Category: USFK

I understand what General Brunson is saying, but I highly doubt the Lee administration would support South Korea being a pillar for deterrence against China:

The commander of American forces in South Korea has underscored the Korean Peninsula’s central role in the U.S. security strategy in the Indo-Pacific region, according to a website of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) on Tuesday, noting the peninsula’s location between the Asian continent and the Pacific region. 

Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of USFK, made the remarks at a lecture at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., last Wednesday at a time when Seoul and Washington are pushing to “modernize” their alliance in a way that would increase South Korea’s role in its own defense and its contributions to addressing regional threats. 

“Korea is not a side chapter in American strategy,” Brunson said, according to the website. “If you put the peninsula in the first chapter, the geometry of the region and the value of our alliances become impossible to ignore.” 

Describing the Korean Peninsula as a “hinge between the Asian continent and Pacific maritime approaches,” Brunson said the peninsula “should be viewed as a central pillar of U.S. and allied strategy.” 

On the Korean Peninsula, Brunson said the U.S. and allied forces are already positioned inside the first island chain, a key perimeter for America’s preeminence against China in the Pacific. 

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This change in security measures at Osan Airbase shows how upset USFK leadership must have been when the Lee administration sent special prosecutors to raid the base without notifying Osan leadership in advance:

The U.S. Air Force in South Korea is set to take measures to tighten security by retaking control of access to a gate at Osan Air Base, currently shared with the South Korean military, officials said Thursday.

The move comes after the U.S. military lodged a complaint over a special counsel team’s search and seizure at the air base in Pyeongtaek, some 65 kilometers south of Seoul, in July as part of its investigation into former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law bid.

Currently, the U.S. side controls access to two of three gates that are in use at the air base, which also stations key facilities operated by the South Korean Air Force, such as the Air Force Operations Command and the Air Force Master Control and Reporting Center.

Once the tighter security measure goes into effect next month, South Korean military personnel would need U.S.-approved defense identification cards to access the remaining gate at the air base. The South’s military now can access it with identification cards issued by the South Korean government.

The U.S. 51st Fighter Wing confirmed that base access requirements have been “updated” to ensure security.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It is pretty rare for one of these drones to crash and fortunately no one on the ground was hurt:

A U.S. Air Force unit based in South Korea said Tuesday it is currently investigating the cause of the recent crash of its MQ-9 Reaper drone off the country’s west coast.

On Monday, the U.S. Air Force drone stationed at Kunsan Air Base crashed near Maldo-ri Island off the western city of Gunsan, about 180 kilometers south of Seoul, although no injuries or damage were reported.

“The incident is still under investigation,” the 8th Fighter Wing said in response to Yonhap News Agency’s inquiry about the cause of the accident. “In the meantime, we can confirm … when an incident happens, we immediately conduct thorough investigations, implement corrective actions, and ensure accountability at every level.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Fortunately no one in the helicopter or on the ground were injured due to this emergency landing caused by a maintenance fault:

A U.S. Army helicopter made a precautionary landing approximately 110 miles from its home base in South Korea after detecting a potential mechanical issue, according to the 2nd Infantry Division. Two AH-64 Apache pilots based at Humphreys were on a routine training flight near Kunsan Air Base on Monday when they detected an apparent problem with the aircraft, the command said in a news release that day. The unarmed Apache landed near Buan city at 12:10 p.m. out of an abundance of caution, 2nd ID spokesman Maj. Steven Modugno told Stars and Stripes by email the next day.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It looks like Eighth Army may finally get a long term commander:

The former commander of the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division has been nominated by President Donald Trump to lead U.S. ground operations in South Korea. Maj. Gen. Joseph Hilbert was nominated Friday to promotion to lieutenant general and assignment as commander of the Eighth Army, according to a Pentagon news release Friday. The post requires Senate confirmation. Hilbert now serves as the special assistant to the commander of U.S. Army Pacific out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Eighth Army is now on its third commander in less than a year with a permanent commander yet to be appointed:

A new acting commander took charge recently of Eighth Army, the U.S. field army in South Korea, after his predecessor took on a new role as deputy commanding general of the service’s ROTC program. Maj. Gen. William Taylor, previously the operations director for U.S. Forces Korea, U.N. Command and Combined Forces Command, on Aug. 7 assumed command of Eighth Army from Brig. Gen. Sean Crockett, army spokesman James Choi said by email Tuesday. All three commands and the 2nd Infantry Division are headquartered at Camp Humphreys, the largest U.S. military base overseas, about 40 miles south of Seoul in Pyeongtaek city. A former director of Army Aviation, Taylor led 2nd ID at Humphreys from May 2023 to June 2024.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

There is still plenty of procedural hurdles this bill has to go through before being passed, but the Senate is trying to prevent the Trump administration from making any proposed cuts to USFK’s current troop levels:

 A Senate defense policy bill for fiscal year 2026 includes a ban on the use of funds to reduce the number of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) troops below the current 28,500, its text showed Thursday amid concerns that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration could seek a USFK troop cut.

Posted on Congress’s website, the Senate bill — the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — contains the ban for the first time in five years. It also reaffirms the “sense of Congress” on reinforcing the South Korea-U.S. alliance by maintaining the current USFK troop level.

The bill comes amid speculation that the Trump administration could consider a USFK reduction and call on South Korea to increase its defense spending for its own defense, as Washington prioritizes deterring the “pacing threat” from an increasingly assertive China.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This seems to be a trial balloon warning of what could happen to USFK if the ROK is not cooperative in allowing U.S. military units in Korea to be used to respond to regional crisises. The recent deployment of Patriot missile defense units off the peninsula shows that the ROK was cooperative with that deployment:

A U.S. think tank recommended a reduction of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) troop level to about 10,000 from the current 28,500 in a report released Wednesday, amid speculation that the Pentagon might weigh the idea of a troop drawdown on the Korean Peninsula to prioritize deterring Chinese threats.

Defense Priorities, a Washington-based institution, released the report, titled “Aligning global military posture with U.S. interests,” saying that the U.S. troop presence should be reduced even further if Seoul limits the U.S. ability to use USFK assets to address other regional security crises outside the peninsula.

The report was written by Jennifer Kavanagh, senior fellow and director of military analysis at the think tank, and Dan Caldwell, a former senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The think tank recommended cutting all ground combat units not tied to base security from South Korea, along with Army signal, intelligence, and headquarters units, and some of their associated support and sustainment units — a reduction that would remove most of the 2nd Infantry Division from Korea, including the rotational brigade combat team and Army combat aviation units.

It also said that the U.S. should cut airpower based in Korea, moving two fighter squadrons from U.S. bases in South Korea back to the U.S. and that about a third of air maintenance and other support units and personnel can also be returned stateside.

“In total, this would reduce the total U.S. military presence in South Korea by more than 50 percent, leaving about 10,000 personnel along with two fighter squadrons (including a larger super squadron) and support forces.

“The ground personnel left would be primarily for support, sustainment, logistics, and maintenance, leaving the responsibility for combat operations in the event of any crisis on the peninsula to South Korean forces.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.