Tag: USFK

Here is one of these only in Korea stories. There are not many countries that would have pop stars completing mandatory military service like Korea does:

K-pop idol Kang Young-hyun, best known as Young K to fans of his group Day6, is a winner in the Eighth Army’s Best Warriors competition in South Korea.

There’s a lot to sort out there, so let’s take things a step at a time and decode that sentence.

Forty-nine U.S. and Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army, or KATUSA, soldiers participated in a six-day competition that included events like an eight-mile march, small arms qualification, land navigation, water survival, obstacle courses, knot-tying and overall military knowledge.

The Eighth crowned winners in categories like best soldier, best noncommissioned officer, best officer and best warrant officer.

Military.com

You can read more at the link, but Kang won the KATUSA category of the Best Warrior competition. The next level of competition is at U.S. Army Pacific in Hawaii. According to the article it is unclear if Yang will compete in this competition. Regardless it is great to see Yang not trying to dodge service like some other celebrities have been able to do. It is also awesome to see him taking his service seriously and pushing himself like he did to win this competition.

It appears General LaCamera sees a chance with the change in government to hopefully open access to the THAAD site near Seongju:

 U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera has called for “unfettered” access to its THAAD missile defense unit here, stressing its absence would undermine the alliance’s ability to defend South Korea.

In a written statement to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense this week, LaCamera made the call, as access to the unit in the southern county of Seongju remains impeded by a set of obstacles, including protesters against the installation of the battery.

Since the unit was placed in Seongju in 2017, it has had the status of a “temporary installation” pending South Korea’s environmental impact assessment — another hindrance to its full-capacity operation. 

“Despite significant progress in increasing access to the site over the last year, unfettered access is required to fully ensure logistical support at the site and improve the quality of life for service members stationed there,” LaCamera said.

“Limited access also slows the pace of construction projects on-site, which is critical for maintaining the system’s capabilities, crew training and upgrades. All of this hinders the alliance’s ability to operate this defensive system and defend the ROK people,” he added. ROK stands for the South’s official name, Republic of Korea.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

USFK has brought some more fire power to the peninsula:

The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has held a ceremony launching a permanently stationed air cavalry squadron consisting of new Apache attack helicopters in a key U.S. base south of Seoul, its officials said Wednesday.

The 5th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade was activated in the event at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Tuesday. It takes over from previous rotational aviation units.

The new unit is known to have dozens of the latest AH-64E Version 6 helicopters. In January, the U.S. Army said 24 of the latest Apache helicopters would be deployed here by February in the first overseas delivery of the new version of the aircraft.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

There are still a few areas where masks are required like the CDC and medical facilities, but for most areas on post masks are not required as of this week:

The U.S. military in South Korea dropped its mask mandate Monday on its installations as cases of COVID-19 continue to decline throughout the country.

Masks are no longer required on any U.S. installation or facility, although individual commanders may mandate them in high-traffic indoor areas, such as gyms, commissaries, libraries and similar facilities, according to an announcement by U.S. Forces Korea on its website.

USFK personnel are advised to consult their garrisons for exceptions to the updated policy.

Anyone affiliated with the U.S. military must still wear a mask while outside U.S. installations. South Korea requires people to wear face masks while outdoors and indoors in public.

Defense Department schools on U.S. bases in South Korea are also doing away with the mask requirement starting Wednesday, although students may choose to wear masks at school or on school buses, according to memos from individual school principals.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Starting today USFK personnel who are vaccinated will be able to party in the villes again:

The U.S. military command in South Korea will lower its health protection condition in time for its population to sample a wider variety of off-base activities this weekend.

U.S. Forces Korea will move from Bravo-plus to Bravo at 6 a.m. Thursday, the command announced Wednesday in a news release. The change will allow those who are fully vaccinated to visit bars, clubs, adults-only establishments, saunas and karaoke bars. 

A person is considered fully vaccinated 14 days after completing a vaccination series approved by the Food and Drug Administration, according to USFK. 

Masks are still required of everyone in South Korea, indoors and outdoors; USFK requires masks indoors but not outdoors on U.S. military installations.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It took nine years to complete the construction of the command center. Just think South Korea has built entire neighborhoods faster than this command center:

The construction of a new command center for the combined forces of South Korea and the United States has been completed in a major American military base south of Seoul, a U.S. Army website showed Tuesday. 

South Korean and U.S. officials commemorated the completion of Command Center Humphreys in Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Thursday last week, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

The new center is designed to support the operations of the allies’ Combined Forces Command (CFC) and the U.S. Forces Korea. Its construction was a key part of the allies’ plan to relocate the U.S. garrison in Seoul’s central district of Yongsan to Camp Humphreys, according to the USACE.

“This project was a nine-year construction effort, and we finally get to see the successful completion of it,” Robert Zhang, a U.S. official involved in the project, was quoted by the USACE as saying.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here is some increased messaging of unity within the US-ROK alliance:

 Top South Korean and U.S. military officers on Thursday boarded a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier sailing in the East Sea, sources said, in a rare move to highlight the allies’ unity amid concerns about possible North Korean provocations.

Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Won In-choul and Gen. Paul LaCamera, the head of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, met aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier that arrived in the waters earlier this week in a show of America’s military might.

Their symbolic meeting came amid speculation that the North could engage in provocative acts, like another intercontinental ballistic missile launch or a nuclear test, in time for its key political events, including the 110th birthday of its late national founder Kim Il-sung on Friday.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It appears even USFK is beginning to understand they need to learn to live with COVID by allowing travel to Seoul and indoor dining and movie theaters are also allowed. However, off-post bars, clubs, saunas, spas and karaokes are still off limits:

 The command overseeing U.S. troops in South Korea has lifted its pandemic ban on nonessential travel to Seoul after keeping the city off-limits more than three months. 

U.S. Forces Korea did away with the ban on Thursday, according to a news release. The command is responsible for about 28,500 service members, along with civilian employees, contractors and their families. 

USFK reminded its population to adhere to all South Korean rules and regulations aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19. “USFK will continue to monitor and assess the COVID environment and will make additional adjustments to protect the force and our mission,” the release said.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This is going to make life much easier for units that have been supporting troops in quarantine for the past two years:

Fully vaccinated American troops, family members and military contractors are no longer required to quarantine upon arrival in South Korea. 

U.S. Forces Korea, the command responsible for roughly 28,500 troops on the peninsula, announced in a press release Tuesday that it has done away with a mandatory seven-day COVID-19 quarantine for international arrivals “based on recent [South Korea] policy changes.”

South Korea’s government on Monday dropped a similar policy for vaccinated travelers; however, those who arrive from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Myanmar are still required to isolate. 

To meet USFK’s fully vaccinated qualification, personnel must have either received a single or two-dose COVID-19 vaccine regimen within 14 to 180 days, or received the full vaccine series and a booster shot.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.