Asia Pacific Defense Forum Spring 2001

Exercise FOAL EAGLE annually tests capabilities for the combined ROK-U.S. defense of Korea, and timely augmentation by U.S. troops and supplies is vital. A U.S. Air Force C-5 offloads tons of cargo at Osan Air Base, Korea, for U.S. exercise forces.

Photo by TSgt. Cary Humphries, USAF

The U.S. Army has pre-positioned stockpiles of munitions and equipment in Korea, ready for contingencies. U.S. artillerymen draw ammunition at Camp Carroll, Waegwon, Korea.

Photo by Sgt. Stephanie F. Thomas, USA

FOAL EAGLE focuses on integrating off-peninsula U.S. forces into the defense of the ROK. It is conducted in three phases: deployment, FTX, and redeployment, and is focused on three major parts: rear area battles, force-on-force, and amphibious operations. It is executed at the theater-level and enhances ROK-U.S. interoperability, joint/combined training, and the development and refinement of joint/combined techniques, tactics, and procedures.

"I think that FOAL EAGLE is a great exercise," observed Lt. Col. Kim Sung Ku, Chief of the ROK Army’s FOAL EAGLE Exercise Branch. "FOAL EAGLE demonstrates the strong alliance between the United States and my country."

FOAL EAGLE 2000 combined a number of previous FTXs into a single exercise with over 3,000 events. Part one of the FTX phase consisted of rear area battles, with segments devoted to countering the threat by hostile Special Operations Forces, Theater Missile Defense, and to drawing upon U.S. Army prepositioned stock in Korea.