U.S. to realign air force command in S.K.: sources

Posted on : 2006-09-28 15:35 KST Modified on : 2006-09-28 15:35 KST
Move said to be part of military command handover preparation

The U.S. government is reportedly considering realigning its command structure at its Osan Air Force Base in Gyeonggi Province, amid talks underway for Seoul’s taking over of wartime control of its troops from Washington.

According to sources familiar with U.S Forces Korea (USFK), Washington is planning to open a new command headquarters named the "Korean Peninsular Air Force Command Post" inside the air base, which will take over command from the 7th Air Force located in the heart of Osan, 55 kilometers south of Seoul.

USFK officials said nothing has been fixed regarding the creation of the headquarters. Decision regarding which jurisdiction the headquarters will be placed under has also yet to be made, sources said, but once the new body initiates its operation, it would accelerate in realigning troops here in South Korea around the air force, while reducing ground operations.

Along with the new headquarters, the U.S. is also planning to deploy state-of-the-art combat and unmanned reconnaissance aircraft in the air base in order to strengthen its military readiness.

Washington was supposed to create an "East Asian Air Force Command Post" with more strategic flexibility and readiness, but according to sources it instead chose to open the Korean command post at the Osan Air Force Base. The move was in response to rising concerns among South Koreans regarding a possible pullout of U.S. troops from the peninsula, according to the sources.

Since 2003, the U.S. has pushed for the creation of two such headquarters in the Pacific theater, five on the Asian mainland, and one more in Europe under its global troop realignment plan, called the Global Posture Review (GPR).

The opening of the air force command post here in South Korea is also being interpreted as an effort to brace for the era following Seoul’s recovering wartime control of its troops from Washington. After the command handover, the U.S. troops will likely to play only a supporting role for the South Korean military, which some experts say will lead to Washington to further strengthen its naval and air force presence on the peninsula.

Indeed, Gen. Burwell B. Bell, commander of the USFK, confirmed in an article he contributed to a Korean journal this June that U.S. troops will play a supporting role under changed command conditions, and said that efforts should be made by both allies to determine the appropriate ratio of naval, air, and ground forces on the Korean peninsula.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry also recently dismissed concerns that the air force would be excluded in the ongoing negotiations on Seoul’s taking back wartime military command, reportedly due to the U.S.’s superior air warfare capability.

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