U.S. Forces around the World To Be Relocated

The U.S. Department of Defense has begun to re-deploy its forces in other countries for transformation into smaller, more efficient units, starting with U.S. forces in Korea, previously stationed along the DMZ, reported the Washington Post on June 9.

U.S. forces in Korea will be re-located to rear areas while those in other countries will follow suit as the U.S. Defense Dept. decided to convert its forces into smaller more mobile troops for more rapid deployment when the need arises.

The Defense Dept. also plans to reorganize the U.S. Army for the purpose of enhancing mobility and cohesiveness, said the paper.

These new plans are based on the U.S. strategic outline to launch attacks against any potential threat by terrorists or enemy states.

Vice Assistant Secretary of Defense in charge of strategic planning Andy Hun and other officials said that U.S. forces would be deployed on a lasting basis only to such regions as Guam, U.S. territories, the U.K. and Japan.

On the other hand, large camps that the U.S. has built in Korea, Germany, Turkey and Saudi Arabia will be converted into “Advanced Strategic Bases” having only a small number of standing soldiers.

The Washington Post reported that the new plan began with the announcement of the rearrangement of U.S. forces in South Korea and Saudi Arabia.

The Vice Assistant Secretary of Defense also said that some 18,000 U.S. forces in Korea deployed around the Demilitarized Zone would be re-organized to respond to any possible emergency situations in the Northeast Asian region. Some forces might have to change their shifts around by six months between the U.S. and Korea.

The U.S. Department of Defense is considering ways to distribute its 20,000 sailors located in Okinawa, Japan to Hawaii or Guam, with the possibility of adding to its forces in The Philippines.

Some 60,000 troops in Germany were included in the review for the first time since the Second World War, most of whom will come back to the states and then turn shifts every six months.

U.S. Forces in Germany will move to Eastern Europe such as Poland, Bulgaria and Romania or to Southern Europe such as Spain and Portugal while some will go to Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

“Our new concept has been focused on how to respond to rapidly changing regional situations. This means smaller and more efficient troops in other countries,” said Mr. Hun.

maypole@donga.com