ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MD -- In an effort to keep strengthening ties, leaders from the 20th Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear and Explosives Command sat with members of the Republic of Korea’s (ROK) army for a Command Overview brief at the 20th CBRNE headquarters on Nov. 28.

There has been several meeting between the 20th and ROK army.
This time Brig. Gen. William King IV and the rest of 20th's top brass received the visit of Brig. Gen. Sung Joon Moon, commander of the Chemical Biological Radiological Defense Command (CBRDC), and part of his staff.

“The 20th CBRNE Command has always placed a high priority on partnering with the ROK forces,” said King. “This was another tremendous opportunity to train with and discuss future training venues during table top exercise Liberty Focus with our ROK CBRDC partners as we continue to refine our tactics, techniques, and procedures and capabilities to deal with the full range of North Korean countering weapons of mass destruction threats on the Korean peninsula.”

According to King, this meeting will help increase the effectiveness of the team’s capabilities.

“There is no other place in the world where our readiness is more important than Korea,” King said. “We must maintain a high state of readiness to be able to deter, and if deterrence ever fails, to defeat aggression against our ROK allies. Our alliance contributes to security on the Korean Peninsula and stability in Northeast Asia by staying ready to fight and win.”

Throughout the years there has been attempts to withdraw U.S. forces from the Korean peninsula, but today the alliance seems as strong as ever, or “rock-solid” to quote King.

“The ROK-U.S. alliance was forged in the fire of war, and generations of American service members have defended liberty on ‘Freedom's Frontier’,” King added. “The Soldiers and civilians of the 20th CBRNE Command are proud to contribute to this great legacy.”

Ever since the command was created, in 2004, they have built a strong relationship with U.S. Forces Korea, Eighth Army, and the ROK Army.
“Every year we ensure we participate in some way with Ulchi Freedom Guardian and Key Resolve to gain a better appreciation of the operating environment here and to maintain the ties with the 2nd Infantry Division and the ROKs,” expressed King. “But our engagements with the ROK go beyond just the two exercise, because of the increased joint operations around the globe maintaining relations with the CBRDC officers and Soldiers is critical.

King also said they try to expand the relationship beyond the military with a very active person-to-person / Soldier-to-Soldier approach.

“There is no finer and more professional example of the true combined alliance that exist as exemplified by these two commands and thus why they commonly shout Moong Chi Ja (Two Joined as One) and Kapchi Kapchi Da (Let's Go Together),” he added.