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:
U.S. and South Korean special operations forces conduct helocast training during Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, near Bellows Air Force Station, Hawaii, July 20, 2022. (Timothy Hamlin/U.S. Army)
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.
This should have been a great event for the U.S. troops involved in this training:
Troops participate in a brigade-level field training program at the Army’s Korea Combat Training Center in Inje, 165 kilometers east of Seoul, in this photo released by the service branch on March 28, 2022.
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.”
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.
This is a pretty cool experience for all the Soldiers that got to participate in this:
South Korean celebrity chef Baek Jong-won cooks for U.S. and South Korean troops at the Provider Grill dining facility on Camp Humphreys, South Korea, June 28, 2022. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)
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.
The soldiers of the #UNC#JSA Security Battalion alongside UNC/ #USFK/CFC CDR GEN Paul LaCamera have formally farewelled LTC Ric Luce and welcomed new Commanding Officer LTC Chris Mercado. @USForcesKoreapic.twitter.com/qtWvIrRHiv
— United Nations Command 유엔군사령부/유엔사 (@UN_Command) June 16, 2022
It is hard to believe that this week marks 20 years since the horrible military vehicle accident that claimed the lives of two young Korean school girls Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun. I was stationed in Korea at the time this accident happened and honestly was not surprised it occurred. With so many US and ROK military equipment on civilian roads surrounded by pedestrians and cars, an accident was bound to happen. You can read more about this tragic accident that shook the US-ROK alliance unlike anything else at the below link:
The aftermath of the accident led to many changes in South Korea and USFK. The accident empowered the anti-US movement in the ROK which ultimately led to a political nobody Roh Moo-hyun being elected to the Presidency partially on an anti-American platform. The anti-American movement would be energized for many years after the accident. It got so bad that a group of Soldiers were kidnapped off of a subway car, beaten, and forced to make false statements. I can remember my unit pulling security at Camp Red Cloud and seeing protesters holding signs with pictures of the crushed bodies of the two school girls. The politicization of these girls had to be truly horrible for their families.
Anti-US protests outside of Camp Red Cloud
The accident had an enormous impact on USFK and not all of it was bad. A positive thing that happened was that it did lead to much needed safety reforms on how the US military moves heavy equipment in Korea. For example heavy military equipment was no longer allowed to drive on civilian roads and were instead trucked to training areas.
Example of what it was like to move heavy military equipment through narrow Korean civilian roads.
Another big change was the loss of 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division from Korea. The brigade was pulled from South Korea by then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in reaction to the anti-US protests. The brigade was sent to Iraq from South Korea and faced heavy casualties in the city of Ramadi. The accident also reenergized the closing of 2nd Infantry Division camps and Yongsan Garrison and consolidating them at Camp Humphreys. Despite the best efforts of the anti-American activists to stop it, the relocation is complete today.
Today few people remember this accident and the impacts it had, but it did ultimately lead to positive changes in the US-ROK alliance. It is sadly unfortunate that it took the lives of two Korean schools girls to do this. Rest in peace Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun.
Highway 56 memorial to the 2 girls killed in the 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident
It looks like that the ROK and U.S. militaries have decided to join the North Koreans in waging war on the East Sea’s fish:
South Korea and the United States hold joint missile firing drills at an unspecified location on June 6, 2022, in this photo released by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Yonhap)
South Korean and US forces fired eight missiles Monday in response to North Korea firing the same number of missiles a day earlier, the allies said Monday.
For about 10 minutes from 4:45 a.m. Monday, the South Korean military and the US Forces Korea fired eight surface-to-surface Army Tactical Missile System missiles into the East Sea as a response to North Korea’s military provocation made Sunday.
The exercise used one missile from the US Army and seven from the South Korean military.
COVID conditions continue to improve for U.S. troops in South Korea:
U.S. Forces Korea lowered the health protection condition for its troops on Thursday as COVID-19 infection rates continue to decline across South Korea. (……..)
No changes were made to USFK’s mask policy. The command did away with its policy on April 25 but allowed garrison commanders the option to require masks in high-traffic areas on their installations. The Brian D. Allgood Army Community Hospital at Camp Humphreys, for example, requires visitors to wear masks.
USFK personnel are still required to adhere to local social distancing directives outside of military bases. South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare rescinded its outdoor mask mandate in May but still requires them indoors. People in groups of 50 or more, such as a sporting event, are also required to wear masks.
Missile training against N.K. provocation This photo, provided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shows South Korean and U.S. joint training to fire a ground-to-ground missile on May 25, 2022, in response to North Korea’s launch of three ballistic missiles toward the East Sea earlier in the day. (Yonhap)
