By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young

 

On Aug. 21, the third day of the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, President Yoon Suk-yeol visited the Army Ground Operations Command (GOC) to inspect the military readiness and status of the exercise and to encourage the South Korean and U.S. soldiers participating in the exercise.
 

As a command and control unit of about 250,000 soldiers, more than half of the ROK Armed Forces, the Army GOC is the core unit of national defense that deter North Korea's provocations through training, combat readiness, and ground alert operations in peacetime, and commands all ROK and U.S. ground forces in wartime as a component command of the Combined Ground Forces Command.

 

 

This is the first visit by the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces since the creation of the U.S. Ground Forces Command in 2019 by merging the 1st and 3rd Field Forces, and is intended to inspect the robust joint defense posture and confirm the successful implementation of the Eulji Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise.

 

“The center of the battlefield, the vanguard of unity, I am proud and confident in the men and women of GOC,” the president wrote in his guest book after arriving at the command center, expressing his strong faith in the military. 

 

The president then posed for photos with key officials, including Commander of the ROK Army Ground Operations Command Gen. Son Sik, Commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Gen. Paul LaCamera, and Gen. Christopher LaNeve, Commander of U.S. Eighth Army.

 

The president then visited the Combat Operations Center, located in the basement, where he received a briefing from Son on military readiness against the North Korean threat and the status of UFS exercises. 

 

 

“I would like to express my respect and gratitude to you, Mr. President, for your unlimited trust and affection for our uniformed service members, making us proud to wear the uniform,” Son said. “Through successful UFS exercises, we will strengthen our joint defense posture and support peace through strength with overwhelming ground operations capabilities,” Son said.

 

The president encouraged the U.S. and South Korean soldiers who are working hard on the exercise and called for thorough joint readiness so that North Korea does not dare to cross us. “The North Korean regime is the most irrational group on earth, capable of provocation at any time,” the president said, emphasizing that only the strong security posture of our military can prevent them from making a mistake. 

 

“Every soldier must be armed with the conviction to defend the lives, safety, and liberal democratic system of our people,” the president said, adding, ‘We must make sure that the North Korean regime, which dreams of a unified Korea, understands that ’aggression means the end of the regime.”

 

“The UFS exercises are important for checking the readiness of the National Total War and strengthening the united defense posture to realize 'peace through strength,'” the President said, noting that ”our government has been strengthening its readiness by reviving the UFS exercises after a three-year hiatus, and as it enters its third year, we are further systematizing the exercises and drills.” 

 

The President also called for “close coordination with government ministries to ensure that we are ready to respond to complex provocative situations.”

 

 

The President also expressed his special gratitude to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces, noting that they are “the backbone of our joint defense posture and the core of our alliance.”

 

“I have full trust in you as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, and I wish you much success in the drills,” the president concluded, leading a chant of ”We go together! We go together!” 
 

After the pep talk, the president shook hands with each of the more than 70 U.S. and South Korean soldiers participating in the exercise in an operations room in the Combat Operations Center. 

 

The U.S. and South Korean soldiers welcomed the president with loud applause. During the photo session, the President and the South Korean soldiers shouted “Let's go together, fighting!” three times, pledging to establish a firm security posture. 

 

After the photo, the President emphasized that “peace is always given when we prepare for war,” and that “there is no such thing as free peace.” “The U.S.-ROK alliance is regarded as one of the most successful alliances in human history,” the president said, adding, ”I hope that through this exercise, the soldiers of the U.S. and South Korea will build deep friendships and arm themselves with strong comradeship.” 

 

As the president left the CIC, U.S. and South Korean soldiers responded to the encouragement with three shouts of “Mr. President, fighting.”