Secretary Gates has been in Seoul this week for talks with his Korean counterparts in regards to the future of the US-ROK alliance. Today it was announced what the future of the alliance is probably going to look like:
The United States is moving to pull the headquarters of the Eighth U.S. Army (EUSA) out of Korea and merge it with the U.S. Army Pacific Command in Hawaii, officials here said Thursday, a move long opposed by Seoul that will increase the strategic flexibility of U.S. troops stationed here.
The officials said the apparent move of the EUSA command will have little effect on the combat capability of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) as the main elements of the U.S. Army will remain here. [Yonhap]
This move has been speculated on all the way back in 2005 as being as possibility and is really nothing new:
The Army headquarters at Fort Shafter would become a war-fighting command to devise and execute operations rather than to train and provide troops to other commands as it does now. The U.S. four-star general’s post in Korea would be transferred to Hawai’i.
I Corps at Fort Lewis, Wash., would move to Camp Zama, Japan, to forge ties with Japan’s ground force. Japan would organize a similar unit, perhaps called the Central Readiness Command, to prepare and conduct operations with the U.S. Army.
Japanese officials are considering elevating the Self-Defense Agency to a ministry and renaming Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force as the Japanese Army and the same for the navy and air force. Shedding those postwar names would reflect Japan’s emergence from its pacifist cocoon.
In South Korea, the U.S. plans to disband the Eighth Army that has been there since the Korean War of 1950-53, to relinquish command of South Korean troops to the South Koreans, and to minimize or eliminate the United Nations Command set up during the Korean War.
A smaller tactical command would oversee U.S. forces that remain in South Korea, which would be down to 25,000 from 37,000 in 2008. That may be cut further since Seoul has denied the U.S. the “strategic flexibility” to dispatch U.S. forces from South Korea to contingencies elsewhere. [Honolulu Advertiser]
So this is all nothing new. What would be new is if USFK actually confirms that this is really going to happen which they have not. As Robert Koehler has pointed out, the Korean media has made many spectacular claims about the future of the US-ROK Alliance before that would eventually be denied by USFK officials. If USFK confirms this move then this would be big news which would be a positive move from the US side of the alliance which the Korean government would vigorously try and stop for a variety reasons.
This move is supposed to happen in coordination with the hand over of war time control to the Korean military in 2012 which means the Korean government still has plenty of time to prevent this move if true. USFK is having hard time relocating units to Camp Humphreys due to Korean delay games much less to Hawaii. My attitude in regards to changes in the US-ROK alliance is that I will believe it when I see it.
By the way for those wondering, I in no way think this has anything to do with the current Cows Gone Wild madness.
Popularity: 3%
3:39 pm on June 5th, 2008 1
I will bet anyone, that the Korean media will tie this to the Anti-American beef issue. I can see some editorials telling the US to calm down and not react too hastily to Koreas latest “demo-crazy .. I mean democracy movement”.
6:54 pm on June 5th, 2008 2
It will certainly be tied to the beef issue in Korean society — no matter how old the ideas have been in play.
That was exactly what happened in 2000 at the end of The Great Water Dump — and is what helped end that almost year long protest movement. That was the first time the USFK reformation planning had reached a final draft version, but the working out of details had been noted for several years before that, but when the Korean press reported it as a “sudden, unilateral decision” by USFK, even the Korean Defense Department got amnesia — saying that the only thing that had been discussed with them was the shutting down of a few isolated US bases no longer in use…
In early 2003, Donald Rumsfeld actually played into Korea’s habit, while trying to get Korea to move forward with the base relocation plan, by saying USFK would leave just as soon as Korea asked it to, and by announcing the pull out of 1/3rd or 1/4th of the troops anyway (I forget the exact percentage announced).
With the US media somewhat paying attention, this news item about moving out the command might bring this Cows Gone Wild!! Hysteria to an end…
8:50 pm on June 5th, 2008 3
[...] Could General Sharp be the last USFK commander in Korea? [...]
11:16 pm on June 5th, 2008 4
Pull out the needed forces that are needed in other areas like Iraq or Ash-can-in-a-stan. Im sure the DAKS can handle the Northern DAKS with no problems and if they cant o-well they have had plenty of time to prepare for it! So its time to stop baby sitting the Koreans and move on to bigger and better things.
11:26 pm on June 5th, 2008 5
“So its time to stop baby sitting the Koreans and move on to bigger and better things.”
Korea will never let the USA just leave and move on. Look at how they treat the Japanese. The Japanese helped Korea up from a crippled savage society in shambles. Korean lived in huts like in Africa when the Japanese came. Koreans had an average lifespan of 24 years when the good Japanese started to help them. After the Japanese lost WWII the Koeran lived to an average age of 48.
The USA will be harassed for the next 100 years for all their “wrongs”. If you don’t belive me, look how the Koreans are treating issues like polution or “war crimes”. Trust me these issues will blow up when the the USK leaves.
8:56 am on June 6th, 2008 6
If the US leaves, it would look like the scene in Apocalypse Now where Willard and the PBR are at the “last outpost” and the soldiers are franticly wadding out into the water to climb onto the boat for their only chance to leave.
1:04 pm on June 6th, 2008 7
Your right! See they have had plenty of time to prepare for the US to hand everything back to them and let them start taking care of there own problem/problems (North Korea). Who cares who they blame we always get blamed for everything anyways.
Pulling out the forces is one of many options we have it just needs to happen, thats all.
8:37 am on June 7th, 2008 8
[...] of choice" for servicemembers, Army Gen. Walter Sharp took command of 28,500 U.S. troops Tuesdahttp://rokdrop.com/2008/06/05/us-seeking-to-relocate-8th-army-command-to-hawaii/Muscling up: Agencies battle to keep mussels out North Lake Tahoe BonanzaLt. Christy Wurster, of [...]
11:22 pm on June 9th, 2008 9
[...] looks like the move of the 8th Army Headquarters to Hawaii is coming closer to one day being a reality: South Korean and U.S. defense officials are discussing [...]
2:41 pm on June 17th, 2008 10
Great idea, let’s pull all the troops from Korea. While we’re at it, we can empty out Japan, Germany, Italy.. MAYBE, JUST MAYBE even Iraq and Afghanistan.. Brilliant Idea Mike, but there is one thing. Who will protect all these countries (allies) when they are attacked? Germany and Japan i would say have a chance, South Korea on the other hand, with North K, and China only Kilometers away would be obliverated. Italy would be O.K. for a while, but then all these countries are going to look at the U.S. and wonder why all of our troops are in the U.S. To be honest with you, I love my job, and all the allies named above. Don’t see ANY reason why we should abandon these countries.
5:06 pm on July 1st, 2008 11
daniel,
South Korea shits on us whenever it is convenient. I feel zero sympathy for them and their problems. A little starvation time under the Norks might help the ungrateful ones to genuflect on the error of their narcissistic ways. Too many Americans have died there already, and the generation that respected them in Korea is dying out.
8:15 pm on September 21st, 2008 12
thats it, bro