Korea kept finding its way back into Gene Richards’ life. He first arrived in the country as an 18-year-old U.S. soldier. More than three decades later, that connection has led him to an unexpected new chapter: a job with a Korean company in his home state of Indiana. Richards is now the external relations coordinator for SK ecoplant in West Lafayette and the first person hired through the USFK Job Platform, a platform connecting former and soon-to-retire U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) personnel with Korean companies operating in the U.S. Korea was a recurring part of Richards’ 27-year Army career. “My first assignment was actually the first time I’d ever left the U.S. It was my first time overseas,” Richards told The Korea Times in a written interview. Richards was stationed at Camp Humphreys in 1990, working in military intelligence. He returned to the same base in 1993 and 1994 and came back to Korea again in 1996. Later, after becoming an officer, Richards served in Korea from 2008 to 2010, working with G3 Aviation of the Eighth Army and as executive officer of the Korean Service C