ROK–U.S. Combined Ground Command Becomes Permanent Peacetime Unit

Overview

• The South Korea–U.S. Permanent Military Committee approved the shift in late October, and the Combined Ground Component Command began operating as a standing unit last month.
• The new status allows routine assignment of U.S. personnel to a combined staff for joint operational planning and training, starting with the Freedom Shield exercise in March.
• In peacetime the core staff pairs South Korea’s Ground Operations Command with select U.S. forces dual-hatted with the Eighth Army, and the commander is the ROK Ground Operations chief.
• Four of six planned combined component commands—ground, naval, air, and marine—now operate as standing units, with special operations and military intelligence support still being established.
• Seoul and Washington agreed to pursue Full Operational Capability verification of the Future CFC headquarters this year as part of the conditions-based OPCON transition.