By I have been on training exercises in 2ID that have done the same thing as what is described below:
The outgoing commander of the 2nd Infantry Division hinted Tuesday at just how close the U.S. military came to unleashing its military might against North Korea after 50 South Koreans were killed last year in attacks blamed on the North.
At a change of command ceremony — at which he handed over control of the division to Maj. Gen. Edward Cardon — Maj. Gen. Michael Tucker told those in attendance that the division’s alliance with the South Korean military and readiness to “fight tonight” were “put into real-world practice last year when North Korea provocations reached extremes,” with the sinking of the warship Cheonan and shelling of Yeonpyeong Island.
“The 2nd Infantry Division stood ready alongside our alliance partners and was prepared to ‘fight tonight’ with radars deployed, aviation platforms airborne and launchers at the ready,” he said.
As it turned out, the South Korean military acted alone in responding to the attacks and was roundly criticized in the Korean media for not doing more than firing in the direction of North Korea in the immediate aftermath of the two incidents. [Stars & Stripes]
10:55 pm on September 20th, 2011 1
MG Edward Cardon is an engineer. Here’s hoping he can bring a little common sense, planning and logical thinking to the 2ID. It is in desperate need. I also hope he is bringing his Special General’s Sword of Unholy Power which he might use to slay good idea faeries which are mucking up the entire divisions’ operations and wasting huge amounts of money. Hint: He need not look far.
4:44 am on September 21st, 2011 2
Essayons!
11:55 am on September 21st, 2011 3
GI Korea,
You rock!
I doubt that anyone else noticed the headline change…
…but I think the new one better reflects reality than the old one…
…and is certainly less alarming.
4:34 pm on September 21st, 2011 4
#1 yes kill those feature/idea fairies and lets get back to the basics which a lot of commanders have forgotten.
6:04 am on September 22nd, 2011 5
@3 – It was actually a typo and not intentional.
2:14 pm on September 22nd, 2011 6
He may have said this, but there is no way in hell I would believe the 2ID(-) was about to “launch an attack” against the North.
I guess if I were the Cdr, I would say something like that to make myself look like the “fight’n commander”
5:09 pm on September 22nd, 2011 7
#6
Agree.
5:49 pm on September 22nd, 2011 8
I live here. I noted 2ID’s forward leaning stance. They really confused the norK’s by giving the soldiers another 4,5 day weekend. No one rolled, no alert, no provocative acts, no raised security. Yep. @ID was chomping at the bit to unless their entire miasma of bullshit at the norK’s. It was a scary and tense situation. The soldiers lined up at the subway station, on their way to Itaewan, really threw the norK spies off. BRILLIANT! At least 10% of the division on Casey were ready to unleash hell at any moment.This proves the good general is a legend in his own mind. Hell, he couldn’t even control his assistant division commander who is a wrecking ball with a star.
Never seen anything like it. MAYBE – MG Tucker meant he was ready to attack H221, but not the norK’s. So is he a drama queen? Deluded? Who knows. Perhaps the norK’s had already sapped and inpurified all of his precious bodily fluids. It probably happened at the golf course.
Oh yeah. Advice: Don’t bullshit a bullshitter.
5:51 pm on September 22nd, 2011 9
*dammit UNLEASH not unless….
8:29 pm on September 22nd, 2011 10
Leon,
I didn’t want to say anything lest I be the one with the faulty memory…
…but, as I recall, when the texts, calls, and e-mails from other foreigners in Korea came my way wondering what was going to happen, I turned my all-seeing eye to the military bases and, as I remember, found that it was business as usual.
September 11, 2001 and days before an IG inspection are the only times I have ever seen USFK concerned.
I don’t know about fighting, but “the tip of the veneer” is always ready to “soundbite tonight”.
I just made those up… so credit me if you quote them.
8:39 pm on September 22nd, 2011 11
It’s pretty difficult to “fight tonight” when your only maneuver brigades’ primary mission is NEO. (really)
10:42 pm on September 22nd, 2011 12
i don’t want to get into specifics on an open channel, but there were some things going on you gentlemen may not have seen.
i agree, i don’t feel we were as close to a confrontation as the general may have made it out to be, but i know things weren’t business as usual for my area of operations. but yes, we were well aware that a lot of the division wasn’t sharing the burden.
i guess it was good to rattle a few cages all around though. try to keep people on their toes if things took a turn for the worse.
10:52 pm on September 22nd, 2011 13
12 Agree with you & know what you’re saying, but as said, that affected a very small number at senior levels. There was no general alert for multiple reasons, such as appearing provocative, but I also suspect the biggest reason were the biggest reasons
: The Dependents. Could you imagine the panic & the egg on the faces of USFK leadership (not to mention the damage to the gates 
)if the newly installed Area I dependents got spooked during a good old fashioned 2ID surprise alert/threatcon/roll out? Holy cow patties in the commissary aisles batman!
I don’t think they even have alerts anymore without clearing through the Family Readiness Group.
…and there’s always the need to ensure there are plenty of hay and oats in the stables…
12:46 am on September 23rd, 2011 14
#13
cattle call!
also if it turned out to be a false alarm, and spouses were to return, a lot of them (mine included) would have a bit of trouble with korean immigration and sofa status, IF the koreans wanted to worry about such matters in those times. i would hope they would fix immigration status for all u.s. dependents as gratitude for helping them in a time of crisis. what’s that saying about wishing in one hand and something else? i forget.
1:43 am on September 23rd, 2011 15
More like a Dependapotomus. Depedapotimi?
6:07 am on September 23rd, 2011 16
Q: What is the largest and fiercest man-eater in history?
A: Dependasauras Rex