Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.
Good news for these families that were able to escape Afghanistan to South Korea:
A total of 378 Afghans arrived in South Korea on Thursday as part of Seoul’s efforts to evacuate local co-workers of the country’s embassy and other facilities in the war-torn nation after the Taliban’s seizure of power.
A KC-330 tanker transport aircraft carrying the evacuees landed at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at 4:24 p.m., after departing from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad early in the morning, the foreign ministry said.
Of a total of 391 people to be airlifted, 378 were on board.
The 13 others left Islamabad at around 7 p.m. (Seoul time) aboard a separate military plane and was expected to arrive in Korea early afternoon on Friday, the ministry said.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link, but great job the ROK getting these people out. Meanwhile back in Afghanistan things just continue to get worse:
A “complex attack” involving at least two explosions outside the airport in Kabul on Thursday killed 12 U.S. service members and injured at least fifteen others, the Pentagon said.
The attack also killed and wounded a number of Afghan civilians. An Afghan official told Associated Press that at least 60 Afghans were killed and 143 others were injured in the attack.
“Let me be clear, while we’re saddened by the loss of life both U.S. and Afghan [lives], we’re continuing to execute the mission,” Marine Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr., commander, U.S. Central Command, said at a press briefing on Thursday.
Yahoo News
You can read more at the link, but condolences to families and friends of the U.S. service members killed in action by this terror attack.
This is a creative defense when this sailor probably just dozed off at the wheel after climbing up Mt. Fuji:
A U.S. naval officer, facing 4 ½ years in a Japanese prison, described in court Tuesday how he lost consciousness driving home from Mount Fuji and caused an accident that ultimately claimed the lives of two people.
Lt. Ridge Hanneman Alkonis, 33, crashed his car into pedestrians and parked vehicles at a soba restaurant parking lot in Fujinomiya on May 29, according to an indictment. The city is about two hours from Yokosuka Naval Base, where Alkonis is assigned to the destroyer USS Benfold as a weapons officer.
Alkonis, who is charged with negligent driving resulting in death, said he lost consciousness due to acute mountain sickness, a common set of symptoms that occur with a trip to high altitude.
Killed in the crash was a woman, 85, who died that day, and a man, 54, who died in a hospital on June 11. A second woman, 53, suffered bruises to her knees and elbows.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
Well at least he did not pull an Obama:
Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon violated social distancing rules in June by attending a dinner party with more than four people hosted by Lee Woon-kyung, wife of Namyang Dairy Products Chairman Hong Won-sik, according to the police, Wednesday.
Korea Times
Lee held the party at her home in Seoul on June 19, with 14 people attending, including herself. At the time, a ban on private gatherings of more than four people was in place in the Seoul metropolitan area as a part of the government’s social distancing measures to control the spread of the coronavirus.
You can read more at the link, but it is amazing these people in power that keep flaunting their own COVID protocols.
I guess we are about to see how the new USFK Commanding General handles those who don’t follow the COVID protocols:
The U.S. military in South Korea is investigating videos showing dozens of people dancing close together, without masks at a club on an air base on Saturday night.
Videos posted to Instagram and TikTok show military personnel drinking and dancing during a club-like event at the Enlisted Club at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, roughly 30 miles from Seoul.
Service members, according to the current policy imposed by U.S. Forces Korea, are required to wear masks in all indoor common areas on military facilities to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
USFK spokesman Col. Lee Peters in an emailed statement Tuesday said the command was aware of the event and was still “gathering all the facts and pertinent information.”
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
What gets me is this guy just got three years probation and no jail time. Korea needs to give these people at least some jail time as a deterrent:
A 51-year-old gym teacher at a U.S. military base in South Korea was sentenced to three years of probation for attempting to smuggle morphine and oxycodone into the country, according to South Korean court filings earlier this month.
The unnamed American working at an unnamed U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek city, Gyeonggi Province, attempted to smuggle 120 oxycodone tablets and 315 morphine-based tablets by mail on Dec. 17, according to records at the Incheon District Court.
Pyeongtaek is home to two U.S. installations, Osan Air Base and Camp Humphreys, the latter of which is the largest U.S. military base overseas. Camp Humphreys is home to six K-12 schools while Osan Air Base has two.
The teacher requested the illicit substances from an unnamed source, who sent the tablets in a box containing chocolates, according to a sentencing document.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
