Camp Carroll, Waegwan

My first visit to Camp Carroll, Waegwan:

I headed back to Waegwan. Since my first visit there I have learned that Waegwan got it name from the fact that there used to be a Japanese settlement there. Wae means Japan. It is a small community located in the province of North Gyeongsang about 1 hour North of Daegu [Taegu], South Korea. It seems to be mainly an agricultural community with a large American Military Base there. The base is called CP Carroll [short for Camp Carroll] and is located in Area IV. Camp Carroll is called "The Crown Jewel of Area IV" and is a growing base. It has a new in-door swimming pool, an out-door pool with water slide, a large gym, racketball courts, and even minature golf. It has grown a lot since I was first there in the Spring and Summer of 2003 and now most soldiers [including NCO's - Non-Commissioned Officers] are housed on the base.

Most of the soldiers I have met from Camp Carroll are either in the fields of Signal or Communications. The base, also, has an MP [Military Police] unit attached to it. According to Globalsecurity.org Camp Carroll has a population of around 2,700 people.

If you've been reading my blog you will know that I met a soldier at Psycho Bar in Gumi and we became friends and previously I took the train to Waegwan to visit him. At that point I wasn't comfortable going onto the base - especially as I grew up in Eastern Canada with a Navy presence but no Army to speak of. This time I decided to let my friend sign me onto the base and get to look around at his "home in Korea".

Once again I took to train to Waegwan from Gumi. It's only about a 10 to 15 minute ride heading south toward Daegu. I love the train it is pretty affordable and it is never affected by traffic jams.

For more information of Waegwan and it's history check out Waegwan Wikipedia.

I was not sure what I could take pictures of on the base so I didn't take any. [Did I mention all this military stuff was new to me and more than a little intimidating?] I kept hearing about "OPSEC" and the need for information "security" especially with the climate of fear of terrorism in the world post 9/11. I wasn't even sure what OPSEC was and not wanting to look stupid I googled it. There is even a website on OPSEC. The definition of OPSEC is this: "Operations Security (OPSEC) is an analytic process used to deny an adversary information - generally unclassified - concerning our intentions and capabilities by identifying, controlling, and protecting indicators associated with our planning processes or operations. OPSEC does not replace other security disciplines - it supplements them."

Although, I am a North American and a native English speaker [and in some ways I felt very at home on the base] I could never really forget the fact that not only am I a civilian but I am a "Foreign National". My point in telling you all this boils down to the fact that I didn't take pictures on the base.

Not to deprive you of photos I found some great photos of Camp Carroll at the following website Photos of Camp Carroll and since they were taken by a soldier I am sure they meet the need for security, etc.

A soldier who served in the 304 Signal Battalion at Camp Carroll has a website that has interesting facts and other links on Camp Carroll. Here's the link to his website Waegwan & Camp Carroll Pictures & Web Sites.

I found yet other website with photos of Camp Carroll. Here's the link Eric's Space - Korea Photos. This takes a while to load but it has all the photos I wished I dared take including the pool and minature golf course.

Globalsecurity.org has a good summary of Camp Carroll and its area and purpose. The link to it is Camp Carroll/Taegu Storage Area.

I wasn't afraid to take pictures of the area surrounding the base. It was on Korean soil which has become my home so I snapped away figuring anything I saw was "fair game". Here are some of my pictures:

The first thing I noticed when I approached Camp Carroll was the water tower. It seems to loom over the landscape and is a good landmark if you get lost and need to find your way back to the base.

This is a close-up of the same water tower seen in the picture above.

There are always KNP [Korean National Police] with these riot shields at the gates to Camp Carroll and all the other American Military Bases in Korea. It takes a little bit of getting used to and it doesn't mean that there is any problem it just seems to be a normal precaution.

All cars that are owned by American Military Personnel in Korea have different licence plates. The first digit [in this case the number 5] is specific to SOFA [Status of Forces Agreement] cars in Korea. The 5 means Daegu [the area of the country the car is registered in]. In Korea, licence plates designate the area [this has changed on the new licence plates perhaps in recognition of the increasingly mobile society. If you move to another city and have to change your licence plate it's a huge inconvenience]. But at this point [2003] Korean cars had the name of the city written in Hangul on the licence plate (this car says Daegu ,대 구, in Hangul). [ I assume that Koreans figure English speakers can't read Hangul so need another way to recognize the area the car is registered in.]

What this means is that you can immediately recognize a car driven by a member of the American Military by the extra digit prior to the dash in the licence plate. That doesn't seem like such a good idea in turns of security - at least not to me. I know I am always a little nervous driving in a SOFA car - I just feel like it stands out and therefore could be a potential target... but maybe I am just being paranoid.

The majority of Camp Carroll's NCO's [Non-Commissioned Officers] used to live in the huge apartment building in the background of this picture. It's called the "Hanbit" but they pronounce it "Hanbee". This has changed with the expansion of the Camp Carroll base the increase of housing on-post. Now almost all personnel are forced to live on post.

I like this picture cause it shows the contrast between an old traditional house with its garden and the new, modern apartment buildings that seem to be sprouting up everywhere.

***

I had an amazing day visiting Camp Carroll. I ate pizza and drank soda [pop for all you Canadians] and even had my friend buy me a couple of English magazines to read. [I will have to buy a couple rounds of draft at Psycho Bar to pay him back.] I didn't have any American money and I had not even thought about the fact that they would use American money on the base. Since I am paid in Korean Won and everything I buy is in Korean Won I assumed that everyone uses Won at least in Korea. What I forgot to realize it that an American Military Base really is just a little piece of America only located on foreign soil. It takes a while to get used to but if I closed my eyes and ignored the walls and gates I could imagine I was back in North America with everyone speaking English and talking about movies and TV shows, etc.

I'm not sure I'd want to live on a base with the walls, and the curfew, and all the restrictions, etc. but it sure was nice to visit.