USFK Court-Martial Results for November 2008

At a special court-martial on 5 November 2008, Specialist Charles A. Rivera, Echo Company, 1-2 Aviation Regiment, 2d Combat Aviation Brigade, Second Infantry Division, was convicted of four specifications of assault consummated by battery, being drunk and disorderly, and failing to obey a lawful general order.  He was sentenced to reduction to Private First Class (E-3) and forfeiture of $843.00 for two months.

At a special court-martial on 13 November 2008, Private Shavonte Hampton, C Company, 302d Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, Second Infantry Division, was convicted of making a false official statement and failing to go to her appointed place of duty.  She was sentenced to confinement for six (6) months, and forfeiture of $898.00 pay per month for six (6) months.

Results of ROK Criminal Prosecutions for November 2008

In Uijeongbu District Court on 1 November 2008, SPC Toby J. Selig, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1/15th Field Artillery, 2d Infantry Division, was convicted of traffic law violations.  His adjudged sentence was a 300,000 Won fine.

In Uijeongbu District Court on 5 November 2008, PFC James W. Heflin, 4th Chemical Company, 2d Infantry Division, was convicted of destruction of private property.  His adjudged sentence was a 300,000 Won fine.

In Seoul Central District Court on 12 November 2008, CPT Derrick L. Williams, Combat Support Coordination Team #3, Eighth US Army, was convicted of DUI.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,500,000 Won fine.

In Seoul Central District Court on 17 November 2008, PFC Michael A. Lindsay, Charlie Company, 1/72d Armor, 2d Infantry Division, was convicted of inflicting bodily injury.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,500,000 Won fine.

In Seoul Central District Court on 20 November 2008, SPC Gregory S. Scully, Charlie Company, 1/72d Armor, 2d Infantry Division, was convicted of inflicting bodily injury.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,000,000 Won fine.

In Incheon District Court on 21 November 2008, SSG Victor C. Aruwah, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 35th Air Defense Artillery, Eighth US Army, was convicted of a violation of the Act on the Control of Narcotics, etc. (Hemp) and of obstruction of performance of official duties.  His adjudged sentence was imprisonment for 5 years, not suspended.

In Uijeongbu District Court on 24 November 2008, SPC Samuel D. Johnson, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1/15th Field Artillery, 2d Infantry Division, was convicted of inflicting bodily injury.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,500,000 Won fine.

South Korean groups sent propaganda leaflets critical of North Korea over the strictly controlled Demilitarized Zone on Tuesday as they scuffled with liberal activists who desperately tried to stop the launch.

The groups sent off a large balloon carrying 10,000 leaflets at a spot near the west coast, a day after North Korea tightened border traffic with South Korea in an initial retaliatory step against Seoul’s hardline policy toward Pyongyang.

The groups had prepared ten balloons to carry 100,000 leaflets but managed to send just one after clashing with dozens of liberal activists looking to prevent further damage to inter-Korean relations. The opposing members stole the remaining leaflets from a truck parked nearby.

One activist was hospitalized and another was taken into police custody, according to police officials.

Rarely seen since the Cold War, leaflets have recently emerged as a divisive issue between the two Koreas. Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have worsened since the launch of conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in February. (…)

North Korea has repeatedly threatened to cut all ties with Seoul if it fails to stop the conservative activists from sending the leaflets. Seoul also asked them to stop in order not to further enrage the North.

Pyongyang has mobilized soldiers en mass in a campaign to collect leaflets that have fallen on western coastal towns near the border, Washington-based Radio Free Asia reported earlier in the day, citing Chinese sources well-informed on North Korea.

Experts say the leaflets have struck a nerve because they often contain information on the 66-year-old Kim’s reported health problems, of which most North Koreans are likely unaware. (…)

Many of the leaflets have repeatedly criticized Kim for enjoying a lavish life while his people suffering from chronic food shortages, and urge North Koreans to rise up against the “killer whose death is approaching.”

The leaflets sometimes are mixed with U.S. dollar bills or Chinese yuan notes to entice North Koreans to pick them up. In the impoverished nation, one can live a month on one dollar, according to Park Sang-hak, a North Korea defector whose group has been sending the leaflets for about four years. [Yonhap]

It is interesting that soldiers are having to scour the countryside to look for balloons because it means the regime does not trust the population to turn in the leaflets in fear they may actually read them.

There is a great article in the Washington Post that tells more about one of the leaders sending out these propaganda leaflets. Park Sang-hak is a North Korean defector that actually worked in a propaganda department for North Korea before defecting. His hatred of Kim Jong-il is motivated by the fact his two uncles were killed and his fiance’ sexually abused because of his defection. Here is what Park had to say about the leftist groups that assaulted him:

It took more than an hour of pushing and shoving, and the help of a phalanx of South Korean policemen, before Park and others could launch a single balloon.

After it had soared into a cloudless sky and was carried north by the breeze, Park taunted his adversaries.

“You are the running dogs of Kim Jong Il!” he shouted. “You are trash!”

“You are afraid of unification!” they shouted back.

Park replied, “I am going to launch balloons every day, if the weather permits.”

Ironically if anyone is anti-unification it is the leftist groups that demand the South Korean government continue to subsidize Kim Jong-il’s lifestyle. I think Park would do well to contact some of the veteran organizations that protected the MacArthur Statue in Incheon when these leftists groups tried to tear it down a few years back. I’m sure there is nothing more satisfying for some of these retired ROK Marine Corps types then getting the chance to bash some of these leftist groups heads in.

Once again great job by everyone involved with saving this girl’s life at Kunsan.

What I find interesting is that this soldier who created a YouTube video of his experiences in Korea is able to get more YouTube viewership then a video professionally created by USFK to promote the USFK transformation plan. That should tell you something about how well USFK markets themselves.

Incheon International Airport has been named ‘Best Airport in the World’ by respected business magazine Global Traveler for three years in a row.

In a survey conducted on airport service among some 31,000 readers, Incheon International Airport scored the highest, followed by Schiphol Airport in Holland, with Singapore’s Changi Airport and Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok taking third and fourth places, respectively.

The magazine, which has a circulation of approximately 100,000 copies worldwide, conducts an annual survey and awards the best airport, airline, hotel, and travel destination. The prize-giving ceremony will be held in Los Angeles on Jan. 15.  [Chosun Ilbo]

I have been through Chek Lap Kok, Changi, and Kuala Lumpur before and I find all those airports quite good and comparable to Incheon.  However, what I like about Incheon now is the train service that can take you right into town rather quickly.

November 2008 ROK Drop Statistics (Note: Stats from Bluehost Awstats)

ROK Drop Averages Per Day:

• Uniques - 1372
• Page Views -2344

Top Five Countries Visiting ROK Drop

1. United States
2. South Korea
3. Australia
4. Canada
5. Netherlands
6. Japan
7. Great Britain
8. Germany
9. Switzerland
10. India

Top Referrers

1. Marmot’s Hole
2. Roboseyo
3. Mongdori
4. Sailor Bob
5. Japan Probe
6. DPRK Studies
7. Dave’s ESL Cafe
8. Zen Kimchi
9. One Free Korea
10. Brian in Jeollanam-do

Top Ten Posts

1. The Real Moral Bankruptcy of the Comfort Women Issue
2. New Lee Pani Pictures Released
3. Former Seoul American Students Implicated in Bizarre Murder for Breast Implants Plot
4. Comparing Red Light Districts in Korea
5. Bob on the FOB’s Creature Gallery
6. Lee Pani to Star in Playboy World Cup Photo Shoot
7. Election Night Open Thread
8. 1st Presidential Debate & North Korea Policy
9. The Taft-Katsura Agreement, An American Sellout of Korea?
10. A Profile of USFK Camps in Dongducheon

Note: You can see the top overall posts on my sidebar.

Dongducheon city officials are close to getting their own police department, a move that could bolster the local force by more than 200 officers and strengthen its authority when investigating crimes, according to a city official.

The $15 million proposal currently before the National Assembly comes as subway and apartment expansions in recent years have brought more people to this small city north of Seoul, according to Ko Tae-seok, the director of the city’s general affairs department.

But alleged crimes by U.S. servicemembers — such as a rape accusation this summer involving a 2nd Infantry Division soldier — also fuel the need, Ko said.

“Security, public peace and order are in high demand in this neighborhood, especially due to the stationing of U.S. troops,” Ko said through a translator during a telephone interview Monday. “With poor security, people have reported many, many, many complaints.”

Dongducheon is home to about 7,500 to 8,000 soldiers in the U.S. Army’s 2nd Infantry Division at camps Casey and Hovey. The military bases occupy about 40 percent of the land in the city, according to Ko.

Currently, Dongducheon police work out of a precinct, or “box,” a substation that reports to higher-level police in the nearby city of Yangju, Ko said. All interviews and investigations for serious crimes are handled by Yangju police, who work about 30 minutes away by car.

A Dongducheon police station — built near or on a former U.S. military base called Camp Nimble — would provide more timely response, Ko said.

It also would allay the concerns of many of the city’s 90,000 residents. Earlier this year, more than 52,000 signed a petition asking for the expanded police presence, Ko said. City officials forwarded the petition to the assembly, the Korean National Police Agency and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Ko said.

The request now is before the assembly, which is expected to vote on the issue before the end of the year. If passed, construction on the station would begin in 2010 or 2011, Ko said.  [Stars & Stripes]

When asked about crime statistics involving USFK troops in Dongducheon Ko said the city does not keep crime stats of USFK soldiers.  This sounds like utter BS to me.  The Korean National Police Agency on thier website provides statistics of crimes committed by foreigners.  If the police in Dongducheon are not recording these statistics then they are not doing their jobs.  Could it be this city official doesn’t want to mention what the crime rate of the GI’s is because it may be lower then the average Korean crime rate?

I think the city is trying to play up the GI crime angle in order to secure the extra funding and jobs from the National Assembly even though the statistics don’t support their out of control GI crime claims.