CAMP CASEY, South Korea -- When Spc. Nathan Richardson saw a flyer saying that SUV owners would get a chance to put things to the test on a rugged combat vehicle training range at Camp Casey, he knew right away he'd want to be there.
The flyer was on a table outside New Car Sales near the Exchange at Casey. It said there'd be a "Jeep Jamboree" Sept. 1 and invited Jeep owners to a day of driving on a military training course along with a "Cook Out -- Great Food and Fun All Day Long!"
Richardson, of Martinsville, Ind., is a small arms repair technician with Company B, 302nd Brigade Support Battalion at Camp Casey.
His own Jeep is back in Indiana, and he knows that in the states, Jeep owners often meet for outings where they put their vehicles through the rigors of tough, off-road terrain.
"I just showed up hoping that someone had an open seat for me to ride along," Richardson said.
About 30 Jeeps in all made their way to the parking lot outside the Casey Exchange that sunny morning.
As it turned out, the driver of a red Wrangler had room "and was nice enough to let me ride along with him," Richardson said. The driver was Douglas Han, an environmental technician with U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan.
Overall, taking part in the jamboree were about 25 members of U.S military communities and about 15 members of the Korean community who belong to a Jeep-owners' club, said Sal Salvucci, country manager for Exchange New Car Sales in Korea.
His office set up the event, working with the U.S. Army Garrison Casey, the Area I USO, and Chrysler Korea, he said. It was the first such off-road event they've done with the U.S. military in Korea, Salvucci said.
Joining the group for the day were Lt. Col. Steven G. Finley, commander, U.S. Army Garrison Casey, and Raymond S. Myers, deputy to the Casey garrison commander.
Things started around 10 a.m. with a safety briefing.
Then, under blue, sunny skies with a few white clouds, they started their engines and began rolling out one behind the other, heading in convoy down the post's main boulevard, a long line of SUVs in a variety of colors: bright orange, bright red, dark blue, metallic blue, silver, white with black trim.
They soon arrived at Training Area November. There, over the next three or four hours they gunned their vehicles over the broken, uneven terrain of a driver's training course used by combat and other vehicles.
It took them through scrub brush and wooded hills, upslope, downslope, along steep embankments, over gravel, big rocks, water and mud, lots of mud.
What may have been the biggest challenge of the afternoon presented itself around 1 p.m. when the column of vehicles moving along a steeply embanked creek came upon a fallen tree blocking their path.
They got timely help from one of the Korean drivers, a seasoned off-roader.
"He kind of stood and guided people through because it was a little hairy, kind of tough situation," said Salvucci.
"We had to drive up the bank of the creek and it's steep going up and then steep going down and then really muddy," he said. "It was the best part of the whole day."
Hours later, the course finished, it was time to eat. The USO had a grill going.
"Really good steak," said Richardson. ""We had baked potatoes with cheese and sour cream and butter."
And when the barbecue was done, the drivers ran their mud-spattered vehicles through the waters of a fording point used by combat vehicles.
Among the day's off-roaders was Charles Becker, a civilian contractor at Camp Humphreys.
Becker said he welcomed the chance to come up to Casey for an off-road event.
"Being American in Korea and not associated with any Korean clubs yet, I've been look for places to enjoy, and show my wife a little bit about the off-roading experience," said Becker.
He said he hopes they make the off-road events an annual thing.
For Richardson, "Just being out in the woods, in a jeep, being around other people who have the same interest" was the best part of the day.
He'd do it again if he could.
"Yes," he said. "I would, for sure."
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