Tag: USFK

Here is a first that will occur during the ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield Exercise:

A South Korean general for the first time is sharing command of one of the largest military exercises with U.S. forces on the peninsula.

South Korean army Gen. Ahn Byung-Seok, deputy commander of Combined Forces Command, is leading the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise with U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Paul LaCamera, USFK said in a news release Tuesday evening.

Ahn “will switch duties and responsibilities” with LaCamera during the 11-day exercise, the release said.

LaCamera also leads U.N. Command and Combined Forces Command, which is responsible for 600,000 U.S. and South Korean troops and up to 3.5 million South Korean reservists. Roughly 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed on the peninsula.

Ahn is the second-highest ranking leader of Combined Forces Command, one of the three major military commands responsible for the immediate defense of South Korea. The country’s unique military hierarchical structure typically places South Korean generals as deputies in Combined Forces Command, second only to an American general.

The military exercise, named after Eulji Mundeok, a 7th century Korean general, kicked off Monday and ends Sept. 1.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It is hard to believe that it has been five years since the US and the ROK conducted a full bilateral exercise:

The United States and South Korea kicked off a four-day preliminary drill Tuesday in preparation for their largest military exercise in five years.

The preliminary drill, which consists of training simulations, ends Friday and is the precursor to Ulchi Freedom Shield, the first large-scale command-post exercise between the U.S. and South Korea since 2017, according to a Ministry of Defense news release.

Ulchi Freedom Shield, named after Eulji Mundeok, a 7th century Korean general, is scheduled to start Monday and end Sept. 1. The exercise was known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian between 2008 to 2018 and as Combined Command Post Training from 2019 to 2021.

Ulchi Freedom Shield is one of two major exercises traditionally conducted annually by the U.S. and South Korea. Exercise Freedom Shield is scheduled for early next year.

Exact troop numbers and equipment used for the upcoming exercise have not been publicly released by U.S. Forces Korea or the Ministry of Defense. During Ulchi Freedom Guardian in 2017, around 50,000 South Korean and 17,500 U.S. service members were used for the air, land and sea drills. USFK has roughly 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

After the Sergeant Major of the Army closed down substandard barracks at Ft. Bragg it appears that even the Air Force is now in the crosshairs for barracks conditions:

Complaints of mold growing inside buildings at Kunsan Air Base in South Korea have caught the attention of a Missouri congressman.

Photos shared Wednesday on the Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook group purported to show water spots, leaky ceilings and black mold growing in buildings on the air base about 115 miles south of Seoul.

The Facebook group is popular with airmen who anonymously submit messages about life in the military, including complaints and memes. It has more than 93,000 followers.

Information posted with the photos indicate some Kunsan dormitory occupants had no hot water or working air conditioners for several weeks.

“There are hundreds of people on this base and in this building that are suffering from the same situation,” said a post on Monday.

A representative for Rep. Billy Long, a Republican from Springfield, Mo., said Long’s office has been in touch with service members from Kunsan. The congressman’s director of constituent services, Lisa Taylor, told Stars and Stripes by phone on Friday that Long plans to request an inquiry into the complaints.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Is this a sign that the COVID protocols are slowly starting to come back?:

U.S. military travelers arriving in South Korea must immediately take a polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, test for COVID-19, according to a policy update by U.S. Forces Korea on Monday. 

The change applies to all arrivals regardless of their vaccination status, according to a post on USFK’s official Facebook page. 

USFK personnel, including family members, Defense Department civilian employees and contractors, should take the PCR test within a day of their arrival in South Korea. Their movements are restricted until the test returns a negative result.

The command adjusted its PCR test policy “in order to align with [South Korea’s] entry requirement changes,” its website said. 

South Korea on Monday reinstated its requirement that travelers take a PCR test within a day of arriving in the country, a change from a three-day window.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It was only a matter of time before the major bilateral military exercises got restarted after the Yoon administration won the last election and now we have them:

 South Korea and the United States are resuming large-scale field military exercises suspended for four years when the two nations tried to negotiate North Korea away from its nuclear weapons, according to an official announcement Friday.

Combined exercises by battalions and larger units of the U.S. and South Korean militaries will commence in August and again in early 2023, the South Korean Ministry of Defense said in a news release. The exercises will also be rebranded as Ulchi Freedom Shield in August and Freedom Shield next year.

The exercises will be defensive in nature, according to the ministry.

Another 11 separate field exercises, such as bridge construction, explosive disposal, attack helicopter fire and special warfare are also scheduled with U.S. troops in the coming months, according to the Defense Ministry.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This should have been a great event for the U.S. troops involved in this training:

South Korea and the United States have been conducting combined military drills, involving a high-tech training system, Seoul official said Monday, amid the allies’ stepped-up efforts to sharpen deterrence against North Korea’s evolving security threats.

The 11-day training got under way at the Army’s Korea Combat Training Center (KCTC) in Inje, 165 kilometers east of Seoul, on July 11. It involved 4,300 South Korean troops from the 51st Brigade of the 12th Division and 81st Brigade of the 28th Division, as well as 300 U.S. troops of the 1st Armored Brigade.

It marked the first time that U.S. troops have been assigned to the South’s two separate brigade combat teams fighting against each other under a KCTC training program, according to Army officials.

During the troops, the South Korean and U.S. militaries mobilized some 100 pieces of battle equipment, including tanks, armored vehicles, self-propelled howitzers, attack helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.

“Through high-intensity combat training, I have felt a sense of comradeship,” a South Korean participant was quoted as saying. “I will continue to engage in training programs to build strong combat capabilities to be able to fight and win right away in a battle against the enemy.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Rodriguez Range has been using for live fire training for decades and the complaints about the noise from the range have continued to build as the population in the area continues to grow:

Speculation is growing that U.S. Apache helicopters may return to the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, for live-fire exercises amid persisting complaints from nearby residents over noise and other inconveniences due to the drills.

According to the Korean military, Wednesday, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) plans to conduct the training from July 18 to 29 during the day and night. 

The exercises will be carried out in order to measure the intensity of noise from live-fire drills, based on a recently enacted law aimed at compensating local residents suffering from noise caused by military airports and shooting ranges. Under the law, people residing near military airports and ranges are entitled to receive up to 60,000 won ($45) per person per month without filing a lawsuit.

The USFK has not conducted live-fire drills since July 2018 ostensibly due to stray round incidents, but taking a closer look, the noise issue is the main reason for the suspension of the exercises, according to military sources. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This is a pretty cool experience for all the Soldiers that got to participate in this:

Around 500 U.S. and South Korean troops were treated recently to a meal of Korean food specially prepared by a celebrity chef at their dining facility.

Chef Baek Jong-won, who owns several restaurants and cafes in South Korea, and three other Korean entertainers cooked at the Provider Grill dining facility on June 28 for Baek’s TV show, “Backpacker.” Service members waited in line outside the DFAC for more than an hour to sample the marquee chow.

Each episode of “Backpacker” centers on a theme, such as feeding hundreds of soldiers at a South Korean military base using a limited supply of ingredients or cooking meals for Buddhist monks at a temple.

Baek’s crew and supporting cast are usually kept in the dark about the location and ingredients they’ll be cooking until the day of filming. However, Camp Humphreys’ security requirements meant Baek knew his destination for the day.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.