Route to a Stronger Alliance: Command and Control of the Second Infantry Division

Abstract

The Republic of Korea (ROK) and United States began their alliance during the dark days of the Korean War. The US-ROK Mutual Defense Treaty formalized the relationship, where the two countries established their determination to defend the peninsula against attack. Due to its forward location between the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and Seoul, the U.S. Second Infantry Division (2 ID) continues to be the most visible symbol of the commitment of the United States to the defense of the ROK. The Second Infantry Division (2 ID) was the first division deployed from the continental United States to the Korean Peninsula to help hold the Pusan Perimeter. It fought through the toughest battles of the war, redeployed to Ft. Lewis briefly, then returned to Korea in 1965 and has remained ever since. The 14,323 soldiers, plus 1689 Korean Augmentation to the United States Army soldiers (KATUSAs), inhabit multiple camps throughout Kyong-gi and Kangwon Provinces between the DMZ and Seoul. The division is unique in the U.S. inventory in that it is organized into a heavy brigade consisting of two armor battalions and one mechanized infantry battalion, and an infantry brigade consisting of one mechanized infantry battalion and two air assault infantry battalions. A third brigade would deploy from the United States to complete the division. They are supported by a reinforced division artillery and an aviation brigade which includes a battalion of AH-64 Longbow Apache helicopters. The appropriate combat support and service support organizations complete the division. The division's mission, as stated by their higher headquarters, the Eighth United States Army (EUSA), is to "deter war on the Korean peninsula by maintaining a high state of combat readiness and vigilance. 2 ID units 'SECOND TO NONE' stand shoulder-to-shoulder with first-echelon Korean units immediately south of the DMZ."

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2004
Accession Number
ADA523184

Entities

People

  • Patrick T. Stackpole

Organizations

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Counter WMD
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Alliances
  • Armored Vehicles
  • Army
  • Combat Readiness
  • Command And Control
  • Doctrine
  • Employment
  • Force Structure
  • Infantry
  • International Relations
  • International Security
  • Language
  • Personnel Management
  • Political Science
  • Training
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • International Relations, focusing on Korea-Africa and North Korea-South Korea relations, and Nigeria-Latin American Relations.
  • Military Science

Technology Areas

  • Fully Networked C3