Speaking Monday at the Association of the United States Army's annual meeting in Washington, Brunson said the allies currently conduct two major command-post exercises each year but need to move beyond that model.
“The two big exercises every year in Korea focus on large command posts,” Brunson said. “We've got to move away from that.”
He suggested conducting exercises across a much wider area, from Jeju in the south to Gyeonggi Province in the north, rather than concentrating forces and command functions in fixed locations.
Brunson linked the need for change to lessons from the war in Ukraine, where drones and other modern battlefield technologies have made fixed positions increasingly vulnerable.
He said the allies should disperse their forces so they are harder to target, adding, “We won't be moored in place.”
Brunson also pointed to North Korea's participation in the Ukraine war, saying one of his most pressing concerns is that North Korean forces are gaining real combat experience and applying lessons from the battlefield to their own military training and capabilities.
He said the United States and South Korea should therefore find better ways to train between their two major annual exercises instead of focusing most preparations around those large events.
USFK recently conducted a strategic exercise without troops in which personnel traveled by helicopter to examine how forces could move across South Korea during a crisis, Brunson said.
His remarks point to possible changes in how the allies conduct their exercises, with geographically dispersed training potentially being added to the existing command-post exercise structure.
Brunson also highlighted South Korea's defense industrial base while discussing USFK's concept for a regional sustainment hub, which is aimed at improving the ability of U.S. forces to maintain operations in the Indo-Pacific.
South Korea has what Brunson described as world-class defense manufacturing capacity that could support that effort.
The plan includes using South Korean companies for maintenance, repair and overhaul of U.S. military equipment while building a broader network of supply and repair capacity across the region.
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