YONGSAN GARRISON, Republic of Korea -- Members of the Yongsan-gu city council were invited for a visit to U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan to strengthen relations between the garrison leaders and the local Korean Community, Oct. 31.
"Today's event is bringing the Itaewon Community on post to show them the capabilities we have here and to continue to build the friendship of the ROK-US alliance," said Col. Michael E. Masley, garrison commander for USAG Yongsan.
Upon their arrival, the council members, along with Soldiers and Leaders from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, USAG Yongsan, competed in a friendly soccer game. Although the game ended with a tie at five goals each, both sides appeared to have enjoyed the energetic match.
"This is an amazing experience," said Sgt. Angel Rivera, non-commissioned officer in charge of USAG Yongsan's Directorate of Human Resources. "This is to show the community in the Yongsan-gu area that we are here not only to defend Korea, but to also get to know them better."
According to Masley, many of the council members visiting the garrison were businessmen from the Itaewon area. Although Soldiers on USAG Yongsan frequently visited the Itaewon area, there weren't as many opportunities for local Korean community members to visit the garrison.
The visit allowed local Community members to better understand the mission of the U.S. Army in Korea, and offer a glimpse of what happens on the U.S. Army installation in Seoul.
"Thank you to USAG Yongsan for inviting us," said Park Seok-kyu, chairman of the Yongsan-gu council. "We are glad that we could visit Yongsan Garrison and get to know such wonderful Soldiers. We look forward to our next event together."
The next friendship event between the Yongsan-gu council and USAG Yongsan is a hiking trip to Namsan scheduled for January 2013.
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