There was a small article in the Stars and Stripes about the ROK purchasing munitions. This is a LONG, LONG story of the ROK trying to get munitions cheap — or for nothing — dealing with the WRSA-K. Anyway, I’m just glad that this fiasco called “negotiations” are finally over.

South Korea has agreed to buy about 250,000 tons of stockpiled U.S. military munitions, a U.S. Forces Korea spokesman confirmed on 7 Oct. South Korea will pay for the munitions, about half of the total War Reserve Stocks for Allies stockpile, by providing about $280 million in services, including “storage, domestic transportation, loading and unloading, and port handling of rejected munitions,” according to an e-mail response from USFK spokesman Dave Palmer.

The U.S. Congress passed legislation in 2005 to authorize the transfer, according to Palmer. The total stockpile is worth about $2.2 billion if bought at today? prices, according to Palmer. (Source: Stars and Stripes.)

HOWEVER, I have just a few questions bouncing around in my old brainpan. The biggest fun question is that in 2007 the USFK maintained 600,000 tons of munitions of 200 different types (including trucks and equipment) worth $5.3 billion. Where did over half of the value of the USFK maintained munitions go in one year?

My second question deals with how did the ROK get their ammo problem under control. In 2005, the ROK only had 10 days of ammo if a war broke out today — because the US-maintained WRSA-K went defunct in 2003 and the two-year grace period had run out. The ROK was running around crying like babies expecting the US to give them the WRSA-K ammo to them free. The Congress authorized the transfer and sale, but the ROK refused to buy it claiming it was “old munitions” and it was too costly. Jump forward to 2008 and the US is still talking of OPCON transfer in 2012 — without the ROK buying any massive amounts of new munitions that I know of. Where did the ROK get the ammo to solve their ammo shortage problem?

In the latest “negotiations”, the types of munitions the ROK was seeking are those that could be modified into JDAMS with kits — along with air-to-air munitions. The WRSA-K fiasco was also tied to the FMS upgrade to NATO Plus Three status. I’m just curious what items they finally settled on from the munitions they claimed were “outdated.”

I know my all my questions will never be answered, but I’m just throwing this out. I’m simply saying two years ago there was a massive stockpile — and over $3 billion in munitions disappeared. Were they disposed of — or transferred with approval? If it is what I suspect, there has been a lot of movement of munitions in the ROK-controlled MAGNUMs from the US stocks stored there. It would have to be authorized by the DoD, Congress and higher. But it is something that was needed to make the OPCON transfer a reality.

No gripes…just curious as to what is the real story.

Popularity: 1%