Tag: USFK

I can’t remember anytime that USFK has hosted two combatant commanders as well as the commander of an extremely important Pentagon organization like the Missile Defense Agency:

Three top U.S. military commanders plan to issue a strong warning message to North Korea in a rare joint press availability here later Tuesday, officials said.

Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris, Strategic Command head Gen. John Hyten and Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves are scheduled to hold a press conference at a local U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) base.

It’s quite unusual for the U.S. commanding generals serving abroad to gather in South Korea and release public statements together.

It apparently reflects Washington’s alertness against North Korea’s rapid development of nuclear bombs and missiles.

In July, the North successfully test-launched two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

The U.S. intelligence community also believes the secretive communist nation has made significant progress in miniaturizing nuclear warheads.

The U.S. commanders are expected to stressed that a military option will be on the table as the last means to use in case of an eventual failure in efforts to resolve the North Korea issue via diplomacy, a defense source said.  [Yonhap]

Anyone else remember anytime this many senior leaders have visited South Korea together?

My guess would be this apology must be something the ROK government recommended to USFK to do in order to get the protesters to stop blockading the road considering it is happening four months after the fact.  I guess we will see if this will help lead to the end of the blockade:

Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal, commander of the 8th U.S. Army, apologized Sunday to the people of Seongju over one of his soldiers using a smartphone to film a protest involving physical clashes, smiling as he did so.

The Seongju residents rejected Vandal’s apology, saying it was four months too late.

First, Vandal and his superior officer, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) commander Gen. Vincent Brooks, should find a better way of dealing with this incident. The protesters should stop using the apology issue for political purposes.

The incident happened in the early hours of April 26 when a convoy of U.S. military vehicles pushed their way through to deliver equipment for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, a U.S. missile interceptor, to the site in the vicinity. Twelve people were injured. A GI in one vehicle was caught filming the scene with a snigger on his face.

For that, Vandal went down to Seongju and bowed at a press conference after the residents refused to meet him. He said the soldier’s behavior was inappropriate and that he was fresh on his Korean tour and had not finished his orientation program.

The residents questioned Vandal’s sincerity because his apology came four months after the incident, despite repeated demands. The residents claimed they felt ignored by Vandal.

Vandal should have apologized earlier. The USFK is often belated in dealing with accidents in relation to Koreans. One example is the 2002 Yangju Highway Incident where a U.S. military vehicle crushed two Korean girls to death. Then, the USFK dragged its feet, letting the incident grow out of proportion in a major PR fiasco.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but the Korea Times in regards to the 2002 Yangju Highway Incident do not know what they are talking about.  Both the 8th Army commander and the 2nd Infantry Division commander apologized after the accident happened.  2ID even paid an initial $1,000 payment to the families to assist with funeral expenses.  Then 2ID soldiers held a candlelight vigil and fundraising drive in honor of the two girls that were tragically killed.  The fundraiser raised $22,000 for the families.

2ID soldiers attend candle light vigil in memory of Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun.

Finally the USFK commander put the soldiers on court martial strictly for PR purposes despite this being a clear accident.  Anyway much more about the 2002 accident can be read at the below link:

https://www.rokdrop.net/2008/06/gi-flashback-2002-armored-vehicle-accident/

USFK’s Patriot missile defense batteries have become more capable:

The U.S. Army announced that its 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, successfully completed a Patriot missile defense system modernization effort that will provide protection from potential North Korean attacks.

Targa Gibbs, Patriot modernization project officer of the brigade, said that the eight-month task was aimed at ensuring that everything worked and met the industry standard, and training soldiers and crew on the new equipment.

“As part of the training, the batteries networked into the battalion data link architecture from geographically dispersed locations around the peninsula and conducted air battles,” the army said in a statement Monday.

The largest benefit of the overhaul was said to be the replacement of many systems and updating outdated technology. In part of an ongoing plan to enhance air defense capabilities on the Korean Peninsula, the brigade will, in the coming months, modernize their Avengers surface-to-air missile system that protects ground units from incoming short-range missiles, said the army.

The statement did not mention whether the brigade adopted and trained for the all-new Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE), a Lockheed Martin hit-to-kill interceptor, but a local military source told the JoongAng Ilbo that it has.

The PAC-3 MSE incorporates a larger, dual-pulse solid rocket motor, larger fins and upgraded actuators and thermal batteries, according to descriptions from Lockheed Martin.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link as well from the original press release from the Army.

Here is the latest on the Yongsan Garrison ground water pollution issue:

The Seoul city government conducted its own survey on soil and water near the U.S. base in the central part of the capital for possible contamination with toxic chemicals on Wednesday, amid growing calls for the disclosure of pollution levels in the area.

Officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Government visited the outer areas of the U.S. military base in Yongsan to examine the soil and groundwater, according to the city government.

They selected six spots outside the fenced-off military camps to extract soil and water from as deep as 10 meters down, it said, adding that it will take about a month to analyze it and reach a conclusion.

It is the first time that the city government has carried out a test of its own to analyze the level of contamination near the U.S. army base in Seoul. It had surveyed water near a subway station closest to the base, from which it claimed to have detected benzene 587 times the permissible level.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but this pollution issue has long been one that South Korean leftists have used to stoke anti-US sentiment and the Korean government uses to get additional money out of USFK for clean up expenses after the expected closure of Yongsan Garrison which according to the SOFA they don’t have to pay.

In this photo courtesy of the Defense Ministry, South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo, escorted by Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, who commands the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) and Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), inspects an honor guard during his first visit to the CFC on Aug. 4, 2017. (Yonhap)

At this point does anyone think these shows of force make any difference in the decision making process of the Kim regime or this just the US military showing we are doing something?:

Two B1-B U.S. bombers flew over South Korea on Sunday in a show of force against North Korea after its launch of another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the allies’ armed forces announced.

The strategic bombers from Guam conducted a joint “air interdiction operation” with four F-15K fighter jets, said South Korea’s Air Force.

It came in response to North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile launches and nuclear weapons development.

“Our Air Force maintains the precision-strike capability and readiness to burn the enemy’s missile base and its key facilities, including its leadership stronghold to the ground,” South Korea’s Air Force Operations Commander Lt. Gen. Won In-cheol said in a statement. “If the enemy provokes, we will respond immediately and retaliate powerfully.”  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

I tend to slightly disagree with the USFK commander here.  I think the Kim regime wants to create a wedge in the US-ROK alliance which in turn creates a wedge between the ROK and Japan.  These are both goals I think Russia and China are fully supportive of and why they continue to support the Kim regime:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is attempting to deter unity between South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan with a string of belligerent acts, the top American military commander here said Thursday.

Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, who commands U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), pointed out that the communist regime’s nearly weekly missile tests have become “the new normal.”

The North test-fired 28 ballistic missiles in 2016 alone, followed by 10 others this year, including what is believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

It’s also reportedly preparing for another missile launch in the coming days, although there was no report of a launch on Thursday, the 64th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement.

“His actions intend to sow friction and fissures among the five in order to prevent them from coming together as a cohesive block,” Brooks said, addressing a forum under way in Nebraska, a U.S. state, according to the USFK’s website.

The two-day symposium on deterrence is being hosted by the U.S. Strategic Command.

“He’s trying to prevent the creation of a closed fist against him,” the commander said, showing the five fingers of his hand to refer to the five countries involved in the now-suspended denuclearization talks with Pyongyang.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Really nothing surprising here, North Korea has long been able to target Camp Humphreys with ballistic missiles, rockets just give them another way to attack the base:

The new U.S. Pyeongtaek Garrison is vulnerable to North Korea’s rocket and missile attacks possibly topped with chemical and biological warheads, a noted American defense analyst told The Korea Times Friday.

“The new North Korean 300mm rocket launchers would be able to reach Pyeongtaek,” said Bruce Bennett, a senior defense researcher at the Rand Corp.

It was a contingency that the U.S. failed to anticipate in the early 2000s when the integrated U.S. base was planned, the Korea expert added. Pyeongtaek is located 100 kilometers from the southernmost area of the North Korean side on the inter-Korean border and is outside the range of the North’s 7,000 artillery pieces located there.

But the latest 300mm rocket launchers can cover the distance and hit the U.S. base and what is also worrisome is they are reloadable, he said.

The North’s theater ballistic missiles also pose a threat to the base where key elements of the U.S. forces here are being moved to. “The North has 100 launchers for these missiles,” he said, citing a ROK military whitepaper. “We have significant uncertainties with regard to their number and payloads.” The North is said to possess large quantities of chemical and biological weapons that are deliverable by their projectiles.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Maj. Gen. Scott Mcqueen (L), the new commander of the 2nd U.S. Infantry Division, and his predecessor, Maj. Gen. Theodore Martin, pose for a photo during a ceremony at Camp Casey in the city of Dongducheon, north of Seoul, on July 18, 2017, to mark the division chief’s inauguration and Martin’s departure. (Yonhap)

Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal, commander of the Eighth U.S. Army in South Korea, and other participants salute the statue of Gen. Walton Walker, the first Eighth Army commanding general during the Korean War, as they attend a ceremony at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on July 11, 2017, to mark the relocation of the Eighth Army’s headquarters to the camp from Seoul’s Yongsan Garrison. (Yonhap)