Army Brig. Gen. Steven M. Anderson speaks Thursday afternoon during a ribbon-cutting ceremony outside his new headquarters at Camp Humphreys in Pyongtaek, South Korea. Anderson will head U.S. Forces Korea (Advance Element) and oversee the gradual transformation of the base into the U.S. military’s biggest installation on the peninsula. (Franklin Fisher / Stars and Stripes)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — The U.S. military has begun major steps in transforming Camp Humphreys into the primary U.S. military installation in South Korea, the general who will head the effort said Thursday.
Army Brig. Gen. Steven M. Anderson said the U.S. military will soon begin staffing an office with engineering and other experts who will work on the installation’s expansion. An estimated $5 billion will be spent on new construction alone, he said.
Anderson is deputy commanding general of the newly established U.S. Forces Korea (Advance Element), which will serve as headquarters for the transformation effort.
He spoke at Camp Humphreys during a brief ceremony Thursday afternoon to formally open his headquarters building.
USFK and other units and organizations now based in Seoul are to move to Camp Humphreys by 2008. USFK officials have also said combat units will be stationed at Camp Humphreys eventually.
Anderson’s duties will include overseeing the expansion and supervising the work of helping newly relocated units settle in.
“We have a vision of 45,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and civilians — and many of their families — living and working in a great environment,” Anderson said.
“We have a vision of a military post with state-of-the-art technologies, facilities, motor pools, training areas, schools and housing areas all beautifully blended in a friendly community of Koreans and Americans proud of their close relationship.
“Today’s simple ribbon-cutting ceremony is just one small step in the realization of this vision …”
In coming months, Anderson said, his headquarters would establish a Camp Humphreys Project Management Office, staffed with experts in facility design, transportation planning, communications architecture and strategic planning.
He pledged to work closely with local South Korean officials and to keep the South Korean public informed as the transformation progresses.
Joining him at the ceremony were senior U.S. military brass, including Army Lt. Gen. Charles C. Campbell, USFK chief of staff; the Kyonggi Province vice-governor; and Pyongtaek City mayor. South Korean military officials and a large contingent of South Korean reporters also were present.
