Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

Gen. Bell Bids Fairwell to Koreans

By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

Forward-deployed U.S. bombers and fighter jets from air bases in Guam, Japan and South Korea are ready to deliver lethal hits to North Korean targets within 24 hours in the case of a conflict, the top U.S. commander here said Friday.

In a press conference in Seoul, outgoing U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) commander General B. B. Bell said squadrons of advanced U.S. jets and bombers, called ``theater security packages (TSPs),'' have been deployed to the Asia-Pacific region on a rotation basis since 2004, particularly during North Korea's military trainings cycles, to deter North Korean aggression.

He referred to the moves, while stressing the importance of the U.S. military's ``strategic flexibility'' scheme under which U.S. forces can be dispatched to other parts of the world where the United States faces conflict, such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bell is to retire early next week, ending his 39-year military career. Gen. Walter Sharp is to replace him. He served in South Korea for 28 months.

Under a 2004 agreement between Seoul and Washington when a combat brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea was deployed to Iraq, the U.S. promised to permanently deploy U.S. bombers to Guam and put them on station there ``loaded with appropriate munitions to be trained and ready to engage North Korean targets within 24 hours,'' said Bell.

``We would deploy these TSPs to either Japan or Okinawa, Guam, or here on the peninsula _ Osan, Kusan, etc _ during the North Korean winter or summer training cycles,'' said Bell, who concurrently serves as chief of the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command and U.N. Command. ``So that when they were at the peaked readiness, we would have additional lethal combat capabilities.''

``In the early stage of any future war here on the Korean Peninsula with the DPRK, it is my assessment that the numbers of American troops here on the ground is much less important than the combat capability we can bring in 24 hours throughout the depth of the North Korean battle space,'' Bell noted.

``Quite frankly right now, I'm very confident and comfortable about the capacity of the U.S. to bring devastating, lethal, precision fire against the full range of North Korean military and other infrastructure targets necessary to stop the fighting quickly on our terms,'' he said.

The planned deployment of F-22 stealth fighters to Guam is also part of the TSP scheme, he said.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Air Force announced the plan to deploy a half dozen or more of its most advanced fighter jet for joint drills with its Pacific allies.

Bell left open the possibility of the pullout of one of the two U.S. Apache helicopter battalions based here for deployment to Afghanistan for an anti-terror mission.

``If any combat capability currently here in Korea is required to support American troops in combat, I'm certain that the United States will compensate the legal requirements laid out by our President, anything to ensure that the our capability either matches or exceeds our current capability,'' he said, adding the Apache issue would be discussed between defense leaders of the two nations down the road.

``I can't speculate right now how this will turn out. I just know that we're involved in two lethal wars and the potential for our future deployment from Korea, as it always has been, is a potential,'' said the four-star general.

In his keynote speech, Bell said, ``We cannot allow one American to die in combat because he or she did not have the right combat equipment or support.''

The USFK now has slots for about 28,500 troops and about 27,000 are stationed here.

Meanwhile, the outgoing commander expressed his discontent over Seoul's current share of financial contribution to maintain American troops in South Korea, calling for a 50-50 level cost sharing. South Korea currently shares some 41 percent of non-personnel stationing costs covering the salaries of Korean employees at U.S. bases, logistics procurements, military construction and others.

``My assessment is that this is a very small price to pay to help the United States meet some of the expenses of stationing forces here,'' he said. ``And remember, every bit of burden sharing money provided by Korea to the United States is spent right here in Korea, and thus poured back into the Korean economy.''

Bell reiterated the need to extend the length of tours by U.S. troops in South Korea to three years, along with their families, which he said will help demonstrate long-term U.S. security commitment on the peninsula.

He expressed hopes that the two Koreas will be reunified soon, and that he and his adopted Korean-American granddaughter, Jin Hui, will walk across the Demilitarized Zone.

``This can happen peacefully, and it can happen during our lifetime,'' he said.

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[wylies99]

We keep them free to complain about us and protest against us.

[madoka]

[wylies99]

And where are the troops from your nation?

[thematrixiam]

[bacasper]

No need to bomb NK.

If the South just stopped helping them, wouldn't they just starve to death?

[Geckoman]

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

Today is Memorial Day, the American holiday to remember those American service men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

To those of us in South Korea today, Memorial Day is a reminder of those Americans who died for South Korea to be free. Had it not been for them, the South Korea that we know today would not even exist and none of us would be here today.

And to this day countless American service men and women continue to put their lives on the line to defend the Republic of Korea from North Korean imperialism, tyranny and nuclear annihilation.

God Bless the USA! Happy Memorial Day!