The Command Sponsorship Program in Korea (Sharp Point # 23-10)

  • Published
  • By Gen. Walter Sharp
  • United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea commander
YONGSAN GARRISON, Republic of Korea --  1. Accompanied tours for all Service Members stationed in Korea is the long term goal of the Department of Defense; however, we must build additional infrastructure before we can reach this goal. Peninsula-wide, we have increased the number of command sponsored families from about 1,800 in 2008 to over 4,400 today. Based on current infrastructure limitations, all of our areas are currently at or near their Command Sponsorship (CS) capacity. We are at the point where a CS family in Korea must depart in order to allow another CS family to arrive. For those families that are not part of the 4,400 and are on the current wait list, I understand your frustration. In order to accommodate more families we are working hard with the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the military services to put the infrastructure and funding in place as quickly as possible.

2. The issue is complex and, unfortunately, there is no simple answer we can apply to every situation or circumstance. The first step was to establish accessible waiting lists for each area. However, over the past four months, the number of families on our waiting lists has nearly tripled. I acknowledge we have been unable to adequately forecast the actual time families will spend on the wait list, and that is the cause of much frustration. Bottom line is that today CS in Korea can only be offered to about one-third of the over 14,000 Service Members with families.

3. I have established a task force to evaluate the current priorities and processes and determine the modifications needed to ensure the Command Sponsorship Program (CSP) meets our mission needs and is as fair, consistent, predictable, and transparent as possible. I meet regularly with this task force and I will publish changes to CSP shortly.

4. I appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to improve our readiness while providing for the quality of life needs of our Service Members and their families.