By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The outgoing commander of the Eighth U.S. Army (EUSA) here was awarded a top South Korean government medal for his contributions to maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula Tuesday, the Ministry of National Defense said.
Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo conferred the Order of National Security Merit Gukseon Medal to Lt. Gen. David P. Valcourt on behalf of South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, a ministry official said.
Valcourt took over as the EUSA commander in April 2006. He will become deputy commanding general and chief of staff for the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, U.S. military officials here said.
Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil, Jr., commander of the Multinational Division Baghadad and 1st Armored Division, will replace Valcourt.
The change-of-command ceremony will take place Thursday at Knight Field in Yongsan Garisson, Seoul. Gen. B. B. Bell, chief of the U.S. Forces Korea, will preside over the ceremony, the officials said. Bell concurrently heads the Combined Forces Command and the United Nations Command (UNC).
Established in 1944 at Memphis, Tennessee, the EUSA became the spearhead for the UNC to halt aggression by North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War and ultimately assumed overall responsibility for conducting ground operations on the Korean Peninsula.
Changes in the roles and missions of the command are under discussion in line with Washington's military transformation plan and the transition of wartime operational control of South Korean armed forces from the United States to South Korea in 2012.
About 27,000 American forces are stationed on the peninsula as a deterrent against North Korea.