Joint and Multinational Command and Control Architecture in the Korean Theater of Operations: How did we get here and where are we going?
Abstract
The War on Terrorism predominates the military's mission set and inherent in this is our ability to integrate and operate with our nation's allies and coalition partners to achieve victory. There is no greater example of this paradigm than the alliance between the United States (U.S.) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) forged in war in the mountains and rice paddies of the Korean peninsula over half a century ago. Like our NATO alliance in Europe, our alliance with the ROK remains strong today because our military relationships and roles have evolved over time along with the ever-changing elements of National Power. With the recent decision to transfer wartime operational command and control (C2) of the ROK military from the U.S. to the ROK in April of 2012, the U.S. must forge a new role in the alliance over next five years to ensure continued security and stability on the Korean peninsula. In this paper, I will analyze the latest evolution of the operational level C2 architecture of the Korean Theater of Operations (KTO). First, I will provide a brief history of the C2 architecture in the KTO. Second, I will provide a contextual background using the elements of National Power (DIME-diplomatic, information, military and economic) as the construct. Third, I will define what the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) of the ROK military is and what the ramifications of that decision are with respect to the design of the C2 architecture for the KTO. Lastly, I will extract some lessons learned for the Joint and Multinational Force (MNF) warfighters by evaluating the KTO using the interconnected operational environment model promulgated throughout Joint doctrine.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 06, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA476483
Entities
People
- Paul L. Legere
Organizations
- Naval War College