The Army's 411th Contracting Support Brigade celebrates its 50th anniversay at the Morning Calm Center on Camp Humphreys, South Korea, on April 17, 2026. (Yoojin Lee/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — To mark its 50th year in business as a joint agency serving all military branches in the Pacific, the 411th Contracting Support Brigade held its first military ball this month.
About 200 people, including military personnel and civilians, gathered at the Morning Calm Center on April 17 to celebrate the brigade’s legacy and recognize its Korean employees.
The brigade plays a critical, behind-the-scenes role to sustain U.S. military readiness in South Korea, according to its members. They provide logistics, food service and facility maintenance to support operations in the region, particularly during crises.
“Every contract you award and every negotiation you win ensures that we are equipped, sustained and ready to fight tonight,” the commander of Eighth Army, Lt. Gen. Joseph Hilbert, said during the ball as guest speaker.
Brigade commander Col. Rickey Torres described the unit as an essential but often unseen force.
“We are enablers of the maneuver in a battlefield. We’ve been operating in the shadows, and we want to keep it quiet professionals,” he said in an April 10 interview.
Torres said most base operations, from drones to greens keepers, rely on contracting support, highlighting how the brigade’s role has expanded over time.
The unit traces its origins to the provisional Eighth Army Procurement Agency established in 1954.
In 1977, it expanded to support the Air Force and became a joint contracting agency in the Pacific theater that covers all branches, according to the 50th anniversary program.
As operations evolve, the unit is working to speed up the contract writing process by integrating artificial intelligence, brigade executive officer Lt. Col. Ray Wagenheim said in an April 10 interview.
Torres also emphasized the importance of continuity and the contributions of Korean employees.
“While the U.S. service members and the civilian staffers come and go, they stayed and taught incoming soldiers and have served for so long,” he said.
During the ceremony, the brigade recognized 13 Korean employees who have worked in the brigade for more than 40 years, including Pak Nam-ye, who has served 47 years and counting.
