By From the Stars & Stripes:
The top U.S. commander in South Korea on Wednesday proposed immediately doubling the number of troops on accompanied tours in that country, and eventually shifting most troops with families to three-year tours there.
In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Army Gen. B.B. Bell also said he plans, in the near future, to give accompanied tour status to troops with unauthorized spouses in South Korea.
I think this is a great idea if approached correctly. First of all more family housing on post needs to be built. I wouldn’t increase the number of families in USFK if it meant more dependents living off post. Most housing near USFK facilities are sub-standard plus USFK would run into landlords ripping off American families in a number ways that most of us who have been in Korea a few years know about. Plus you have many young couples that are probably not mature enough to live off post on their own in a foreign country as well. Also the force protection considerations of having that many family members living possibly off post needs to be considered. Finally, the NEO plans would have to be updated and tested to see if they can accommodate the increased amount of family members this would need to be evacuated in case of hostilities on the peninsula.Â
So great idea if approached right and facilities and built on post; could be a bad idea if these families are just sent to live in the ville and fend for themselves. This is the scenario the hustler Korean land lords are probably praying for.Â
You can read more on this at Lost Nomad.
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11:47 pm on March 8th, 2007 1
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10:15 am on March 8th, 2007 2
I'll believe it when I see it.
One would have thought that since there were 7 field grades and 6 company grades in my section when I first arrived that some of those command sponsored slots would have opened up by now, since we now have 4 field grades and 1 company grade. I guess they opened up for somebody, somewhere.
If you're not a field grade, senior NCO, member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity, or have some chronic medical condition in your family, you can take this news with a grain of salt.
9:36 pm on March 8th, 2007 3
I remember just a couple of years ago, one of the transformations talked about for USFK was getting rid of families altogether pretty much. The talk was of rotating whole units in and out of Korea on 6 month rather than 1 year tours and cutting out families. The Korean government spoke up that it was a bad idea saying more families, not fewer, were needed to make the tour of duty better for both US soldiers and the poor towns folk who were terrorized by all the unharnessed men away from family…
5:28 pm on April 26th, 2007 4
[...] [GI Korea] Increasing Accompanied Tours in Korea Published: Thu, 08 Mar 2007 06:23:50 +0000 From the Stars & Stripes: The top U.S. commander in South Korea on Wednesday proposed immediately doubling the number of troops on accompanied tours in that country, and eventually shifting most troops with families to three-year tours there. In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Army Gen. B.B. Bell also said he plans, in the near [...] Read More… [...]
6:37 pm on April 26th, 2007 5
[...] may remember that General Bell was pushing this issue last month as well in front of [...]
5:53 am on January 13th, 2008 6
[...] your support as I work this initiative over the next several years,” he told the panel. (Source: ROK Drop.) EPILOGUE: Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel Push for Accompanied Tours (Jun 2007) On Jun 2007 [...]