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By Jhoo Dong-chan
The U.S Army has approved the rotational deployment of its 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment ― made up of infantry forces with mechanized armor assets ― to South Korea, the U.S. 8th Army announced Wednesday.
The 3-8th Cavalry Battalion will leave Fort Hood, Texas, for camps Hovey and Stanley, located in North Gyeonggi Province, just south of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, it said in a statement.
The 3-8th Cavalry Regiment will bring around 800 soldiers to replace its sister unit, the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment which has been deployed to Korea since February 2013.
The 1-12th Cavalry Regiment is scheduled to return to Fort Hood after it transfers its responsibilities to the incoming unit, and the 3-8th Cavalry Regiment will utilize vehicles and equipment already in place from the previous rotational unit.
The transfer between the two units will be completed this month.
"The U.S. Army routinely schedules and deploys its forces on a rotational basis to South Korea to support its commitment to South Korea," an 8th Army official said. "The 3-8th Cavalry Regiment will be stationed nine months separately on two different bases — Camp Hovey in Dongducheon and Camp Stanley in Uijeongbu."
Some 28,500 American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are deployed in South Korea to counter the threat North Korea poses to the region. The U.S. will maintain the same level of commitment now and in the future on the Korean Peninsula to deter aggression, the statement said.
