INDOPACOM has been sending troops and assets to deal with Middle East contingencies for many years. This is nothing new. If these recent deployments lead to the collapse of the Iranian regime that means the U.S. can truly focus on the Pacific in the future instead of constantly dealing with crisis is the Middle East:
Former senior U.S. officials expressed concerns Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has “vacated” some of America’s key military deterrence assets in the Indo-Pacific amid the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran despite growing Chinese threats in what it calls a “priority” theater.
Their remarks came amid reports that Washington has moved parts of its THAAD missile defense system in South Korea to the Middle East, and is dispatching over 2,000 U.S. Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) in Japan to the volatile region, while there is no operational U.S. aircraft carrier in the Indo-Pacific.
“A very large component of the American military capability that is there to deter in the Indo-Pacific has been vacated,” one former U.S. official said in a meeting with reporters.
I am not sure why servicemembers are struggling to pay rent or buy food when they have not missed a paycheck yet unlike their government civilian counterparts:
Visits to food pantries on U.S. military bases in Japan climbed in October during the federal government shutdown, according to an informal survey by Stars and Stripes. The Neighborhood Pantry at the Marine Corps’ Camps Foster and Kinser on Okinawa saw a steady rise in visits, said Angie Tomlin, the community support coordinator for both locations.
About 160 people visited the pantries in October, up from 146 in September and 122 in August, she said Tuesday at the Foster pantry. “We just hope this doesn’t last too long, because I feel like our island resources are going to run out at some point,” she said.
Just another indication that the future of warfare is advanced drones:
South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace is partnering with U.S. manufacturer General Atomics to develop a multi-mission, short-takeoff-and-landing drone the companies call a “game changer,” Hanwha said in a Wednesday news release. The project will produce the Gray Eagle Short Takeoff and Landing unmanned aerial aircraft system, or STOL, a new variant of General Atomics’ Gray Eagle, itself an upgraded version of the widely used MQ-1 Predator.
The new drone will offer “unprecedented runway independence, able to launch from warships to dirt fields and everywhere in between” and can be configured for electronic warfare, over-the-horizon targeting, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, according to General Atomics’ website.
Considering the revolution in drone warfare going on in Ukraine right now, every servicemember should learn how to fly and operate a drone:
The Pentagon wants more small, cheap, easily replaced drones in the hands of troops as quickly as possible, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he is cutting red tape to make that happen. Hegseth, dressed in a dark-colored suit, took to the Pentagon’s parade field on Thursday to record a video announcing his policies on new small drones — officially, unmanned aerial systems — and promoting his memorandum on the matter as an American Flag-bearing drone was flown to him by a service member. Hegseth said the memo would build off a June 6 executive order issued by President Donald Trump meant to boost America’s commercial drone manufacturing and integrate them into the nation’s transportation and military sectors. “This is the future,” Hegseth said over the buzz of the small drone and the blasting of Metallica’s 1991 hit song “Enter Sandman.”
“We’re in the fight. We’re in the fight to win it, and I’m never going to back down.” Hegseth’s new policies aim to cut through bureaucratic policies that limited the military’s ability to quickly purchase and field small drones with vast capabilities ranging from gathering intelligence to dropping small supplies to troops all the way to delivering lethal munitions on enemy positions. “Lethality will not be hindered by self-imposed restrictions, especially when it comes to harnessing technologies we invented but were slow to pursue. Drone technology is advancing so rapidly, our major risk is risk-avoidance,” Hegseth wrote. “The department’s bureaucratic gloves are coming off.”
You can read more at the link, but the biggest problem I see with this initiative is that American drone manufacturers make expensive drones with less capability than China’s DJI drones. They are way ahead of U.S. manufacturers right now, but the U.S. appears to now finally acknowledge it is time to catch up.
A fighter pilot with more than 400 combat flight hours assumed command of the U.S. fighter wing closest to North Korea in a ceremony at this base Friday. Air Force Col. Ryan Ley, an F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot, took charge of the 51st Fighter Wing from Col. William McKibban in front of roughly 250 airmen inside a hangar at Osan, roughly 30 miles from Seoul.
Ley was previously the deputy commander of the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. Prior to that, he was the chief of Combat Air Forces Division at the Directorate of Training and Readiness at the Air Force headquarters in the Pentagon.
Like I had speculated before it does appear that the general officer reductions being considered by the Pentagon could impact USFK and other organizations in the Pacific:
On Monday, Hegseth issued a memo that ordered a minimum 20 percent reduction of four-star active-duty positions and of general officers in the National Guard, as well as an additional minimum 10 percent reduction in general and flag officers — with an aim to “optimize” and “streamline” the U.S. military leadership.
The memo has given rise to speculation that the Pentagon could consider a potential change in the USFK leadership as it seeks to focus primarily on countering evolving threats from China while hoping that regional allies will step up to cope with other challenges, including from North Korea.
Reuters has reported that the USFK commander post and the head of the U.S. Army Pacific might be among the four-star positions that Hegseth might look at.
Asked if the secretary’s order for the reduction would affect the USFK, a U.S. defense official said the Pentagon has no announcements to make at this point.
You can read more at the link, but if the USFK commander is reduced to a three star then the question becomes will the U.S. handover OPCON to the ROK military? This would mean a ROK four-star would lead the Combined Forces Command and the USFK three-star would be the deputy. Dropping the USFK commander to a three-star would put USFK in line with the three-star that commands USFJ.
Additionally if the USARPAC commander is reduced to a three-star shouldn’t the Pacific Fleet (PACFLT) and Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) commanders also be reduced to three-stars and just leave the INDOPACOM commander as the only four-star in the Pacific?
. @SecDef "No more social engineering. No more climate change worship. No more electric tanks. No more gender confusion. No more pronouns. No more excuses. No more quotas.
No more WOKE bullsh*t that undermines commanders and command climates. We are laser focused on our mission… pic.twitter.com/02v9OTHDij
We have been hearing for decades now about the pivot to the Pacific and where in the world does most of the U.S. military’s attention continue to go to? The Middle East of course, just look at the recent Patriot battalion deployment from Korea as the latest example of this:
The United States is delivering a “more forward” force posture in the Indo-Pacific to help deter an increasingly assertive China, the Pentagon chief said Wednesday, calling on allies and partners to “step up” to be “true force multipliers for freedom.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the remarks during a speech at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania, reaffirming America’s security commitment to the Indo-Pacific region and stressing that U.S. President Donald Trump’s America First policy does not mean “America alone.”
“Most importantly, we are deterring Communist China in the Indo-Pacific and around the world to deliver peace in this region,” Hegseth said.
“We are delivering a more forward regional force posture. We are supporting allies and partners … Allies and partners are our force multipliers as they strengthen their own capabilities, including in Taiwan,” he added.
Moving an entire Patriot battalion out of INDOPACOM you would think would be a huge signal to Iran they are about to get smashed if they don’t reign in the Houthis:
U.S. Patriot missile defense systems were recently moved from Asia to the Middle East amid ongoing fighting with Houthi rebels in Yemen and threats from their backers in Iran, the leader of Indo-Pacific Command told lawmakers this week.
Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Adm. Samuel Paparo said the Army had transferred a Patriot battalion from INDOPACOM to the Central Command area of operations as the military builds up its defenses in the region. Tensions have been escalating since the U.S. launched a fresh barrage of airstrikes against the Houthis last month, with President Donald Trump vowing to keep up the pressure until the militants halt attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Trump also has threatened to go after their backers in Iran if the maritime attacks don’t stop.
