Just when you thought there were no more “Coalition of the Willing” folks left in Iraq:

A South Korean general offered a wish for peace in Iraq on Monday as his troops ended a five-year reconstruction mission in the country — the latest departure from the dwindling U.S.-led coalition.

The South Koreans are among troops from 13 countries being sent home in advance of the Dec. 31 expiration of the U.N. mandate that authorized military operations in Iraq. The South Koreans will begin leaving Wednesday and are all due to depart by Dec. 20, the country’s military said.

On a personal note, my unit ran into the South Korean army while waiting in Kuwait to jump into Iraq in 2005. They were VERY friendly and had a fixation with taking pictures with female troops… especially the blond girls. The fellow in my picture here took a liking to my platoon sergeant’s pipe which he unabashedly posed with while practically on his lap.

Troops leaving Iraqi cities

The U.S. military in Iraq is abandoning – deliberately and with little public notice – a centerpiece of the widely acclaimed strategy it adopted nearly two years ago to turn the tide against the insurgency.

Now the Americans are reversing direction, consolidating in larger bases outside the cities and leaving security in the hands of the Iraqis while remaining within reach to respond as the Iraqi forces require.

They’re moving to places like LSA Anaconda (now called Joint Base Balad), a place I wrote about here.  Permanent duty station, here we come!

Fantasy conversation in my head between a new Army recruit and their recruiter:

Recruiter:  “You have a few choices of permanent duty station, please pick two:  Landstuhl in Germany, Osan Air Base in South Korea, or Joint Base Balad in Iraq.  You choose.”

Recruit:  “hmmm…  they all have Burger King’s.  Tough choice.”

Regardless, it’s nice to FINALLY receive news that troops are pulling out of outlaying Iraqi towns and cities and moving back to garrisons in a relatively peaceful fashion.

Oh, and P.S.:  Afghanistan here we come.

The shift is not explicitly linked to U.S. plans for increasing its military presence in Afghanistan, but there is an important connection: The logistical resources needed to house and supply a larger and more distributed U.S. force in Afghanistan have been tied up in Iraq. To some extent that will be relieved with the consolidation of U.S. forces in Iraq onto larger, outlying bases that are easier to maintain.