Tag: USFK

This here is actually a pretty good idea. The Warrior Replacement Center at Camp Mobile near Camp Casey has had it’s name changed to the Warrior Readiness Center and it focusing more on educating soldiers on Korean culture.

The division recently announced that its newcomers’ orientation now will include more on Korean culture and an extra two days of briefings at the facility, formerly known as the Warrior Replacement Center. Last week, for example, dozens of new 2nd ID soldiers ended their five-day orientation with a tour of northern Gyeonggi Province, where 2nd ID is based. Starting at Camp Mobile, it included lunch at a South Korean restaurant, shopping at the Home Plus department store in Uijongbu and visits to the Gyeonggi provincial government’s northern headquarters and the Odusa Unification Observatory near the Demilitarized Zone.

Before all the WRC did for soldiers was provide assistance to fix pay problems, give you your field gear, and send you on your way. Now they are educating soldiers about Korea. I find it amazing how many soldiers know little or nothing about the Korean War, don’t know who Kim Jong Il is, or even spot Korea on a map. Well hopefully this is a step in the right direction.

Something the article did not point out was that leaders who are inprocessing (NCO’s and Officers) will actually spend two weeks at the WRC learning convoy safety, risk assessments, touring the entertainment establishments where soldiers get in trouble, and looking at the off limits area along with a host of other safety classes. This should be really informative for new comers. Serving in Korea is unlike any other duty assignment with all the weird stuff that goes on around here and hopefully the new comer training will get new leaders up to speed quicker and also keep them out of trouble because a lot of officers and NCOs get in trouble too for stupid stuff here. So overall a great idea from BG Anderson.

It has been coming but now Camp Page has officially been closed.

Citizens from the South Korean city of Chunchon said goodbye to U.S. soldiers serving at Camp Page in a ceremony last week marking the end of a 54-year mission.

The base, it’s major feature an airstrip built after Chunchon was recaptured from communist forces in March 1951, is due to close by the end of next month, officials have said. The U.S. 8th Army announced this week that one of the Camp Page units, the 542nd Medical Evacuation Company, including about 120 soldiers and their equipment, will move to Fort Campbell, Ky., by April.

Another Camp Page unit, the 1st Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, will move to Camp Eagle, near the South Korean city of Wonju, about an hour’s drive south of Chunchon, according to an 8th Army statement.

Some people are happy about this:

People living near the base, some of whom have filed a lawsuit seeking damages for severe noise from U.S. aircraft, will be happy about the base closure. So will landlords who have faced height restrictions on buildings near the base, he said.

However, others are not:

U.S. Forces Korea Korean Employees Union Kangwon chapter representative Yi Un-song said the ceremony was nice, but that it was not a good feeling to see the city spend $30,000 on a party when it had done nothing to help South Korean employees losing their jobs at the base.

Only 80 out of about 270 Camp Page South Korean base workers have had job offers from USFK so far, and all those offered jobs will have to relocate, he said.

Kim Yong-bak, a chief of the planning section for Chunchon City Hall, confirmed the cost of the ceremony but said it is not the city’s responsibility to help laid-off base workers.

Most Chunchon locals will miss Camp Page, which contributed greatly to postwar restoration in Chunchon during the 1950s and 1960s, Kim said.

Maybe the 8th Army worker that defected to North Korea was one of the guys who got layed off? Who knows? But it was time for Camp Page to close though. Camp Page is actually a good place to be stationed because it is located so far away from the rest of 2ID and is in a great area of Chuncheon. However, the base is located in the middle of the city near the river which has become a burden on the city with the continued development of Chuncheon. The noise of the helicopters, on this former aviation base, coming and going every day from this location in the city probably does get annoying after a while for nearby residences. Expect more base closures to come.

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UPDATE:  For those interested I have since published an up to date profile about Camp Page at this link. 

USFK and Korean officials are meeting today to define the future USFK role in Korea.

South Korean and U.S. officials will hold the first Security Policy Initiative meeting today at the Defense Ministry aimed at refining the alliance and the future role of U.S. military forces. South Korea is also forming a task force to study a possible regional role of the U.S. military’s forces stationed here, according to officials. South Korea is reportedly concerned that it could be unwillingly sucked into a conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan.

This is a very sensitive issue since it deals with whether we allow the Korean Peninsula to become a strategic global military base for U.S. forces,” said a government official. “It is closely linked to the future strategic situation of the Korean Peninsula and the alliance with the United States.”

The official added the government was considering allowing a regional role for U.S. forces here except in a conflict between China and Taiwan. Now, however, the government is studying all possible conflicts and what role it would play if the United States wanted to dispatch troops based here.  Another government official warned the United States could drastically reduce its forces if South Korea doesn’t approve a regional role for them.