The ROK Army apparently wants to become more Americanized by relying on hi-tech weapon systems and volunteer forces to down size their military:

A major battle is underway in South Korea, between the government and the army. At issue is a proposed reorganization of the armed forces. The politicians, and most of the voters, believe it is inevitable that the communist government in North Korea will eventually collapse, and no longer be a threat. The reform plan, which has been in the works for years, will take fifteen years to complete. But by 2020 the army would have six corps instead of 13, twenty divisions instead of 47 and 26 percent fewer troops (500,000 instead of 680,000). The reserves would be reduced even more, from 3 million to 1.5 million. Conscription would not be eliminated, but it would be used less. The army would provide higher pay for the Special Forces (sort of like the U.S. Rangers), to encourage volunteers. Conscripts who wanted to make the army a career, would immediately receive much higher pay once they agreed to stay in, when their conscription service was over. Ultimately, an all-volunteer forces would be preferred. But right now, that would cost too much money.

I have been reporting for a while that the ROK Army cannot in the long term remain a conscripted force due to the changes in Korean society. Before, mandatory service was looked at as serving your country and as being the last gate to pass before you became a real man. Now it is at best something to be avoided. Korea’s younger generation has more important things to do like go to college, work and earn more money than what they would make in the ROK Army, talk on their cell phones, and let’s not forget play Starcraft. These are all activities mandatory services cuts into.

Here is something interesting:

The reform also includes turning the coast guard into a police organization, and stationing specially trained brigades to watch the DMZ, rather than combat divisions full of conscripts. The special DMZ brigades would contain more volunteers, and be able to cover the DMZ using fewer troops (and more robots and high-tech sensors.) The reforms also include greater use of precision missiles, rockets and bombs. One of the proposals is to organize missiles and MLRS units (firing GPS guided rockets) into a separate organization.

The ROK Army is looking at forming an all volunteer force to patrol the DMZ? This will be a tough sell to get people to volunteer for this duty. Much of the DMZ is remote and rugged terrain without much creature comforts. I hope the ROK Army plans on also greatly modernizing the military facilities along the DMZ as well.

Here is why the ROK Army thinks Americanizing their force will work:

In all, the reforms want to make the armed forces smaller and more lethal. In this respect, the reformers have been much influenced by the American experience with volunteer troops and high-tech. American combat units have been stationed in South Korea for over half a century, so South Koreans have been able to observe the changes in the American army since the draft was eliminated three decades ago. The South Koreans have also been impressed by the American performance in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. South Korean units that train with American troops have also experienced these changes up close. The better trained, and now combat experienced, U.S. soldiers are clearly better at fighting. So, the South Koreans are headed in that direction. It’s expected that many of the current generals will fight the reforms, if only because the smaller army (a 36 percent cut, to 350,000 troops) will mean fewer jobs for senior officers.

This is going to be a huge fight with the brass of the ROK Army, but currently the ROK Army generals have little influence with the current ruling government and they have little prestige with the Korean public due to past military dictatorships and current corruption scandals. The brass will lose on this issue and the ROK Army will probably be better off for it.

One of the groups protesting the US base expansion in Pyeongtaek is now considering wether or not to protest the light sentence given for corruption of the former leader of the Osan Town Patrol:

South Korean activist groups will consider mounting a campaign of protest rallies if the U.S. Air Force secretary lets 1st Lt. Jason D. Davis resign and avoid the prison term he received at his court-martial last week, an activist leader said Friday.

And they said they will seek legal advice on whether to urge South Korean prosecutors to charge Davis with rape, a charge Air Force prosecutors brought but later dropped when the alleged victim declined to go forward.

I actually hope they push this issue to try him in Korean courts because for whatever reason Davis did get a pretty light sentence. I can only guess why the Korean authorities push to arrest the driver of the LMTV that in an obvious accident, killed a elderly Korean woman jaywalking in Dongducheon, but they don’t decide to go after Davis? Here is why the authorities say they can’t go after Davis:

Kim said he’ll ask South Korean lawyers whether the nation’s legal system gives South Korean prosecutors avenues to pursue a rape case against Davis. If so, said Kim, his organization will press for that prosecution.

Jung Yu-seok, chief of the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center, said Friday that South Korean authorities typically will not pursue a rape case if the alleged victim declines to testify or otherwise aid an investigation.

However, Jung added, a third party such as Kim’s organization could call on authorities to prosecute a case, but it is unlikely the prosecutors would do so unless first provided with the amount and type of evidence they would need to build a strong case.

Why would the Korean woman that was responsible for bringing attention to this case to begin with suddenly disappear and not testify? There are plenty of opinions on this matter but one thing for sure is that the Songtan business owners are eager to get back to business as usual:

.C. Lee, Songtan Chamber of Commerce president, said he was satisfied with Davis’ sentence, adding that now it’s key that the Air Force ensure such abuses are not repeated lest they inflame anti-U.S. feelings.

Nowadays many different kinds of groups have their own voices and then they can say, Oh, Yankees no good or, Americans no good, Lee said.

That kind of things we would like to prevent for future times.

A 76 year old Korean War veteran has finally been awarded the nation’s highest honor, the Medal of Honor:

Rubin, 76, was born in Hungary and sent to the Nazi concentration camp in Mauthausen, Austria, as a boy. His parents and a sister were killed during their imprisonment, but Rubin survived for 14 months and was freed when American soldiers stormed the camp.

“My English at the time wasn’t so good, but I told them I’d have to go (with the POWs),” he said. “I wouldn’t want to leave without them, because I had my brothers there.”

Rubin’s story is really amazing. This guy was liberated from Nazi death camp by US soldiers and then four years later he was serving in the very Army that liberated him from the death camp. A really inspiring story and a great man worthy of the nation’s highest honor.

You can get a more detailed background on Rubin from the Mudville Gazette by clicking here.

British Ambassador to Korea, Warwick Morris has now spoken out in regards to the current General MacArthur statue controversy in Inchon by sending this letter to the Chosun Ilbo:

“I have been saddened to read that a group of protestors attacked and called for the removal of the statue of the U.S. general MacArthur in Incheon. The statue was erected to commemorate the Incheon Landing, which he led, and which was one of the most decisive interventions of the Korean War. British naval vessels were among those involved. By attacking his statue and his memory, these protestors are also denigrating ALL those foreign soldiers under the UN command, who came to fight alongside South Korea in that war. There were men and women from more than 20 nations involved, including my own. Tens of thousands of them gave their lives so that South Korea should remain free and independent. Without the fierce allied fighting that followed there was a real chance that South Korea, by then pinned down to Busan, would have been overrun.

“None of us can change our country’s history. What happened, happened, and we should respect the right for people to demonstrate peacefully, but these protestors risk alienating more than just American friends. I am glad there have been some firmly-worded editorials, and that a number of leading figures, including Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, have spoken up. They need to, and strongly, if good friends of Korea and war veterans from many countries are not to feel insulted.”

The good ambassador is absolutely right about this. These protesters shame all the soldiers from all the countries involved in the UN force that came to the aid of South Korea during the Korean War. Notice however in his letter he only mentioned Foreign Minister Ban speaking out strongly against the hate groups. He did not mention President Roh Moo-hyun. President Roh has only spoken out vaguely against the protesters and it appears Ambassador Morris may be hinting that the President should take a tougher stand against these hate groups. I would be surprised if President Roh did that however, because these hate groups form part of his political base. It would be like Howard Dean speaking out against Moveon.org, PETA, and the evironmental wacko groups. It would be political suicide for him.

It may be political suicide for President Roh anyway because these hate groups may have made a big error in going after the MacArthur statue. Average Koreans are embarrassed and getting fed up with the actions of these hate groups. Look what some Koreans had to say in this LA Times article reprinted on Newsmax:

The imposing statue was erected in 1957 in Freedom Park atop a pedestal with the inscription, “A man to hold eternally in honored memory.”

Freedom Park is not a usual venue for protests; it is a place where retirees play mah-jongg and toddlers chase pigeons.

“These protesters are just stupid kids who don’t know what happened during the Korean War. Because of them, our park is full of riot police,” said a 51-year-old hairdresser, Lee Jong Sun, who wandered off muttering under her breath: “Crazy! Idiots!”

Jeon Gap Su, a 72-year-old retired military officer, recalled being among the onlookers on Sept. 15, 1957, when the statue was dedicated.

“Back then, if anybody had protested they would have been shot instantly. It would have been clean and easy,” Jeon said. “It was clean and easy in those days.”

I don’t advocate shooting the hate groups and actually don’t care if they protest. What they shouldn’t have the right to do is assault policemen and destroy property. These people should be jailed and given stiff fines. Why this is not happening I can only ponder is because of political reasons.

It is definitely not clean and easy anymore.

I was reading the Stars and Stripes today and saw that the former Osan town patrol officer, 1LT Jason Davis was sentenced to 2 years in prison for his actions. The Stars and Stripes will have the article on their site tomorrow. Here is what 1LT Davis had to say in the article:

“I set a bad example for a lot of people. I’m here because I screwed up and I’m an idiot… My actions set back town patrol… Those guys deserved the recognition and they didn’t deserve the recognition that I bought them… I got no excuse.”

Everything that I have heard about 1LT Davis is that he is in fact an idiot and deserves what he got. However, I can’t help but think that I have seen soldiers get more time in military prison for charges not nearly as serious 1LT Davis’. I wasn’t at the trial and maybe the defense lawyers did a good job showing what a great guy 1LT Davis is to get so little jail time. I don’t know, however I was tipped off to this article by Mark who was commenting over at Nomads site.

The site Military Corruption.com brings up some good points worth sharing. First of all that the court martial was executed during Chusok to avoid Korean press coverage was slick. Secondly, the fact that the Korean girl that Davis had a romantic relationship with that exposed his activities to begin with didn’t testify I also found interesting. It seems like she would have been the key witness in this whole court martial. Thirdly, the site believes the fix may have been in for this trial to keep Davis quiet about how far up the chain the corruption went. After seeing this light sentence, who knows, you can be the judge on that one.

These people that have been protesting the MacArthur statue can now turn their attention to another symbol of anti-Americanism:

Ohno, famous for his “soul patch” of facial hair and infamous in Korea for his controversial 1,500-meter victory against Kim Dong-Sung at the 2002 Games, intends to compete in Korea for the first time since that Olympic race.

In the 1,500 final at the Salt Lake City Olympics, Kim crossed the finish line first but was disqualified for a blocking move on Ohno, who was awarded the gold medal, adding to a silver in the 1,000. The controversy triggered a barrage of 16,000 e-mails to the U.S. Olympic Committee, among them death threats.

“Hopefully some of the fans will have calmed down and kind of understand the real situation. But that’s out of my control. I’m just an athlete trying to perform my best at competitions,” Ohno said of the Oct. 7-9 event in Seoul.

Two years ago, Ohno decided not to enter an event in Jeonju City, South Korea, against a backdrop of Internet death threats and a Korean newspaper report calling him “the most hated athlete in South Korea.” With the 2006 Winter Games less than five months away, it would be much more difficult to leave Korea off his schedule.

Why people hate this guy is beyond me. He was just competing in the race and the judge made a call. Ohno didn’t make the call, he just benefited from it. How come no one was complaining in 2002 when the South Korean soccer was competing in the World Cup and got a few favorable calls that aided their success?

Oh My News’ latest article from Hong Euntaek who travels around America and writes stories about what a bad place America is has chosen now to write about America’s casinos. He doesn’t like the casino culture in America and is also concerned about the amount of Asians that gamble at these establishments. However, when I read this paragraph I had to laugh:

Casinos in Korea have been available solely for foreign tourists or American military personnel. Korean celebrities who sneak into casinos in American military compounds are often caught by photographers and subject to public humiliation. So they would rather head for a safe casino in the U.S. if they have time. At a glance, I’d say that more than half the patrons in the Pechanga casino hall were Asians. It was strange to hear people speaking in Korean, like “The cards are not good,” or “Give it up.”

Why should the celebrities feel shamed? Regular Koreans are doing the same thing. Go to any American military base and the areas set a side for gambling are filled with Korean nationals, not mention the golf courses as well.

This is interesting, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon is being considered for the UN Secretary General role:

It was revealed on September 22 that the government is actively considering Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki-moon to be a candidate for the next secretary general of the United Nations who will be elected late next year.

A senior official of the government said on that day, “There is a consensus within the government that Minster Ban is qualified to be UN secretary general in all aspects such as capacity, experience and relations with other countries.”

This would probably be a positive development for the United States if Minister Ban does run for the position and is selected. Minister Ban is one of the few people in the current South Korean government that actually seems to know what he is doing and has a good relationship with the United States as well. Good luck Minister Ban.

There is going to be a new sheriff in town shortly:

U.S. Army Europe commander Gen. B.B. Bell, who oversaw the deployment of Germany- and Italy-based soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan and also wrote the plan to downsize the Army’s presence in Europe, has been nominated to be the next commander of U.S. Forces Korea.

A Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday he did not know if LaPorte was retiring or being reassigned and did not know who would replace Bell at USAREUR headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany.

Here is what General Bell gets to look forward to:

Issues that would confront Bell in South Korea include the scheduled reduction of U.S. forces there from 37,500 to 25,000 by 2008; the possible rotation of troops into war zones; and ensuring U.S. and South Korean troops are prepared to defend the nation against aggressors.

The U.S. is undergoing a major repositioning of its forces in South Korea in which the number of its installations would be reduced from 41 to 10. The goal, U.S. Forces Korea officials have said, is to create a less intrusive, more flexible configuration of American forces on the peninsula.

I don’t know much about General Bell but feel free to comment those that do.

1LT Jason Davis who was formerly in charge of the Osan town patrol, has pleaded guilty to the numerous charges that were brought before him during his on going court martial:

Air Force 1st Lt. Jason D. Davis pleaded guilty to charges stemming from running illicit police undercover operations; accepting cash from club owners; maintaining illicit sexual liaisons with bar girls; violating the U.S. military’s curfew that his police team had the duty of enforcing; being drunk and disorderly; having sex with women who were not his wife; illegal weapons possession; illegally maintaining an off-base apartment; using racial and ethnic slurs; filing a leave request with false information as to his intended destination; and maintaining an improper relationship with a subordinate airman.

Right now Davis is looking at up to 21 years in prison for his actions. However, he is still waiting to see if the Secretary of the Air Force will approve his request to resign in lieu of a court martial. I highly doubt the request will be approved and since he pleaded guilty already some pre-trial agreement for sentencing has probably already been worked out, which means he will not serve the full 21 years.

The article did shed some light on some of the details of this case, like the weapons charge the Koreans are bringing against him:

In addition, Dooge testified, Davis fired plastic pellets at him from an airgun, locked him for about 30 minutes in the squadron’s women’s dressing room and refused to release him.

Here are some more details that are proving some of the earlier rumors to have some merit:

The court also heard testimony from Lee Hye-chin, who said she got to know Davis while she managed the off-base Zone Club.

Lee testified Davis would pay about $200 to bar fine various female club workers.

And on one occasion, according to Lee, Davis pressured her unsuccessfully to arrange a liaison, free of charge, with bar girls.

He want to have Korean or Russian girls, Lee testified. He want me to hook up for him.   He want me to get for him free.

When she declined, she said, Davis raised the possibility that he could use his position as head of the Town Patrol to have the club put off-limits.

Earlier in the proceedings, Davis told Dillow he’d maintained a sexual relationship with Kim Mun-hui, a woman with family ties to another local club.

Kim, Davis said, lavished numerous gifts on him, including a Chrysler Sebring car, a Rolex watch, Louis Vuitton slippers and cash.

We also took a vacation to Guam, Davis told Dillow.  I also accepted free drinks from bar owners.