By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The U.S. Department of Defense approved a new USFK policy in December that allows about half of its 28,000 troops stationed in South Korea to have their families live with them.
The move reflects a major shift in the American perception toward South Korea, which was once considered too dangerous for families in the face of North Korea's military threats.
The extended tour length will contribute to further solidifying the Korea-U.S. alliance by forging lifelong friendships at the family level, USFK officials said. It will also help improve training for servicemembers and reduce stress on troops who had to leave their families behind, they said.
``Tour normalization signals a strong and visible commitment by the United States to the Republic of Korea, reaffirming our intent to remain here for the long-term,'' USFK Commander Gen. Walter Sharp said in an interview.
``I will say that tour normalization will help establish a strong alliance relationship,'' he continued. ``The principle institutions of the alliance today, the armistice, short tours, and the contingency nature of the Combined Forces Command all have crisis connotations.''
The planned transition of operational control of Korean troops during wartime from the United States to South Korea in 2012 and the tour normalization initiative will move U.S. troops beyond this ``crisis mentality,'' said the commander.
Under the new policy, troops serving in accompanied billets, including Seoul, Osan, Pyeongtaek, Daegu and Jinhae, will stay for three years, while those serving just south of the heavily fortified border, designated Area I, such as Uijeongbu and Dongducheon, will stay for two years.
Unaccompanied tours for most troops will remain at one year, but some ``key personnel'' will serve two years of unaccompanied tours.
Previously, the USFK maintained one-year, unaccompanied tours for its troops here. Soldiers serving north of Seoul, designated Area I, were not permitted to bring their family members to the area.
Sharp, in the meantime, acknowledged that longer tours have downsides, including the need for more housing, schools, clinics and other facilities to accommodate the families.
He said, ``Tour normalization requires the support of both the U.S. and Republic of Korea to be successful. While we are already starting to implement the initiative, reaching the end state we desire will require significant additional housing, schools and other services construction.''
The commander said earlier that the ultimate goal for increasing the number of command-sponsored accompanied tours to 14,000 would depend on how quickly construction of needed-facilities at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek is completed.
In the interview, Sharp indicated South Korea's financial support would be needed to move forward on these initiatives, referring to the recently agreed Special Measures Agreement (SMA), a joint defense cost-sharing pact between Washington and Seoul.
``The finalization of the SMA is a necessary step toward the achievement of shared ROK and U.S. goals for the defense of the peninsula and will help us move forward on some of the construction requirements needed to reach our tour normalization goals,'' he said.
Earlier this year, the two governments concluded a deal on how to share the cost for maintaining U.S. forces here for the next five years.
Under the deal sealed late last year, South Korea is to provide about 760 billion won ($503 million) to the USFK this year. Seoul will increase its share each year in line with the consumer price index, but annual hikes will be capped at 4 percent.
The agreement also allows the USFK to use part of the host-nation funds to relocate its infantry units stationed north of Seoul to south of the Han River.
Under the deal, South Korea will help construct U.S. military facilities instead of providing cash under the deal in a bid to help ensure transparency in the U.S. use of South Korean taxpayers' money. Seoul will construct 30 percent of U.S. facilities this year and the ratio will increase to 60 percent in 2010 and 100 percent in 2011.
The host-nation funds cover USFK's non-personnel stationing costs, which include the salaries of Korean employees on bases, logistics procurement and maintenance and military construction.