Camp Bonifas
Camp Bonifas is the base camp for the United Nations Command Security Force--Joint Security Area. It is located 400 meters south of the southern boundary of the Demilitarized Zone. Camp Bonifas is home to the soldiers who support the Military Armistice Commission at the JSA. In 1991, major changes took place with the removal of the 2d Infantry Division from the DMZ patrol mission. An additional mission was added -- to provide for security patrols within its area of responsibility in the DMZ. The name of Camp Kitty Hawk was changed to Camp Bonifas and Camp Liberty Bell (formerly the 2d ID camp) was annexed and named East Bonifas.

Camps Bonifas and Liberty Bell are two of the forty-two camps north of Seoul authorized Hardship Duty Pay of $150 per month as of 01 January 2001. The Hardship Duty Pay is paid to troops who are permanently assigned to areas where it is authorized or who serve 30 consecutive days of temporary duty in those areas. Several factors are considered in determining whether a location qualified for the pay: climate, physical and social isolation, sanitation, disease, medical facilities, housing, food, recreational and community facilities, political violence, harassment and crime. The extra pay provides meaningful financial recognition to troops assigned in areas where living conditions are substantially below US standards.

The United Nations Command Security Battalion-Joint Security Area (UNCSB-JSA) was established during the Korean War to provide security and logistical support to the United Nation Command elements involved in the ongoing armistice negotiations. The unit was founded on 5 May 1952 and has been stationed at Panmunjom since that date.

Two UNCSB-JSA officers were killed and eight soldiers wounded on 18 August 1976, during the infamous Ax Murderer Incident at Panmunjom when a numerically superior north Korean force attacked the United Nations Command soldiers guarding a civilian work detail trimming a tree inside the Joint Security Area. Previously Camp Kitty Hawk, Camp Bonifas was redesignated on August 18, 1986, ten years after a JSA officer, Captain Arthur G. Bonifas, was slain by North Korean KPA guards wielding pick handles, knives, clubs and axes on August 18, 1976, when they attempted to prune a tree blocking the view between two outposts near the Bridge of No Return. The event is commonly known as "The Ax Murder Incident." A UNC security officer, 1Lt. Mark T. Barrett, was also killed during the clash.

The camp's personnel provide 24-hour security of United Nations Command personnel and their guests within the JSA, and control entry into and exit from the JSA. They also provide security to the villagers of Tae Song Dong and supervision of civil affairs within the village. The soldiers also provide tours to the JSA, usually referred to as Panmunjom. Since the ROK government began allowing civilians to visit, more than 100,000 people tour the JSA each year. Briefings are available in English, Korean, Japanese and Chinese.

The UNC Security Force--JSA is tasked to provide all logistical support and security to all United Nations Command personnel working in the JSA. Members of the camp have been involved in many actions, to include OPERATION BREECHES BUOY, return of the crew of the US S. Pueblo on Dec. 23, 1968; repatriation of 39 South Korean National civilians passengers of the hijacked Korean Air Lines aircraft on Feb. 14, 1970 and OPERATION PAUL BUNYAN which cut down the tree that figured prominently in the "Ax Murder Incident." Their motto, "In Front of Them All," is a reflection of the commitment to helping maintain the peace in a divided country.

For over 45 years, the men of the United Nations Command Security Battalion-Joint Security Area have stood at the front line of freedom 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As the most forward-deployed unit on the Peninsula as well as among all the US Armed Forces around the world, the UNCSB-JSA proudly stands face-to-face with aggressive forces to preserve the Armistice and help bring about the peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula.