Some US soldiers in South Korea will now serve 2-year tours

Sure troopers embarking to South Korea will name it residence for longer than common, in keeping with an Aug. 1 Military memo.

The memo requires “single troopers with out dependents assigned to the Republic of Korea to serve the accompanied tour size” of 24 months versus the standard unaccompanied one-year tour size.

The extension applies to particular occupational specialties and focus areas, together with air visitors management operators (15Q), UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter repairers (15T), working army canine handlers (31K), legal investigations particular brokers (31D), counterintelligence brokers (35L), sign intelligence analysts (35N) and legal investigation division particular brokers (311A).

Troopers with the listed specialties who haven’t any dependents, aren’t married to different service members and are on permanent-change-of-station orders to South Korea should serve the 24-month accompanied tour size.

The revision doesn’t apply to troopers assigned to the protection attaché system or safety cooperation organizations or to assignments in Korea with out an accredited accompanied tour, in keeping with the memo.

The extension additionally doesn’t have an effect on troopers who had been positioned on orders or already in South Korea earlier than Aug. 1, in keeping with a service spokesman.

“This impacts between 100 to 200 troopers general in these army occupational specialties,” mentioned U.S. Military spokesman Christopher Surridge.

The 24-month requirement, in keeping with the memo, goals to enhance readiness within the listed specialties “that require troopers to bear in depth coaching and or certification necessities previous to being totally mission succesful.”

“For these seven occupations, it takes an prolonged period of time to get them educated and licensed to be totally mission succesful for the unit,” mentioned Surridge.

The primary U.S. troops, together with troopers and Marines, arrived in South Korea on July 1, 1950, in response to North Korea’s seize of Seoul in the course of the Korean Warfare.

The U.S. has maintained its army alliance with South Korea ever since, in search of to discourage armed battle within the area, in keeping with the Division of Protection.

Roughly 28,500 U.S. troops are based mostly in South Korea as of 2023, in keeping with the Congressional Analysis Service.