The military unit on the U.S. side of the discussion is the 8th Army who is currently stationed in South Korea. In order to work towards this objective senior leaders along with high ranking representives from both the First and Third ROK (Republic of Korea) met at ROK army headquarters to roadmap avenues that could synchronize the sustainment aspect of planning operations. One such 8th Army senior leader is, Brig. Gen. Chris Gentry; who said the meetings "(d)emonstrated the ROK-U.S. Alliance's commitment to combined readiness...Our combined logistical efforts play a critical role in the success of the ROK-U.S. alliance".
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| Eighth Army Deputy Commanding General for Sustainment Brig Gen. Chris Gentry speaks at the combined logistics meeting at the First ROK Army Headquarters, May 3, 2013. |
A large mart of this discussion was focused on the Korean Demillitarized Zone, which is guarded by the Third ROK Army, as well as the eastern front, guarded by the First ROK Army. Due to the United States military's ability to conduct complex and unified land missions the 8th Army has a significant responsibility in that it much observe and take under its care a region of the world that contains over a quarter of all United States global trade as well as two thirds of the world's most powerful militaries. This responsibility in itself is so significant that it makes it much more that impressive how the 8th Army is still attempting to improve their stance in the region. In addition to the 8th Army, multiple other Support Brigades, Medical Brigades, as well as Sustainment Brigades attended the meeting.
So, you might wonder why this is all important and you'd have a right to. With the North Korean conflict yet again simmering down and this region being 6,900 miles away, news from this area is taking a back burner to the significant struggles we are overcoming back home. But we must remember how it is always important and necessary to both improve our military's combined logisticial operations thoughout the world and on the home front in order to maintain out stance as a global power who is continutsously on watch for international threats.
This issue also poses another question. What are the logistical capabilities of the north Korean Army, and has anyone looked at this before? Thinking back to Afghanistan or the Korean War, one can see the difficulties and consequences of extreme terrain. The rugged mountains on the Korean Peninsula canalized the advance of north Korean and NATO forces during the war. As a result the war became a one-tank-front at times. Destruction or blockage of avenues of approach may be critical to stopping a north Korean advance. Has there been an analysis on the LOCs for the north Korean Army? Are there any choke points (bridges, mountain passes, tunnels, railway networks) that are key terrain for the north Korean or Allied advance? Does north Korea possess river fording units? Blocking the few arteries that run north to south on the peninsula may be the key to winning the war.
ReplyDeleteCruising through www.army.mil and other websites that display news/information about our armed services have a majority their articles about Korea focusing on the northern part of the peninsula and all the nuclear conflicts we have been recently experiencing. palletline depots
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