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ROK, U.S. Chiefs Inspect Front Lines During Freedom Shield Exercise

Seoul is using this year's drills to advance a conditions-based transfer of wartime command to South Korean control.

Overview

  • Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Jin Yong-sung and USFK/Combined Forces Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson visited Baengnyeong Island to review Warrior Shield field training and the combined defense posture.
  • Gen. Jin and Gen. Brunson convened at CP-TANGO a day earlier to assess readiness and observe the theater operations center directing peninsula-wide activities.
  • Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Gyu-ha inspected an urban operations site in Incheon that trained Army, civilian, government, police and firefighting personnel together.
  • Multinational augmentees from U.N. Command member states arrived for Freedom Shield and visited the Joint Security Area and the War Memorial of Korea as part of their orientation.
  • The Seventh Air Force integrated airpower into the drills and U.S. Space Forces Korea launched space component operations, as Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back pressed to complete the second phase of the OPCON assessment by year-end.