Comments on: USFK Driving and Curfew Policy Changes Announced

By: Retired

Retired — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 04:36:43 +0000

From 88 thru 92 I was at the Hump. Four years. No curfew. Lots of fun. I survived. I even lost weight! Most of my friends were KN. I took tours and learned to speak the hangul a little. No curfew to cause me troubles. Sometimes I drank a lot, sometimes a little and sometimes not at all. Sometimes when I wasn’t with the KNs, I even drank with my CO.
Bottom line: I survived and had a great four years with no curfew. But I was an adult American Army Soldier. I sometimes miss it even. Few these days would even believe how it was then. Those who would are at the Nightwatch club on base.
One time I left the bar at 0500 and ran two miles to my room, changed into PTs and then ran two more. I was in great shape!
As to so called “military leadership”, during four years, I watched the drink machine move location four times. When I left it was in the same location as when I arrived. I’ll stop my rant now.

By: silentgrayfellow

silentgrayfellow — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 01:54:12 +0000

Kingkitty has a point. The Army went from “we didn’t issue you a family” back in the old days, to the current trend of going to great lengths to support and accomodate families (in words, if not deeds). The Army figured out that Soldiers with families are more likely to make the Army a career than single folks. Hey, at least there is the Single Soldier Initiative (aka BOSS) for the benefit of unaccompanied troops. Still, it stings a bit to be a career NCO in the rank of Staff Sergeant, and you aren’t authorized a POV but PVT Snuffy is command sponsored and he and his wife and teenage step-son can all drive a POV. What’s up with that?

By: Why Do GI’s Complain About Korea?

Why Do GI’s Complain About Korea? — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:35:29 +0000

[...] then the USFK curfew policy. Everyone has an opinion on this to include the new USFK commander who issued his own change to the curfew policy. You can see what I think the curfew policy should be by reading [...]

By: Pete

Pete — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:31:57 +0000

Gen BB talked - Gen S delivers!

By: Kingkitty

Kingkitty — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:32:23 +0000

They should name the new gym at Humphreys the Command Sponsored Gym and make it a excluse gym keeping out Soldiers and Non Command Sponsored low lifes

By: Kingkitty

Kingkitty — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:31:00 +0000

Hey kids the only change is that the Command Sponsored automatically get the car…even if they are E6 and below. Have we notice a slow and almost total swing in favor of Command Sponsored people in Korea? First Medical in 2004 the Dental, now just about everything else

Anyway any Soldier can apply for a license and the request only has to go to the First O5 but yea all they can do is rent a car

Still the same, to actually register a car on post the AREA commander has to approve the request

By: Jaco

Jaco — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:26:35 +0000

Ok is great that the curfew is being extend and everythin but with the car thing there is not much to worry about cuz there is only so many people who gets it so there is not gonna be the many lower enlisted out there and icidents all ready happen you have a bunch os young LT’s and warrants drunk drivin but that dont come out to the ligth or dose it not really. What the should really changee is the oportunity for SM to get command sponsored regardless of they rank we all have familys and feelings as well!

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:03:09 +0000

Nice catch Cray_Z.

I’d like to believe that grown men and women who are expected to fight, and possibly die for, their country, deserve the right to be proven wrong, but…

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:01:33 +0000

2 hours of “rest” great. You know its going to happen, just like the soldier driving the bridge transport that crushed the two children. Wasn’t a major contributing factor was the inadequate rest plan. GEN Sharp it won’t take long before this backfires and there is more anti-Americanism than ever before.

The curfew was never about force protection, it is a control measure for those who can’t control themselves.

By: Your Mother

Your Mother — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:28:00 +0000

I do not agree with the new curfew policy. He’s writing everyone a blank check, across the board. There are certain demographics who do not deserve such a drastic increase in leeway. A “Warrior Pass” system is a way to go. Then, at least, folks would need to earn the privilege. Another way to go would be to implement a tiered curfew, in which people of different ranks would be able to stay out longer. The majority of people with higher rank are less likely to screw the pooch, having more to lose than a 20 year-old Joe.

The identification of the curfew as punishment for a few is definitely a contradiction to everything past commanders have claimed. First is was a force protection measure, then it was about maintaining a “Fight Tonight” condition. The truth is that its always been about human trafficking. The Juicy operation peaked in the late ’90s and early 2000s when all of the Filipinas and Russians were brought into the bars. 9/11 came and finally gave the old, white Christian dudes who run USFK the excuse they needed to shut things down. Now, seven years of curfew, the Korean government’s selective enforcement of prostitution laws outside of US camps, and USFKs own standards-based on- and off-limits games have totally neutered Joe’s ability to score poonani in the Ville. What is there for guys to do until 3:00 in the morning?

These changes will stand for a few years, until a couple E-6s screw things up. It’s always E-6s. In 2001, a couple E-6s were speeding, drunk, between Osan and Humphreys late at night with a Russian in the backseat. They hit a light pole and almost died, and the Russian knocked all of her teeth out on the gearshift. It was also an E-6 who caused a fatal accident while speeding drunk between Osan and Suwon. Was that in 2002, 2003, or 2004? Anyway, it was that dumb move that got POV privileges taken away from junior NCOs in 2004. That, and the congestion around the Yongsan PX and Dragon Hill Lodge.