U.S., S. Korea sign pact to reduce bases; troop levels not affected
By Franklin Fisher, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, March 31, 2002
| Installations affected Following is a list of U.S. military installations affected by the Land Partnership Plan. Closings The following major installations will close during the 10-year life of the Land Partnership Plan (followed by year each will close): - Camp Page, 2011
- Camp Howze, 2006
- Camp Garry Owen, 2008
- Camp Kyle, 2007
- Camp Long, 2011
- Camp Eagle, 2011
- Camp Giant, 2011
- Camp Hialeah, 2011
- Camp Greaves, 2011
- Camp Nimble, 2011
- Camp Edwards, 2007
- Camp LaGuardia, 2006
- Camp Essayons, 2010
- Camp Market, 2008
- Camp Colbern, 2008
- Camp Sears, 2011
- Camp Mobile (H-220), 2008
- Camp Stanton, 2007
- CNFK Det-Pohang, 2011
Partial closings (Listed with year of completion): - H-805 (Walker Army Heliport, Camp Walker, Taegu), 2007
- Beta Site South at Osan Air Base, October 2002
- Alpha Site, an ammunition storage area at Osan Air Base, 2008
New installations - New Camp Hialeah, at Noksan, west of Pusan
- Camp Mu Juk, to undergo major upgrade and new construction. CNFK Det-Pohang will move to Mu Juk
- New Camp Page, on R-510, a South Korean Army airfield near Ichon, east of Seoul
New land grants (Site, estimated acres, required date): - Ichon (R-510), 160, 2007
- Camp Stanley (prison rice paddies), 120, March 2003
- Camp Stanley (remaining prison land), 125, 2009
- CNFK DET Pohang, 0.6, 2002
- Camp Mu Juk, 85, 2003
- Incheon Mail Facility, 1.7, June 2003
- DRMO Camp Carroll, 25, 2003
- Camp Humphreys, 200, June 2005
- Noksan, 140, 2008
- Osan Air Base (Mustang Valley Village Plus), 8.8, Oct 2002
- Osan Air Base (Delta Plus), 275, 2005
- Osan Air Base (Northern Land), 128, 2011
Returned training areas, ranges (Site, location): - Rodriquez LTA #3, Sachong-Ri, Yopyong
- Rodriquez LTA #2, Yong-buk, Yonpyong
- Rodriquez LTA #4, Taehoesan-ri, Yong-pyong
- Dagmar and S, Squads, Palmers, and Oklahoma, Paju-gun
- River Crossing, Pap-yong myon
- Kansas Range, Chang-dan Gun
- Oklahoma Range, Chang-dan Gun
- N. Carolina, Air Mobile — Edwards LTA, TA-504/520, Kyonggi-do
- Camp Page LTA, Sachon-ri, Tongduchon
- Tango, Chi-haeng-ri, Tongduchon
- KCT-43, Yankee, Whiskey N., Hochon-myon, Tongduchon
- Stanton LTA, Tuman-ri, Paju-si
Partial returns - Texas LTA & Range, Chang-dan-Gun
- Mike, Tongduchon-si
- Romeo, Kwangam-Dong
| The United States on Friday signed a landmark accord with South Korea that will close nearly half its installations, hand back thousands of acres and invest in better living and working conditions for its troops. The Land Partnership Plan (LPP) entails no cuts in the 37,000 U.S. troops stationed here. The Korean National Assembly still must ratify the accord. Of its 41 major installations, the United States will shut down 19, close parts of another four sites, create three new installations and expand some existing installations. The United States has 95 military sites in South Korea. The commander in chief for U.S. Forces Korea, Army Gen. Thomas Schwartz, and South Korean Defense Minister Kim Dong-shin were among the LPP’s signers during ceremonies Friday afternoon in Seoul. "We’ve been working hard for the last two years on all the details," Schwartz said, "and we came up with a plan with which we both are satisfied … it takes the U.S. footprint and reduces it about 59 percent." "With the Republic of Korea growing like it is, it’s important for us to recognize that growth, and to make a plan that will reduce that footprint," Schwartz said. "So we take 41 major installations and we take it down to 23." Under the LPP, the United States will return about 32,000 acres through 2011. The United States expects to invest $1.1 billion over the next 10 years to provide quality living and working conditions on its remaining installations. "It is estimated that we could have cost savings or cost avoidance in the neighborhood of $70 [million] to $120 million a year based on the consolidation," said Army Col. Robert E. Durbin, the chief U.S. negotiator for LPP. South Korea will give the U.S. military about 1,270 acres to provide room for the troops and equipment that would move. Major installations to be closed over the next 10 years are: Camps Page, Howze, Garry Owen, Kyle, Long, Eagle, Giant, Hialeah, Greaves, Nimble, Edwards, LaGuardia, Essayons, Market, Colbern, Sears, Stanton, Mobile (H-220), and the CNFK Detachment — Pohang. The Army will continue to operate Camps Hovey, Castle and Casey but will reclassify them administratively as a single installation. "With the urbanization and urban sprawl over the years, we find those camps or stations either almost in the center, or within the city," Durbin said. That "creates a problem for force protection, a standoff," Durbin said. "And it provides a problem for access routes" for tanks and other military vehicles, Durbin said. The Marines at Camp Mu Juk near Pohang will get a full-scale makeover with new barracks and unaccompanied officers’ quarters, new administrative buildings and a motor pool. The Commander, Naval Forces Korea Detachment — Pohang will move to Mu Juk. "So what LPP is going to let us do immediately is fix the most troublesome conditions, fixing the water and sewage and providing them a new barracks, so the Marines and sailors down there have a decent place to live," said LPP negotiator Army Col. Daniel Wilson. Camp Hialeah in Pusan will be moved to a site at Noksan, west of Pusan. Several installations are set for "partial" closing, including Walker Army Heliport (H-805) in Taegu. The Army will shut down its heliport operation at Walker, leaving only a small helicopter landing area on the existing site. The helicopters and crews there will shift to the Army’s Camp Carroll in Waegwan. Hangar and other flight operations facilities will be built at Carroll, Wilson said. Osan Air Base will return Beta Site South, a long-standing point of contention between the U.S. military and the city of Pyongtaek, and Alpha Site, an ammunition storage point several miles from the base. The LPP grants Osan 411 new acres.One parcel, called Mustang Valley Village Plus, will be the site of new Air Force family housing. Camp Humphreys will gain 200 acres. That’ll make room for units from several camps marked for closure — Market, Colbern, Eagle and Long. And a large land grant — 125 acres in two parcels — is in the works for Camp Stanley. A South Korean civil prison adjacent to Stanley will relocate to Camp Howze, and the land it now sits on will become part of Stanley. One provision of LPP aims at more efficient mail delivery. With a grant of 1.7 acres at Incheon International Airport, the United States will close the Kimpo Mail Facility at domestic Kimpo Airport. No U.S. site will be closed or land returned until new land and facilities are ready. Only then will the United States relinquish land and facilities. The 2nd Infantry Division will cut 19 major installations to four. The LPP permits the United States to jointly use 36 South Korean military ranges, many of which it already uses. It also allows the military to set up safety zones — to be enforced by South Korean authorities — around parts of installations where explosives or other military activities might pose a hazard. Reaction was mixed among some South Korean civic leaders. Lee Jae-young, director of Taegu’s Nam-gu ward, said he favored the LPP. "We welcome it, but it should have been done earlier," Lee said. However, one Taegu civic leader was more critical. "We basically welcome today’s agreement," said Kim Dong-ok, chief secretary of the Taegu Civic Group for the Retaking of U.S. Base. The group has pressed the U.S. Army to relinquish H-805, seen by its critics as a bar to municipal development and a source of noise pollution. He said questions remain as to how much South Korea’s share of the LPP’s financial cost will be, how much land it ultimately will end up having to grant the United States, and whether the plan will be carried out quickly enough. Kim said his organization will monitor the LPP’s progress. In Chunchon, news of the signing drew only cautious support from one civic leader. "We are happy … but we think there are many other issues left," said Yu Jong-bae, of the Chunchon Civic Union for Participation in Self-Government. "We agree with the LPP in part," Yu said. But he questioned whether financial costs would be handled fairly, and whether possible ailments from aircraft noise and other environmental problems would be pursued properly. "We will confer with the government and offer some solutions," Yu said. |
