SONGTAN, Republic of Korea -- Airmen from the Osan Air Base Honor Guard march in the annual Korean/American Friendship Festival Parade here in September. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Micahel O'Connor)
SONGTAN, Republic of Korea -- Brig. Gen. Joseph Reynes, 51st Fighter Wing commander, and his wife, Karen, enjoy a show from Korean pop star In Soon Ni following the opening ceremonies Saturday. Also in attendance from Gyeonggi Province were Governor Kim, Moon Soo, Vice Governor Won, Congressman Chung, Congressman Woo, Songtan Mayor Song, Myong-Ho, Songtan City Council Chairman Bae, Yon So and Songtan Chamber of Commerce President Kasey Lee. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Michael O'Connor)
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- More than 40,000 military members and Koreans celebrate Air Power Day together here in October. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Jason Epley)
"Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed." -- Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States.
For more than five decades, the Republic of Korea and the United States have been staunch allies, and within that firm framework, personal friendships between the people of South Korea and America have developed over and over again. The stories abound about friendships kindled by a one-year tour, which in turn evolved into a lifelong friendship of letters, e-mail, phone calls and nurtured through the decades with mutual visits.
Collectively, U.S. servicemembers, civilian employees and their families in the ROK are or have already reaped great benefits from the ROK-U.S. alliance and with the implementation of the U.S. Forces Korea Good Neighbor Program, this 53-year-old alliance will continue to flourish and grow.
The GNP, implemented across the peninsula in 2002, encompasses a wide array of programs that actively engage the local community, government, media, business, university, school, and military in order to provide public understanding and appreciation of the USFK mission on the peninsula.
"This program is essential to the effectiveness of USFK. All USFK personnel and family members are Ambassadors for the United States and the GNP constitutes our outreach program with the citizens of this country. The goal is to achieve and sustain a positive image of USFK in the ROK and the Good Neighbor Program stands as the cornerstone of successful ROK-U.S. relations. Every USFK member must support GNP activities as we expand our horizons with this program.
It is only through a complete team effort that we will obtain our goal and thus strengthen the ROK-U.S. alliance. As we "Go Together" successfully into the future, we will use the Good Neighbor Program as our guidepost." - USFK Commander
