USAG Yongsan hosts quarterly town hall

By Cpl. Park, Min-jeAugust 14, 2017

USAG Yongsan hosts townhall meeting
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

USAG Yongsan recently lost about 4000 personnel when Eighth Army moved to USAG Humphreys and another approximately 2,000 personnel from other subordinate units will transfer to Humphreys by the end of this year. After that move roughly 16,000 community members will remain in the Yongsan area. hus, as our population continues to decline, there is a growing concern over whether USAG Yongsan will continue to provide the services it has provided for the personnel remaining in the USAG Yongsan area.

The fundamental message that USAG Yongsan Command team delivered at the Town Hall was that the garrison will continue to serve for the community, despite gradual downsizing of the population.

"As long as we have the population, we'll continue to provide services for those who still live or work here: no fundamental reductions in anything we do," said Col. J. Scott Peterson, USAG Yongsan Commander.

However, there will be some unavoidable changes at USAG Yongsan. Some people may experience varying degrees of inconvenience as a result of the reduction in services.

Although most of the installation services will keep open, Sungnam Golf Course will close Dec. 2, 2017.

The northern portion of Camp Coiner will be vacated and will be turned over to U.S. Embassy in December. Gate 19, which contains a visitor's center will close but Gate 20 atop Coiner Hill will open. Furthermore, the Enhanced Pedestrian Gate (ESPG) or unmanned Gate 18, which connects the garrison to the Sookmyung Women's University area, will be closed as well. So those personnel at Yongsan that use this gate will have to make other arrangements to get in and out of the installation.

In the long run, there are going to be noticeable changes. Next summer, United States Forces Korea and its personnel will relocate to USAG Humphreys. This is considered the watermark of transformation in that it will bring lots of visible changes, including changes to operating hours or days services are provided.

The Brian Allgood Community Hospital (BAACH) will continue to take care of patients in Area II until the end of 2019 or early 2020, according to Lt. Col. Jeremy Johnson, Deputy Commander for Medical Services at BAACH. However, the other primary health clinic, Yongsan Health Clinic located at the Main Post, will close next summer in conjunction with the relocation of the USFK.

During the Town Hall, other topics such as safety, school hours, upcoming Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation (FMWR) activities were also covered by the USAG Yongsan Directors.

After the briefs, a question and answer session followed. People asked a variety of questions regarding installation services at USAG Yongsan, and questions were answered by directors.

The next Area II Town Hall will be Nov. 8, at 2:30 p.m. in the South Post Chapel . For those who missed the Town Hall, visit the official US Army Garrison Yongsan Facebook to watch the video of the previously live-streamed broadcast. Also if you have additional questions, please post your questions on the USAG Yongsan Facebook page, "Ask CSM James," Questions submitted by Noon Tuesday will be answered onFriday of the week.