Today started off by getting on the bus to Camp Humphreys, the largest U.S. military camp overseas. First, we saw pictures of the Korean War veterans hung up on walls around one of the buildings on the base. We then watched videos about what the U.S. military is trying to achieve by being in South Korea and more particularly, that area of Korea. Through the military presence of the U.S. here, it deters countries like China and North Korea from confronting South Korea. Due to the strength of the relationship between the United States and South Korea, Camp Humphreys has quickly developed with things like a school system, commissary, theatre, etc.

After watching the videos, we got to have a Q&A session with Lieutenant General Chris LaNeve. It was so interesting to see how far connections can be made. I never would have expected that today I would be able to meet someone from my hometown of Gibsonia, PA. My eyes became more opened on how connections as simple as being from the same town can create such interesting conversations. Lieutenant General LaNeve said something that really stuck with me. While he was talking he said “I hope I did Gibsonia proud.” It was so heartwarming to hear that, and I believe he has done so much more than just make a small town in PA proud.

We then moved onto a tour from the Army combat engineers describing the types of equipment and machinery used by the military. It was interesting to see how smart systems could possibly be connected with the development of such equipment. They also mentioned the simulators that were often used for training on the equipment before moving onto training with blank ammunition, and then finally with live ammunition.

Overall, this tour was not what I initially expected going into the base, but it provided so many unique experiences. The information provided during the Q&A session provided a lot of information on how just how much politics influence decision making in the military, especially when it was mentioned that they want to keep the capacity of soldiers at Camp Humphreys pretty high. Finally, I got to see just how small the world can be when I met Lieutenant General LaNeve.