It looks like there is not going to be much activity going on this summer at Kunsan AB as its runway goes through a complete overhaul:
The last U.S. Air Force fighter jets from Kunsan Air Base moved this week to Osan Air Base, about 75 miles north, ahead of a scheduled runway overhaul expected to last through the summer.
Around 30 F-16 Fighting Falcons of the 8th Fighter Wing will continue flight operations over South Korea from Osan while their 9,000-foot-long home runway receives a makeover, wing spokeswoman Capt. Kaylin P. Hankerson told Stars and Stripes by email Thursday.
Kunsan is on the country’s west coast about 115 miles south of Seoul and is home to around 4,200 U.S. troops.
S. Korean, U.S. soldiers’ voluntary work South Korean and U.S. Marines jointly collect garbage along the seaside of Pohang, 374 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on March 24, 2023. (Yonhap)
It is pretty ridiculous that six years after first being installed the environmental review for the THAAD base in Seongju still is just about to be complete. This shows that this was really not an environmental review, but instead a political review by the prior administration to keep the site temporary:
The government is anticipated to take steps to turn the THAAD base into a permanent installation as early as July, when the Ministry of Environment is expected to draw conclusions on its ongoing environmental impact assessments.
Once the environment ministry gives the green light, the U.S. army will be allowed to initiate a process of building infrastructure and facilities for the THAAD base.
While concerns are rising that Seoul’s moves may draw fierce protests from Beijing, analysts viewed that China now has fewer retaliatory options compared to the ones it had in 2017, considering its economic slowdown and escalating competition with Washington.
“China will increase threats as the [South] Korean government continues to turn the THAAD unit into a permanent base, but it is unlikely to impose stronger sanctions than the ones we’ve seen in 2017,” said Kang Joon-young, a professor of Chinese studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
“Amid escalating rivalry with the U.S., China seems to be less willing to become enemies with its neighboring countries. And North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats justify the South Korean government’s rationale for pursuing stronger self-defense,” he added.
Here is an update of one of the events occurring as part of the Freedom Shield exercise that has North Korea so upset:
South Korean and U.S. troops hold tactical discussions during the combined Korea Combat Training Center drills in Inje, 165 kilometers east of Seoul, which began March 13, 2023, in this photo provided by the South’s Army on March 20.
South Korea and the United States are conducting combined high-tech military drills with increased “intensity and realism,” the Army here said Monday, as part of joint efforts to bolster deterrence against growing North Korean threats.
The drills are under way at the Korea Combat Training Center (KCTC), a facility employing cutting-edge technologies for realistic ground drills, in Inje, 165 kilometers east of Seoul. The maneuvers are to run through Friday, in connection with the allies’ ongoing Freedom Shield exercise.
For the drills, the U.S. military deployed a battalion-size unit for the first time. The South mobilized wheeled-armored vehicles and reconnaissance drones, while the U.S. brought Stryker armored vehicles and other assets.
The latest drills are divided into two three-day parts of separate defense and attack operations to heighten its “intensity and realism,” according to the armed service. Previous KCTC sessions were held for four days in total.
S. Korea-U.S. Freedom Shield drill South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup (4th from R) poses for a photo with USFK Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera (4th from L), and South Korean and U.S. soldiers during a visit to the theater air, naval and ground operations command post of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command on March 15, 2023, the third day of the two country’s 11-day computer-simulated Freedom Shield joint exercise against North Korean provocations, in this photo provided by the defense ministry. (Yonhap)
S. Korea-U.S. Marines stage landing operations South Korean and U.S. Marines jointly demonstrate landing operations during a commencement ceremony of the Korea Naval Academy in Changwon, 301 kilometers south of Seoul, on March 10, 2023, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of South Korea-U.S. alliance this year. (Yonhap)
Via a reader tip comes news that quite possibly the most infamous criminal in USFK history has passed away at age 50 in West Virginia:
Kenneth Markle during his 1992 trial.
Kenneth Lee “Kennet” Markle, III, 50, of Keyser, WV, died Tuesday, February 14, 2023 in Keyser.
Born on June 7, 1972 in Wurzburg, Germany, he was a son of Kenneth L. Markle, Jr. and Helen M. “Mickey” (Hickey) Markle, of Keyser. He was preceded in death by an infant brother, Jarrod Markle and his grandparents, Kenneth L. Markle, Sr., Wanda P. Markle and John and Edith Hickey.
Kennet was a 1990 graduate of Keyser High School and was employed as a project manager in the cellular communications industry. He was an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
I have actually met Markle before when he was still being held in the foreigner prison down in Cheonan. He was the person that used to pick up the mail from people that would go and check up on the prisoners there. He was actually very polite when I interacted with him. However, since his release from Korean prison in 2006 he went on to continue a life of crime in West Virginia:
Two Mineral County men were arrested Monday when they were served arrest warrants by Keyser Police at two locations.
Kenneth Lee Markle, 44, of Keyser, was charged with 24 counts of nighttime burglary and 74 counts of unauthorized use of a debit card, police said.
Markle was arrested at a North Water Street residence late Monday and granted pre-trial release after posting $15,000 bond, police said.
Markle actually contacted me a few years after he got out claiming his innocence and that if I read the court transcripts I would understand he was not a murderer. I offered to post the complete transcripts on the ROK Drop and he never sent them to me. His side of the story is that he hit the victim in the head with a coke bottle after she attacked him and was alive when left the room. He claims someone else killed her and violated her body. He told himself that bogus story for so long he probably actually believed it after a while.
Judging by this collage of mugshots that ROK Drop commenter Chickenhead has put together, I would not be surprised that besides being a thief that Markle was a meth-head as well:
Screenshot_20230217_031342_Samsung Internet.jpg
This officially closes the chapter on Kenneth Markle and hopefully those impacted by his crimes get some solace that he will not be able to victimize anyone else ever again.
It looks like all the time General Abrams spent dealing with North Korea’s “Rocket Man” has inspired him to become a Rocket Man himself:
Gen. Robert Abrams, then-commander of U.S. Forces Korea, discusses the COVID-19 threat during an interview with Stars and Stripes in his office as Camp Humphreys, South Korea, March 27, 2020. (Stars and Stripes)
Retired Army Gen. Robert Abrams, the former commander of U.S. Forces Korea, has joined the “green” rocket engine manufacturer Vaya Space as a senior adviser, according to a company news release Thursday.
Abrams, who commanded roughly 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea, also led U.N. Command and Combined Forces Command from 2018 until his retirement in 2021. He was succeeded by Army Gen. Paul LaCamera.
Florida-based Vaya Space manufactures rocket engines from recycled plastics and uses over 20 metric tons for each launch, according to its website. The company is scheduled to launch its first Dauntless vehicle later this year, which will be powered by ignited thermoplastics and liquid oxidizer.
Abrams said he chose to serve on Vaya Space’s board “because I became convinced that their technologies coupled with their excellent leadership team can make a tremendous difference for our country,” according to the company’s release.
This is the first time I have ever heard of U.S. Soldier falling from an apartment window before in South Korea:
Staff Sgt. Theresa Garris, 28, of Stroudsburg, Pa., served as a Patriot launching station enhanced operator and maintainer at Camp Carroll, South Korea. (U.S. Army)
A U.S. soldier in charge of one of the world’s most advanced missile systems died Wednesday outside her home near Camp Carroll, according to Eighth Army and South Korean police.
Staff Sgt. Theresa Garris, 28, of Stroudsburg, Pa., was found unresponsive in Chilgok county by first responders, Eighth Army spokesman Lt. Col. Neil Penttila told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday.
Garris was discovered around 3 a.m. in the parking lot of her apartment, a Chilgok Police Station investigator told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday.
Initial evidence suggests Garris, who lived on the fourth floor, fell from her unit, the investigator said. South Korean officials customarily speak to the media on the condition of anonymity.
Garris served with 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade as a Patriot launching station enhanced operator and maintainer at Carroll, roughly 130 miles south of Seoul, Penttila said.
