Lt. Gen. Willard “Bill” Burleson, left, is Eighth Army’s new commanding general following a change-of-command ceremony on Camp Humphreys, South Korea, on Oct. 2, 2020.
Lt. Gen. Willard “Bill” Burleson III assumed command of the Eighth Army on Friday, stressing the need for U.S. and South Korean troops “to train rigorously and realistically” to maintain readiness on the divided peninsula.
Wearing a camouflage mask to match his uniform and ward off the coronavirus, Burleson accepted the Eighth Army colors from Lt. Gen. Michael Bills during a ceremony in a gym on Camp Humphreys, the Army’s main headquarters in South Korea.
The change of command occurred amid fears of renewed tensions as U.S.-led nuclear talks with North Korea have stalled. Many experts have predicted that the North may conduct a missile test or another provocation in connection with the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
“Eighth Army’s presence here in Korea and in the Pacific certainly sends a strong signal, not just to the Republic of Korea but to our regional allies on the United States commitment to deterring our potential adversaries,” Burleson said during the ceremony, which was streamed live on Facebook.
USFK honors S. Korea’s outgoing JCS chair Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), delivers a speech during a farewell ceremony for South Korea’s outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Park Han-ki (R) at the USFK Yongsan Garrison in Seoul on Sept. 17, 2020. The USFK arranged the event to mark Park’s contribution to cementing the alliance between the two nations. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
This rollover accident happened last year during the 1st Cavalry Division’s deployment to South Korea:
A photo of Spc. Nicholas Panipinto is displayed during a memorial service inside the Warrior Chapel at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, Friday, Nov. 15, 2019.
The 1st Cavalry Division has moved to oust three junior leaders and ordered reforms to its driver’s training program after a 20-year-old infantryman was killed last year in a rollover accident involving a Bradley Fighting Vehicle at Camp Humphreys, the soldier’s mother said Saturday.
The Fort Hood, Texas-based Army division acted after finding that Spc. Nicholas Panipinto had no license or classroom instruction and had received only six hours of hands-on training when he died during a Nov. 6 road test of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Two other soldiers were injured.
However, the changes are not enough for Panipinto’s mother, Kimberly Weaver, who said her son’s death had been preventable, and she believes the soldiers being punished are being used as scapegoats.
“This whole thing has just so many problems on so many different levels,” she told Stars and Stripes on Saturday in a phone interview.
“Why are these three lower-level unit soldiers being thrown under the bus while the higher-ups are not being accountable when all these failures happened under their watch,” she added.
You can read more at the link, but the Company Commander, Platoon Leader, and Vehicle Commander have all been reprimanded and being processed for discharge from the Army. I can understand that the mother is upset, but, this is pretty significant punishment for what happened. The accident according to the article was caused by the track coming off, but the article does not specify if something the driver did caused this or was it a mechanical issue.
When these accidents do happen the investigation always looks back at the Driver’s Training program and it was discovered that SPC Panipinto was driving the bradley without completing all the requirements. This is company commander level business to ensure everyone is properly licensed before conducting an operation.
However, what I find most troubling is how it took two hours to get a medical evacuation helicopter to the site of the accident. I really hope that whatever caused that gets fixed.
This is a horrible accident and condolences to all the family members and friends impacted by this:
Emergency workers tend to the scene after a collision involving a U.S. armored personnel carrier and a civilian SUV that killed four South Koreans near the Rodriguez Live-Fire Complex in Pocheon, South Korea, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020.
A crash involving a U.S. military vehicle killed four South Koreans, prompting U.S. Forces Korea to temporarily suspend training in the area, which is near the border with North Korea, officials said Monday.
An SUV carrying the four civilians rear-ended the armored personnel carrier – a tracked vehicle – at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday on a road near the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in the city of Pocheon, local police and fire officials said.
The four civilians were pronounced dead at the scene, a fire official said. The two soldiers in the military vehicle were not seriously injured. One was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation but was cleared and released back to his unit, according to the 2nd Infantry Division.
USFK expressed “its deepest condolences” to the families and loved ones of the deceased and said the military was fully cooperating with the South Korean police investigation into the crash.
You can read more at the link, but I don’t think the Korean anti-U.S. leftists will be able to politicize this accident like they did with the 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident. The fact the armored vehicle was rear ended makes it harder to blame the soldiers for the accident. However, USFK will fully investigate what happened with this accident and if there was any negligence I am confident people will be held accountable.
In addition to USFK's directive that mandates a mask for all USFK-affiliated individuals for off-installation wear, Gyeonggi Province (Areas I and III) has made mask wear mandatory by executive order. Anyone caught not wearing mask will be issued a fine not to exceed 100,000 KRW. pic.twitter.com/r0qmlJy4dQ
With the drop in coronavirus cases across Korea, USFK is easing the restrictions placed on servicemembers and their families:
U.S. Forces Korea will lower its health protection level nationwide starting Monday, allowing personnel to visit Seoul for the first time in months thanks to a decline in coronavirus cases.
The military already had eased most restrictions on service members in May but kept the South Korean capital out of bounds except for people stationed in the metropolis due to fears of cluster infections.
Bars, clubs and other establishments with adults-only entrance remain off-limits in all areas, the command said Friday in an announcement on social media.
This poll shows how small the number of Koreans with anti-U.S. views are in the ROK:
Most South Koreans expressed support for the South Korea-U.S. alliance despite ongoing tensions over burden-sharing, a new poll found Monday.
According to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, 90 percent of respondents said they either strongly support or somewhat support the alliance, similar to the 92 percent in December.
The survey, conducted on 1,000 adults in South Korea from June 23-25, also found that a unilateral withdrawal of American troops from South Korea is likely to undermine public support for the alliance.
That’s because the U.S. commitment to defend South Korea is closely linked to views of the alliance as mutually beneficial.
Eighty-two percent of the respondents said they are very confident or somewhat confident in the U.S. commitment to defend South Korea. Of those who are very confident, 78 percent said the alliance is mutually beneficial.
You can read more at the link, but unfortunately the anti-U.S. leftists in Korea have a big megaphone which can make it seem they are larger than what they really are.
Here is the latest on the development of the Yongsan Park:
The idea of creating Yongsan Park became official in 2005 after the Roh Moo-hyun administration and the U.S. agreed to relocate troops there to Pyeongtaek.
In 2007, the National Assembly passed a special act on the creation of the park and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport began allocating resources for it.
No one expected the relocation would take so long.
One reason for the delay was that government had to find money to finance the Yongsan Relocation Plan ― which it was supposed to pay for. Occasional provocations from North Korea were also a factor that influenced the project.
Now, the former U.S. site is more than 90 percent empty.
The land ministry projects the park will be opened in 2027, but many, including the Ministry of National Defense responsible for the site return negotiations, are cautious, only saying it will largely depend on the talks which are expected to hit a stumbling block over the issue of soil contamination.
The land ministry has got many things done so far.
In 2012, it selected a team of architects and urban planners to design the park ― the final version of the plan was made public last week and can be found at park.go.kr.
The ministry is also carrying out aggressive public awareness campaigns about the park.
In 2018, the ministry began offering tours of the garrison, inviting a limited number of residents to see the historic buildings and sites.
On Aug. 1, the ministry is opening up the 50,000 square meters of land that used to be a residential compound for U.S. military officers and their families. The land was returned to Korea in 1986 but instead of opening up to the public immediately, the government built new houses and rented them to USFK personnel until the end of last year.
You can read more at the link, but how many people think all of Yongsan Garrison will be turned into a park? I also wonder if the historic Imperial Japanese era buildings will be torn down as well.
An F-16 Fighting Falcon is taken back to the flight line after a full paint job in 2014 at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea.
An airman found dead this week at Kunsan Air Base served as a section chief for the 8th Maintenance Squadron, the 8th Fighter Wing announced Wednesday.
Tech Sgt. Joshua Arndt, 35, was found unresponsive in his dorm room just before 9 a.m. Monday and pronounced dead 20 minutes later, according to statements issued by the wing. His death is under investigation.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Tech. Sgt. Arndt,” said Col. Christopher Hammond, commander of 8th Fighter Wing, according to the wing. “On behalf of the Wolf Pack, I offer our sincerest condolences to his family, friends and fellow Airmen.”
Arndt was one of nearly 4,600 airmen selected this month for advancement to the rank of master sergeant.
Ex-U.S. officers’ billet made public Seen here is a model featuring the U.S. Forces Korea’s former officers’ billet at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul on July 21, 2020, one day ahead of its opening to the public. Korea Land and Housing Corp. built the quarters in 1989 and rented it to U.S. officers until the end of 2019. The area will be developed into a park. (Yonhap)
