South Korea as an extended family tour?
June 3rd, 2008, 9:54 am · 1 Comment · posted by jhogg
From: 
SEOUL | Extending the tours of U.S. troops serving in South Korea to three years and allowing them to bring their families is overdue, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday as he arrived in Seoul.
The change in deployments is caught up in the ongoing transfer of military bases to South Korean control, but Mr. Gates said it’s time to stop the one-year, unaccompanied tours that forces currently serve here because it is considered a war zone.
“As a matter of principle, I think it’s past time” to extend the tours, Mr. Gates told reporters traveling with him on the plane to Seoul. “It communicates that … our view of the reality here is that the Republic of Korea is literally safe enough for our families to be present.”
A year in Korea aint exactly the same as a year in Anbar, so this move really makes a good deal of sense. But, as just about anyone in the military can attest to, the year-long Korea “hardship” tour is sort of known as an unofficial “marriage break.”
Not to say that every married man that goes to Korea winds up running around. But, my best guess from talking to people returning from the tour is that the official Ballgunner estimate is that LOTS do. I never had the pleasure of serving in Korea, but met plenty that did. Most of them had stories, if not first-hand accounts then at least as witnesses. Even Germany (the Ballgunner’s favorite station,) where guys COULD bring their wives, saw a fair bit of relationship cat and mouse.
“Alright PFC Jones, you’re 20 years old, you’ve been married for two years. Now, we’re going to send you to South Korea, where most young women are about 5 feet tall and weigh about 100 pounds. Your wife has to stay here.” 
Once Jones gets on the ground his squad and platoon members welcome him in classic military fashion — by getting hammered. A few glasses of Soju later and Jones is feeling that he is really going to like Korea. Mrs. Jones is a long way away, and the other guys are all talking to girls. Well, who know? It’s not a fluke that gave rise to the Army’s unofficial motto of the Korean tour, “Go there married, come home divorced.”
I’m not saying Secretary Gates, who probably knows almost nothing about enlisted men, has this in mind when he’s proposing his changes. But it is something to think about. The brothels in Seoul are spoken of with awe and reverence in certain Army battalions.
