PACIFIC OCEAN DIVISION Far East District
Army Engineers Finalizing the U.S. Military’s $10.7 Billion Relocation Effort in South Korea Just a 45-minute drive from Seoul is now the heart of the U.S.-ROK Alliance and the home of more than 45,000 Soldiers, civilians, and family members stationed overseas in Korea. Part of a $10.7 billion transformation and relocation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Far East District (FED), in partnership with the Republic of Korea, took on the massive job that turned rice paddies and open fields into the largest overseas U.S. military installation – U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys. 78 I AMERICA’S ENGINEERS
“O
perational and strategic infrastructure requirements, combined with aggressive and innovative land reclamation actions, have dramatically improved the ROK-U.S. ability to ‘Fight Tonight,’” said. Col. Heather Levy, district commander. “The move helped make Korea a station of choice with new barracks, housing, schools, and other quality-of-life facilities.” The largest peacetime relocation in the Department of Defense history is a “significant investment in the long-term presence of U.S. Forces in Korea,” noted Gen. Vincent Brooks on June 29, 2018, during the ribbon cutting ceremony of United Nations Command and United States Forces Korea’s new headquarters facilities. To date, approximately 97% of the Yongsan Relocation Plan (YRP) and 98% of the Land Partnership Plan (LPP) are complete. “As the programs near completion, it truly marks a new era of unwavering USROK alliance,” Levy said.
BY SEUKHWAN SON AND RACHEL NAPOLITAN
