Category: USFK

USFK Ends Ban on Travel to Seoul

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:

U.S. Forces Korea updated its COVID-19 policy on Thursday, March 24, 2022, to allow nonessential travel to Seoul, South Korea. (Tyler Wang/Pexels)

 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.

Fully Vaccinated American Troops No Longer Need to Quarantine When They Arrive in Korea

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

U.S. Forces Korea counted 485 new COVID-19 cases during a seven-day period ending Monday, March 21, 2022. (Jazzmin Spain/Stars and Stripes)

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.

Tweet of the Day: New Gym at Camp Bonifas

Picture of the Day: 1st Armored Brigade Arrives in Korea

U.S. rotational combat unit starts mission
U.S. rotational combat unit starts mission
Soldiers from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, from Fort Bliss, Texas, unfurl their unit flag during a ceremony at Camp Hovey in Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul, on March 10, 2022, to replace the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team returning home and start their nine-month rotational deployment in South Korea. (Yonhap)

South Korean Military Drone Crashes into U.S. Military Water Tower in Busan

Oops:

Firefighters battle a blaze caused by a South Korean drone that struck a water tower at the U.S. Army’s Busan Storage Center in Busan South Korea, Thursday, March 3, 2022. (U.S. Army)

A small South Korean military drone crashed into and left minor fire damage atop a water tower at a U.S. military outpost in Busan, according to a South Korean military spokesman.

The collision occurred around 9:14 a.m. Thursday at the Busan Storage Center, small installation in the southern coastal city, a spokesman said under the customary condition of anonymity.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but interestingly the drone was powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.

Osan Airbase Staff Sergeant Found Dead at His Off Base Home

Condolences to the friends and family of Staff Sergeant Tyrell Harris:

Osan Air Base is home to the 51st Fighter Wing in South Korea. (Evelyn Chavez/U.S. Air Force)

An Air Force weapons-load crew chief stationed at Osan Air Base died over the weekend, the 51st Fighter Wing announced in a press release Tuesday.

Staff Sgt. Tyrell Harris, 34, was found unresponsive Saturday at his home in Pyeongtaek city and pronounced dead at a nearby South Korean hospital, according to the wing. The Maryland native was assigned to the 51st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

The cause of death has not yet been determined, the press release said.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

USFK Receives Latest Model of the Apache Attack Helicopter

USFK recently upgraded its firepower with the newest model of the Apache attack helicopter:

A photo of the AH-64 Version 6 helicopter, the latest version of the Apache aircraft, taking flight at the Boeing manufacturing site in Mesa, Arizona, on Jan. 13, 2021. [BOEING]
A photo of the AH-64 Version 6 helicopter, the latest version of the Apache aircraft, taking flight at the Boeing manufacturing site in Mesa, Arizona, on Jan. 13, 2021. [BOEING]

U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) received deliveries of the latest Boeing Apache attack helicopters to the 4th Battalion (Attack) and 2nd Aviation Regiment (4-2 AB) at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, the force’s aviation unit said on Friday.  
   
In a Facebook post Friday, the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade said that it finished fielding the new Apache helicopters slated for Camp Humphreys, the main USFK base on the Korean Peninsula, two days earlier.  
   
This is the first unit outside the continental United States to receive the newest version of the helicopter, dubbed AH-64 Version 6 (V6).  
   
The U.S. Army said on its website last month that a total of 24 of the latest Apache helicopters would be deployed to South Korea through the end of February. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

USFK Personnel to Soon Be Allowed to Dine Off-Post; Bars Will Remain Off Limits

US troops in South Korea are about to get some more freedom:

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency counted 54,122 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022, breaking a record of 49,567 infections in South Korea from the previous day. (Stars and Stripes)

American troops stationed in South Korea will soon be allowed to dine in local restaurants after U.S. Forces Korea announced on Thursday that it was lifting some COVID-19 restrictions.

USFK is loosening some social distancing measures Friday, and will permit “any indoor and outdoor activity” allowed under South Korea’s guidelines, according to a command news release.

That means service members, their families, civilian employees and contractors may again dine in off-base restaurants and visit shopping malls. USFK, the command responsible for approximately 28,500 troops, banned those activities on Jan. 8 as the number of COVID-19 cases increased throughout the country. (…..)

However, USFK is not changing its coronavirus risk level, which is at condition Bravo-plus. Travel to Seoul is still limited to official duties or to visit the Dragon Hill Lodge, a hotel at Yongsan Garrison. Local bars, clubs, bathhouses and karaoke clubs are still off-limits.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

USFK COVID-19 Daily Cases Drops as South Korea Sees Record Highs

Some good news from this article is that quarantine for USFK Soldiers has been lessened to 7 days and on-post indoor dining is now open again:

Hand sanitizer greets shoppers at an exchange store on Camp Humphreys, South Korea, Jan. 26, 2022. (Jazzmin Spain/Stars and Stripes)

 New coronavirus cases from the U.S. military have declined for the fourth consecutive week, though infections across the country continue to reach record highs. 

U.S. Forces Korea, the command responsible for roughly 28,500 troops on the Korean Peninsula, counted 153 new COVID-19 cases in a seven-day period ending Monday. That’s 43 fewer than USFK reported the previous period and far below the pandemic high of 1,599 cases between Jan. 4-10. 

USFK leaders have said they are “proud” of their community’s “continued efforts” in adhering to mitigation measures.

“Their actions are reflected in our numbers and they speak for themselves,” spokesman Army Col. Lee Peters told Stars and Stripes in an email last week. “We’ve seen a continued downward trend … and expect to continue this trend.”

Dining in off-post restaurants remains off-limits, but after a monthlong pause, most dining facilities on U.S. installations are open again for indoor eating.

The command on Monday shortened its 10-day mandatory quarantine period to seven days to align with South Korean mandates. Those who already live in South Korea may quarantine at home with approval from their supervisors.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.