Korea To Be Hub of U.S. Overseas Troop Deployments

The U.S. based weekly magazine, Defense News reported on June 1 that the U.S. Department of Defense has planned to utilize Korea as a stronghold to send U.S. armed forces to different regions and make it a central axis of the U.S. forces in the world for their swift implementation of operations.

Under the title, “Global Realignment of U.S. Forces,” Defense News pointed out that “the recent deployment of an army brigade from Korea to Iraq can be regarded as a prelude to the large scale alteration that is being carried out by the Department of Defense in order to rearrange U.S. forces, particularly in Asia.”

This weekly assessed that “utilizing Korea as a central axis for sending troops to other regions is a start of the new objective that is to organize various places for U.S. forces to operate in the world.”

“The plan of sending the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division that has prepared for war against North Korea for more than several decades is the materialization of this new vision. The new vision means the realignment of U.S. forces, which were originally arranged in terms of a ‘Static attitude’ to deal with the intimidations of Soviet Union in the past, into a new ‘Constructive attitude’ that allows U.S. forces around the world to actively deal with brand-new and repulsive intimidations,” added Defense News.

“The high-ranking national defense officials haven’t made any decision yet, and the transfer of manpower will be accomplished with close cooperation between the allied countries,” reported Defense News.

This weekly added that the U.S. Department of Defense has set a new objective: to transfer military manpower to far distant regions within ten days, dominate enemy forces within thirty days from that day, and finally, prepare for another battle within 30 days from the end of that domination. Such an operational plan has materialized in a report titled “Research of Operational Possibility,” which was categorized as “Confidential” in 2003, reported Defense News.

In particular, the Defense Department is considering increasing the numbers of warships and fighters stationed in Guam and Hawaii, and dispatching two more aircraft carrier groups and relevant air assets to Guam and Hawaii to be on station at all times, in order to reduce transfer time over the Pacific Ocean. The Navy is also considering the measure of additional dispatching of attack submarines to Guam.