Both nations are facing defense budget challenges. Perhaps it is time to reconsider the funds to be expended for the so-called transformation and in particular the military construction costs and relocation of US forces. Again, one of the courses of action would be to retain the ROK/US Combined Forces Command at Yongsan while at the same time turning over Yongsan garrison to the ROK military keeping CFC as a tenant organization. Furthermore, rather than moving 2d Infantry Division to Camp Humphreys (with no training areas requiring it to transport forces back up to the northern training areas) maintain the camps in the north and if US grind combat forces go to a rotational presence, give them the mission to integrate into the Armistice DMZ patrolling structure.
I know that opponents will argue that there are significant sunk costs with the transformation; however, we should consider a strategic reassessment to determine what is the best way ahead for the ROK/US military forces to best support Alliance strategic objectives and recall that the entire transformation process was initiated due to poor political relations between the ROK and US more than a decade ago and unrealistic desires by a ROK president combined with a Secretary of Defense who viewed US forces in Korea as wasted and was bent on creating a situation where US forces could be withdrawn in total. That did not work but instead we have spent hundreds of millions of ROK and US won and dollars on a transformation plan that is not optimized to support ROK/US security objectives.
V/R
Dave
S. Korea, U.S. struggle to strike deal on USFK cost
2013/09/27 04:19
By Lee Chi-dong
WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States remain apart over how much Seoul will contribute financially to the presence of American troops on the peninsula, South Korea's top negotiator said Thursday.
"There are still big differences in the positions of the two sides," Hwang Joon-kook, special ambassador for the Special Measures Agreement (SMA), told reporters after two-day talks here with his U.S. counterpart, Eric John.
The allies are currently focusing not only on Seoul's appropriate share itself for the stationing of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) but also on ways to improve the overall system for splitting the cost, according to Hwang.
The allies have shared the cost of USFK under the SMA since 1991. The previous agreement, signed in 2009, expires at the end of this year.
Setting the level of South Korea's contributions has always been controversial, especially in the nation.
Hwang said his government agrees to the need for overhauling the way it shares the cost for USFK.
He refused to provide details.
This week's round of negotiations was the fourth of its kind aimed at deciding the amount and method of Seoul's contributions over the coming years.
(Continued at the link below)
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