Defender Pacific to Exercise Rapidly Deploying U.S. Troops to the South China Sea Region Next Year
Here is how the U.S. Army is trying to remain relevant in a near peer conflict with China:
About a year from now, the Army plans to practice rapidly deploying 8,000 to 10,000 soldiers from the mainland through Western Pacific islands and into nations around the East and South China Seas for training that will send a message to China.
The first “Defender Pacific” — the Pentagon’s most significant exercise for the region in 2020 — is expected to be followed by an even bigger version involving more than 10,000 mainland soldiers.
Gen. Robert Brown, who stepped down Friday as commander of U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter, likes to point out that the United States is in a state of strategic “hyper-competition” with China and Russia.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
After reading about the battles and primarily leadership failures that marked the closing months of 1950, I am forced to conclude that MacArthur and Walker were two of the worst commanders the US Army has ever fielded.
Neither commander acted with wisdom to verify his troops were actually mentally prepared for their role. Neither commander acknowledged the FACT that the PVA was engaged. Neither commander took the time to verify the cohesion in the ROK army units on the flanks.
It’s frankly embarrassing. And I am not saying I could have done better (after all, I’m not a general with so much training and command experience). I just don’t like how we repeat Pearl Harbor or Kasserine Pass every war we fight.
I hope this planning will be more well grounded.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Ch%27ongch%27on_River