The commander of the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade presented the Republic of Korea Air Force Air Defense Missile Command with the historic release of U.S. Air and Missile Defense doctrine specifically approved for South Korea's Patriot force, Thursday, at the Air Defense Missile Command headquarters.

"This is the first step in our ongoing efforts to increase information sharing with our ROK (Republic of Korea) air and missile defense allies," said Col. Thomas Nguyen, commander of the 35th ADA Bde. "In the event of hostilities, the U.S. and ROK Patriot formations will fight the air and missile threat as a combined action."

Nguyen provided the Republic of Korea Air Force Air Defense Missile Command copies of the U.S. Army Field Manual on the Patriot Brigade Gunnery Program, which outlines the requirements for training and certification of crew proficiency on the Patriot weapon system.

The 35th ADA Brigade requested a review of the manual in March 2014, and the Fires Center of Excellence in Fort Sill, Okla., approved its release in April 2014.

"We have a saying in Korea," said Republic of Korea Air Force Air Defense Missile Command Commander Maj. Gen. Yun Soo Lee. "When building a house, you must place a cornerstone first," he said.

"This is the cornerstone and it is dependent upon us to reinforce this building through emphasis on implementing this shared doctrine in future combined interoperability exercises," Lee said.

The U.S. Forces Korea commander's priority of transformation is the focal point of the U.S. and ROK air and missile defense partnership.

"We couldn't be more excited to be making such positive headway in joint and combined air and missile defense here on the peninsula," Nguyen said. "While we are still in the early stages of increasing our interoperability, we are certainly setting the conditions for integrated air and missile defense of the peninsula."

The U.S. air defense brigade and the Republic of Korea Air Force Air Defense Missile Command are slated to conduct a Combined Interoperability Exercise this June at Gunja AB focusing on the exchange of digital data, synchronization and de-confliction of fires.