US Army Korea - mid 1990s

Good question. The Gulf war probably affected tour lengths in Germany, and that may have filtered back to Korea and the States as well. That notwithstanding, it's probably fairly safe to assume similar.

On a four year tour, I spent a full two years in Germany after Basic/AIT, then the remainder in the States. There were lots of guys in my unit that came from Korea and I think it worked the same as far as I know.

In the 1990s, most tours to Korea were 12 months. You could apply for command sponsorship to take your family with you, which entails a 3-year commitment (usually officers/Senior NCOs, but exceptions did happen).

Once there, you could apply for (and almost always were granted) an extension of 6 or 12 months if you liked it enough to stay.

I believe you were granted mid-tour leave for being in Korea (two-weeks). Lots of people went to Japan/Australia/Hawaii on leave in those days.

*note - this is based on my experiences in the U.S. Army during that time frame. AF/Navy/Marine rules/regulations may have been different.*

Got a buddy who did two tours, both one year I think, in Korea in that relative time frame, interrupted by Gulf 1. He liked Korea, ending up loving Korean food and makes a solid Kimchee. Served in Germany and Stateside for a while, then ended his career in Afghanistan when he got hit by an idiot in a Humvee that swerved to miss a goat.

He was career, made it 17 years before they didn't need him. Now he curses the VA and frequents a Korean restaurant near us. As far as he was concerned, he had a year in Korea and an option for an additional six months but, I think because of his specialty (mechanic), they kind of moved him around to various locations with tanks as needed. He does a great job on a Jeep Wrangler.

Jeff