TAEGU, South Korea — U.S. Army officials at Camp Carroll are reviving town hall meetings to give residents a chance to voice concerns, ask questions and get updates on key matters affecting them, installation manager Wilfred Plumley said last week.
Plumley said he plans to hold the meetings twice yearly, in spring and fall. The meetings are the first in several years, he said. They’re open to soldiers, Defense Department civilians, family members, and others — all members of the community at Camp Carroll. The installation, in Waegwan, is a supply and maintenance base about a half-hour’s drive north of Taegu in southeastern South Korea.
“There haven’t been any for probably three to four years,” Plumley said of the meetings. “I think it’s something that should be done everywhere because it’s a good way to put out a forum to get information about what’s going on, what’s coming up, and to solicit feedback about how to improve what we’re doing.”
Several practical issues were raised at the first of the meetings, held in late April, Plumley said. One enlisted soldier asked that more movies be shown at the post’s community activities center, or CAC, Plumley said.
“We can fix that,” he said.
Another audience member raised “a safety issue,” telling post officials local residents are parking near the entrance to Camp Carroll’s Gate 4, Plumley said, “so it’s hard to see left or right when you pull outside. ... We’re going to work with the local police chief … in hopes of them marking it as a ‘no parking’ area and actually enforcing it by giving tickets to those who park there illegally.”
At each meeting, Plumley said, key officials will update the audience on a variety of topics. Those at last month’s meeting included a chaplain and representatives from the base public works department; Morale, Welfare and Recreation; Army Community Services; the Army and Air Force Exchange Service; the commissary and personnel office.
“Those who come ... can get updates on everything that’s going on. They get all the latest and greatest information on what we’re doing,” he said.
“For us, I got … issues” raised by audience members. “Those are issues that I’ll take and work and fix.”
