At Osan Air Base in South Korea on Thursday, motorist Jeff Klose gases up at the AAFES auto service center. Klose, a resident of Seoul, is finance and training manager for Exchange New Car Sales. He favors a national policy that would move the United States away from dependency on foreign energy sources. (Franklin Fisher / S&S)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — For the first time ever, gas prices at on-base pumps will surpass $4 a gallon in South Korea and Guam on Saturday.
Japan and Okinawa bases aren’t far behind, with the price for a gallon of regular unleaded to jump by almost 15 cents to $3.85.
According to the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, the price for a gallon of unleaded gas in South Korea will be $4.002, an increase of 14.6 cents.
A gallon of unleaded premium will be $4.224, a hike of 14.2 cents. And diesel fuel in South Korea will increase a whopping 26.2 cents, to $4.788 per gallon.
Base stations on Guam will charge $4.039 for a gallon of unleaded, 14 cents more than the previous week.
A gallon of midgrade will cost $4.149 a gallon, a jump of 15 cents. Premium unleaded on Guam will cost $4.259 per gallon, up 14 cents.
Unleaded gasoline at bases in mainland Japan and Okinawa will remain under $4 — with unleaded costing $3.85, an increase of 14.8 cents in one week. Diesel fuel will cost $4.528 a gallon, a hike of 22.6 cents.
Saturday’s prices will mark the seventh consecutive week of record-breaking prices at AAFES outlets in the Pacific.
In the United States, gas prices averaged $3.937 per gallon Tuesday, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That was an increase of 14.6 cents since mid-May and 72.8 cents more than a year ago.
At U.S. Army Garrison-Yongsan on Thursday, news of the rising prices came as no shock to drivers who have already found ways to adapt.
"That’s why I bought this," said Capt. Bruce Weaver, 3rd Military Intelligence Battalion, as he pointed to his BMW car at the pump.
He said he’d switched two months ago from a sport utility vehicle because of rising gas prices, and had halved the cost of gas for the daily commute from Yongsan to Camp Humphreys.
His wife also switched to a smaller car, trading in an SUV for a Honda Civic.
"We’ve got one child and one on the way and we thought an SUV would be nice — big car, lots of toys, lots of kids," Weaver said. "It’d be nice, but not at these gas prices."
Others also plan to downsize.
Retiree Robert Yanke said his next car will be a hybrid Toyota Prius, which gets nearly 50 miles to the gallon.
And others are just driving less.
"I try to walk as much as possible," said Alexander Miller, a Yongsan contractor.
Linda Bocek, a speech language pathologist at the Department of Defense schools at Yongsan, isn’t worried about gas prices. She and her husband have lived in Seoul for three years without a car, opting instead to use the city’s comprehensive transportation system.
At an AAFES station on Osan Air Base, Jeff Klose, a Seoul resident who works as a manager with Exchange New Car Sales, took the price hike in stride.
"Fifteen cents? It’s not a surprise to me," Klose said. "I think we need a national ‘Manhattan Project’ policy to develop an alternate form of energy fast, so we reduce our dependency on foreign producers."
Several motorists on Okinawa were dismayed Thursday.
"It’s crazy," said Airman 1st Class Kristy Ramsey as she pumped gas on Kadena Air Base Thursday. She and her husband live off base.
"We will try to make less trips to and from base," Ramsey said adding that they will also "not drive around the island as much."
Petty Officer 3rd Class Justin Wilson with Commander Fleet Activities Okinawa said he has already changed his driving habits.
"I only drive to and from work and walk everywhere else," said Wilson, who lives on Kadena Air Base.
Kathy Davis said her family also is changing driving habits. For instance, her husband, a soldier assigned to Torii Station on Okinawa, is starting a carpool to help defray daily commute costs from their home on Kadena.
Elsewhere in Japan, rising fuel costs convinced Sasebo Naval Base resident Rita Johnson to start walking downtown to shop for groceries instead of driving or making the 30-minute commute to the store at the Navy’s Hario housing community.
Johnson, a mother of two, said she has cut her gas consumption from two-thirds to half a tank a week.
The 15-cent hike this week will mean further cuts, she said.
"Some of our teachers and their kids are riding bikes," Johnson said. "I wish I could ride with my two [children] but they are a little too small."
Stars and Stripes reporters Cindy Fisher, Jimmy Norris, Ashley Rowland, Travis Tritten, and Franklin Fisher contributed to this report.
