U.S. troops face new rules after brawls

SEOUL, March 18 (UPI) -- U.S. soldiers in South Korea are facing tighter restrictions, including a ban on drinking, after several weekend incidents of misconduct, officials said Monday.

Maj. Gen. Edward Cardon, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, said the new rules were being put in place because the actions of 10 soldiers "have undermined the overall readiness of the command and impacted our relationship with our Korean neighbors," the Stars and Stripes reported.

Cardon's restrictions include suspension of alcohol consumption, termination of all three-and four-day weekend passes, reviews of soldiers involved in past misconduct and leadership seminars focused on discipline and division readiness.

One U.S. soldier was hospitalized with stab wounds after he and four other service members got into a brawl with the manager of nightclub in the city of Dongducheon outside the base early Saturday morning. Three of the other soldiers received minor injuries, the newspaper said.

In a separate incident Sunday, a soldier shoved a Korean police officer, who then fell down stairs, and another soldier struck a police officer, division officials said.

The encounters capped a string of recent incidents in which a half dozen soldiers from the division were accused of harassing a Korean women on a subway train and service members not part of the 2nd Infantry were accused of shooting passengers with a BB gun and leading police on a high speed chase.