Soldiers from 4th Battalion, 70th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, concluded the training portion of their rapid deployment readiness exercise (DRE) with a combined live-fire validation with Republic of Korea Army units at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex, South Korea, Aug. 14.

Battalions from ROK Army South’s 1st Armored Brigade joined the 1ABCT troops to train on interoperability and command and control on the battlefield.

The 4th Battalion, 70th AR Soldiers employed M1 Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and paladins alongside the ROK Army 1st Armored Brigade’s K200A1 armored infantry vehicles. During the combined exercise, UH-64 Apaches from 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 2nd Infantry - ROK/U.S. Combined Division based out of Camp Humphreys provided air support.

While Eighth Army units and commands regularly train with ROK military partners, training with a rapidly deployed Army unit that arrived late July provides a unique learning opportunity for both U.S. and ROK ground forces. This part of 1ABCT’s deployment readiness exercise validates the U.S. Army’s ability to rapidly deploy to Korea in the defense of our two homelands.

“It is an honor to train side by side with our Republic of Korea Army partners increasing readiness and winning every day,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Lorete, 4th Battalion commander. “This opportunity to train as part of Pacific Fortitude enhances our operational readiness, enabling our team to grow and learn every day and reinforces our commitment to the ROK in maintaining security and stability on the Korean peninsula. We are extremely proud of our team who worked tirelessly to prepare our equipment to conduct squad and platoon collective training, culminating in tank platoon live fires and a combined ROK-US mechanized infantry platoon live-fire.”

Based out of Fort Bliss, Texas, 4th Battalion, 70th Armored Regiment, arrived during the final week of July and drew their combat equipment from Army prepositioned stock maintained on the Korean peninsula by the 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command and 403rd Army Field Support Brigade. The 25th Transportation Battalion transported the newly donned equipment from Camp Carroll to Rodriguez Range.

On July 17, the “Ready First Brigade” Soldiers were notified they would leave Fort Bliss for a no-notice deployment readiness exercise. Six days later, they began drawing their combat equipment at Camp Carroll, South Korea. This deployment readiness exercise, Pacific Fortitude, is part of a longstanding agreement to support the ROK- U.S. alliance.

This opportunity to train as part of Pacific Fortitude enhances our operational readiness enabling our team to grow and learn every day and reinforces our commitment to the ROK in maintaining security and stability on the Korean peninsula.

The rapid deployment exercise is a standard, routine readiness validation where a U.S. Army unit is tested on its ability to rapidly deploy personnel successfully to a given environment, conduct training and redeploy back to their home station. This exercise also tests the swift deployment and decisive utilization of vehicles and equipment already present on the Korean peninsula. Army Prepositioned Stock-4 or APS-4 are strategically placed caches of warfighting equipment in Korea and Japan that serve as a critical component of the U.S. Army’s ability to rapidly project combat power throughout the INDO-PACIFIC.

Pacific Fortitude enhances the U.S. Army’s combat readiness and the ROK-U.S. combined defense posture, and further strengthens security and stability on the Korean peninsula. All professional militaries train on routine and continuously executed events to maintain readiness, proficiency, credibility, and trust.

​For Pacific Fortitude imagery, please visit https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/pacificfortitude.