Strengthening Bonds: Joint initiative enhances ROK-US interoperability

CAMP HUMPHREYS, Republic of Korea – Recently, a joint contingent of senior noncommissioned Officers from the U.S. Armed Forces, the Republic of Korea Army and the New Zealand Defence Force embarked on a two-week battlefield circulation initiative, in conjunction with Ulchi Freedom Shield, a larger peninsula-wide joint training exercise.

The primary aim of this endeavor was to deepen bonds and increase understanding and interoperability between coalition partners, reinforcing the strength and unity of the 71-year alliance.

“Anytime the ROK/US senior enlisted leaders can gain a better understanding of each other’s war-fighting capabilities, and spend time with service members, serving on freedom's frontier — that is time well spent,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Jack Love, United States Forces Korea command sergeant major and senior enlisted advisor. “The mutual trust we build in training ensures our lethality in crisis or conflict.”

The battlefield circulation saw the contingent of senior leaders travel to various ROK operational commands across the peninsula. They received demonstrations of airborne operations, maritime strategy, hands-on experience with some ROK armored vehicles, and an introduction to the surveillance capabilities of Korean forces, providing insight into the strategies and structure of ROK Forces both on land and sea.

“All of the battlefield circulations that we've done continue to answer a lot of the questions I've had over the last couple of years such as retention and recruitment needs of the ROK military, and the posture of our allied forces. We see a lot of ROK military bases, but until now I wasn't really sure how they operated and I'm grateful for that clarity,” said Sgt. Maj. Eric Olsen, operations sergeant major, United States Forces Korea. “Beyond visiting and training, events like this raise morale and address the needs of servicemembers in the US and ROK military. I would also say that building this cohort of senior enlisted leaders allows us to communicate more effectively and work together with other units at different echelons so we can generate new solutions to problems that senior enlisted leaders might not be able to solve on their own.”

The leaders not only shared battle plans and strategies, but also swapped command practices, philosophies and approaches to caring for and looking after their troops.

“Each unit we visited during UFS 24 displayed a very high level of competence and commitment to the mission,” said Love. “General LaCamera and I are incredibly proud of every Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine and Guardian, both ROK and US, serving here on the Korean Peninsula.”