Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity
Brig Gen. Richard S. Haddad
USAF SOCKOR Commander
A famous Lebanese-American artist, poet, and writer inspired the inauguration speech by President John F. Kennedy to ask Americans to not ask what their country can do for them but what they can do for their country. That writer was a famous Lebanese named Khalil Gibran.
I have read some of Khalil Gibran’s work through the years such as “The Prophet,” which is a series of philosophical essays, and as I write this article on what the Republic of Korea (ROK)/United States alliance means to me, I can’t help but to begin with an inspirational quote from Khalil Gibran. He said and I quote, “Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.”
Just over fifty nine years ago marked the anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. This event stands as one of the most significant events of the 20th Century, and the warriors who fought so gallantly to defeat communism and tyranny can be especially proud of the Korea that exists today.
South Korea has emerged as a free and vibrant society rising from a war which destroyed its historical boundaries and its way of life. This nation is a global leader, a great democracy, and an economic powerhouse that is the envy of the world. Throughout the years, from the battlefields to the corporate boardrooms, the people of the United States and the Republic of Korea stand side by side as brothers and sisters defending this great alliance.
I would like to look at the ROK/US alliance in three distinct areas;
the first being the strong military association that we have maintained for over a half century. This is a military alliance that is unmatched anywhere in the world.
Second, the economic impact of your country is astounding. To think that in the 1960’s South Korea had a similar GNP to North Korea but today the South has the 13th leading economy in the world and the North remains stuck in time, is a testament to your work ethic and productivity.
Finally, the friendship between our two nations is a special relationship that will last forever.
American soldiers fought side by side during the Korean War to avenge the attacks of the North on a democratic society.
Together our forces managed to push the Northern intruders back beyond the 38th parallel which set the stage for the signing of the Armistice by the military commanders of the warring armies; namely the Commander in Chief, United Nations Command, on behalf of all of the forces under his command (including those of the Republic of Korea), and from the other side, the Commander of the Chinese People’s Volunteers and the Supreme Commander of the (north) Korean People’s Army.
Since then, in the quest to defend the South, the United States has been present every step of the way and we developed a strong military alliance that is the major deterrent to further acts of aggression by the north.
The transformation of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces has resulted in one of the largest standing armed forces in the world with a current personnel strength reported at 3,695,000 with 655,000 active and 3,040,000 regular reserves. The Army ranks sixth in the world with over 522,000 troops.
The ROK Navy has over 68,000 personnel including 27,000 ROK Marines with 170 commissioned ships. The Air Force maintains over 600 combat aircraft of American design. This is a formidable force that protects your borders and keeps your people free.
In my short time in command of the Special Operations Command in Korea, I have found the armed forces of South Korea to be some of most professional, capable and highly motivated personnel I have been associated with in my twenty-eight years of service. More specifically, during my discussions with numerous officers I have been thoroughly impressed with their leadership and character.
I often find myself in awe of our conversations; because if they wore a U.S. military uniform and spoke fluent English, I would be hearing the same lessons. The ROK military is a force that is respected around the world and their overseas operations through the years bear that out.
During the Vietnam War, ROK soldiers demonstrated their warrior spirit and deployed over 312,000 personnel in an eight year period. I recently spoke to a Vietnam Veteran who described those ROK forces as a lethal force that you wanted on your side fighting alongside our military.
More recently the ROK armed forces have increased their participation in global engagements; with the country emerging to acknowledge its roles and responsibilities as the 13th largest economy in the world.
The ROK military has participated in the Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, UN peacekeeping operations in Africa, India, Pakistan, Georgia, Angola, Lebanon, and numerous other locations around the world.
In every case, they have conducted operations in an outstanding manner and have brought a great deal of pride to their armed forces as well as to the Republic of Korea.
The strong partnership between the ROK and U.S. armed forces has aided in maintaining the sovereignty and the defense of the Korean nation, paving the way for economic prosperity and paving the way for the development of the fourth largest economy in Asia.
The transformation into an economically-developed country between 1960 and 1980 has been referred to as the Miracle on the Han River. A few weeks ago I was honored to speak to an audience as part of a Korean-American friendship association at Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan.
I was surprised to discover that 1 out of every 5 ships operational around the world was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries. South Korea relies heavily on exports and leads the world in ship building, computer memory chips, and high-tech electronics, very diverse and important industries.
The World Bank classifies South Korea as a high income economy, and the Koreans can also take pride in their very competitive education system and highly motivated and extremely productive workforce.
The South Korean strategy employed in the 1960s emphasized an outward looking perspective, which dramatically altered a culture which had traditionally favored high savings rates, a very small domestic market, and poor development of natural resources. The new economic growth strategy promoted a strong, labor intensive manufacturing sector that promoted exports.
With targeted government incentives and an influx of foreign capital, the South Korean economy began a climb that would make it one of the most viable economies in the world.
Without a doubt the incredible will of the South Korean people has been and remains the catalyst for this incredible growth in the military and the economy. However, I would submit that the relationship and bond between the United States and South Korea has been instrumental in the success that has been so resolute and unyielding.
As a young Second Lieutenant in the early 1980s, I had the opportunity to fly the C-130 Hercules aircraft throughout South Korea. My time in Osan, Busan, Daegu, Kwangju and Cheju-Do were memorable times in my Air Force career and some of the best flying as well. As I fast forward twenty-six years, I am utterly amazed at the transformation and the progress South Korea has made in such a relatively short period of time.
Together, through the mutual cooperation of our two nations, we continue to build on a legacy of success begun long ago by our ancestors and predecessors on the battlefield. This success has continued for more than fifty years. Together we have succeeded in defending freedom, witnessed economic progress, and observed democratic institutions and processes grow.
All of us in United States Forces Korea are totally dedicated to continued freedom and stability on this peninsula. We believe and know our combined defense team is the best trained, best motivated, best equipped, and most professionally led force in the world. As a result of our combined efforts of our defensive partnership, we have also paved the way for our combined economic interests to flourish and prevail.
“We go together” is not just a saying, but a way of life for ROK and US interests.
Khalil Gibran had it right when he said “friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.”
– 한글번역 –
우정은 따뜻한 책임이다
준장 리처드 에스 하다드
주한미 특전사령관
Khalil Gibran이라는 레바논계 미국인은 조국이 자기들을 위해 무엇을 해줄 것인지를 묻지 말고 자기들이 조국을 위해 무엇을 할 수 있는지를 물으라는 케네디 대통령의 유명한 취임 연설에 영감을 주었던 예술가이자 시인이며 작가입니다.
한미동맹이 나에게 무엇을 의미하는지 생각해 볼 때, 나는 영감을 주는 그의 글귀를 인용하지 않을 수 없습니다. “우정은 항상 따뜻한 책임이지, 결코 잇속을 챙기는 기회가 아니다.”
59년 전 발발한 한국전쟁은 20세기의 가장 의미심장한 사건입니다. 공산주의와 압제를 물리치기 위해 정의롭고 용감하게 싸웠던 전사들은 오늘날 한국모습에 대해 각별한 자부심을 가질 것이기 때문입니다. 한국은 국경, 생활방식과 모든 것을 파괴한 전쟁참화에서 일어나 자유롭고 역동적인 사회를 이루었습니다.
한국은 세계의 부러움을 받는 세계의 지도급 국가로서 위대한 민주국가이자 경제대국이 되었습니다. 한국과 미국인들은 이 위대한 동맹을 지키기 위해 전쟁터나 기업회의실에서 형제자매처럼 협력해 왔습니다.
한미동맹은 세 가지 특징이 있습니다.
첫째로 반세기 이상 유지되어 온 강력한 군사연합입니다.
둘째로 경제적 측면입입니다. 60년대 남-북한 경제는 비슷한 수준이었고 북한은 그 자리에 멈추어 있지만, 한국의 GNP는 오늘날 세계 13위가 되었습니다. 이는 한국인들의 직업윤리와 생산성이 뛰어나다는 것을 증명하는 것입니다.
셋째로 한미 양국 간의 우호는 매우 특별하기 때문에 영원히 지속될 것입니다.
미국 군인들은 한국전쟁에서 민주사회에 대한 북한의 공격을 격퇴하기 위하여 함께 싸웠습니다. 그 이래 미국은 한국과의 강력한 군사동맹관계를 발전시켜 왔으며, 이 동맹이 북한의 침략에 대한 강력한 억제력이 되어 왔습니다.
현재 현역 655,000명, 예비역 3,040,000명 등 총 3,695,000명의 병력을 보유한 한국군사력은 세계 최고 수준으로 영토와 국민의 자유를 지키는 강력한 힘이 되고 있습니다.
베트남 전쟁 중 한국군은 용맹을 떨쳤으며, 8년 동안 총 312,000명 이상이 배치된바 있습니다. 최근에 한국군은 국제평화활동에 대한 참여를 확대하고 있습니다. 한국군은 걸프전, 항구적 평화작전, 이라크 자유 작전과 함께, 아프리카, 인도, 파키스탄, 그루지야, 앙골라, 레바논 등에서의 유엔 평화유지활동에 참여해 왔습니다.
한국군과 미군간의 강력한 파트너십은 한국의 주권유지와 영토방위에 기여하였으며, 경제번영의 기초를 닦아 오늘날 한국은 아시아의 4대 경제대국이 되었습니다.
1960년대부터 1980년대까지의 한국경제발전은 “한강의 기적”으로 불리어 왔습니다. 몇 주 전 나는 현대중공업에서 한미우호활동의 일환으로 강연하는 기회가 있었습니다. 나는 세계를 운항하는 5척의 선박중 한척이 현대중공업에서 건조되었다는 사실을 알고 놀랐습니다. 한국은 조선, 컴퓨터메모리칩, 첨단전자 등 중요하고 다양한 분야에서 세계를 주도하고 있습니다.
세계은행은 한국을 고소득 경제국으로 분류하고 있으며, 한국인들은 경쟁력 있는 교육제도, 높은 근로의욕과 생산성을 갖춘 노동력에 대해 자부심을 갖고 있습니다.
1960년대 한국이 채택한 대외 지향적 전략으로 소규모 내수시장, 자원개발부족 현상을 극적으로 변모시켰습니다. 새로운 경제성장전략으로 수출이 증대되고 제조업 부문이 비약적으로 발전하였습니다. 정부가 부여한 인센티브로 외국자본이 유입되고 한국경제는 더욱 역동적인 경제로 상승하였습니다.
의심할 나위 없이 한국인들의 놀라운 의지는 국방과 경제 분야에서 눈부신 발전을 가져온 촉매가 되었습니다. 그러나 나는 한미간 유대관계가 이러한 성공의 원동력이 되었다고 믿고 있습니다.
1980년대 초 초임소위로서 수송기를 몰고 한국전역을 비행할 기회를 가졌던 나로서는 최근에 한국에 다시 부임하여 한국이 짧은 기간 동안 이룩한 엄청난 발전을 보고 무척 놀랐습니다.
우리 두 나라는 함께 협력하여 오래전 전장에서 선조와 선배들이 시작한 성공의 신화를 계속 이어가고 있습니다. 이러한 성공은 50년 이상 계속되었습니다. 우리는 함께 자유를 수호하였고, 경제성장을 이루어 내고, 민주제도와 절차가 발전하는 것을 지켜보았습니다.
주한미군은 한반도에서의 자유증진과 안정에 헌신하였습니다. 방위 파트너십을 위한 공동의 노력의 결과 우리는 공동의 경제이익이 번창하고 증대될 기초를 닦게 되었습니다.
“우리는 함께 간다(We go together)”는 단순한 구호가 아니라 한-미 양국 모두의 이익을 위한 삶의 방식입니다.
Khalil Gibran이 매우 적절하게 지적한 것처럼 ”우정은 항상 따뜻한 책임이지, 결코 잇속을 챙기는 기회가 아니다.“
