For all you DOD civilians out there it appears the option of working longer tours in South Korea is now available to you:

Defense Department civilians will now be able to serve tours of up to three years with their families in most parts of South Korea, officials said Monday.

About 3,000 civilians work for DOD in South Korea. The change applies to the 2,800 or so employees in the Appropriated Funds personnel category, regardless of which branch of service they work for, officials said.

The longer tours are part of the U.S. military’s recent drive to station personnel in South Korea for longer periods and accompanied by their families, an effort known as tour normalization.

Until recently, most active-duty troops served one-year tours without families. But those with families may now serve two- and three-year tours.

Most Defense Department civilians in South Korea accompanied by families served two-year tours, and some were even shorter.  [Stars & Stripes]

Fellow K-blogger John McCrarey gets to make an appearance in the article:

“We want the civilian tours to mirror the military tours to the extent possible,” said John McCrarey, director of human resources management for Eighth U.S. Army.

“It really is in keeping with the commander’s intent that Korea be considered a normal duty station. It’s similar to what they do in Europe as well — it’s three-year tours.”

The new longer tours include the possibility of extensions, officials said.

Read the rest of the S&S article for more details.