CAMP CASEY, South Korea - As members of the U.S. military in South Korea, Soldiers not only serve as stewards of the Army profession, they also serve as stewards of the community in which they live.
In Dongducheon, the community is no stranger to the outreach from troops residing at Camp Casey, many of whom are assigned to the 210th Field Artillery Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division/ROK-U.S. Combined Division.
Alongside employees from the Dongducheon Volunteer Center, nearly 40 brigade Soldiers participated in the city's annual kimchi-making event November 24 at the Dongducheon Citizen's Hall.
"The heart of every city is the volunteers," said Lt. Col. Joe D. Hansen, the brigade's deputy commanding officer. "Dongducheon has shown themselves to have a bigger heart than most. We're honored as the [210th Field Artillery Brigade] to participate in this historic and well-meaning event."
Making kimchi is a widely-practiced Korean tradition and is customarily conducted with family members, friends and neighbors. The Dongducheon Volunteer Center hosts the collective event every November with their neighbors from the Thunder Brigade to provide assistance to the less fortunate.
The combined effort of this year's event resulted in 400 containers of cabbage kimchi, which will be distributed to an equal number of households in need.
"I think this is a great opportunity," said Sgt. William Reynolds, a Sheboygan, Wisconsin native and senior intelligence analyst assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 210th Field Artillery Brigade. "It's good to come out here and show that we care about the community."
The city has a long and enduring partnership with the 210th Field Artillery Brigade and conducts a number of events throughout the year as part of their shared vision of community improvement.
Earlier this month the brigade also assisted the Gyeonggi Province government to distribute nearly 2,000 charcoal briquettes to community members. The briquettes, or yeontan, are a traditional Korean heat source used in older residential homes to cook and provide warmth.
Using wheelbarrows and charcoal carriers, Soldiers carried 200 briquettes to ten homes in the near the Bosan train station.
"It has a positive impact on the community because a lot of the community doesn't have access to Camp Casey to see the good things U.S. Soldiers do," said Maj. Daniel Stockton, an El Paso, Texas native and the brigade's civil-military coordinator. "But as we get out and conduct these community relation events, they get to see that we're here to help the community in any way that we can."
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