I can remember doing plenty of bridging operations over the Imjim River back in my 2ID days:
U.S. and South Korean troops practiced bridge-building recently a short distance from the Demilitarized Zone, the border separating North and South Korea.
Soldiers of the 11th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division and South Korean troops of the 5th Engineer Brigade assembled a ribbon bridge over the Imjin River near Paju-si, a city in Gyeonggi province, on March 20. Paju-si is within 5 miles of the heavily guarded border, although the exercise took place further away.
Congratulations to the Camp Humphreys commissary for being named the best overseas commissary by DECA:
The grocery store on the largest U.S. military installation overseas has been named the best overseas large commissary of the year by the Defense Commissary Agency. The Camp Humphreys commissary learned of the title March 1, according to an email Wednesday from DeCA spokeswoman Tressa Smith.
I did not even realize the gas station on old Yongsan Garrison was still open:
The gas station at Yongsan, one of the last vestiges of a once-busy headquarters compound, is preparing to turn off its pumps after 32 years of service. The station, on a hill overlooking Seoul, will close May 1 as part of a plan to return sections of the base to the South Korean government, according to an Army and Air Force Exchange Service news release Tuesday. The gas station reported average monthly revenue of $70,000 between 2021 and 2022, AAFES spokesman Chris Ward said in an email Thursday.
The monthly average fell to $50,000 the following year “and has experienced even further significant declines” in 2024, he said. Six of eight pumps still in service sat idle for more than two hours Wednesday afternoon. The only cars in the lot were parked there by drivers who exited the base through a nearby pedestrian gate.
Jerry Chandler, an anti-terrorism program manager at Yongsan and a four-year South Korea resident, said he is disappointed by the station’s looming closure. Chandler — one of the roughly 500 service members, Defense Department civilians and U.S. embassy staff who still live or work at Yongsan — said he and his wife fill up their two cars with premium gas “all the time” at the station.
Here is some different training for pilots in 2ID:
A U.S. Navy vehicle cargo ship recently took a rare opportunity to train with Army helicopter crews off the southern coast of South Korea. Crews aboard UH-60M Black Hawks from the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade qualified for deck landings aboard the USNS Dahl on March 7, 5 miles from Jinhae, Military Sealift Command, Far East said in a news release Monday.
“All flight deck operations are inherently dangerous but [deck landing qualifications] add the wild card of potentially novice crews who are not familiar with either the vessel or ship flight operations in general,” contracted mariner Capt. Deatra Thompson said in the release.
Season 1 of Physical: 100 was pretty good and I will definitely be watching Season 2 when it comes out to see how this USKF Army officer does on the show:
An Army officer who lifts weights competitively will be featured in Netflix’s upcoming season of “Physical: 100,” a South Korean reality show in which 100 contestants compete in theatrical strength-based challenges.
Maj. Gibson Kim, of the 411th Contracting Support Brigade at Camp Humphreys, described himself as a “normal guy doing normal stuff with my day job and family,” during a March 4 interview with Stars and Stripes. Before his workday starts, however, this father of a 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter rises early for a round of weightlifting at his home gym. He started as a powerlifter at Rutgers University, where he earned a degree in economics in 2007.
Some new housing has opened up for Soldiers stationed in the Daegu area of South Korea:
A new housing tower opened recently on Camp Walker, providing 90 additional units for households serving in Daegu, about 150 miles south of Seoul. The tower, which includes 60 three-bedroom, 26 four-bedroom and four five-bedroom apartments, is the last of four built for Walker residents, the Army said in a Feb. 29 news release.
The first tower broke ground in 2015; the last in 2020, U.S. Army Garrison Daegu spokesman Phil Molter said by email Tuesday. All four towers cost nearly $250 million to build. Walker is part of U.S. Army Garrison Daegu, which includes Camps George, Henry and Carroll. The base has a nine-hole golf course along with a commissary and post exchange.
This chapel replaces one that was over 50 years old:
A new chapel at this base south of Seoul “promises to enhance not only our strengths in worship, but our social connections, resilience and education efforts,” the wing commander said as its doors opened last week. The chapel, three years in construction, replaces its worn-out, demolished predecessor with a sanctuary that seats 306 and room for overflow.
“The previous chapel served Airmen for more than 50 years,” 51st Fighter Wing commander Col. William McKibban said in a statement Friday. “This one promises to deliver and serve Airmen for another 50 years, symbolizing an investment in Osan today for the Airmen of tomorrow, as well as over commitment to providing top-notch support to our service members and their families.”
Day ahead of Freedom Shield exerciseAn RC-12X Guardrail prepares for take-off at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, on March 3, 2024, a day ahead of South Korea and the United States’ annual joint military drills, named the Freedom Shield exercise. (Yonhap)
Another March is coming up which means another major US-ROK military exercise:
Col. Lee Sung-jun, left, the spokesperson for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, bumps fists with his U.S. counterpart Col. Isaac Taylor, the U.S. Forces Korea spokesperson, during a press conference at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan District, Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense
South Korea and the United States will conduct their annual Freedom Shield exercise from March 4 to 14 to strengthen their combined defensive posture against North Korea’s escalating threats, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, Wednesday.
During a press briefing, the JCS said the 11-day non-stop exercise will be “a realistic exercise to strengthen the allies’ combined defense capabilities based on scenarios reflecting diverse security threats and lessons learned from recent wars.”
“It will be focusing on conducting multi-domain operations, using land, sea, air, cyber and space assets as well as countering North Korea’s nuclear operations,” the JCS said.
Freedom Shield is a large-scale combined military exercise between the allies held annually in March. In August, the allies also conduct the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which is held jointly with the South Korean government’s interagency training called Ulchi Exercise.
