South Korea and the United States will conduct the 'Eulji Freedom Shield' (UFS) exercises from August 17 to 27, aimed at establishing joint defense readiness and preparing for the transfer of wartime operational control. This defensive exercise reflects recent training analysis and is expected to effectively conclude the verification of the Future Combined Forces Command's Full Operational Capability (FOC).
On August 10, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff and the U.S.-South Korea Combined Forces Command announced the schedule for this year's UFS exercises, describing them as an annual defensive training event.
During the exercise period, both nations plan to enhance their national emergency preparedness and improve the capability for total national mobilization through government department training and actual drills to protect citizens' lives and safety. The 'Warrior Shield' allied training, linked to the exercise scenario, will also be conducted to strengthen realism and combat readiness.
This year's UFS will be conducted in three phases: Crisis Management Exercise (CMX), Part 1 of the main exercise, and Part 2 of the main exercise, with approximately 18,000 South Korean troops and 5,000 U.S. troops participating, similar to last year's scale.
However, during this period, the two countries plan to conduct 14 combined outdoor maneuver exercises (FTX) at the battalion level or higher, a reduction from 17 last year. In 2022, there were a total of 22 exercises at the company level or higher during the UFS.
In the past, under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, the Freedom Shield (FS) and UFS periods saw concentrated deployments of combined FTX, but under the Lee Jae-myung administration, there has been a trend of distributing FTX throughout the year.
A Joint Chiefs of Staff official explained, "The U.S. and South Korea are maintaining a constant joint defense posture and enhancing capabilities by integrating combined outdoor maneuver exercises at the battalion level or higher, conducting them in a balanced manner throughout the year."
The United Nations Command plans to involve member countries in this exercise, while the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission will observe compliance with the armistice agreement.
A UN Command official stated, "This year's UFS will see participation from a similar number of member countries as in previous years, with 12 member countries, including the United States, sending additional personnel to participate in the exercises."
Notably, this exercise is considered a significant turning point in the evaluation and verification process for the transfer of operational control.
The U.S. and South Korea plan to effectively complete the second phase evaluation of the Future Combined Forces Command's Full Operational Capability through this UFS command post exercise and report to their military leaders.
The government is pushing to officially decide and present the year for the operational control transfer, referred to as the 'X year,' during the 58th U.S.-South Korea Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) scheduled for October in Washington, D.C.
However, it has been reported that the 'Future Combined Forces Command-led' exercise, in which a South Korean four-star general serves as commander, will not be conducted during this year's UFS.
During this exercise, Major General Xavier Brunson will serve as the combined forces commander throughout the duration, in accordance with the current structure of the U.S.-South Korea Combined Forces Command.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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