I wonder how long USFK is willing to keep so many people in a telework status if the spread of coronavirus in South Korea continues at its current pace?:
Soldiers assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division wear masks as they wait for their meals outside a restaurant near Osan Air Base, South Korea, Oct. 20, 2020.
The U.S. military command in South Korea is raising its coronavirus risk level and imposing new restrictions as the peninsula experiences record-breaking levels of new infections.
South Korea counted 1,078 newly infected coronavirus patients Tuesday, a pandemic record for that country, and 12 deaths, according to the country’s Central Disease Control Headquarters.
U.S. Forces Korea is returning to Health Protection Condition-Charlie, which reflects a substantial risk of the virus spreading, starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, according to a Facebook post by the command on Wednesday evening.
Only mission-essential personnel will report for duty, according to the statement. All others will telework. USFK will review the higher protection level Jan. 4.
You can read more at the link, but doing telework through the holidays is not a big deal when mostly everyone is on leave or half day schedule anyway. After the holidays is when the hard decision is going to have to be made because keeping soldiers on telework will eventually impact readiness.
This file photo shows a gate of the U.S. base Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) is facing criticism over a dance party held at one of its bases last week at which participants did not wear face masks amid South Korea’s heightened social distancing scheme to stem the resurgence of new coronavirus cases.
The party took place at Flightline Tap Room at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on Friday, with dozens of people dancing side by side without wearing masks, according to officials.
On the same day, South Korea’s daily number of new COVID-19 cases reached a near nine-month high of 629, with authorities urging citizens to cancel non-vital face-to-face gatherings.
The Seoul government has requested the U.S. military to follow antivirus measures. The U.S. military said Monday that the bar was “closed effective immediately, per command directive.”
“The facility has been closed, and we are looking into the matter,” a USFK official said.
You can read more at the link, but I think these may the pictures causing the criticism that I pulled from the Flightline Tap Room’s Facebook page for a salsa party:
It looks like in the near future Korea could be seeing some more rotational forces if the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has his way:
U.S. service members depart a Patriot Express at Osan Air Base, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020.
The military needs to move away from units being permanently based overseas and focus more on rotational deployments, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday.
“I am not a fan of large, permanent military bases from the U.S. overseas in other people’s countries. I think that is something that needs a hard, hard look,” Army Gen. Mark Milley said during a defense forum in Washington, D.C., hosted by the U.S. Naval Institute. (………….)
Milley acknowledged there’s “no enthusiasm” for suggesting rotational forces over permanent overseas assignments, as many service members enjoy the overseas assignments with their families. Some countries also like having the permanent presence, he said, but those accompanying assignments bring risk. The amount of families living in South Korea with the threat of North Korea nearby has been a security challenge for decades, Milley said.
“If something were to happen, then we would have a significant amount of noncombatant, U.S. military dependents in harm’s way. I have a problem with that. I don’t have a problem with us, those of us in uniform, be in harm’s way. This is what we get paid for, this is what our job is,” said Milley.
You can read more at the link, but General Milley is right about the logistical issue of trying to evacuate families from Korea if a contingency was to occur. However, this has been a problem for decades and military leadership has decided to increase the amount of families in South Korea. We have all heard the tagline that USFK is the “Assignment of Choice” to encourage service members and their families to volunteer to come to Korea. What is the point of pulling out families if a few years down the road new military leadership decides to change things again?
I think the Korean government is not going to like this idea either. Having U.S. military families on the peninsula constrains what U.S. government leaders can do in response to North Korea provocations. Despite all of North Korea’s provocations that have killed many Korean and American military and civilian personnel over the decades, there has never been a punitive strike launched against the Kim regime. The location of Seoul near the DMZ is part of the constraint on decision making, but undoubtedly trying to evacuate USFK family members is another constraint as well.
Maybe allowing more rotational forces is a bargaining chip the Moon administration can use to get the Biden administration to agree to a peace treaty to advances it confederation policy?
The prior USFK commander General Vincent Brooks was also the U.S. Army Pacific Commander before taking over USFK:
This photo downloaded from the U.S. Army Pacific website on Dec. 4, 2020, shows Gen. Paul LaCamera.
U.S. Army Pacific Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera has been nominated to be the next commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), sources said Friday.
If confirmed, LaCamera will succeed Gen. Robert Abrams to lead the 28,500 American troops based in South Korea, as well as to take the helm of the U.N. Command and the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command. Abrams took office in November 2018.
The nomination is part of a routine reshuffle, though no official term of office is set for a USFK commander, the sources said, adding that LaCamera is expected to face a parliamentary hearing in around February or March.
LaCamera has been in command of the U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) since November last year, which is the land forces component of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and encompasses such locations as South Korea, Japan, Hawaii and Guam.
If North Korea was going to start a provocation cycle they will wait until the Biden administration is in charge in order to gauge their reaction:
Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), the United States Forces Korea (USFK) and the United Nations Command (UNC), speaks during a press conference to mark his two-year anniversary of leading the three separate commands, at the U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan in Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command
There are no signs of any imminent provocations from North Korea that it would test its weapons, Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), said Friday.
His remark came amid concerns that Pyongyang may conduct military provocations such as a weapon test to draw Washington’s attention after the election of Joe Biden as the 46th U.S. president, as it has done in the past.
“We haven’t seen any signs that a test is imminent,” Abrams, who is also the commander of the United States Forces Korea (USFK) and the United Nations Command (UNC), told reporters during a press conference to mark his two-year anniversary of leading the three separate commands, at CFC headquarters at United States Army Garrison (USAG) Yongsan in Seoul.
But the CFC commander said that the military would need more information before it can speculate whether there will be more missile tests in the future ― next month or January, for example, taking a prudent stance over the matter.
U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Robert Abrams (L), also commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), and deputy commander Gen. Kim Seung-kyum bump fists during a ceremony to mark the CFC’s 42nd founding anniversary at a U.S. base in Seoul on Nov. 6, 2020. (pool photo) (Yonhap)
President Moon Jae-in on Friday expressed gratitude to the Combined Forces Command (CFC) between South Korea and the United States for helping Seoul tackle the coronavirus pandemic as he congratulated the command on its 42nd founding anniversary.
In a message sent to a ceremony held in Yongsan to mark the anniversary, Moon said that South Korea’s anti-COVID-19 measures could become a role model for the world as all members of the command endured inconveniences to prevent the spread of the virus.
“Going forward, let’s overcome all obstacles together as we do right now,” Moon said in the message.
The binational entity was established on Nov. 7, 1978, as the warfighting headquarters with a mission of deterring outside aggression against South Korea.
I have always said that the Korean police can remove these protesters any time they wanted, the ROK government just chooses not to until recently:
Residents and civic activists hold a protest against the planned ground transport of equipment onto a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery site in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, on Oct. 22, 2020, in this photo provided by a civic group.
The defense ministry on Thursday brought non-weapon materials and construction equipment onto a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) base in central South Korea after riot police dispersed protesters opposed to the deployment of the American anti-missile defense system.
The shipments transported into the base for the THAAD system in the central town of Seongju, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, included daily necessities for base troops and construction equipment and materials to be used to improve their living facilities, according to the ministry.
Their transportation was completed after riot police dispersed about 70 Seongju residents and civic activists, who had occupied a small bridge leading to the THAAD base from early morning to block any vehicles from approaching the military facility.
The protesters tied themselves up into ladder-like structures installed on the bridge to resist the police and shouted various slogans against THAAD.
