USFJ has changed their curfew policy to be age based instead of rank based:
Liberty policies for U.S. service members in Japan ages 20 and older are about to become a little more generous, according to changes announced Thursday by U.S. Forces Japan.
New policies that take effect Monday will permit individual commands to shift their curfews from rank-based to age-based, USFJ spokesman Maj. Thomas Barger told Stars and Stripes by email Thursday. The standard 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. curfew in place since March 2020 that applies to enlisted service members of E-5 and below will apply instead to members ages 19 and younger, he said.
Eligible service members may have another drink in that extra hour. The changes move the deadline for consuming alcohol off-base from midnight to 1 a.m., according to Barger.
Service members in Japan are currently prohibited from consuming alcohol anywhere but their residence, hotel or other quarters between midnight and 5 a.m. The same conditions will apply under the 1 a.m. deadline.
The Stars & Stripes has an article about the curfew ending and here is a quote from the Provost Marshall on Osan Airbase I found interesting:
Service members and locals walk through an entertainment district just outside Osan Air Base, South Korea, on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019.
“We continue to be disappointed with the actions of a few individuals, mainly soldiers going out and getting into fights at night,” provost marshal Col. John Fivian told Stars and Stripes on Monday at USFK headquarters on Camp Humphreys.
He said problems were more noticeable in South Korea because troops who get into trouble are usually turned over to their commands; in the U.S., they would be dealt with by local authorities.
I am sure the Provost understands this, but if servicemembers are arrested off base it is more nuanced than stating they are just handed over to their commands. Here is what the SOFA says:
The US retained custody until the completion of all judicial proceedings, including appeals prior to 2001. Under the revised SOFA, the ROK may now receive custody upon indictment if it requests in any one of twelve categories of serious cases. Such cases include murder, rape, kidnapping, arson, drug trafficking or manufacturing, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and cases of assaults, drunk driving or fleeing the scene of an accident that result in death. In very serious cases of murder or rape, if the Korean police arrest a SOFA accused in the act, in hot pursuit, or before he or she returns to military control, they may retain custody.
For minor crimes, yes servicemembers are usually handed over back to their commands, but for major crimes the Korean authorities can keep them in custody.
Via a reader tip comes news that USFK has officially ended the curfew:
United States Forces Korea ended the USFK-wide curfew for Service Members effective December 17, 2019.
The original 90 day curfew suspension, and subsequent 90 day curfew suspension extension assessments, imposed from June 17 through December 17, focused on Service Member behavior, morale, readiness factors and the capability for USFK Service Members to maintain good order and discipline, at all times and under all conditions.
“After assessing the curfew data and consulting with USFK leaders including component commanders, I decided to end the curfew effective December 17,” said Gen. Robert B. “Abe” Abrams, United States Forces Korea Commander. “The 180 day curfew suspension enabled leaders at all levels of the chain of command to recommend keeping the curfew, continuing the suspension, or ending the curfew. All recommended its termination.”
When informing USFK commanders and leaders that he was ending the curfew, Gen. Abrams reinforced two key principles by which every leader and Service Member must abide: continually instill and maintain good order and discipline, regardless of time or location, and maintain focus on their “Fight Tonight” posture, approach and mentality.
“Leaders are responsible for our Service Members on and off-post conduct; we are ambassadors of USFK, the United States and the US-RoK Alliance to the Korean people,” said Abrams. “We have a solemn responsibility to keep readiness at its highest levels with a “Fight Tonight” posture, approach and mentality. Our capability and capacity to remain ready at all times is non-negotiable.”
All Service Members are responsible to act in accordance with USFK regulations, standards of conduct and Korean Law at all times. These actions will serve as a demonstration to the ROK people that we will safeguard vital relationships while maintaining the ironclad Alliance.
My opinion on the whole curfew issue is that I don’t like the curfew especially with more families now being stationed in Korea in an effort to normalize assignment to Korea.
Statistics say there is going to eventually be a major GI crime incident that happens. Especially if the Moon administration moves in an anti-US direction in the coming months and unleashes the media to report every GI crime incident that happens to turn public opinion against USFK. This is what happened during the Roh Moo-hyun administration.
So if a major GI crime incident does happen what will the command do, reimplement the curfew to show they doing something? That is what happened the last time the curfew was lifted. If so why remove it in the first place?
Here is an editorial in the Korea Times about the USFK curfew issue written by someone named Andrea Plate who describes herself as a clinical social worker. There is a lot to break down in this editorial which I attempt to do:
“We are Ambassadors who represent our country on and off duty,” General Robert Abrams, commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), tweeted over the summer about his decision to continue the curfew suspension for further review of troop behavior and morale, rather than permanently revoke it.
The good general was referring to a sordid news story ― one that was bad for Abrams’ reputation, for the 28,500 American troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula and for the South Korean citizenry. Just five weeks earlier, the 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. curfew had been lifted for a 90-day trial run.
But then an intoxicated soldier attempted to steal a taxi and assault a Korean police officer. He was tasered, turned over to the U.S. military and charged with assault. Procedurally, everything went as it should have, according to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the host country and the U.S. military.
As I have always said to expect no crime out of a population of 28,500 people is not realistic. Crime is going to happen especially when you are dealing with a population of young males that statistically get in more trouble than other demographics. What matters is how they are dealt with and USFK handled the case as they should of.
“A majority of our service members do the right thing,” a seemingly defensive Gen. Abrams remarked. But the majority does not rule when it comes to the USFK. Why didn’t Abrams rescind the curfew for good, as the troops had hoped? “To ensure we are making the correct decision,” he demurred.
Provost Col. Marshall Fivian tried to further explain: The number of violent and disruptive crimes perpetrated by USFK troops had not changed significantly since the curfew had been lifted. Meaning, it hadn’t dropped.
General Abrams in my opinion is just being prudent to gather data before making a final decision one way or another on this issue.
Where there is hysteria, there is history. The curfew was imposed on the USFK, following the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. First billed as a “readiness recall, the message was clear: Attention, soldiers! Protect and defend! (plus, the unspoken, implied threat: Quit getting drunk! Leave the locals alone!).
It is not true that there wasn’t a curfew before the 9/11 attacks. There was a curfew in place for the 2nd Infantry Division before 9/11. However, each unit did have a limited number of Warrior Passes that could be given out to high performing soldiers. So there were still soldiers outside the gate passed curfew who had these passes.
No one likes a curfew. The word itself has a tortured etymological history, from Old French (“cuevrefeu” meant “to cover” and “fire”) to Middle English (“a regulation requiring people to extinguish fires at a fixed hour in the evening, or a bell rung at a particular hour”) to today’s troops’ interpretation: “Unfair,” and “Wish I’d been sent to Japan.”
Nevertheless, the initial curfew held for nine years, was suspended for one, then slapped back a year later in 2011, when news broke that two intoxicated soldiers had committed two high-profile rapes of two very young girls.
The public was enraged, of course. Attacked by their supposed protectors! By comparison, South Korean troops are more disciplined.
Of course she offers no evidence that ROK military troops commit less crime than USFK personnel. I hope she realizes that ROK military troops commit crimes as well. Once again there is going to be crime that occurs with a large population of personnel. How it is handled is what matters.
One might wonder whether the June announcement that the Combined Forces Command (CFC) would relocate to Camp Humphreys ― a safer 77.4 kilometers from the central city ― might temporarily calm some citizens’ nerves (although some U.S. military personnel have expressed concern regarding USFK military readiness and effectiveness).
In theory with more troops PCSing to Korea with their families instead of on one year unaccompanied tours this should further reduce incidents and is maybe why General Abrams is continuing to gather information before making a final curfew decision.
But the move would not happen overnight. Leave it to the U.S. military and the Department of Defense to come up with a quick interim fix: a four-hour curfew (1 a.m. to 5 a.m.). Leave it to the U.S. federal government to make an already slippery slope more slippery, even slipshod.
Curfew penalties can lead to verbal warnings at the very least ― if caught, of course. But while “courtesy patrols” ― duos of U.S. military and Korean National Police ― readily roam the streets of hotspot Itaewon, they do far less at less alluring locations. Is that fair to the troops, or to the hard-working businesspersons whose livelihoods depend on thrill-seeking military men?
In my experience I have never seen anyone picked up for a curfew violation by the military police get a simple verbal reprimand. It has always been an Article 15 action.
It was all so confusing! Can Korean-born spouses of American soldiers roam free? (Yes, although there’s no such written rule). Can individual commanders impose unit curfews at will? (Yes, despite the overall rule). Can exceptions be made? Yes, no and it depends on the case. What’s a Rubik’s cube compared to a giant ball of government red tape?
Truth is, American soldiers are unstoppable. They sneak past restrictions by hiding out in cars and bathrooms at 24-hour coffee shops.
Or, as an exasperated contributor wrote on Rally Point, the American online professional network dubbed “LinkedIn for the military,” some are “compulsive curfew violators,” like the private first class who was demoted for human trafficking but somehow kept his convoy going: “No amount of time spent with the military police deterred him.”
DoD civilian personnel are not subject to the curfew so what does it matter if the spouse is Korean or not? Also I don’t doubt some soldiers hideout after curfew but what evidence does she have this is a widespread practice?
Because you can fight crime, but you can’t fight military culture. Alcohol runs thicker than blood among the troops. Group binges breed feelings of brotherhood, manhood, machismo.
In time, military culture will change ― when more women step up to serve and are promoted; when more military occupation specialties (MOS) are opened to women; when substance abuse and military sexual trauma treatments are integrated into military training. But that will take decades.
The Army’s MOSs are already open to women and US troops receive repeated sexual assault and substance abuse training. Units have to track by name who has attended this training to ensure compliance.
In the meantime, our Armed Forces must remain strong and cannot afford further shrinkage. Fewer opportunities for fun could prompt fewer men to enlist (word gets around). A total 8.3 million served during World War II; roughly 1,055,600 (active duty and reserves) serve today.
During World War II the US military was fighting a global war against multiple enemies that required conscription. There is now no longer a need for such a large military or conscription.
What will happen Dec. 17, when the trial suspension period ends? Will the curfew be permanently levied, or lifted?
We know what the soldiers want. And their families. And the contract workers. And even some officers who take great pride in the troops, for all their human imperfections.
Maybe General Abrams will lift the curfew in time for Christmas or maybe he won’t. We will see, with that said is anyone else confused on what the overall point of this editorial is because it seems to ramble all over the place?
The suspension of the USFK curfew will continue for another 3 months for all Soldiers except for those in the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team:
American troops in South Korea received at least three more months without a curfew after Gen. Robert Abrams extended the temporary suspension of the policy on Tuesday.
However, the 1-5 a.m. off-installation curfew has been slapped back on the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, also known as the “Greywolf Brigade,” which began a nine-month rotation in South Korea in early June.
Abrams, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said the temporary reprieve has been going well, but he’s not ready to make it permanent.
“The vast majority of our personnel have conducted themselves appropriately, but I felt it was important to implement an additional 90 days to ensure we are making the correct decision regarding the curfew,” he said in a statement.
You can read more at the link, but the article didn’t say but I assume there must have been enough incidents of misbehavior in the brigade to warrant being subject to the curfew again.
For those that haven’t seen this yet, below is the latest curfew order published by the 7th Air Force Commander, Lieutenant General Wilsbach on March 14, 2019 that applies to all Air Force personnel stationed in South Korea:
MEMORANDUM FOR ALL AIR FORCE PERSONNEL IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
FROM: 7 AF/CC (Commander, Air Forces Korea) Unit 2047 APO AP 96278-2047
SUBJECT: 7 AF (AFKOR) General Order Regarding Off-Installation Curfew
1. Background. This order supersedes the 7 AF (AFKOR) Curfew Order dated 11 January 2016. It contains substantial changes, and must be reviewed in its entirety. This order is effective immediately and remains in effect until further notice. This order implements USFK General Order Regarding Off-Installation Curfew (19 December 2014).
2. Purpose. This curfew is imposed in order to bolster operational and mission readiness in this armistice operating environment, to safeguard the vital relationship the United States enjoys with the Republic of Korea, and to more efficiently meet our obligations under the Mutual Defense Treaty and implementing arrangements.
3. Applicability. This order applies to all United States Air Force (USAF) military personnel in the Republic of Korea, including those in a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) or temporary duty/temporary additional duty (TDY/TAD) status, except for those Airmen attached or assigned to the U.S. Embassy, U.S. Special Operations Command Korea (SOCKOR), the Joint U.S. Military Affairs Group -. Korea (JUSMAG-K), or the Air Force Element of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK). USAF military personnel assigned to SOCKOR and the Air Force Element of USFKremain subject to the USFK General Order Regarding Off-Installation Curfew (19 December 2014). Dependents, Department of Defense (DoD) Civilians, and DoD-invited contractors! technical representatives requested and encouraged to abide by this order.
4. Curfew Order. An off-installation curfew is in effect from 0100 until 0500 every day of the year. By 0100, all personnel subject to this order will be (1) on a U.S. military installation, (2) in a private residence; or (3) inside a hotel room (but NOT in any public area of the hotel such as the lounge, bar, lobby, restaurant, casino, pool, spa, or hallway).
5. Exceptions. Paragraph 5 of USFK General Order Regarding Off-Installation Curfew (19December 2014) provides the following exceptions, modified for purposes of this 7 AF order: a. Official duty. Travel during curfew hours directly to and from a location described in paragraph 4(1)-(3) above is authorized for official duty. “Official duty” includes travel for the purposes of attending or participating in Physical Training (PT). 1
b. Leave. Service members on official leave are exempt from curfew. During times of curfew while off a U.S. military installation, service members exempt from curfew must have valid documentation of their official leave authorization on their person.
c. Exceptions granted by 7 AF commanders/directors. Commanders subordinate to me who hold a squadron command or above may, on a case-by-case basis, grant persoimel assigned to their unit written, narrowly-tailored, exceptions to this order. During times of curfew while off a U.S. military installation, service members who have received a written exemption from curfew from their commander must have that written exception on their person.
6. Enforcement. This is a punitive general order. Personnel who violate this order may be punished under Article 92, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), and may also face adverse administrative actions as authorized by applicable law and regulations. a. Commanders may dispose of violations of this order in any manner authorized by law or regulation. Dispositions shall be individualized, warranted, appropriate, and fair. b. If a violation of this order occurs under circumstances relating to an allegation of rape, sexual assault, forcible sodomy, or an attempt to commit such an offense, then the disposition decision for the alleged curfew violation by either the accused or the victim of the sexual offense must be made by a special court-martial convening authority in the grade of Colonel, or higher. c. Commanders shall ensure that I am made personally aware of any violation of this order by a service member in the grade of Senior Master Sergeant or above. Commanders shall comply with any disposition withholding policy in effect for offenses committed by such personnel. d. Unit commanders will ensure all USAF personnel who travel to the Republic of Korea for any other purpose, including to perform TDY/TAD, are made aware of, and fully understand, the punitive nature of this order. 7. Subject to applicable law and regulations, all commanders have authority to impose further restrictions, or to curtail the exceptions in paragraph 5, above, as they deem necessary due tooperational requirements or local conditions. Commanders should consult their servicing legal office regarding the terms of this order and the means and methods of its enforcement.
There is a new curfew policy that was recently implemented by the 2nd Infantry Division:
A 2nd Infantry Division policy memo published Tuesday says soldiers are required to be on base, at a residence or inside a hotel room by the new deadline, instead of the U.S. Forces Korea standard of 1 a.m. followed until Monday.
The curfew, which officials called a “readiness recall,” still ends at 5 a.m.
2ID did not identify any specific incident that sparked the change to the policy, but said readiness of the unit’s 12,000 troops was its main concern. South Korean police outside of Camp Casey and Camp Humphreys said Wednesday they had not noticed a significant increase of incidents involving U.S. personnel.
“The recall readiness time was moved one hour earlier in order to ensure that the division is consistently and completely in compliance with the U.S. Forces Korea readiness recall policy,” 2ID spokeswoman Lt. Col. Junel Jeffrey told Stars and Stripes Wednesday. [Stars & Stripes via a reader tip]
You can read more at the link, but the change by one hour to a midnight curfew is not the biggest issue I see with this memo. The policy memo also states that commander must account for 100% of personnel to the 2ID command staff on non-duty days by 12:30 AM.
It seems to me requiring servicemembers to sign in to the CQ desk each night would be the easiest way of doing this. However, a 12:30 AM report time hardly gives units any time to consolidate a report after curfew which means people would likely need to sign in earlier than the curfew time.
I would be interested to hear from 2ID servicemembers in the comments section on how they saw units meeting this requirement over the long holiday weekend.
Sort of good news for servicemembers stationed in Okinawa:
The period of unity and mourning that was imposed for U.S. forces on Okinawa following the slaying of a 20-year-old woman will end Monday.
Established U.S. Forces Japan liberty policies will continue in effect “with a few modifications,” according to a statement issued Friday by III Marine Expeditionary Force. All celebrations and concerts, including fireworks displays associated with the July 4th holiday, already had been canceled.
Cinderella Liberty went into effect May 27 after a U.S. civilian base worker, Kenneth Franklin Gadson, was arrested in connection with the death of Rina Shimabukuro. He has been charged with illegally disposing of her body, and police have recommended additional charges of murder and rape resulting in death.
“We are part of the Okinawan community, and share in mourning and honoring the victim, her family, and grieve with the people of Okinawa,” the statement said. “On behalf of all U.S. forces, we continue to stand united with the people of Okinawa during this time of mourning. Our prayers, thoughts and condolences are offered to the family, friends and loved ones who lost their family member tragically.” [Stars & Stripes]
You can read the rest at the link, but basically servicemembers still have a 12AM-5AM curfew and cannot drink between those times. They also need a battle buddy to go off post with. So it is basically what the rules in the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea used to be.
The alcohol ban and lockdown on Okinawa was put into affect after a drunk driving accident involving a US sailor injured two local Okinawans. Now every sailor in Japan is paying the price:
Sailors in Japan are barred until further notice from non-essential, off-base activities and banned from drinking alcohol, Navy officials announced Monday following a recent spate of high-profile arrests of servicemembers and civilians.
The order covers all ranks and bans both on- and off-base alcohol consumption, according to a joint announcement from 7th Fleet and Commander Naval Forces Japan.
“These measures are not taken lightly,” said Rear Adm. Matthew Carter, CNFJ. “For decades, we have enjoyed a strong relationship with the people of Japan. It is imperative that each sailor understand how our actions affect that relationship, and the U.S.-Japan alliance as a whole.”
Sailors living off-base can commute to work and engage in “essential activities,” such as grocery shopping, gym use, child care and gasoline pickup, according to a Navy statement. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link, but is this going to be the standard every time an incident happens? Lock everyone down and ban alcohol? Unfortunately with such a large population of US servicemembers on Okinawa the expectation that there should be no incidents is unrealistic. Especially when you consider that the actions of non-US servicemembers also gets blamed on the military as well.
This sounds much like how South Korea was during the Roh Moo-hyun administration at the peak of anti-Americanism in that country. Curfews and lockdowns did not stop all incidents, they still happen today they just don’t get the attention they did under the Roh administration. This is because the politics of anti-Americanism in South Korea changed due to the failure of the Sunshine Policy and increasing North Korean provocations. Likewise the anti-Americanism in Okinawa is only going to end with a political change that curfews and lockdowns will not influence.
However, it is the easiest tool in the commander’s tool box to show they are doing something until a political settlement of some kind takes place on Okinawa. In the meantime I don’t expect the curfews and lockdowns to end any time soon.
What is interesting about this curfew is that servicemembers cannot purchase alcohol, go to any bars or hold a party off base. That is even stricter than most curfews USFK has come up with over the years and this is in response to a horrible crime that US military servicemembers had nothing to do with:
A midnight curfew and other tightened liberty restrictions will take effect Friday for all servicemembers on Okinawa, III Marine Expeditionary Force said Thursday.
The new rules, which III MEF said will remain in effect through June 24, follow the arrest last week of a civilian U.S. base worker suspected in the death of a 20-year-old Okinawan woman. Others covered by the status of forces agreement – including civilian workers and families of servicemembers – are being asked to abide by the restrictions, too.
A III MEF statement said the intent of the measures is “to observe a period of unity and mourning by curtailing off-installation activities” in response to two recent criminal acts that SOFA-status personnel have been accused of committing.
The restrictions include:
• All ranks, including officers, must be on base by midnight.
• Alcohol may not be purchased or consumed off base.
• Patronizing off-base bars and clubs is prohibited.
