Tag: USFK

Considering the short time of flight of incoming enemy missiles, missile defense operators in South Korea do not have time to call the South Korean Defense Minister for approval to engage an incoming target.  It is also pretty ridiculous that there is even a debate on whether a missile from North Korea projected to impact within South Korea should be considered a wartime act or not:

A debate is escalating over command of THAAD, the U.S. anti-missile defense system, and whether the United States or South Korea is to have the final say on a response in the case of a North Korea attack.

South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo told parliamentarians Tuesday in a scenario of a North Korean ballistic missile attack, Seoul has four to eight minutes to respond, local newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun reported.

“A very sophisticated operation management procedure has been developed,” Han said.

Han’s response, however, evaded a question from Justice Party spokesman Kim Jong-dae, who had asked Han which military would issue the command to intercept an incoming missile, Yonhap reported.

Han later added South Korea holds “operational control” during peacetime and U.S. Forces Korea plays a role in support of that strategy.

But Han did not say whether a fired missile coming from North Korea qualifies as an action of peacetime or wartime.  [UPI]

You can read more at the link.

I like school uniforms considering some of the people I see now a days dressed like slobs going to school.  School should be a professional learning environment which school uniforms help create.  Really the only issue I see is the cost.  Whatever uniform is selected should not cost parents more than it does to buy regular school clothes:

Seoul American High School is considering a new dress code that would require students to wear uniforms.

The draft proposal prompted heated debate, with supporters saying more needs to be done to rein in students who dress inappropriately and critics calling it too strict. Many on both sides complained the uniforms would be expensive and get little use since most students will likely be moving soon as part of the relocation of most U.S. forces in Korea.

Students would have to wear collared polo or button-down dress shirts in a choice of three colors — blue, white or black — with chino-style pants, according to a draft copy obtained by Stars and Stripes.

The policy would ban shorts, skirts and jeans, as well as flip flops, shoes with wheels and headgear. The principal reserved the right to make exceptions based on a student’s religious beliefs or documented medical conditions.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

Considering all their recent missile test activity conducting increased reconnaissance makes sense:

The United States’ forces stationed in South Korea have expanded their aerial reconnaissance along the inter-Korean border following North Korea’s recent launch of Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM), official sources said Monday.

On June 22, North Korea fired two Musudan missiles from its eastern coastal city of Wonsan. The first missile reportedly blew up shortly after launch, but the second one soared to an altitude of some 1,400 kilometers before flying 400 km and hitting the East Sea. Pyongyang has declared the second launch a success, and with a range of 3,000 to 4,000 km, the IRBM could reach as far as the U.S. territory of Guam.

Since the latest launch, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) had been sending two U-2S ultra-high altitude reconnaissance aircraft to conduct daily surveillance missions along the inter-Korean military demarcation line, USFK officials said.

Before the launch, only one U-2S was sent into the air to conduct reconnaissance.

The reconnaissance aircraft, nicknamed Dragon Lady, monitors, videotapes and sometimes wiretaps North Korea’s military activities from an altitude of some 20 km on a flight mission that could last up to eight hours. The U-2S can see 60-70 km inside North Korea while still flying outside the country’s airspace.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

It looks like ISIS wants to spread their war against the West all the way over to South Korea now:

The Islamic State jihadist group has designated U.S. Air Force installations here and South Korean citizens as targets for attacks, Seoul’s state spy agency said Sunday.

In a press release, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said that the group incited terrorist attacks against them through Telegram, a messaging service, and revealed location data of 77 Air Force installations of the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and of individuals in 21 countries.

The extremist group, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), obtained the location data from its own hacking group, named the “United Cyber Caliphate,” the spy agency explained.

“While disseminating the location data of the installations and information on the individuals, (the group) incited (its sympathizers around the world) to retaliate for the benefit of Muslims,” the NIS said.

Through the messaging program, the IS unveiled the locations of U.S. Air Force units in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, and of one employee of a South Korean welfare organization.  [Yonhap]

You can read the rest at the link, but ISIS is a bunch of fools if they think the location of US military bases in South Korea is secret information.

North Korea is using the 14th anniversary of the tragic 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident to bash the United States and call for a withdrawal of US troops from Korea:

North Korean media urged South Koreans to turn toward anti-American sentiment and repel U.S. troops from South Korea, and mentioned the 2002 deaths of two schoolgirls crushed by a U.S. military vehicle.

The Yangju highway incident in South Korea, which happened 14 years ago today, was a tragic accident in which a U.S. military vehicle hit and crushed two Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun, both 14, while they walked beside a narrow country road on their way to a birthday party.

“Fourteen years ago today, two South Korean schoolgirls at the age of 14 were struck and killed by devilish homicidal American imperialists’ Caterpillar truck,” wrote state newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Monday, calling the incident “only one of many incidents in which American invaders have crushed the dignity and sovereignty of South Koreans.”

Pyongyang’s other publications also described the incident, and urged South Koreans to repel U.S. forces from the Korean Peninsula.

“This evilest deed of all evil deeds is only capable of being carried out by the soldiers of an evil empire, which was built on the skulls and blood of Native Americans …” wrote state medial portal Uriminzokkiri.  [NK News]

You can read the rest at the link, but this criticism of the US military for a tragic vehicle accident comes from the same people who intentionally launched an artillery strike and killed innocent South Korean civilians among dozens of other attacks over the decades.

For those that haven’t already I highly recommend reading my GI Flashbacks article about the accident:

• GI Flashbacks: The 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident

Condolences to the family of this sailor that died in an incredibly strange accident down in Changwon:

A U.S. sailor died after plunging more than 120 feet down an elevator shaft at a South Korean hotel, officials said Monday.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Jason James “Jimmy” McLaughlin, 28, apparently was trying to climb out of the elevator after it got stuck between floors at the Hotel International in the city of Changwon over the weekend, police and fire officials said.

He was in cardiac arrest when rescue crews arrived and died after being taken to a hospital, they said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

I feel bad for the Korean employees that may lose their jobs due to the Camp Humphreys relocation, but this has happened before when camps in 2ID between 2005-2005 were closed.  Times change and from what I have heard most of these employees will have the opportunity to still have a job with USFK if they agree to move to Pyeongtaek:

Hundreds of Korean civilians who work on U.S. bases, many for decades, rallied Saturday outside the U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan amid rising fears about possible job losses and benefits when most American forces move south.

The demonstration, which began with speeches outside the Korean War Memorial, came as the much-postponed relocation is gaining momentum. The move was originally scheduled to take place in 2008 but was delayed until 2012, then 2016, and most recently 2017.

But the military recently announced the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment will move from Camp Hovey near North Korea to Camp Humphreys in July, making it the first unit to relocate.

The 8th Army also said it is sending an advance team of about 100 people to Humphreys this summer.

With the end date in sight, many Korean nationals fear they may lose their jobs as the U.S. military reorganizes and hires new staff in preparation for the relocation to Humphreys in the port city of Pyongtaek and other regional hubs south of Seoul.

“I think they’re going to cut a lot of employees,” said Yi Kyong Nim, a housing management assistant who has worked at Yongsan for 21 years. Yi said his main concern is that U.S. forces will hire Koreans to staff the housing office at Humphreys and there will be no spots left for him because he will be needed at Yongsan until the last minute.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

It might help to track this guy down if a picture of what he looked like was available:

A U.S. soldier under military investigation has disappeared from a base near the border with North Korea, a spokesman said Thursday.

The missing soldier is being investigated for a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, said Lt. Col. Richard Hyde, a 2nd Infantry Division spokesman. South Korean police said the soldier had been scheduled to face a court-martial Wednesday, but the military declined to confirm that or provide details about the charges.

The soldier, who is in his 20s, is not wanted for a violent crime, Hyde said.

“We do not believe that he is armed or dangerous,” he said. “He is believed to be in Seoul.”  [Stars & Stripes]

It is slowly happening, but it looks like the bulk of 2ID will eventually be on Camp Humphreys after all these years of delays:

The 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment will move from an area near North Korea this summer, becoming “the vanguard” for a massive relocation of U.S. forces to regional hubs south of Seoul, an Army spokesman said Tuesday.

The announcement is part of a flurry of activity as U.S. Forces Korea readies to finally shift the bulk of its operation to Camp Humphreys in the South Korean port city of Pyongtaek and other areas. The effort has been frequently delayed due to funding and construction problems. The move was originally scheduled to take place in 2008 but was delayed until 2012, then 2016 and most recently, 2017.

The Fort Hood, Texas-based battalion is slated to move from its base at Camp Hovey, which is near the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas, to Humphreys in July, said Lt. Col. Richard Hyde, a spokesman for the 2nd Infantry Division.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

I am not sure what the union expects USFK to do; keep jobs that aren’t needed?:

Thousands of Korean employees at two U.S. military bases in Korea are facing massive layoffs because of the planned relocation of the camps.

Under a plan signed between Korea and the U.S., the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) headquarters and 8th Army headquarters, located in Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul and the 2nd Infantry Division (2ID), north of Seoul, will be moved to Camp Humphreys, a U.S. Army garrison in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.

About 5,000 Koreans are working at the military bases.

There is a growing fear that at least half of the jobs of Korean employees might be on the line, but there has been no explanation from the U.S. military regarding its plans to cut jobs or reassign personnel, arousing anxiety among the workers, the USFK Korean Employees Union said Sunday.

On Thursday, the labor union began a one-person protest at Camp Red Cloud in Uijeongbu, scheduled to last for nine days, and will hold a rally against the layoffs at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan on May 21.

“We will fight to protect our jobs,” a labor union official said. [Korea Times]

You can read the rest at the link.