By Last week USFK Commanding General Walter Sharp had a teleconference with a number of journalists and bloggers. I was actually invited by DOD Public Affairs to participate in the teleconference, but unfortunately it was held during the hours that I am at work. If you can believe it work is my first priority, now blogging. Anyway the audio as well as the transcript from the teleconference are posted online and really nothing groundbreaking came from the interview. General Sharp just pretty much kept to the same theme he has been advocating for during his time as USFK commander which is normalizing tours on the peninsula.
.jpg)
USFK Deployments
On here are excerpts from a few of the more interesting answers given my General Sharp. Here is what he said in regards to USFK troops deploying off the peninsula to places like Afghanistan:
And we are not at the point yet where we are ready to globally
deploy. That will come after only much consultation with the Republic of
Korea. It will only come after we are much further along on toward
normalization so that the servicemembers, if we do come to an agreement
would be able to deploy as units from Korea, leave their families there
and then return back to Korea — very similar to what we do with the
troops that we have in Germany right now.
So any other words it may not happen any time soon, but the goal is to make it happen.
ROK Deployments
A later question asked if the US-ROK alliance will expand to where the ROK forces would take a larger role in conflict areas like Iraq and Afghanistan. Here is an excerpt from General Sharp’s answer:
When the Zaytun Division was in Korea they did a great
job — I mean in Iraq, they did a great job there, and in fact, if you
count the number of troops that deployed in and out of Iraq while the
Zaytun Division was there, they’re still the third-largest contributor of
forces.They have a ship off of Somalia right now, fighting pirates and
doing a great job. They are in numerous U.N. peacekeeping missions around the world, and again doing a great job. And, finally, they are considering getting ready to send a provisional reconstruction team, PRT, back to Afghanistan sometime next year. And so we’re working with them to make sure that how we operate in Afghanistan is understood by the units and the commands that will deploy there.So I really do think that we are looking at what type of
capabilities and training do we need, both on the ROK and the U.S. side,
not only against the North Korean threat but against future threats to
the alliance and on a global scale.
In other words the ROK Forces will continue token shows of force in support of US operations, but as far as doing any heavy lifting in conflict areas don’t expect that to happen any time soon either.
Jobs for USFK Spouses
Some of you USFK contractors out there that were impacted by the new visa regulations may find this response to a question about jobs for spouses of interest:
Absolutely. I’ve actually formed an initiative group that’s been working this for about a year because it is critical. Not only do we have to do all of this that we talked about with schools and medical, but because there are a number of spouses that are employed and enjoy being employed and really contribute, that is critical in Korea.
We’re working our way through — spouses in Korea have the
luxury of staying under SOFA visa so they still have SOFA protections,
but also getting a visa to be able to work downtown in Seoul or other
places throughout Korea. So we’re working with the Korea Chamber of
Commerce and Industry and others to be able to get jobs for spouses.On post we also are working that, and as we build Camp Humphreys there will be more and more opportunities for spouses to be able to do that. And as you mentioned, on the teacher side, again, Dr. Miles, the head of DoDEA, is working towards that. As family members are qualified to be able to teach, there will be many more that are needed, and I’m absolutely confident that they will be able to be employed along those lines.
For those wondering the Dr. Miles mentioned is the Shirley Miles of current DODEA fraud and corruption fame.
Anyway General Sharp didn’t mention anything about trying to get spouses more contractor positions and focused more on jobs in the educational and medical professions in USFK. As far as working in Korea, the only thing the majority of these spouses are going to be able to do is work is as English teachers. There just isn’t going to be professional jobs that some of these spouses may be used to working in the US available to them in Korea.
First of all they can’t speak the language and secondly there is a shortage of jobs for Koreans much less Americans in Korea. The best bet is try to get negotiate with the Korean government to get more Americans to work jobs currently occupied by Koreans in the commissaries, PX’s, and other USFK facilities. Even that will end up being a tough fight, but definitely one more winnable than trying to find jobs for spouses on the Korean economy other than teaching in a hagwon.
Questions that Weren’t Asked
There is plenty more to read from the interview; you can read the rest of the transcript here. Here are some of the questions off the top of my head I would liked to have had the USFK Commander answer:
- If the slots opened from the contractor visa issue will be emphasized to be used for spouses?
- What he thinks about the proposed curfew & alcohol policies?
- If he does makes these changes and incidents occur will he re-implement the old policies?
- What effect did crime prevention training have on the servicemember misconduct rate?
- What progress has been made on the adoption scam issue in DOD schools in Korea?
- When will all the vacated camps be handed over which has been long delayed due to the camp pollution issue and how much USFK will pay for clean up costs?
- How long does he expect it will take to clean up and hand over Yongsan Garrison and the remaining 2ID camps to the Koreans after they close?
- What are the projected costs of closing these remaining camps?
- Does he advocate for US forces entering North Korea if the regime was to collapse?
- What is the current status of integrating the ROK into the US BMD?
- Will 2ID or Yongsan Garrison be the first to move to Camp Humphreys?
- What policies has he introduced to reduce the amount of fraud and contracting waste in USFK?
What Are Your Questions?
Does anyone else have questions they think should have been asked to General Sharp? Post them in the comments section.
12:50 pm on December 22nd, 2009 1
"If the slots opened from the contractor visa issue will be emphasized to be used for spouses?"
Big misconception of how contracting jobs are done in Korea. There are NO "slots" or a limited number of "visa's" when talking about contractors. We're not military, we don't abide by TOE / TDA, we're not government worker and don't abide by any federal staffing summary. We abide by a "statement of work" which is just an outline of what the expected work / service provided from the private company is, and what the payment for those services from the government is. Actually its a little more detailed then that, its goes into responsibility for various things and sets the time that the contract will be reevaluated / rebid and the potential for contract extensions.
How the private company provides the manpower for that service is entirely up to that company, as long as the staffing meets the contract requirements (security clearance / visa status / ect..). The Government can not legally change the provisions of a contract in the middle without agreement on both sides. And it most definitely can not prematurely terminate a contract unless there is a explicit clause stating how it can be done and what compensations will be paid to the company. These are not mom & pop shops we're talking about, these are multinational multi-billion dollar corporations / conglomerates with thousands of high paid lawyers. CCK screwed with the contractors by choosing to reinterpret the requirements for SOFA without notifying the companies ahead of time. No one thought they would do that as its borderline illegal, they won't be doing that again.
So no, contracting jobs won't be "given" to spouses. The spouse must still qualify for that position and go through the same interview / hiring process. The only possibility is if the position is a temp hire, which the spouse has an advantage in that they already have a base pass and the company doesn't need to go through the hassle to get one approved. The only real chance USFK can do is to pressure AAFES to hire spouses, but that is dangerous seeing as AAFES is technically a private company (with deep military connections). Yes every AAFES employee you see is technically a "contractor", although a poorly paid one.
1:14 pm on December 22nd, 2009 2
1. Is Camp Humphreys going to be able to handle 2ID, 8th Army, USFK, etc.? I was at Humphreys once and it didn't look very robust.
2. What steps is he taking to bring back Korean juicy girls? Filippinas are cute, but I think Soldiers should have a chance to sample the local delicacies too. Plus it will piss Tom off!
2:09 pm on December 22nd, 2009 3
AMEN Brother! Bring back the "locals".
"Pluse it will piss Tom off!" > Never a bad thing. He likes being pissed off.
Tom, ever the "victim". We should not take that from him.
2:10 pm on December 22nd, 2009 4
Sorry> Plus.
2:53 pm on December 22nd, 2009 5
Well they're "expanding" the Hump as we speak. But the new ROK administration doesn't want USFK to move out / downsize anymore. So the project is proceeding very slowly. Plus from my understanding, not all of Yongsan is moving out, they want to leave the UNC command and other coalition offices there.
And yes I prefer the locals over the imports, but honestly how hard is it for a soldier to get a Korean GF? I can understand up in the TDC / CP Cassey area where there Korean gals are mostly country girls. But in many other area's there are Universities and large cities with hundreds of thousands of locals in the near by area.
Anyone who has to resort to a juicy is rather sad.
3:32 pm on December 22nd, 2009 6
A few years back I was talking with a bunch of retirees (all working as contractors) at Camp Casey. I told them my son shags all the Korean cooter he wants. One of them said something like, "Anyone can pay for it and get it." I told him my son has never payed a penny – he just goes out on regular dates and is living large.
These guys refused to believe that you could get layed for free in Korea – much less with a Korean girl.
I talked with them for a while longer, but gave up trying to convince them otherwise.
4:08 pm on December 22nd, 2009 7
Guitard, my experience was similar. Oh, I bought my share of juicies, but getting some action in Korea for "free" isn't at all difficult.
You know the weirdest thing? With occasional exceptions, Korean women are not whores. I think its more a function of them being in a culture where they are treated like property. They meet a guy who will give her his jacket on a cold night or just open the door for her and they just go nuts…
4:13 pm on December 22nd, 2009 8
"Anyone who has to resort to a juicy is rather sad."
Hmmm… but that just about describes 99.99% of GI's. Do you know why average Korean girls do not like GI's? I'll give you a hint. They don't like whistles, dirty gropes, eye rapes, slimy come on's, foul mouth, pompous, and stale sweaty unwashed body odours. Korean juicy girls (as long as you pay them), and average American girls may like those things and fall for those GI tricks, but not your average run of the mill Korean females.
I, in fact don't have any problems with GI-Korean female relationships. I would tip my hat to any GI's, if he can somehow overcome the disadvantages and make a non-prostitute, non-juicy girl girlfriend. Because he must have been extraordinarily well mannered and respectful to get a real Korean girlfriend.
But I'm pretty confident that day will never come and I will never see that in my life time.
4:18 pm on December 22nd, 2009 9
Uhhhh, Tom. My wife is Korean and she was never a juicy. Believe it or not most of us are not stupid. Most of us understand with normal girls you can't grab their butts on a subway and expect it to lead to a long term relationship. Juicys get that, not the regular girls.
4:19 pm on December 22nd, 2009 10
Typical white guy with white knight syndrome.
Plus you have zero knowledge about Korean men dating habits, considering you're in Dallas.
Korean guys still believe in romance, most white guys think it's gay and cheezy.
A guy who will give her his jacket on a cold night or just open the door for her, that sounds just like a Korean guy. Don't you watch Korean dramas?
4:21 pm on December 22nd, 2009 11
Were you a GI? Sure I believe you.
4:26 pm on December 22nd, 2009 12
You just said:
"Guitard, my experience was similar. Oh, I bought my share of juicies, but getting some action in Korea for “free” isn’t at all difficult."
Would your Korean wife feel good about reading what you just wrote? Is she a property to you? Sounds like it to me. Funny coming from you who claim Korean men treat their dates like property.
4:33 pm on December 22nd, 2009 13
Don't feed the trolls, it just cause them to hang around longer.
And yes Chris I agree with you in how Women as a whole are treated by the local men. Their like second class citizens here almost. So if your a half decent guy and treat a girl as an equal, you'd be amazed at where that'll lead you.
5:54 pm on December 22nd, 2009 14
Tom, I bet your Korean girlfriend or wife looks at white guys all the time and says to herself…what am I doing with this short, ugly, ridiculously small endowed (and size does matter to women they just tell you it doesn't to make Korean men feel good) Korean guy. Korean men are nasty looking and Korean Women only date them because they have no other choice. If a Korean guy goes to the States the only play he get's is with another Korean that he is set up with, no white girl would go for a Korean guy. I think it pisses you off that White guys get Korean girls at a snap of their fingers but you never get a second look from any American girl and I would guess only the ugly no life Korean girls look your way. What a pathetic dude you are…
10:29 pm on December 22nd, 2009 15
Tom reminds me of one of my KATUSAs, SGT Kim. He was an annoying little toad who was always whining about how we shouldn’t date Korean girls. One day Top told him how if he would just follow our line and treat girls with a little kindness, he could lose his virginity. Just to rub it in, he mentioned he had to be off to see his new girlfriend Mi Suk!
11:00 pm on December 22nd, 2009 16
LOL. I'd rather be a short ugly small endowed Korean guy instead of a 300 pound smelly hippo with pants coming half down the torso to show cracks.
11:39 pm on December 22nd, 2009 17
"Plus you have zero knowledge about Korean men dating habits, considering you’re in Dallas."
Haha! Is this one of those "the White Man can never understand the East" things? I've been around Koreans for almost 20 years. Lets just say I know enough. I'll give you this much. The latest batch of young Korean males seems to have a clue.
I don't believe for a second all I have to do is appear in a random place in ROK, snap my fingers and all the unattached girls will come flocking to me. However, I find it telling how many Korean men pee themselves silly over this matter.
12:11 am on December 23rd, 2009 18
To find out why Asian women go for western guys, I recommend reading this gyopo blog.
12:33 am on December 23rd, 2009 19
Notice I didn't say given to spouses, I said emphasized. I don't expect USFK to try and change any contracts.
If you have a number of people removed due to the visa issue that means those "slots" or jobs or whatever you want to call them have to be filled by someone.
USFK could encourage spouses to submit resumes and emphasize the hiring of these spouses if they meet the qualifications over someone who is not a spouse. A private company is going to want to make the customer happy and if the customer is emphasizing to them they would like to see more spouses hired the company is not obligated contractually to do so, but will probably hire more spouses to keep the customer happy.
As I mentioned AAFES is going to be a tougher nut to crack but a better fight than trying to find non-hagwon type jobs on the Korean economy for spouses.
12:44 am on December 23rd, 2009 20
To get on a different track, I will mention I find press briefings by high ranking commanders are almost always profoundly boring. A person like General Sharp is just too constrained to really tell it like it is. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Sharp thought the Korean manpower contributions to Iraq and Afghanistan were pointless. You'll never hear him say such a thing because if he did, he would get the Singlaub treatment. It similar with something like the new 2ID alcohol policy. If he disagrees with it, he won't say so in a forum like this. If he did, those over him who decide his next assignment will likely decide he doesn't need a next assignment for second guessing a subordinate and/or not quashing the policy on his own. The only straight shooting you're likely to get will be on meat and potatoes matters.
I much prefer when the GEN Sharps send out a minion to these conferences. They at least have the luxury of stating they don't have authority to answer hot button questions, thus reducing hot air emissions.
1:58 am on December 23rd, 2009 21
The 300lbs "white" guy can lose weight. The small endowed Tom and others like him, well…
2:25 am on December 23rd, 2009 22
Sir, are the Koreans ready to assume operational control?
Sir, what is the impact of releasing OPLAN 5027 to the North Koreans?
Sir, in light of the influx of command-sponsored families, as well as the explosion of the US and allied expatriate population in South Korea, can USFK still perform a wartime mission with the burden of NEO?
3:02 am on December 23rd, 2009 23
Ah.. but I'm OK and feel secure with my 2cm poke stick. If 300 ibs white guy hippo can lose weight, I haven't seen it yet. They get bigger and bigger side ways every year.
American teens bulge side ways while shrinking in height every year. Not much dicipline there.
3:46 am on December 23rd, 2009 24
Don't look now, but Korean kids are headed down the same road as American kids – and are getting fatter by the year. All they want to do is eat junk food and play video games – just like the American kids.
4:20 am on December 23rd, 2009 25
Wow, excellent questions!
4:34 am on December 23rd, 2009 26
No
None
No
9:43 am on December 23rd, 2009 27
I doubt you use that 2cm poke stick very much. You are a loser in any language Tom, must feel bad to know girls will always be telling themselves they can do much better than to be with you.
11:32 am on December 23rd, 2009 28
Well depends on the contract we're discussion. Service related jobs and low key stuff sure no problem with hiring spouses. But for anything high end or high demand / visible they actually prefer not to hire military spouses because they don't know how long they will be around. And that is assuming you can even find a spouse who qualifies for those positions. I'm talking positions requiring a US Secret clearance at a minimum (some require a TS SCI) plus several years experience with various DoD systems.
I guess I really hate the term "slots" because it makes people use the military system of thinking where you assign manpower to a "slot" based on MOS or other generic requirements. Slots also represent a hard number / cap for manpower, when in reality that number can change at the stroke of a PM's hand. It takes about two weeks to get authorization from HR to create a new position to hire for, it takes even less to create a temp position. And if they don't need the manpower because the current employees are handling the load fine then they won't hire anyone into that position because it saves the company money. This is why the emphasis on employees with multiple skill sets.
As for the whole customer – client relationship, the customer requests work to be done but can not tell us who we can use to do it. The is actually a federal law somewhere (I wish I could remember it) that states the government can not direct the private contracting entity on hiring practices. All they can do is make requests and state requirements (clearance, SOFA status, ect..).
Hell technically if a company wants they can hire someone without SOFA status, provided that person can obtain a visa on their own. That person would still get a 700-19 with a base pass / ID card but wouldn't be entitled to any logistic support (commissary / PX / medical / dental / ect..). Also that person wouldn't get any of the diplomatic exemptions granted with an A series visa. The company would have to support them 100% on their own, which is often more headache then its worth.