Tag: USFK

I guess we will see in the coming years if this actually happens or not since it is tied to the OPCON transfer that has been repeatedly delayed:

Seoul and Washington agreed Monday to name a Korean four-star general to lead the combined forces command (CFC) here, according to the defense ministry.

They also agreed to relocate the command’s headquarters, now in Seoul, to the U.S. Forces Korea’s Camp Humphreys base in Pyeongtaek, citing the operational efficiency of the military forces.

The agreements were reached between Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his counterpart acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan in Seoul, the ministry said.

Shanahan later visited President Moon Jae-in at Cheong Wa Dae for talks on the alliance and issues regarding North Korea’s denuclearization, weeks ahead of the summit between Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump scheduled at the end of June. (………..)

Jeong and Shanahan also approved a plan to name the four-star South Korean general as a new leader of the CFC once the wartime OPCON transfer is completed, to take a separate role to lead in a combined defense, but not in assuming other duties. Currently a four-star U.S general heads the CFC.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Here is what General Abrams recently had to say about the readiness of US troops in South Korea:

Combined training and readiness have not flagged in South Korea despite suspension of large-scale exercises last year, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea said Wednesday.
“I want to be crystal clear about it,” Gen. Robert Abrams said at the three-day Land Forces Pacific Symposium in Honolulu. “Combined training and readiness, it has hasn’t slowed down one bit. We are continuing to conduct very rigorous combined training at echelon, over 100 exercises thus far in 2019 alone. It happens at multiple levels.”
Abrams fiercely defended the suspension of the large-scale exercises announced after President Donald Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June in Singapore.
“This was a prudent action in support of diplomacy,” he said during a keynote speech followed by a question-and-answer session for an audience of primarily soldiers from the U.S. and Pacific partner nations.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

#BulldogFocus
Soldiers with #IronSupport Battalion gathered for a Tactical Dining Out to build espirit de corps at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex, Republic of Korea, May 11. National Anthem performed by SGT Alon Humphrey, #BulldogBrigade PAO NCOIC.@1stArmoredDiv@2INFDIV @FORSCOM pic.twitter.com/iFxLafEDKP

— BulldogBrigade3abct (@3ABCT1AD) May 11, 2019

This must have been quite a bad work environment to win a settlement from the Army:

An African-American civilian hospital employee “reached a significant settlement agreement” with the Army in late April after a lawsuit filed last year alleging that she was subjected to a racist and sexist command climate while working in South Korea.
Shawlawn Beckford, who served on active duty for 11 years before returning in 2006 as a civilian, had accused the Army of supporting a hostile work environment at Brian Allgood Army Community Hospital at Yongsan, where she was an administrator from 2009 to 2015.
“As a civilian employee it is my duty to represent and uphold the Army’s mission, vision, and leadership philosophy — in or out of uniform,” Beckford said in a May 1 statement from the office of her attorney, Kellogg Hansen in Washington, D.C. “But I am more than a position. I am a person with feelings and emotions, and I was mistreated in a system that failed to protect me.”
Reached for comment by Army Times, Beckford requested to keep the dollar amount of the settlement private.

Army Times

This is something I have seen before, people thinking it is okay to use racial slurs if they are of the race the slur is intended for:

“On a weekly basis during that time period, [the command sergeant major] would visit Ms. Beckford’s office and make belligerent, gendered comments toward her,” according to the lawsuit. “For example, he told her, ‘You’re a single parent. You’re a slut.’ ”
He also made comments about her race, the complaint said, calling her “just a house [N-word],” “dumb [N-word],” “our token Black person” and “ghetto.” (…….)

The 15-6 investigation found that though he used racial slurs in the office, it wasn’t in a discriminatory manner, because he himself is black. Still, he was relieved of his position and barred from leading a command again, according to the complaint, but stayed working within the office and continued to harass Beckford.

You can read more about the poor work environment at the link, but the hospital at Yongsan Garrison seems to have had some highly unprofessional people working there.

It is just me or does this girl that went missing from Camp Humphreys and was later found looks like the oldest 14-year old girl I have ever seen?:

A Camp Humphreys soldier’s teenage daughter who was reported missing, “has been located and reunited with her family,” according to an Army notice posted on social media on Saturday.
A post on the U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys Facebook page said the girl is “doing fine” and added. “Thanks everyone for your assistance.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

The UNC has a new Deputy Commander from Down Under:

Australian Rear Adm. Stuart Mayer has been named the new deputy commander of the U.S.-led United Nations Command in South Korea, according to a press release on Tuesday.
The U.N. Command, which is headquartered at Camp Humphreys, oversees implementation of the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War instead of a peace treaty.

The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, has confirmed Mayer’s appointment, making him the first Australian to serve in the post, the Australian Defence Force said. Mayer will be promoted to the rank of vice admiral before taking up the appointment, it added.
He will replace Canadian Lt. Gen. Wayne Eyre, marking the second time in the command’s 69-year history that the post was offered to a non-American officer, it added. No date for the change of command was given.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Great to see USFK helping to combat the massive forest fire in Gangwon-do:

The U.S. military sent four helicopters, including three UH-60 Black Hawks and a CH-47 Chinook, and 21 servicemembers, including pilots and crew chiefs from the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, to help, according to the 2nd Infantry Division.
The helicopters were equipped with specially designed aircraft buckets, known as Bambi buckets, to scoop water and drop it on designated areas, U.S. Forces Korea said, adding that additional assets are on standby if needed.
They worked with South Korea’s military, which provided 35 aircraft, 46 fire engines and some 7,000 troops to fight the blaze, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Here is what the ROK Defense Minister had to say about any possible reductions in the size of USFK:

South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo has ensured there will be no reduction of U.S. troops in South Korea. 

Meeting with reporters during his visit to Joint Base Meyer in Arlington, Virginia on Tuesday, the minister addressed speculations of a possible downsizing of U.S. Forces Korea triggered by ongoing upgrades of South Korea’s military weapons system. 

He said the augmentation of the forces is to further enhance the South Korean military’s capacity.  

KBS World Radio

You can read more at the link, but as I have always said, any reduction of USFK would likely happen after a peace treaty is signed. The left wing activist groups in South Korea will use a peace treaty as an excuse to protest the continued presence of USFK. These protests would be intended to make life difficult for US troops just like it currently is for the troops stationed at the THAAD site in South Korea.

It is great to see that USFK has finally allowed soldiers to wear air masks:

U.S. Forces Korea has changed its policy to allow soldiers to wear black filtering masks while in uniform as protection against poor air quality in South Korea.
Army regulations had barred soldiers from wearing the masks, which cover noses and mouths, in uniform unless they had a certified medical condition that merited an exception. By contrast, the Air Force permitted masks when pollution hit a certain level.
The new policy, posted Monday, says all servicemembers may wear approved masks while outdoors in uniform when the air-quality index is reported as orange or higher, referring to a color scheme showing pollution levels.
The change comes as people in South Korea have endured record levels of fine dust that have smothered the country and prompted rising worries in the military community as soldiers spend a lot of time training and working outdoors.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.