkles carved in from years gone by.

But retired General Kwon Seong-keun looked elated as he stood before the old combat plane on July 1, at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan, central Seoul, as if he had just met his former self.

He closed his eyes as he recalled the many times he risked his life during the conflict.

“There, you transcend the fear of death. It felt like being on a spaceship spiraling past meteors in muted silence,” said the 90-year-old Kwon, credited with contributing to the establishment of the nation’s Air Force.

The general was dispatched dozens of times during the war, though it has been decades since he has taken to the skies.

The JoongAng Ilbo recently sat down for an interview with the former Korean Air Force pilot to hear more about his life during the Korean War and under Japanese colonial rule.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

Here is how Mr. Kwon said they conducted bombing raids on North Korean forces, by throwing hand grenades out of the plane:

On June 26, we brought 15 kilograms (33 pounds) worth of explosives from the U.S. ammunition chamber. I sat in the front seat of the plane, and in the back seat, another pilot got on the plane with his arms full of bombs and grenades. We headed to Dongdu Stream, where North Korean military tanks were moving along the road.

We threw the explosives down at the tanks with our bare hands. The bombs exploded, and there were momentary swirls of dust, but the tanks started moving again as if nothing had happened. We set out again on the second day. This time, we threw the bombs on the road. That was to destroy the road to prevent as many tanks from moving south as possible.

You can read the rest of the interview at the link.

https://twitter.com/CoolstuffKorea/status/619427261452787712

Two foreign visitors shoot water guns on a street in the southwestern city of Gwangju on July 11, 2015, to blow off the summer heat and stress as they take part in a water gun festival held on the sidelines of the ongoing Summer Universiade in the city. (Yonhap)

It looks like Koreatown in Los Angeles is about to have its very own Korean-American museum:

The proposed Korean American National Museum, expected to sit in the heart of Koreatown, Los Angeles, upon completion, has found an architecture design adviser in noted architect Eui-sung Yi, 47.

Yi, a professor, director of UCLA’s The Now Institute and design principal at Morphosis Architects, previously oversaw the completion of the Korean Embassy in Tokyo and the Korean Consulate in Guangzhou, China.

In 2013, the project received a permanent site from the city of Los Angeles on the corner of Vermont Avenue and 6th Street. The museum, originally planned for a three-story, 45,000-square-foot structure, will preserve and educate future generations on Korean American history and culture.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Here is some good news for the people in Korea:

Anchor: The Ministry of Health and Welfare says no new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome were reported for the sixth straight day on Saturday, marking the longest period of time to date in which no new cases were confirmed.
Our Mina Cha has more.

Report: The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Saturday that no new cases of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) have been reported for the sixth straight day, leaving the number of total confirmed MERS patients from the current outbreak unchanged at 186.

The Ministry’s central MERS-response headquarters said this marks the longest period of time to date in which no new cases were confirmed since the outbreak in South Korea that began in May.

Three more patients have fully recovered and were released from hospital, while one more patient has died from the deadly virus.

Five-hundred-13 suspected patients remain under quarantine at home or hospital, 53 fewer than Friday.

If the MERS outbreak continues to subside at this pace with no additional patients, those under quarantine are also all expected to be released by around July 25.   [KBS World Radio]

You can read more at the link.

https://twitter.com/freekorea_us/status/619644495597043712

This photo, dated July 8, 2015, and released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), shows North Korean Army Gen. Pak Yong-sik visiting Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang to pay tribute to Kim Il-sung, the founder of the North Korean government. KCNA said on July 11, 2015, that Pak attended a meeting on that day with a Lao military delegation as the head of the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces, equivalent to South Korea’s defense minister. It is the first time the North has confirmed the replacement of the defense minister since South Korea’s spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, said in May that the previous minister, Hyon Yong-chol, was executed in April on charges of treason. (Yonhap)

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

It is one thing to be a toxic leader, but to be fat and demand others cover up for you being fat is even worse:

An Army colonel fired from her job in April tried to intimidate subordinates to bend the rules after a tape test found her to be overweight, according to an Army investigation.

The investigation also found that Col. Glenda Lock, commander of McDonald Army Health Center, fostered a “toxic” work environment. Her own command sergeant major described her as a “dictator,” according to the investigation obtained by Army Times through the Freedom of Information Act.

Though Lock did have some supporters, many of the dozens of witnesses in the report portrayed Lock as an authoritarian leader and sometimes-abusive “bully” who decimated morale, citing several specific examples including belittling of subordinates and retaliatory reassignments.

Army Times reached Lock by email, but she declined comment.

“I will again hold my comments for now. Thank you for the opportunity to provide my perspective on this action,” Lock’s email said.  [Army Times]

You can read more at the link, but I have seen some senior leaders that don’t pass the eyeball test in regards to weight and in this case a First Sergeant stuck to enforcing the standard despite the threats from Colonel Lock.