Trump Defends Decision To Scrap Large-Scale Military Exercises With South Korea

[edpc]

President Trump on Sunday defended the decision to cancel large-scale military exercises between U.S. and South Korean forces following his failed summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"The reason I do not want military drills with South Korea is to save hundreds of millions of dollars for the U.S. for which we are not reimbursed," Trump tweeted. "That was my position long before I became President. Also, reducing tensions with North Korea at this time is a good thing!"

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/432395-trump-defends-decision-to-scrap-large-scale-military-exercises-with-south

[edpc]

"I don't see that there's any real difference between ... what the president decided in Singapore and now," Bolton said of the drills. "It's not like some new decision has been made. The president made the decision on the exercises back in the summer of last year, and those continue."


Not exactly. The summit in Singapore was in June. After no real movement by the North, the decision to resume exercises was announced in August.


The U.S. military will move ahead with all future military exercises on the Korean Peninsula, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis said Tuesday, suggesting that America’s brief suspension of the drills as a show of “good faith” toward North Korea has not paid dividends in the struggling denuclearization talks with Pyongyang.

[snip]

Mr. Mattis said smaller-scale military drills in South Korea are continuing and larger planned exercises — including Ulchi-Freedom Guardian — are scheduled to go forward next year.

https://m.washingtontimes.com/

[Dexter]

Those exercises are nothing more than an expensive show of force. It pisses off China too. It's asinine to continue doing it in my opinion.

[edpc]

Those exercises are nothing more than an expensive show of force. It pisses off China too. It's asinine to continue doing it in my opinion.

They’re necessary, as long as we have personnel committed to SK defense. We only have around 30K people there. Large scale exercises maintain readiness to support them, in the event of conflict. If we’re not going to do that, they may as well not be there.

[Dexter]

If we’re not going to do that, they may as well not be there.

You think our military will be ineffective if they don't practice right outside North Korea? We have the most advanced and best trained fighting force the world has ever seen. Sorry, but I think you're completely wrong. It's about optics and intimidation. Our military would do just fine against North Korea's WW2 technology.

[edpc]

You think our military will be ineffective if they don't practice right outside North Korea? We have the most advanced and best trained fighting force the world has ever seen. Sorry, but I think you're completely wrong. It's about optics and intimidation. Our military would do just fine against North Korea's WW2 technology.

We have an effective fighting force, because they train - a lot. It might surprise you to know there’s turnover in enlistment and assignments on an annual basis, but it shouldn’t. You don’t go from operating in the ME to the Pacific, without changes in a lot of aspects, including terrain, conditions, adversarial capability, and supply lines, just to name a few.

[Dexter]

We have an effective fighting force, because they train - a lot. It might surprise you to know there’s turnover in enlistment and assignments on an annual basis, but it shouldn’t. You don’t go from operating in the ME to the Pacific, without changes in a lot of aspects, including terrain, conditions, adversarial capability, and supply lines, just to name a few.

Our military does not require those exercises in order to be combat ready, especially against NK's military. They do it where they do and how they do because it's intended to be a provocative and intimidating show of force. I don't see how that's not completely obvious. I like your idea of just withdrawing our forces from South Korea. Maybe we could make a deal with China involving North Korea. They'd love to see us go.

[kevindavis007]

Those exercises are nothing more than an expensive show of force. It pisses off China too. It's asinine to continue doing it in my opinion.

Of course you would favor appeasment to countries like Russia and China. I supposed you think what Chamberlain did with Hitler was a good thing.

[edpc]

Our military does not require those exercises in order to be combat ready, especially against NK's military.

Yes, they do. We have excercises and training against foes with less military capability, like ISIS jihadists.

They do it where they do and how they do because it's intended to be a provocative and intimidating show of force. I don't see how that's not completely obvious. I like your idea of just withdrawing our forces from South Korea. Maybe we could make a deal with China involving North Korea. They'd love to see us go.

It’s a show of force, so we are prepared and aren’t pushed into another Pusan perimeter, like we were in 1950. Aside from being heavily outnumbered, many of the US troops at the time had little to no experience in operations, due to the post WWII drawdown.

Of course China would love to see us go. They’d like nothing better than expanding their sphere of influence. They’d relish the chance to make S. Korea another productive semi-autonomous area under their control, like Hong Kong.

[Dexter]

Of course you would favor appeasment to countries like Russia and China. I supposed you think what Chamberlain did with Hitler was a good thing.

In the year 2019 it's not fair to compare Russia and China to Nazi Germany. They're far from perfect, but guess what? So are we. I favor winding down hostilities between the U.S and other major nations, that's all.

[Dexter]

Yes, they do. We have excercises and training against foes with less military capability, like ISIS jihadists.

I'm not saying they don't need training at all. I should have worded that better. I'm saying that specific training is not mandatory for combat readiness against a world war 2 military. There are other places we can and do train just as effectively. The main reason that region was chosen was so NK and China can see how badass we are.

It’s a show of force, so we are prepared and aren’t pushed into another Pusan perimeter, like we were in 1950. Aside from being heavily outnumbered, many of the US troops at the time had little to no experience in operations, due to the post WWII drawdown.

Of course China would love to see us go. They’d like nothing better than expanding their sphere of influence. They’d relish the chance to make S. Korea another productive semi-autonomous area under their control, like Hong Kong.

I think it has outlived its usefulness. Let's bring those troops home and fortify our own border.

[kevindavis007]

In the year 2019 it's not fair to compare Russia and China to Nazi Germany. They're far from perfect, but guess what? So are we. I favor winding down hostilities between the U.S and other major nations, that's all.

Appeasement never worked. We have to do what Reagan did.. Dig in our heels.

[sneakypete]

You think our military will be ineffective if they don't practice right outside North Korea?

@Dexter

Duhhhhh! What part about coordinating troop movements and equipment movements with a foreign nation that speaks and writes a different language and uses some different equipment than we have as well as different tactics is it you don't understand?

Other than any of it,that is,

 

We have the most advanced and best trained fighting force the world has ever seen.

Yeah,and the South Koreans don't,yet we may have to work with them during a shooting war.

Sorry, but I think you're completely wrong. It's about optics and intimidation. Our military would do just fine against North Korea's WW2 technology.

WOW! Just WOW! Your ignorance is stunning.

[sneakypete]

In the year 2019 it's not fair to compare Russia and China to Nazi Germany. They're far from perfect, but guess what? So are we. I favor winding down hostilities between the U.S and other major nations, that's all.

@Dexter

JUZ VISUALIZE WURLD PEAS!

GROUP HUG! GROUP HUG!

We is da wurld.........

We iz da chil-runs......

Sing it,chil-runs!

[Absalom]

Those exercises are nothing more than an expensive show of force. It pisses off China too. It's asinine to continue doing it in my opinion.

-----------------------
Suspect you're on the mark.
It is embarrassing to hear posters repeat whatever the Pentagon peddles, as Gospel,
while the reality is direct and simple.
Certainly the majority there are dedicated and loyal, most veterans; nevertheless it
is an enormous bureaucracy employing a significant number of political types whose
self-interest is paramount.
Believing otherwise is infantile.

[sneakypete]

Those exercises are nothing more than an expensive show of force. It pisses off China too. It's asinine to continue doing it in my opinion.

@Dexter

You might want to make a note on your calendar because I am in agreement with you on this one,and that's not likely to happen again,

[Night Hides Not]

In the year 2019 it's not fair to compare Russia and China to Nazi Germany. They're far from perfect, but guess what? So are we. I favor winding down hostilities between the U.S and other major nations, that's all.

You obviously are bereft of the concept of military readiness. For example, REFORGER exercises in Europe sent a clear message to the Soviet Union that we took our responsibilities to NATO seriously.

Our servicemembers need every opportunity to train for war. You just can't do it simulating combat operations from behind a computer...command and control systems need to be constantly tested due to the combined arms tactics and doctrine that we follow.

My ADA battalion improved from a C-3 to a C-1 (combat ready) status in 18 months? How? By constant training, at squad, platoon, and battery level operations. It wasn't easy, but we had a battalion commander who took his job seriously and demanded imagination and intelligence from his officers.

You simply cannot maintain unit readiness without constant training to hone your skills.

Trump's message about saving money is simply not credible. The military has a $700+ billion budget, and he's trying to save less than 1/10th of 1 percent?

[Night Hides Not]

-----------------------
Suspect you're on the mark.
It is embarrassing to hear posters repeat whatever the Pentagon peddles, as Gospel,
while the reality is direct and simple.
Certainly the majority there are dedicated and loyal, most veterans; nevertheless it
is an enormous bureaucracy employing a significant number of political types whose
self-interest is paramount.
Believing otherwise is infantile.

Best thing we could do is downsize the Pentagon bureaucracy by at least half. Get rid of the dead wood, the generals taking up space, preparing to fight the last war.

[Night Hides Not]

Appeasement never worked. We have to do what Reagan did.. Dig in our heels.

You train for war so that the enemy knows you're serious, it's the best preventive measure to avoid war.

[Dexter]

The military has a $700+ billion budget, and he's trying to save less than 1/10th of 1 percent?

He's trying to play nice with Kim so better diplomacy can take place. Ending those exercises is such a small gesture on our part, and it would really impress China and North Korea.

I will also say again that Kim's military uses world war 2 era technology, and his troops are poorly trained. I think our boys will be okay. In fact I think we should bring them home, because I really don't think Kim is dumb enough to reignite war with South Korea regardless of our immediate presence there. We could be defending them again in less than 12 hours with shit we have stationed in Japan.

[Night Hides Not]

He's trying to play nice with Kim so better diplomacy can take place. Ending those exercises is such a small gesture on our part, and it would really impress China and North Korea.

I will also say again that Kim's military uses world war 2 era technology, and his troops are poorly trained. I think it's safe to stop those particular combat exercises.

Play nice with Kim...you make Chamberlain look like a freaking genius!

[Dexter]

Play nice with Kim...you make Chamberlain look like a freaking genius!

This is a different time and a different situation.

[Night Hides Not]

This is a different time and a different situation.

And the situation remains a different situation, so long as our military remains well trained and ready to fight.

Long ago, during my tour in Germany, we had issues with the proximity of terrorist groups such as the Baader-Meinhof gang. Our isolated Nike Hercules battery were always under threat of incursion from these groups.

One of my "extra duties" was to command a 40 man augmentation reserve force to support a Nike Herc battery that was 5 miles from our motor pool. Several times a year, we'd get the call, and we'd show up with my soldiers with live ammo, and two towed Vulcans with 20 mm ammo loaded to the breech. Our display of force was highly visible, and I'm sure intel about our unit was passed on to the bad guys.

You just don't throw even small units together without constant training. Even before entering active duty, I had four years of small unit infantry tactics in college, and it carried over into training ADA soldiers into an effective platoon size element.

[edpc]

Long ago, during my tour in Germany, we had issues with the proximity of terrorist groups such as the Baader-Meinhof gang. Our isolated Nike Hercules battery were always under threat of incursion from these groups.

I would guess so, especially if it had the W31 warhead.

[catfish1957]

Those exercises are nothing more than an expensive show of force. It pisses off China too. It's asinine to continue doing it in my opinion.

Wow I am impressed....   Your understanding of military preparedness only rivals your profound knowledge of climate science.  Bravo!!!  /s