South Korean military to free soldiers of cleaning work

United Press International ^ | August 16, 2018 | Wooyoung Lee

[2ndDivisionVet]

South Korean troops will be free of cleaning and maintenance work, such as getting rid of overgrown grass and removing snow, as the defense ministry announced Thursday it will outsource the work to private contractors.

The ministry said it will start having contractors take care of weeding and cleaning at major units in the tense border areas next year and expand it to rearguard and supporting units from 2021.

In addition to tough drills and training, South Korean soldiers are assigned to do weeding and remove snow at their units and surrounding areas.

The ministry said the work often causes stress and burden on soldiers that could possibly hamper their duties and training.

A front line unit of South Korea's general outpost (GOP) on the border is responsible for weeding a vast area that could cover multiple soccer fields, according to the ministry.

"We hope this will give soldiers time for a break at the end of the day and to focus on their combat missions," said the ministry in a press release.

The ministry estimates the plan to outsource cleaning work in military units could create more than 3,900 jobs.

[2ndDivisionVet]

The last sentence is the key.

[FatherofFive]

The last sentence is the key.

Yeah, keep growing the size of government

[bakeneko]

I’m sure I’ll get much blowback on this, but this sort of thing is a bad idea, period. ..

Military units should be independent, no matter where they go or what they are doing. Relying on a baggage train of civilians for basic functions is just asking for trouble.

Unit cohesion is based on everyone being able to gripe about the same duties that everyone does. If everyone gets KP and Latrine Detail occasionally, then, it is just another experience that they have in common; and, (significantly), another ongoing opportunity for NCO’s to demonstrate leadership.

Everyone is a rifleman. And washes dishes occasionally.

The Roman Legion operated this way, and look what they accomplished. (That is, before they started relying on auxiliary troops.)

Sorry SOF’s. Elite doesn’t mean that you’re exempt from basic ongoing military tasks.

[2ndDivisionVet]

The US military hasn’t done much Kitchen Police (KP) since at least the 1970s, with a few exceptions here and there. They have civilians for that, both stateside and overseas, except for naval vessels. The South Koreans have a mix of enlisted soldiers, hired civilians (mostly motherly middle-aged ladies) and volunteer mothers who keep an eye on everything.

Arirang Special(Ep.302) The Soldiers’ Dining Table _ Full Episode
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vssBBMRpBX0&t=744s

[laplata]

The US military hasn’t done much Kitchen Police (KP) since at least the 1970s

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I think it started around the time the draft ended and the all volunteer Army strarted up around 1973.

[2ndDivisionVet]

I had to do my company’s KP on the weekends because they were National Guardsmen going through riot training and I was one of 2 or 3 regulars who didn’t require such training.

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

I always loved KP.Got to eat really well.Guard duty was another story.I once pulled guard for 31 days straight 2 on 4 off round the clock.I didnt know know who the hell I was at the end.Been 40 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday.

[2ndDivisionVet]

I should add “in basic training” to that last post.

[2ndDivisionVet]

At my last duty station, a military intelligence unit at Fort Polk, you could get out of guard duty if you were the STRACest guy in the line-up. A guy who’d been there a while had a whole set of Vietnam-era starched fatigues that he probably bought out in town, with creases so sharp you could shave with them and boots that shined beyond belief. So you couldn’t beat the guy, he goes skipping off and you’re stuck, again, on guard duty.

[AlaskaErik]

I got assigned to do 30 days mess duty at Camp Lejeune in 1975. I got promoted to corporal just a few days later, so I was then put in charge of the 20 or 30 others also assigned. I also had to do one or two weeks of guard duty a few months prior to that. Since I was the only low ranking single person in my small shop, I got all the crap details.

[bakeneko]

God forbid one of our units is long-term surrounded and has to do their own mess kits.

I did Basic in ‘86 and at least 5% of total days on KP. Or was I just imagining it.

Point is: we need to get back to a survivable, independent, and cohesive military that does not rely on “society-at-large” for its existence or values.

[2ndDivisionVet]

I was an E-4 at the Defense Information School (DINFOS) at Ft Ben Harrison and we had Army, Marines and Coast Guard in our barracks. The Navy and Air Force required nicer digs for their students so they were housed separately. Us E-4s and E-5s were the squad leaders since most students were privates/seaman apprentices. I asked two Marines in my squad to clean the latrines before they worked on their rooms. They gave me a bunch of guff so I went and grabbed one of their corporals that I had got to know. He beat them about the heads and shoulders and waved my Specialist 4 rank in their faces saying that I was the equivalent of a Marine corporal and how dare they tell one where to get off.

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Yep.

[laplata]

I ETS’d out in March, 1973. I can’t remember some things that far back.

[GreyFriar]

I can honestly say that this move makes sense. The US Army did it beginning with the All Volunteer Army. The Post Engineers took care of the building maintenance (not daily cleaning), mowing parade grounds, maintenance of firing ranges (small arms and AFV). When in Germany we took care of the grass in front of the barracks & orderly room, and the ‘ever popular’ morning ‘police call.’ At Ft. Knox, in the mid-70’s, each battalion had a month’s “training holiday” when it was taken off training and did all of the mowing, road garbage pickup, guarding the ammo dumps, until those responsibilities were changed sometime after I departed there in 1975

[GreyFriar]

I can honestly say that this move makes sense. The US Army did it beginning with the All Volunteer Army. The Post Engineers took care of the building maintenance (not daily cleaning), mowing parade grounds, maintenance of firing ranges (small arms and AFV). When in Germany we took care of the grass in front of the barracks & orderly room, and the ‘ever popular’ morning ‘police call.’ At Ft. Knox, in the mid-70’s, each battalion had a month’s “training holiday” when it was taken off training and did all of the mowing, road garbage pickup, guarding the ammo dumps, until those responsibilities were changed sometime after I departed there in 1975

[2ndDivisionVet]

At the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood when my battalion would get mess hall run it was always me because I had a stretch deuce-and-a-half, even though I was an intelligence analyst. That’s a ton of food to go load and then unload. And of course the cook wouldn’t help.