Category: USFK

It looks like there is not going to be much activity going on this summer at Kunsan AB as its runway goes through a complete overhaul:

The last U.S. Air Force fighter jets from Kunsan Air Base moved this week to Osan Air Base, about 75 miles north, ahead of a scheduled runway overhaul expected to last through the summer.

Around 30 F-16 Fighting Falcons of the 8^th Fighter Wing will continue flight operations over South Korea from Osan while their 9,000-foot-long home runway receives a makeover, wing spokeswoman Capt. Kaylin P. Hankerson told Stars and Stripes by email Thursday.

Kunsan is on the country’s west coast about 115 miles south of Seoul and is home to around 4,200 U.S. troops.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It is pretty ridiculous that six years after first being installed the environmental review for the THAAD base in Seongju still is just about to be complete. This shows that this was really not an environmental review, but instead a political review by the prior administration to keep the site temporary:

The government is anticipated to take steps to turn the THAAD base into a permanent installation as early as July, when the Ministry of Environment is expected to draw conclusions on its ongoing environmental impact assessments.

Once the environment ministry gives the green light, the U.S. army will be allowed to initiate a process of building infrastructure and facilities for the THAAD base.

While concerns are rising that Seoul’s moves may draw fierce protests from Beijing, analysts viewed that China now has fewer retaliatory options compared to the ones it had in 2017, considering its economic slowdown and escalating competition with Washington.

“China will increase threats as the [South] Korean government continues to turn the THAAD unit into a permanent base, but it is unlikely to impose stronger sanctions than the ones we’ve seen in 2017,” said Kang Joon-young, a professor of Chinese studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

“Amid escalating rivalry with the U.S., China seems to be less willing to become enemies with its neighboring countries. And North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats justify the South Korean government’s rationale for pursuing stronger self-defense,” he added. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Having remote launchers in theory will further increase the already large area that the THAAD battery in Seongju can defend against North Korean ballistic missile attack:

The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Friday it has conducted the first training on the deployment of a “remote” launcher of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system in South Korea.

The U.S. military made public a set of photos of Sunday’s training, hours after the North’s state media reported the country had carried out drills involving an underwater nuclear attack drone and cruise missile launches earlier this week.

“The training of our THAAD forces enhanced the units’ combat readiness, combined defense posture within the alliance, demonstrates the ironclad commitment to support and defend the ROK and further strengthens the security and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” the USFK said in a press release. ROK stands for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

The drills took place in conjunction with the regular South Korea-U.S. Freedom Shield (FS) exercise that concluded its 11-day run Thursday.

The employment of the remote launcher came in line with the U.S. military’s upgrade program designed to streamline and integrate its THAAD and Patriot missile defense systems into a single program for enhanced and more flexible security operations.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here is an update of one of the events occurring as part of the Freedom Shield exercise that has North Korea so upset:

 South Korea and the United States are conducting combined high-tech military drills with increased “intensity and realism,” the Army here said Monday, as part of joint efforts to bolster deterrence against growing North Korean threats.

The drills are under way at the Korea Combat Training Center (KCTC), a facility employing cutting-edge technologies for realistic ground drills, in Inje, 165 kilometers east of Seoul. The maneuvers are to run through Friday, in connection with the allies’ ongoing Freedom Shield exercise.

For the drills, the U.S. military deployed a battalion-size unit for the first time. The South mobilized wheeled-armored vehicles and reconnaissance drones, while the U.S. brought Stryker armored vehicles and other assets.

The latest drills are divided into two three-day parts of separate defense and attack operations to heighten its “intensity and realism,” according to the armed service. Previous KCTC sessions were held for four days in total.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like all the time General Abrams spent dealing with North Korea’s “Rocket Man” has inspired him to become a Rocket Man himself:

Retired Army Gen. Robert Abrams, the former commander of U.S. Forces Korea, has joined the “green” rocket engine manufacturer Vaya Space as a senior adviser, according to a company news release Thursday.

Abrams, who commanded roughly 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea, also led U.N. Command and Combined Forces Command from 2018 until his retirement in 2021. He was succeeded by Army Gen. Paul LaCamera.

Florida-based Vaya Space manufactures rocket engines from recycled plastics and uses over 20 metric tons for each launch, according to its website. The company is scheduled to launch its first Dauntless vehicle later this year, which will be powered by ignited thermoplastics and liquid oxidizer.

Abrams said he chose to serve on Vaya Space’s board “because I became convinced that their technologies coupled with their excellent leadership team can make a tremendous difference for our country,” according to the company’s release.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It is interesting that this conclusion is being leaked to media:

The U.S.-led U.N. Command (UNC) has concluded both South and North Korea violated the armistice by sending drones into each other’s territory last month, an informed source said Wednesday.

The UNC recently reached the conclusion after its special team investigated the North’s Dec. 26 drone infiltrations, which led the South to send its drones into the North in a “corresponding” step.

UNC Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera has been briefed on the investigation outcome, the source told Yonhap News Agency, requesting anonymity.

LaCamera, who also heads the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command and the U.S. Forces Korea, is said to have been pondering whether to disclose the outcome amid concerns that it could risk friction with the Seoul government.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is the first time I have ever heard of U.S. Soldier falling from an apartment window before in South Korea:

A U.S. soldier in charge of one of the world’s most advanced missile systems died Wednesday outside her home near Camp Carroll, according to Eighth Army and South Korean police. 

Staff Sgt. Theresa Garris, 28, of Stroudsburg, Pa., was found unresponsive in Chilgok county by first responders, Eighth Army spokesman Lt. Col. Neil Penttila told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday.

Garris was discovered around 3 a.m. in the parking lot of her apartment, a Chilgok Police Station investigator told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday.

Initial evidence suggests Garris, who lived on the fourth floor, fell from her unit, the investigator said. South Korean officials customarily speak to the media on the condition of anonymity.

Garris served with 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade as a Patriot launching station enhanced operator and maintainer at Carroll, roughly 130 miles south of Seoul, Penttila said.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but the article says that foul play is not suspected.

This new unit will mostly specialize in missile warning which was a function the U.S. Air Force was providing before it was shifted over to the Space Force:

USFK Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera hosted a ceremony to mark the launch of the new unit at a hangar at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 65 kilometers south of Seoul, which is home to the U.S. 7th Air Force.

Among the attendees were U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg, South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command Deputy Commander Gen. Ahn Byung-seok and Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir, commander of the U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific.

“The activation here today of U.S. Space Forces Korea … enhances our ability to defend the homeland, and should ensure peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia,” LaCamera said during the ceremony. “Because of U.S. Space Forces Korea, the alliance is better able to execute multidomain operations in the Korean theater of operations.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.