'저는 그들의 땅을 지키기 위하여 싸웠던 인디안들의 이야기를 기억합니다. 백인들이 그들의 신성한 숲에 도로를 만들기 위하여 나무들을 잘랐습니다. 매일밤 인디안들이 나가서 백인들이 만든 그 길을 해체하면 그 다음 날 백인들이 와서 도로를 다시 짓곤 했습니다. 한동안 그 것이 반복되었습니다. 그러던 어느날, 숲에서 가장 큰 나무가 백인들이 일할 동안 그들 머리 위로 떨어져 말과 마차들을 파괴하고 그들 중 몇몇을 죽였습니다. 그러자 백인들은 떠났고 결코 다시 오지 않았습니다….' (브루스 개그논)





For any updates on the struggle against the Jeju naval base, please go to savejejunow.org and facebook no naval base on Jeju. The facebook provides latest updates.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Text fwd: 3-Star General May Head USFK

Korea Times
3-Star General May Head USFK
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

A three-star general is likely to assume command of the U.S. Force Korea (USFK) after the planned command rearrangements designed to shift the roles of American forces here to naval- and air-centric supporting ones are completed, sources said Monday.

Currently, a four-star Army general is in charge of the 28,500-slot USFK. The USFK commander also serves as chief of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) and the U.N. Command (UNC).

But the four-star general will move to the U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) in Hawaii by 2012 when South Korea takes back wartime operational control (OPCON) of its forces from the USFK, as part of a realignment of U.S. forces in Asia and the Pacific, they said. The general then would likely take charge of all U.S. Army forces in the Asia-Pacific region.

“South Korea wants a four-star general to take command of the USFK even after the OPCON transition in 2012 as it is not only of U.S. strategic importance on the peninsula but also deals with a stronger ROK-U.S. alliance,” an American military source here told The Korea Times.

“The U.S. is positive about it but still is considering various options, including moving the four-star general from Seoul to Honolulu, in consideration of the post OPCON-transition command structure.”

An official for Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the USFK has not given its official position on whether or not a new U.S. military command, or Korea Command (KORCOM), to be established by 2012 will keep a four-star general intact, declining to elaborate.

USFK officials here denied the move.

KORCOM will have a four-star commander even after the 2012 transition,” a USFK official said on condition of anonymity.

He said a recent decision to keep the three-star-level 8th U.S. Army in South Korea also proves the higher USFK commander will retain his four-star position.

The South Korean and U.S. militaries have been on track to make the change from the decades-old U.S.-led combined forces mechanism to a South Korean-led joint command system following a 2007 deal. Under the envisaged system, both sides will launch separate theater commands in 2012 after deactivating the CFC.

South Korean forces will take the lead of key combat missions while the U.S. military will focus on a naval- and air-centric supporting role. Instead, the U.S. forces in Korea will be transformed into rapid deployment troops that can be dispatched to other parts of the world where the U.S. faces hostilities.

Earlier, a Hawaii-based daily newspaper, The Honolulu Advertiser, reported the change in the USFK’s commander status.

“Sometime in 2012, or shortly thereafter, an American sergeant major in Seoul will haul down the flag of the four-star general who commands U.S. forces in South Korea,” the newspaper said Jan. 10.

Shifting a top general from South Korea will be among the final actions in a long, slow decline of the American engagement in Korea, it said, quoting senior U.S. military officers.

The newspaper revealed the USFK troop strength has recently downed to 24,700.

“Senior U.S. officers have told the South Koreans they must be responsible for their own defense against communist North Korea, and the departure of the top U.S. general reflects that,” it said.

The four-star general in charge of the USARPAC will work with the four-star officers commanding Navy and Air Force components of the Pacific Command, the report said.

In addition, Pacific Command will have a top Army officer to deal with other armies in Asia and the Pacific.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr

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