Garrison & Seongnam city signing ceremony strengthens community relationship

SEONGNAM, South Korea - U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan-Casey Commander Col. Loyd Brown and Seongnam City Mayor Shin Sang-Jin signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen and expand the relationship between the Army installation K16 and off-post community, at Seongnam City Hall on August 31.

The purpose of signing this MOU is to promote exchanges on the foundation of mutual respect, trust, and foster friendship in accordance with U.S. Forces Korea Regulation 360-4 Appendix H.

“First of all, thank you to everybody in this room that made the effort to get us to this point and build enough trust,” said Brown. “It is an honorable event for the 70th anniversary of the ROK-U.S. Alliance and an opportunity to encourage exchanges between cultures.”

K-16 Air Base was established in 1951 and is currently home to the 2-2 Assault Helicopter Battalion. The installation serves a key role in the defense of the Republic of Korea.

“On behalf of 920,000 citizens of Seongnam City, we are very grateful for your presence here, Seoul Air Base and K-16 do so much for our community,” said Shin. “We hope that this will further deepen relationships between the U.S. and ROK.”

The MOU includes promoting exchanges, cooperation via cultural events, sports, volunteering opportunities, and building cultural understanding. It encourages open and transparent communication for mutual support such as the fire department, emergency services, infrastructure, extreme weather events or other emergencies.

“I can offer two promises as the commander of USAG Yongsan-Casey, first, we will be a good guest and a part of the community. Second, when things get hard, if it’s an emergency, we’ll be here to support you,” said Brown. “We are a very small but important community, so we will support as best as we can while we are here.”

The Garrison Commander and Mayor highlighted encouraging city employees, residents, and U.S. soldiers to participate in several American and Korean events being prepared by both K-16 and Seongnam city. Events include the 4th of July, Halloween, fall festivals, the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony, and Easter.

USAG Yongsan-Casey Command Sergeant Major, Command Sgt. Maj. William Fritzinger, 2-2 AHB Commander Lt. Col. Scott Gale and Command Sgt. Maj. Morgan Evans also attended the signing ceremony in support of the community partnership.