Military needs to engage NGOs

By Choi Yearn-hong

WASHINGTON ― The Korean government has confronted Jeju people’s resistance and leftist political interest groups in the last 10 years or so. Unlike Korean relations, the U.S. relations between civil and military societies have been close.

Hawaiians accepted the Pearl Harbor’s Pacific Fleet Command. North Virginians reluctantly accepted the expansion of Fort Belvoir. Many local and state governments were discontent to lose military bases in their jurisdictions. This is just the opposite of the Jeju naval base case. Northern Virginians are not happy to accept the expansion of the Fort Belvoir because of traffic jams during rush hours.

I believe the Korean government or Korean Navy failed to explain the necessity to build the naval base on Jeju to the residents.

The distance between the civil and military societies in Korea is great. The Korean military organizations have not incorporated well into civil society: they have been separate from the rest of the society due to their uniforms and rank-oriented society. Defense ministers have always been the retired generals or admirals. The civil society has not been friendly to military organizations and vice versa.

The Pacific Fleet Command has presented a clear mission statement, vision and guiding principles to Hawaiian people, Americans and the world. It is protecting the United States and the free world and maintains peace in the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean for free navigation and free trade. Hawaii is inseparable from the Navy families of three generations or more. A great majority of 1 million Hawaiians are descendants of admirals, officers and sailors.

They are proud of their identity as a Navy family. The Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce is playing a pivotal role to bring Hawaii to the U.S. Navy. Businessmen and women are closely working with the Pacific Fleet Command. Hawaii’s state and local governments are distant second and third parties to the Chamber of Commerce. In one word, partnership between the U.S. Navy and Hawaii is sound for the oneness of Hawaii.

The Pacific Fleet Command was established in Pearl Harbor long before Hawaii became a state of the United States. So its operation may not be relevant to the Jeju naval base. So I picked the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) as the most current Department of Defense reorganization plan. Many local governments complained of the loss of defense installations in their boundaries. This is the opposite to the Jeju people’s complaint of future construction of the Korean naval base.

Expansion of Fort Belvoir as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 2005 has been a source of discontent for Northern Virginia people. Commuters registered their complaints to BRAC and the expansion of Fort Belvoir. However, pro-Defense Republican President George W. Bush and the Congress passed BRAC in order to accommodate the cutback management of defense from the shrinking U.S. economy.

The nation understood the necessity of base realignment and closure. Highway congestion was the controversial issue in the end. Virginia state and local governments have orchestrated their efforts to reduce the traffic congestion. The public can challenge BRAC on the ground of its environmental impact statement.

The American public or interest groups are resorting to a court battle against the Department of Defense or Congressional act. No suit has been filed in court.

The BRAC Commission conducted public hearings and accommodated the complaints filed from individual citizens and interest groups in a one-year span. The commission’s recommendation to the President and to Congress was final. Congress quickly endorsed the plan. The BRAC Board of Advisors representing the Department of Defense and state and local governments at the grass-root level did perform its job well.

The U.S. experiences from Hawaii and Northern Virginia may offer guiding light to Jeju people and the Korean government.

First of all, the Korean people must see the common enemy; the North Korean military. A nighttime torpedo attack on the South Korean navy ship, Cheonan, and the daylight bombing of Yeonpyeong Island should not be forgotten by the Korean people.

Military leaders failed to educate or enlighten South Koreans to be aware of the possible local and all frontal wars between the two Koreas. National security is not just the presidential mission or the educators’ mission. Military leaders should be active in propagating the danger of South Korea under potential North Korean attacks.

Not all Korean people are seeing their dangerous enemy in the short distance to the North. Civil-military societies should be closer in defending the nation from the enemy. United, they survive and prosper. If not, the nation itself is very dangerous.

Dr. Choi is a political scientist educated at Yonsei University and Indiana University. He can be reached at yearnhchoi@gmail.com.