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)
The THAAD has been in South Korea now for five years and still the environmental assessment has not been completed and protesters continue to block the road. This clearly has little to do with the environment and everything to do with politics. It will be interesting to see if the Korean left tries to mobilize around the THAAD issue and launch Braveheart style attacks against ROK police if and when they try and remove the protesters like they did at Camp Humphreys years ago:
Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup talks with troops at a boot camp in Nonsan, 213 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 23, 2022, in this photo released by his office.
South Korea will expeditiously push for the “normalization” of a U.S. THAAD missile defense unit here, Seoul’s defense minister said Monday, as it has been in the status of “temporary installation” due to an environmental assessment and other reasons.
Lee Jong-sup made the remarks as Seoul and Washington are striving to sharpen joint deterrence against Pyongyang amid growing concerns about possibilities of the regime’s additional provocations, like a long-range ballistic missile or nuclear test.
“The normalization of the THAAD unit should have been done (earlier),” Lee said in a meeting with reporters. “We will push for it (to materialize) at an early date.”
Here is one of these only in Korea stories. There are not many countries that would have pop stars completing mandatory military service like Korea does:
Pfc. Kang Young Hyun, a Korean Augmentation to the United States Army Soldier assigned to Eighth Army’s Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, plots points on a map while participating in the land navigation course challenge held during the 2022 Eighth Army Best Warrior and Squad Competition at Camp Casey, South Korea, May 8, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Taylor Gray/20th Public Affairs
K-pop idol Kang Young-hyun, best known as Young K to fans of his group Day6, is a winner in the Eighth Army’s Best Warriors competition in South Korea.
There’s a lot to sort out there, so let’s take things a step at a time and decode that sentence.
Forty-nine U.S. and Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army, or KATUSA, soldiers participated in a six-day competition that included events like an eight-mile march, small arms qualification, land navigation, water survival, obstacle courses, knot-tying and overall military knowledge.
The Eighth crowned winners in categories like best soldier, best noncommissioned officer, best officer and best warrant officer.
You can read more at the link, but Kang won the KATUSA category of the Best Warrior competition. The next level of competition is at U.S. Army Pacific in Hawaii. According to the article it is unclear if Yang will compete in this competition. Regardless it is great to see Yang not trying to dodge service like some other celebrities have been able to do. It is also awesome to see him taking his service seriously and pushing himself like he did to win this competition.
It appears General LaCamera sees a chance with the change in government to hopefully open access to the THAAD site near Seongju:
This photo, provided on Nov. 5, 2021, by the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), shows Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera speaking during a ceremony to mark the CFC’s 43rd anniversary at the U.S. Army’s Yongsan Garrison in Seoul on Nov. 5, 2021, in this photo provided by the command.
U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera has called for “unfettered” access to its THAAD missile defense unit here, stressing its absence would undermine the alliance’s ability to defend South Korea.
In a written statement to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense this week, LaCamera made the call, as access to the unit in the southern county of Seongju remains impeded by a set of obstacles, including protesters against the installation of the battery.
Since the unit was placed in Seongju in 2017, it has had the status of a “temporary installation” pending South Korea’s environmental impact assessment — another hindrance to its full-capacity operation.
“Despite significant progress in increasing access to the site over the last year, unfettered access is required to fully ensure logistical support at the site and improve the quality of life for service members stationed there,” LaCamera said.
“Limited access also slows the pace of construction projects on-site, which is critical for maintaining the system’s capabilities, crew training and upgrades. All of this hinders the alliance’s ability to operate this defensive system and defend the ROK people,” he added. ROK stands for the South’s official name, Republic of Korea.
USFK has brought some more fire power to the peninsula:
This photo, released by the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, shows the U.S. Forces Korea holding a ceremony activating the 5th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 17, 2022.
The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has held a ceremony launching a permanently stationed air cavalry squadron consisting of new Apache attack helicopters in a key U.S. base south of Seoul, its officials said Wednesday.
The 5th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade was activated in the event at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Tuesday. It takes over from previous rotational aviation units.
The new unit is known to have dozens of the latest AH-64E Version 6 helicopters. In January, the U.S. Army said 24 of the latest Apache helicopters would be deployed here by February in the first overseas delivery of the new version of the aircraft.
