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First Army shares best practices with Korean army

  • Published
  • By Capt. Antonia Greene-Edwards
  • 174th Infantry Brigade Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  A Republic of Korea army major recently visited two First Army Division East brigades Oct. 2-4, 2013, as part of a mobilization assessment to assist in the ROK's development of an operational reserve force.

The two First Army Division East brigades, the 174th Infantry and 72nd Field Artillery brigades, which are both at Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst, N.J., were the third stop in the two-week visit for Maj. Ji Hwan Park, Third (ROK) Army mobilization training officer. He also visited the Army Reserve and the National Guard Bureau.

"It is challenging to adapt our current Reserve strategic system to meet our ROK army operational needs," said Park. "But learning how it is done is half the battle."
The ROK army is in the developmental stages of transitioning its strategic Reserve forces into an operational, ready Reserve force, according to Park.

"It is my job to filter and translate the information gained during my visit and propose how we can apply these practices to enhance our mobilization training model," explained Park. "Although we have a two-year mandatory military obligation in South Korea and a follow on four-year Reserve service, our Reserve component is not fully operational."

He gathered information and learned lessons concerning the Army Reserve and National Guard mobilization training process while at JB MDL. The training included conceptual courses of action to help our allied ROK army achieve its full capacity by adapting its current Reserve component system to meet the projected future needs of the ROK army.

"First Army has the unique privilege of providing realistic and professional training to joint services and the Reserve component preparing for deployment to numerous areas of responsibility," said Maj. Joseph J. Pyun, 174th Infantry Brigade operations officer. "Our current formation consists in large part of mobilized Reservists who have gone through the mobilization process previously and convey relevant personal experiences to the current mobilizing units."

This was the first time Maj. Viet Le, part of the 72nd F.A. Bde.'s operations office, participated in this type of event.

"While it may not be a duplicate of our system, we were able to provide a foundation that could be used in the future," Le said.

Park learned about and observed the tactical-level mobilization training process at JB MDL. He received briefings from the 72nd F.A. Bde. plans sections and observed Army Reserve and Joint Services Training Oversight forces conducting practical exercises in field and virtual environments under the direction of 174th Inf. Bde. Soldiers.

"I have had strategic mobilization discussions, operational-level briefings and now see the tactical training. There are a lot of important details that will bridge the gap between our active and reserve to make a full capacity ROK army," said Park.

Le agreed and explained that, as a unit that specializes in mobilizing low-density Reserve and Guard units, the Division East input was especially relevant.

"Because the ROK is considering a similar structure, we were able to provide a better understanding of how U.S. Reserve and National Guard forces strengthen the military," Le concluded.
F. Antonio Volante, Operations chief, said Park received an overview of the mobilization process at the 72nd F.A. Bde.

"Essentially, we are responsible for the development of the unit training plans," said Volante. "Maj. Park walked away with fundamental precepts and tenets of the mobilization process to include the pre-mobilization training requirements."

The 174th Inf. Bde. is responsible for executing the plan developed by its sister brigade, the 72nd F.A. Bde. Both brigades are multi-component brigades with active-duty and Reserve-component Soldiers and battalions supporting the daily training mission, said Pyun.

"Our active-component and Reserve-component force structure and training mission provides valuable insight on working jointly between both active-component and Reserve-component formations across all branches of service," added Pyun.

The ROK conducts these visits annually as part of their focus on their reserve forces.

"The mobilization training process takes time and many resources," said Park. "The U.S. system works well but it is a still a challenge at all levels to plan and coordinate. A focus on readiness is our overall goal."

Pyun said, the Brigades selected training they felt most mirrored the ROK's reserve mission.

"I believe what is most relevant to the ROK reserve mission is readiness training, encompassing individual training as prescribed in doctrine, and collective training which is accomplished through comprehensive events like WAREX, CSTX and XCTCs," said Pyun. "These events will provide the ROK reserves a training goal to implement their training plan analogous to our Army force generation cycle and maximize training accomplishment within the small window drill weekends provide throughout the training year."

Pyun said, the insights he and his Soldier's provide is very relevant to the ROK's initiatives

"First Army supports our partner armies by providing valuable insight on how adaptable a uniquely structured active- and reserve-component force training formation accomplishes both realistic and relevant training," said Pyun.