Carter Reaffirms Alliance as South Korean President, Defense Minister Visit Pentagon

WASHINGTON, October 15, 2015 — In a meeting with South Korea’s president and defense minister at the Pentagon today, Defense Secretary Ash Carter reaffirmed the strength of the U.S.-South Korean alliance as the linchpin of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and across the Asia-Pacific region, Defense Department officials said.

In a statement, officials noted that Carter welcomed President Park Geun-hye and Defense Minister Han Min-koo to the Pentagon with a full military honors parade, the first of the secretary's tenure.

In his meetings with Park and Han, Carter  strongly reassured both leaders of the ironclad U.S. commitment to South Korea’s defense, the statement said.

Continued Cooperation

“The leaders discussed areas of mutual concern in the Asia-Pacific,” the Defense Department statement said, “including the challenges posed by North Korea, and the importance of continued alliance cooperation and coordination to deter and, if necessary, defend against and defeat North Korean threats.”

Carter and Han agreed to establish an interagency working group to enhance cooperation on defense technology issues, the statement said, and also discussed opportunities to increase alliance cooperation on space and cyberspace.

Navy Plays Key Role in CJLOTS 2015 Combined Weather Team

By Staff Sgt. Christopher Perkey and Capt. Agneta Murnan, CJLOTS 2015 Public Affairs

ANMYEON BEACH, Republic of Korea (NNS) -- The Navy played a key role in a combined weather team which helped to overcome the challenges of extreme tidal fluctuations on the west coast of South Korea during the Combined Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (CJLOTS) 2015 exercise June 29 to July 9.

At Anmyeon, the tide can vary up to 8 meters (29 feet), but wave heights, tide schedules, sea states, ocean currents, changing beach shape, wind speeds and visibility all factored into U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) decision-making about the safe and efficient movement of cargo from the sea to the shore.

Around the clock, a team of U.S. and ROK meteorologists and oceanographers (METOC) worked through data and weather model analysis to inform the decisions of commanders and harbor masters, directing the complex flow of amphibious cargo movements.

Because ROK and U.S. forecasters use different models, it was important to collaborate in order to achieve consensus on predictions about the sea and sky conditions.

"One team, one forecast," said Lt. Cmdr. Gon, the Expeditionary Strike Group 3 METOC detachment officer in charge.

More than 40 vessels had to maneuver safely in the sea area. Vehicles, cargo and service members were in constant motion ashore.

"I considered every phase of the exercise for safety," said ROK Senior Chief Petty Officer Lee, Soon Hwa, the ROK Navy's lead weather instructor for its education command. "I had to think about the operations to advise go, or no-go, decisions."

The CJLOTS 2015 exercise tested both ROK and U.S. pipelines, ROK amphibious cargo deliveries and the establishment of a temporary 560 meter (1,840 foot pier) Trident Pier.

Because operational and weather information were so interrelated, both the METOC and the harbor masters controlling movements were located together on the beach.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Anthony Chavis, a battlefield weather forecaster for the 18th Weather Squadron at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, said he stepped in as staff weather officer to provide real time data to the harbormasters next-door.

"If you don't have a weather person here that is experienced at analyzing the situation as far as the weather perspective, you may not have the lead time for the person in charge to make a timely and informed decision to protect their assets in bad weather," said Chavis.

"The implemented Air Force staff weather officers are absolutely vital to the operations that we do here," said Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Clinton M. Smith, commander of the 545th Harbor Master Detachment, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. "They give us the weather forecast anywhere from 24 hours to a week of information at a time, to make the decisions that made CJLOTS 2015 successful."

Some vessels and equipment needed to be moved in low tide conditions, some at high tide. The tides might move sand mass to the pier or away from it. Given the complexity of operations, Lee said he knew that the combined team's work was essential to the exercise's success.

"This is my third time for CJLOTS," said Lee. "This was the best for me because I did my job successfully, and the exercise was successful."

Logistics Over-the-Shore (LOTS) operations are military activities that include offshore loading and unloading of ships when fixed port facilities are unavailable or denied due to enemy activities. LOTS operations are conducted over unimproved shorelines, through fixed ports not accessible to deep draft shipping, and through fixed ports that are otherwise inadequate without the use of LOTS capabilities.

"This Combined Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore exercise conducted by the ROK and U.S. forces is significant in the sense that it was the first successfully conducted exercise in the west sea overcoming operational difficulties and limitations," said Republic of Korea Navy Rear Adm. Park, Ki Kyung, Flotilla 5 commander.

More than 1,700 total personnel took part in the CJLOTS 2015 exercise with approximately 900 U.S. and 800 ROK personnel participating in the event. The exercise, which took place June 29 through July 9 at the Anmyeon Beach on the west coast of the Republic of Korea, demonstrated the ROK and U.S. ability to transfer solid and liquid cargo from the sea to the shore and is designed to improve logistics interoperability, communication and cooperation between the U.S. and South Korea.

Ulchi Freedom Guardian Promotes Stability on Korean Peninsula

By Donna Miles

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON – As the United States and South Korea observe the 59th anniversary of the armistice that brought an unofficial end to the Korean War, their forces are sharpening their defensive capabilities through the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise.

More than 30,000 U.S. and South Korean service members are participating in what Army Gen. James D. Thurman, commander of Combined Forces Command, called “a key exercise in strengthening the readiness” of the two militaries.

Named in honor of a Korean military leader who repelled an invasion by China’s Sui dynasty in the 7th century, Ulchi Freedom Guardian 12 kicked off Aug. 20 and continues through next week.

Seven United Nations Command states also are participating: Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Norway, officials said.

One of two annual Combined Forces Command peninsula-wide exercises, Ulchi Freedom Guardian is centered on readiness, deterrence and the ability to defend South Korea.

Driven by computer-assisted simulation, it is designed so senior leaders can exercise their decision-making capabilities, U.S. Forces Korea officials said, while also training commanders and staffs from both nations in combined planning, command and control operations, military intelligence, logistics and personnel procedures.

“It is based on realistic scenarios and enables us to train on our essential tasks with a ‘whole of government’ approach,” Thurman said.

Ulchi Freedom Guardian is part of an ongoing focus on strengthening the U.S.-South Korea alliance while preparing South Korea to assume wartime operational control of its forces from the United States in 2015, officials said.

Thurman told the House Appropriations Committee this spring the U.S.-South Korea alliance is “as solid as ever,” and said it serves as the foundation for the combined readiness of the two militaries. The general said he and his South Korean military counterparts are guiding military leaders and units of both militaries “to work and train closely with one another on a daily basis, and that effort builds combined strength, faith, and trust -- qualities that are essential for us to successfully accomplish our mission in Korea.”

Training exercises like Ulchi Freedom Guardian, carried out in the spirit of the Oct. 1, 1953, ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty and in accordance with the armistice, advance those efforts, U.S. Forces Korea officials said.

“These exercises also highlight the longstanding military partnership, commitment and enduring friendship between the two nations, help to ensure peace and security on the peninsula and reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the Northeast Asia region,” they said.

Ulchi Freedom Guardian 2012 comes at a time of transition on the peninsula, with the new and relatively untested North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, continuing Pyongyang’s pursuit of nuclear weapons in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, told American Forces Press Service he considers North Korea the most pressing trouble spot in Pacom’s vast area of responsibility.

“If there is anything that keeps me awake at night, it’s that particular situation,” the admiral said. “We have to ensure that we maintain as much of a stable environment on the Korean peninsula as we can.”

Toward that end, Locklear relies heavily on Thurman’s leadership to ensure that South Korean and U.S. forces remain strong.  In March, he emphasized the importance of the U.S.-South Korean alliance in deterring aggression and maintaining security and stability and offered assurances of an “unwaverable” U.S. commitment to the alliance.