Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

On behalf of the government, Minister of National Defense Han Min-koo presented the award to the US commander in recognition of his work to solve pending issues related to the Korea-US alliance

On behalf of the government, Minister of National Defense Han Min-koo awarded Commander of the Eighth US Army, Lieutenant General Bernard Champoux, the Order of National Security Merit, Gukseon Medal, on February 1.

The conferment ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lee Sun-jin, Commander in Chief of the Korea-US combined forces command (CFC) Curtis M. Scaparrotti, Vice-Commander of CFC Kim Hyun-jib, Assistant Chief of Staff C-5 of CFC, Marine Corps Major General Robert F. Hedelund, and other major Korean and US commanding officers.

Since Commander Champoux took on the post of Commander of the Eighth US Army in June of 2013, he has made a great contribution to bringing peace and stability to the Korean Peninsula in the shadow of the North Korean threat, including its two nuclear tests and the Demilitarized Zone(DMZ) provocation.

Significantly, he successfully managed  issues for the Korea-US alliance, including approval and signing of condition-based wartime operational control switching plan, establishment of the Korea-US combined division, the relocation of US camps in Korea, rotation of US army forces in Korea, and more. The Korean government awarded him the medal in recognition of these achievements.

A farewell ceremony for Commander Champoux will be held on February 2, at which point Major General Thomas Vandal will be designated as his replacement as Commander of the Eighth US Army.

By Byeong-No, Yun < trylover@dema.mil.kr >

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