ROK Military Confirms Deployment of U.S. Patriot Batteries to the Middle East
This has long been reported, but the ROK military has confirmed the deployment of U.S. Patriot missile batteries off the peninsula for the first time:
About 200 U.S. troops based in South Korea have been temporarily redeployed to the Middle East, according to a South Korean military official cited in a local news report. The soldiers were part of a Patriot missile-defense unit stationed in South Korea and deployed to an undisclosed location the Middle East last month, the Ministry of National Defense official told South Korean broadcast KBS for a report Friday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, a common practice for government sources in the South. The South Korean defense ministry referred questions to U.S. Forces Korea, which oversees approximately 28,500 American troops on the peninsula. In an email Monday, USFK spokesman David Kim said the command “maintains a ready, capable and lethal force” but declined to provide further details, citing operational security. Patriot batteries are deployed across U.S. military bases in South Korea to protect against potential threats from the North.
You can read more at the link, but this is what strategic flexibility that U.S. military leaders have been advocating for USFK looks like.
