US Soldier stable after being shot by South Korean Police

UPDATE
Shot soldier interviewed by S. Korean police in base hospital bed

Soldier shot by S. Korean police during late-night car chase
By Ashley Rowland and Yoo Kyong Chang
Stars and Stripes
Published: March 3, 2013

SEOUL — A U.S. soldier was in stable condition Sunday after police shot him during an early-morning car chase that South Korean officials say started after they received emergency calls about gunshots being fired near a busy Itaewon intersection.

Details remained sketchy several hours later, including whether the soldier had fired BBs or pellets at bystanders in front of the Hamilton Hotel or might have just pointed a toy gun at them.

South Korean police said they received emergency calls at 11:53 p.m. Saturday about shots being fired by a soldier, according to an official with the Yongsan Police Station’s Fifth Violent Crimes Team. Police tried to capture him at the nearby Itaewon subway station, but he and a second soldier escaped by car.
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Are South Korea's gun laws preventing US military suicides?

South Korea mostly suicide-free for U.S. troops
By Gregg Zoroya
USA Today
Posted : Monday Feb 18, 2013

Even as the Army recorded its worst year in decades for soldiers killing themselves — with 323 deaths in 2012 — there were places in the service where suicides are rare.

One is South Korea, where among the nearly 20,000 GIs stationed there last year, there was one suicide: a soldier hanged himself. Leaders there say they are encouraging troops to seek help and to look out for one another, and that effort is paying off.

Last December, Army Spc. Andrew Korpash, 26, who is stationed near the Korean demilitarized zone, contacted a chaplain about desperate text messages another G.I. sent after being jilted by a woman. “The thing that got my attention was the actual list of ways he would do it (commit suicide),” said Korpash, a Korean language linguist. “That’s when it seemed like it was pretty serious to me.”

But there is another reason that underscores how U.S. troops die by suicide: the use of firearms. In South Korea, troops are effectively barred from keeping private firearms because of strict national gun control laws.

“Most soldiers in the military, the majority, commit suicide through firearms,” said Maj. Gen. Edward Cardon, commander of 2nd Infantry Division and some 10,000 soldiers in South Korea. “So the restrictions on firearms is clearly a factor (in reducing the deaths).”
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Wounded Florida veteran react to Psy's anti-American comments

Veterans from Tampa area react to Psy's anti-American comments
By The Tampa Tribune
Published: December 08, 2012

Iraq War veterans living in the Tampa Bay area had some choice words for South Korean rapper Psy, after Anti-American comments he made in 2004 recently surfaced.

Psy, who is scheduled to perform at the University Mall this afternoon, issued a lengthy apology for the 2004 performance where he protested the Iraq War by singing about killing "Yankees." In a separate performance he smashed a model of a U.S. tank on stage.

The apology was not enough for some local vets.

"He is a very sick man and so twisted," said Army Sgt. Joel Tavera, severely wounded while serving in Iraq. "How things could be twisted like that? But I'll pray for him and his situation."

Tavera, who lives in Tampa, was blinded, burned and suffered massive head injuries on March 12, 2008, when a rocket hit his armored Chevy Suburban inside Tallil Air Base, about 12 1/2 miles southeast of An Nasiriya, Iraq.
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Army captain dies serving in South Korea

Army captain dies serving in South Korea
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Jul 29, 2012
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe says an Army captain from Maine has died while serving in South Korea.

Snowe said in a statement released Saturday that 30-year-old David Haas, of Brunswick, died Friday. She didn’t release his cause of death.
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Fallen soldier in Iraq didn't tell family he was there

One thing about tracking all of this across the country is that some reports stun me. This is one of them. A US soldier, born in South Korea, wanted to join the military and serve this country. He didn't want his family to worry about him, so he didn't tell them he had been deployed. If that isn't strange enough, this part really got me.

"I didn't trust this document, so they called someone in the military. They were told when a soldier is born outside of the United States, they change his birthplace to a U.S. state. His had been changed to Kansas.

Slain Soldier Didn't Tell Parents He Was at War
Knight Ridder
by Imani Tate
Jun 02, 2012

Besides helping freedom-loving citizens of his adopted homeland and countries fighting tyranny, Jang Ho Kim of Placentia was fighting to protect his parents and sister.

Jang Ho, the son of La Verne's Nikuni Japanese Grill owner Steve Kim, thoroughly believed people everywhere should be free of worry and fear, so he enlisted in the Army in June 2005.

Not wanting his dad, mother Sang Soon Kim or little sister Michelle to fret about his safety, he fudged in conversations about his exact whereabouts after finishing basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., and combat training in Germany.

So, when two soldiers came to tell them Jang Ho had been killed in Baghdad, Steve Kim knew it had to be a mistake.

"I had just come back from lunch when I got a phone call from my wife," said Kim, then Samsung's information technology director in La Mirada. "She said two soldiers were at the house and asked me to come home."
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Soldier faints during a White House welcome ceremony for the President of South Korea

Soldier faints during a White House welcome ceremony for the President of South Korea
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
14th October 2011

A U.S. Coast Guard fell backward onto the White House lawn during a morning welcome ceremony for the President of the Republic of Korea Thursday.
The soldier who has not been identified lay straight on his back behind a line of fellow soldiers with his eyes wide open.
He was aided by another solider while the ceremony continued.

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Korea:Marine Corps shooting spree kills 4 soldiers

Marine Corps shooting spree kills 4 soldiers
By Lee Tae-hoon

A Marine Corps corporal killed four soldiers and wounded another in a shooting spree Monday at his military unit based on Ganghwa Island near the maritime border with North Korea in the West Sea.

“The shooter, identified only as Kim, went on a shooting rampage inside his barracks at 11:50 a.m., killing four and wounding two, including himself,” Kim Tae-eun, a spokesman of the Marine Corps, said in a press conference televised nationwide.

He added that the death toll rose from three to four as an injured private lost his life after being taken to hospital.

A senior Marine Corps official also confirmed that Kim was arrested after attempting to commit suicide with a grenade.

“He tried to take his own life after firing at his fellow soldiers, who were taking a nap in their barracks at 11:50 a.m.,” he added.

The Marine Corps has formed a task force and sent it to the military unit for an investigation, while taking Kim into custody for questioning.

In a press release, the Corps said that the perpetrator may have stolen the rifle and ammunition after finishing his sentry duty at around 10 a.m.
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Marine Corps shooting spree kills 4 soldiers

Government does not get that soldiers are on loan from families

It is not a 9-5 job. It is not a job where you get to decide where you are transferred to or when. It is not a job where you get to decide when you want vacation or even when you get to see your family. They belonged to their family first and then they loaned their son/daughter/husband/wife/Dad/Mom to the government for the safe keeping of the rest of us.  They don't get to go home for the birth of their children or for any happy occasions they want to be a part of.  These things do on without them.  When it comes to a crisis in the family, they are supposed to get them home. This point the government fails to remember on a constant basis.

John Lidster is one of example of this. He was serving in South Korea when his Mom was put on life support. The Red Cross managed to get him leave put now he owes the government for the cost of getting him home.

Soldier helped by Red Cross, indebt to government
by Brody O'Connell
TRAVERSE CITY, MI -- Monday on 7/4 News, we told you about a U.S. soldier who rushed home on Christmas day to see his sick mother.

John Lidster is currently serving in South Korea. His mother is on life support at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. It cost Lidster $2,800 to get back to home to visit his mom.
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Soldier helped by Red Cross, indebt to governmen

As you can see here, he didn't make it all the way without the help of the State Troopers and the Patriot Guard Riders.

Soldier rushed home to see ill mother
by Brody O'Connell
TRAVERSE CITY, MI -- John Lidster is a soldier in the United States army. He is serving in South Korea.

Halfway around the world, his mother is on life support at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City.

On Christmas day, he was flown into Los Angeles, California from South Korea. He was going home to see his mother.

Lidster was supposed to catch a connector flight to Chicago, but after a mix-up in customs, he missed his flight. That’s when the Patriot Guard was contacted. They arranged for Lidster to get on a later flight to Chicago. He landed just before 9 p.m. Saturday night.

From Chicago, a Patriot Guard member drove him to the Indiana state line, where he was met by an Indiana State Trooper.

Lidster was then rushed to the Michigan state line and a Patriot Guard member drove him back to Traverse City.

John Lidster arrived at Munson Medical Center at 3:45 Sunday morning. There were 13 Patriot Guard members waiting for him in a sea of American flags.
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Soldier rushed home to see ill mother

The questions this report leaves could go on forever without answers and sadly without changes. Where was the military "family" the DOD has? Where were the National Guards? Where were all the service organizations that have been operating across the country for generations? Why did it take the Patriot Guard Riders and the State Troopers to step up and get this soldier home to see his dying Mom?

There are always stories about heroes and villains. Not hard to guess which is which in this story.

Solider dies after boxing match in South Korea

2nd ID soldier dies following boxing match
By Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, October 1, 2008


CAMP RED CLOUD, South Korea — A 2nd Infantry Division soldier died Saturday night following an on-post boxing tournament at Camp Casey.

Pfc. Jason Price, 21, was pronounced dead at 10:40 p.m. at the 121st Combat Support Hospital at Yongsan Garrison.

Price, of 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, Company C, fought Saturday at the Area I boxing championship tournament, sponsored by Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation, according to division officials.

Out of "abundant caution," 2nd ID personnel won’t be participating in any further boxing tournaments pending the investigation of Price’s death, said 2nd ID spokesman Maj. Vince Mitchell.
go here for more
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57773

Troops and cold medicine ‘Ultimately, it will destroy your life’

Soldiers hope battle with cold medicines serves as warning to others
‘Ultimately, it will destroy your life’
By Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, July 2, 2008

CAMP CASEY, South Korea — Pfc. Stephen Wanser’s typical Saturday breakfasts were the same as his Friday night dinners: 16 Coricidin Cold and Cough pills, water or soda optional.

Wanser and his roommate, Pfc. Gary Cooper, 22, remained in a hallucinatory daze most of the weekend before crashing on Sundays.

Even when Wanser thought he nearly choked to death after taking the pills — a sign from God, the deeply religious 24-year-old believed — it was only enough to keep him off the drug for a month.

Coricidin contains more dextromethorphan, also known as DM or DXM, than most cold medicines.

In small doses, DXM relieves a cough. But large doses produce abnormally elevated moods and hallucinations typically associated with drugs like PCP and LSD.

Although there are few, if any, military studies on dextromethorphan abuse, medical and 2007 sales data from Camp Casey’s post exchange stores attest to the drug’s popularity.

In a place where all soldiers receive free health care and prescriptions, Army and Air Force Exchange Service stores sold as many as 300 boxes of Coricidin and its generic equivalent in one week, according to a paper presented at a national medical conference in May.

They would often read the Bible while tripping, discussing Solomon, heaven, hell and their place in the world.

Wanser said he felt closer to God during those times.

But he acknowledges that taking potentially fatal doses of drugs is a bad way to get there.

He experienced hyper-religiosity, a relatively common phenomenon among mania-prone users of psychedelic drugs, said Area I support psychiatrist Maj. Christopher Perry.

"As people become more manic and grandiose in their thinking, religion plays a larger role in their life," Perry explains.
go here for more
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=55894

also on this

Sales spikes, overdoses prompt drug restrictions
By Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, July 2, 2008


CAMP CASEY, South Korea — When Pfc. Gary Cooper would go to the Camp Casey post exchange to get his fix of cold medicine, he had to act quickly.

"You get to the store and pick it up right away, because that stuff would sell so fast," Cooper said.

For several months last year, Cooper and Pfc. Stephen Wanser say they abused Coricidin Cough and Cold, which contains dextromethorphan, or DXM.

Wanser recalls other soldiers grabbing at the boxes as they were stocked. On another occasion, Wanser says a South Korean employee handed him four boxes when he asked for one.

By October, AAFES officials restricted sales of medicines with DXM to two boxes per month per servicemember, after consulting with medical officials.

Average sales dropped 57 percent following the restrictions, according to a study conducted by Area I support psychiatrist Maj. Christopher Perry and Capt. Eugene Chung.
go here for more of this
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=55895

Army captain in South Korea is charged with murdering his wife

Army captain in South Korea is charged with murdering his wife
By Franklin Fisher, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, June 8, 2008

PYEONGTAEK, South Korea — The mother of Lea Gray reacted with relief and tears Friday at news that murder charges have been filed in her daughter’s disappearance and death in South Korea.

And she said Lea Gray’s 6-year-old daughter Bianca has yet to be told of her mother’s death and continues to ask for her.

The Army on Friday charged Capt. Christopher Gray with murder in his wife’s death.

"I’m glad finally they charge him for my daughter’s death," Marilyn Bahena, 50, of the Philippines, told Stars and Stripes in a telephone interview from California late Friday.
go here for more
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=55383

Death of solider believed caused by meningitis

Death of solider believed caused by meningitis

The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Jan 13, 2008 11:13:34 EST

SEOUL, South Korea — An American soldier has died in South Korea after contracting what health officials presume was meningitis, the U.S. military said Sunday.

Army Pvt. Jason L. Williams, 19, from Colorado died Saturday at a U.S. military hospital in Seoul, the 2nd Infantry Division said in a statement.

Williams “displayed symptoms of someone that might have suffered from meningitis,” the statement said.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_meningitis_080113/

Non-combat death investigated at Camp Casey

Army investigating the death of a soldier at Camp Casey
Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, December 20, 2007



CAMP CASEY, South Korea — Army officials are investigating the death of a 2nd Infantry Division soldier whose body was found Monday at Camp Casey, according to an Army spokeswoman.

The soldier was assigned to the 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team.

The soldier’s name was being withheld on Tuesday pending notification of family.

No other information was available Tuesday.
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=51120&source=rss

Availability of PTSD Treatment Varies with vacant jobs in South Korea

Availability of PTSD Treatment Varies
Stars and Stripes Erik Slavin October 29, 2007CAMP RED CLOUD, South Korea - Post-traumatic stress disorder treatment - and even availability of care - differs from base-to-base across the Pacific, according to military officials.

On Okinawa, the U.S. Naval Hospital sees no shortage of mental health providers, according to Cmdr. Gary B. Hoyt, the hospital's mental health department head.

But at Camp Casey, South Korea, home to a large number of infantry Soldiers, positions for a deployment cycle manager and a family counselor have sat vacant for months at different times within the past year, officials said.

Hoyt wrote that while the Defense Department has seen an overall shortage in active-duty, hospital-based mental health providers, the funding for those services is increasing.

The DOD problem is "related specifically to operational deployment needs, and more generally to the increased psychological demands of the global war on terror," Hoyt stated in an e-mail.
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,154961,00.html

No stigma in getting post-combat stress help

Caregivers emphasize: No stigma in getting post-combat stress help
By Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Tuesday, October 30, 2007

CAMP CASEY, South Korea — A perception that seeking help for post-combat stress could harm a servicemember’s career is preventing many from dealing with problems that could balloon into greater ones.

But care providers throughout the Pacific say that seeking treatment alone will not jeopardize a security clearance — and therefore military jobs.

Most say they can keep treatment confidential and out of service records, with exceptions possible when serious harm to self or others is involved.

Capt. Christopher Perry, Area I support psychiatrist at Camp Casey, South Korea, has managed medications and conducted psychotherapy for several hundred returning vets.

Senior NCOs and junior officers do perceive a stigma with getting treatment, he said. But that stigma doesn’t exist, Perry said: “You don’t lose your clearance because of seeking help [for combat-related stress].”
go here for the rest
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=49875

Memories of lost friends follow soldier through therapy

Memories of lost friends follow soldier through therapy
By Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Monday, October 29, 2007

CAMP CASEY, South Korea — “John” didn’t really notice how much he had changed until five months after he watched his first friend die in Iraq.

On Dec. 26, 2005, John and others in the 5th Engineer Battalion were looking for roadside bombs near Baghdad when a rocket-propelled grenade caromed off a Humvee turret and ended Sgt. Dominic Coles’ life.

“I didn’t even know how to react to what I saw,” John said. “But I knew what to do. I stood up on the gun.”

John still sees Coles in his dreams. Sometimes he looks as healthy as when they played spades together in their barracks.

Other times, Coles and two other dead friends look as they did when they died; sometimes they slowly disintegrate in front of him. One dream was so bad John pushed himself off his bed and cracked his ribs on a chair.

The nightmares began in Iraq, before he arrived home in May 2006 for his mid-tour leave. At the airport, most welcomed him and other troops home. But one man began shouting at the servicemembers, calling them baby-killers.

“That didn’t make me feel too happy,” John said during a recent interview at Camp Casey.
go here for the rest
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=49858

Before you go to the link to read the rest, I still have no clue what gets into people when they say things like "baby killers" as if those things don't happen in combat. In Iraq, babies get killed, kids get killed, so do mothers and fathers and grandparents. Innocent people die. They end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. In Iraq, it is the civil war causing more innocents to die that even the contractors. It is not as if the troops target innocent people. One the rare times when it does happen, they go on trial. Pig headed people call them "baby killers" just like pig headed people join Westborough Baptist Church and protest at the funerals of the fallen. Taking out anything against the troops does not make sense at all. They are not the ones making the choices. Bush is. The generals are. The congress is.