Disqus - Latest Comments for GI_Korea

Re: Jill Kelley Serving As Honorary South Korean Consol

GI Korea — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 20:29:48 -0000

@1 - Are you still having any issues seeing the comments?

Re: Jill Kelley Serving As Honorary South Korean Consol

GI Korea — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 20:28:53 -0000

@7 - It does seem like she was in a good position to collect for the Koreans. I wonder if all the brass she was hanging out with knew about her connection with the Koreans?

Re: Theme Update In Progress

GI Korea — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 08:14:09 -0000

@11 - Robert thanks, I know how you had some difficulties with Disqus but so far it appears the only issue I have remaining to work out is getting all the old comments to upload. For some reason Disqus keeps timing out and not uploading all my comments.

Re: ISAF Commander General John Allen Being Investigated for Inappropriate Relationship as Part of Petraeus Scandal

GI Korea — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 22:51:31 -0000

Liz, we have not heard from Tom in a while maybe he got picked up by the FBI in connection with this scandal? 😉

Re: ISAF Commander General John Allen Being Investigated for Inappropriate Relationship as Part of Petraeus Scandal

GI Korea — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 22:43:57 -0000

Oakseed I saw the double comment you left. I am not sure why that would happen? Also did you mean to comment on that thread? By the way interesting link you left about Jill Kelley, she seems like a shady character to have as a social ambassador which is a position I have never heard of before.

Re: ROK Drop Open Thread – November 11, 2012

GI Korea — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:26:47 -0000

@1 - I appreciate the kind words and I likewise enjoy hearing from old Korea hands like yourself providing historical perspective about what serving in Korea was like many years ago. Once again thanks for reading the site.

Re: ISAF Commander General John Allen Being Investigated for Inappropriate Relationship as Part of Petraeus Scandal

GI Korea — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:24:40 -0000

Just when you thought it couldn't get any weirder now Jill Kelley's twin sister got Petraeus and General Allen involved in a court children custody dispute. Even John Kerry's name has now become part of this scandal:

http://www.nypost.com/p/new...

Re: ISAF Commander General John Allen Being Investigated for Inappropriate Relationship as Part of Petraeus Scandal

GI Korea — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:54:20 -0000

@9 - You are absolutely right. #6's link about General Ward is another example of the double standard that exists with senior officers and lower enlisted. If a lower enlisted stole that amount of money they would likely be facing jail time and a discharge.

Re: Theme Update In Progress

GI Korea — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:50:45 -0000

@7 - Could you explain how Disqus is spyware? You do not have to register with Disqus in order to leave a comment. You can post as a guest if you want if you are concerned about your privacy. I do not see how Disqus will discourage anonymous commenting.

As far as doing the theme upgrade during the Petraeus controversy, this was just bad luck. I figured Veterans Day weekend would be a slow news weekend to work on the site. Playing around with themes and especially Disqus takes time and troubleshooting and unfortunately it happened when I decided to have the theme updated.

Also I have the comments now formatted to look exactly like the old commenting system with numbers for each comment to respond to as well as having the oldest comments at the top and the newer ones at the bottom. I also have the comment box at the end of the comments just like with the old comment system. So everything is the same as before, but with added Disqus features.

Is anyone having any problems currently with the commenting system?

Re: Theme Update In Progress

GI Korea — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:27:17 -0000

Guitard, I plan on having a 5 minute time limit to edit comments, but I am still trying to figure out how to do it right now. Disqus is not exactly the easiest commenting system to setup.

Re: Theme Update In Progress

GI Korea — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 08:20:48 -0000

I am still trying to get Disqus formatted properly on the site and all the old comments uploaded. If I cannot get it formatted properly for the site I will just turn it off and go back to the old comment system.

Re: Sorry about handcuffing Korean nationals and trying to drag them back to base: USFK

GI Korea — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 15:27:09 -0000

If the KT article is accurate the security forces personnel should have just stepped away from the situation and let the Korean police handle it. I once had to go to the front gate of a camp to deal with a taxi driver that said a soldier stiffed him. I checked the meter and he did not run it. The soldier told me that halfway through what should have been a 3500 won ride he demanded $20 for the ride or the soldiers would have to get out and miss curfew.

So when they got to the camp they refused to pay $20. I told the guy it was his fault for not running the meter and to move his cab. The cab driver got confrontational and even started trying to do the ajushi push to provoke me. I did not push back or try to restrain the guy, I simply walked to the guard shack and told the Young Korean police draftees to call their supervisor to handle the situation. Their supervisor arrived and listened to what happened and told the cab driver he should of run the meter and that if he did not move the cab he would be arrested. The cab driver was pissed but he moved the cab and there was no international incident.

I can easily imagine this guy in Osan getting confrontational and pushing the security forces personnel. However unless these guys were assaulting them with a weapon like a baseball bat I see no reason to handcuff and detain these people. Based on the information available it seems to me they should have just stepped back from the situation and let the police handle it.

The Korean police get criticized quite a bit but every time I have had to deal with them I have had no issues and they do a good job of diffusing situations like this.

Re: No outrage after sentence suspended for GI rapist?

GI Korea — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 13:13:18 -0000

I just did a posting on this story but I found nothing unusual about the reduction of this soldier's sentence when taken into context of prior ROK sentencing for sexual assaults. For example has anyone ever heard of the rape of a US soldier by an Incheon Airport taxi driver that received no jail time? The taxi cab driver received no jail time for the rape because the victim didn’t resist enough.

At least in the case of the US soldier he showed remorse, paid compensation, and the victim did not want him punished any further. This is all pretty standard in regards to Korean sentencing. I see no reason for outrage in regards to this case. If people want to be outraged they should then show outrage to ROK sentencing for sexual assaults overall and not just this one particular case.

Re: Nobody stepped forward to help: Former US Ambassador Hubbard

GI Korea — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 00:23:33 -0000

As far as KATUSA's most of them that I interacted with did a very good job and were definitely a force multiplier for our unit. However, there was definitely some that were quite bitter about having to do their mandatory service. Some of these bitter KATUSA would then make little effort to adapt to the American Army. Often times the KATUSA's were older and had better academic credentials then the NCO's and even sometimes the officers they found themselves subordinate to. Then you throw in the race and female factor that some KATUSA had an issue with and occasionally you have problems.

I once had a KATUSA that would blow off what a black, female E-5 he worked under told him to do. Our senior KATUSA tried to counsel him but he continued to have a bad attitude about working underneath the NCO. Our senior KATUSA believed it may be a race thing or that the guy was just lazy. So I spoke with the ROK Army Sergeant Major assigned to our battalion and after being threatened to be sent to the regular ROK Army his performance improved significantly.

Like I said before it is a minority that had bad attitudes and most KATUSA soldiers were a valuable member of the unit.

Re: Nobody stepped forward to help: Former US Ambassador Hubbard

GI Korea — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 00:04:37 -0000

Just to add to what Brendon said in #59, I don't buy TK's story about what the KATUSA told him. It sounds like the KATUSA exaggerated the situation to him. At least in the years I have served in 2ID, maneuver damage was taken very seriously. Each unit has a maneuver damage officer trained to respond to claims. Most Koreans living near military maneuver areas know how to file claims for compensation. After major exercises the maneuver damage officers are usually very busy investigating and closing out claims.

I remember when I was in my Bradley during an exercise and had to pull off the road into the parking lot of a small restaurant off of Highway 37 near the Imjim River due to a maintenance issue. The tracks from my Bradley damaged the parking lot's pavement. A nice old lady from the restaurant came out and brought out all us ice cream bars and then proceeded to collect names and unit information for her maneuver damage claim.

Re: GI gets six years in Mapo ‘rape’ case

GI Korea — Thu, 10 May 2012 09:59:10 -0000

I think that if Robinson would have begged forgiveness and paid the compensation payment he would have probably gotten something similar to the Korean rapist though probably still a little more time due to the theft charge. Robinson chose to fight it though which once you are on trial it is a very rare that there is a not guilty verdict.

Even though the evidence in my opinion was pretty weak he still admitted to having oral sex with a drunk teenager which I am not sure in Korean law whether that could be considered rape as well?

Re: North Korean Rocket Launch Open Thread

GI Korea — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 01:37:40 -0000

This is a huge embarrassment for the Kim regime. It will be interesting to see what they do next to save face after this failure? The most likely course of action for them would be to try a third nuclear test.

Re: ‘Human bombs’ in Dongducheon?

GI Korea — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 22:50:27 -0000

Let me add to what Hwarang has already stated that from everything I have read Bales spent his entire career at Ft. Lewis and was desperately trying to PCS from the post and this was one of the many compounding stresses he had in his life at the time of the shooting. SisaIN likely just saw he served in 2ID and did not realize that 2ID is split between Korea and Ft. Lewis.

As far as the rape crime in 2007 SisaIN is likely referring to the Policewoman Rape Case where 2 GI's were convicted in 2007 for and then later released on appeal. One of the GI's conviction was obviously dubious and was let go while the GI accused of actually conducting the rape was given time served due to being drunk and suffering PTSD at the time of alleged rape attempt. If you read the details of the case it wasn't much of a rape attempt which is also what the appeals court took into consideration.

Re: GIs assault taxi driver(s), cop

GI Korea — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 13:26:44 -0000

As was mentioned earlier in this thread the vast majority of taxi cab drivers in Korea I have had no issues with either. The only places I have had problems with cab drivers are Inchon Airport, the Uijongbu train station, and GI villes. Some of these taxi drivers that work there are sharks looking to screw over GI's. You throw in drunk GI's and differences in languages and that is why many of these altercations happen. With that said some of these incidents are inexcusable and the GI's deserved to be punished. There is not enough information on this case to really make a determination yet.

I have always thought a USFK sponsored late night bus from Itaewon, Stanleyville, and TDC on the weekends to take soldiers back to their respective camps would be a way to get drunk GI's from dealing with cab drivers or using public transportation. There was plenty of times I have had to correct the behavior of drunk GI's on the subway for being loud and cursing.

I think people may say chartering a bus is too expensive but isn't paying legal fees for all these altercations expensive too, not to mention all the bad publicity USFK receives from them?

Re: Good comment related to GI crime debate

GI Korea — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:34:24 -0000

As others on this thread have said, it is best to judge the USFK crime rate by convictions not arrests for the 5 major crimes. Of these crimes assault is the one crime with a steep increase not sex crimes. I think the increase in DUI's is something that USFK should be concerned about as well for reasons stated earlier even though it isn't considered a major crime. What many critics of USFK do is use arrests and minor crimes like parking violations to inflate their statistics.

@66 - Since the KNPA website only has arrests and not convictions I have always made it very clear that the Korean conviction number I am using is based off the reportedly 99% conviction rate in Korean courts of people that are arrested. If you can link to conviction numbers for the 5 major crimes in Korea I will gladly update the statistics.

Re: Good comment related to GI crime debate

GI Korea — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:43:22 -0000

A lot of issues here to address. First of all servicemembers have received briefings and training on Korean culture for years. However, this is something that has to be reinforced over and over again by unit leadership because all that training they receive when they first arrived goes down the memory hole once these guys spend time in the ville and begin to think that their behavior there is acceptable in real Korea.

Also the DUI is nothing new. Back in August for example there was 2 DUI convictions. There has been a steep increase in DUI's ever since the lifting of the USFK driving ban that once prevented most servicemembers from driving. In 2009 there was 19 DUI's and in 2010 there was 28. This is something I have been concerned about because imagine what would happen if one of the drunk drivers runs over some kid?

As far as the stationing of foreign troops in the US, there are foreign soldiers stationed in the US. There are 680 German Air Force personnel stationed at Holloman AFB, NM and well over 2,000 total Germans when you include their families. There are additional German Air Force personnel stationed down at Ft. Bliss, TX as well. There are also 150 Singapore Air Force personnel stationed in Arizona and are a larger number when you include their families. Another nation, Japan regularly rotates troops to the US as well to places like Ft. Bliss and Yakima, WA. Also I haven't been to a military school yet that didn't have a large number of foreign military personnel to include a number of Koreans. There are also many foreign military exchange instructors in the US. So there is plenty of foreign military personnel in the US and I have never heard them causing any problems. However they are not clustered in one tight geographic area like USFK is in Korea and there is no media out to sensationalize every little crime that does happen. In my experience in Korea most Koreans have not seen or interacted with a GI and thus their opinion of them are greatly skewed by the media. That goes for foreigners in general really.

Additionally the foreign military personnel sent to the US are generally some of the best that country has to offer since it is a great career progression for them to be chosen to train or be stationed in the US. USFK on the otherhand has to man a fighting force on the peninsula which is primarily composed of young male enlisted men. I don't care where you go in the world, young males are going to get in trouble. The stats I have compiled shows that there has been an increase in crime in USFK the past few years but most of it has been because of increased driving infractions. There has also been an increase in assault convictions which I think is because of possibly the curfew change because there is more time available to get in trouble and increased willingness of local authorities to prosecute assaults. Overall though the crime rate per capita continues to be lower than the Korean average.

Re: SOFA crimes up; other foreigner-types behaving badly, too

GI Korea — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 03:13:28 -0000

Just letting everyone know that I am compiling the statistics currently for GI crime in 2009. Many of you probably won't be surprised that the sensational headlines of a GI crime wave doesn't match the actual reality of what is going on. I should have the statistics compiled and a posting up in a couple of days.

Re: Gee, And You Thought Expats Felt Entitled…

GI Korea — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 08:35:38 -0000

In response to TK, I think the illegal Koreans should not only be fined but they should also be told you cannot receive any immigration paperwork until they file at the US Embassy in Korea. They should wait two hours in the line that wraps around the entire building surrounded by riot police just like every other Korean immigrant.

Plus they will not be eligible to receive a proper visa until they pay the fine and if they remain in the US and continue to violate immigration laws than the fine should increase. There would be no need for deportations because illegals would voluntarily go back to their home countries to get their visa status in the proper manner.

However, this all should be incorporated with improvements in the BCIS in regards to the paperwork process and the horrid customer service which makes the TSA folks at the airport seem pleasant in comparison.

Re: Gee, And You Thought Expats Felt Entitled…

GI Korea — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:52:30 -0000

As I mentioned in my posting, I don't feel sorry for these Korean illegals at all. My wife filled out all the proper paper to get a visa to come to the US and after we got married in the US she filled out all the proper paperwork to get her permanent residency card. There is a system in place that is frustrating and outdated but it works.

However, people promoting immigration reform don't want to improve the current system to make it less frustrating but instead just want to give amnesty to these people that didn't follow the system to get the proper documents to reside in America. That is a slap in the face of every immigrant that used the system to receive proper residency status.

Re: R.I.P. U.S.O.

GI Korea — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 12:57:39 -0000

I liked the canteen as well and something else about eating there is that occasionally some of the USO entertainers like the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders would sit down and have lunch with you, which is what happened to me one time. :-)