CAMP RED CLOUD, South Korea — Faced with projections that the number of children of U.S. servicemembers in South Korea will skyrocket over the next decade, DODEA has hired someone to make sure there are desks waiting.

Andrew Jenkins will kick off his duties as the transformation specialist for Department of Defense Dependents Schools on the peninsula in the next few weeks, according to a Department of Defense Education Activity news release.

His job will be to plan for the expansion of DODEA’s education operations on the Korean peninsula to accommodate an increase in command-sponsored tours for military families, according to the release.

By 2020, the number of DODDS students in South Korea is expected to increase from 4,300 students today attending nine schools to 20,000 students going to as many as 22 schools.

Jenkins retired from the U.S. Army in 2008 as a lieutenant colonel. His 20-year career included experience in Korea.

Prior to joining DODEA, Jenkins served as the associate vice president for finance and administration at Western State College of Colorado in Gunnison.

“Andrew’s military assignments in Korea and his experience in strategic planning, capital construction and infrastructure development will be critical to DODEA’s mission in Korea,” Charlie Toth, DODEA’s principal deputy director and associate director for education, said in the news release.

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