A joint force of 89 Republic of Korea and U.S. senior Noncommissioned Officers came together from across the Korean Peninsula to attend the 2025 iteration of Backbone University, February 3-7, on Camp Humphreys.

Backbone University is a one-week developmental course focused on providing NCOs of the E-7 pay-grade with an understanding of the joint operations environment while instilling valuable lessons on leadership that they can take with them to improve their organizations and the military as whole.

“This week was impressive. The strength of the Alliance and the future of our services and countries were in safe and capable hands with these outstanding senior NCOs and chief petty officers leading in our formations,” said Sgt. Maj. Joseph Gaskin, Operations Sergeant Major of United States Forces Korea and Backbone University Director. “For the first time, participants worked together on capstone projects which focused on learning from examples of Republic of Korea and U.S. Medal of Honor recipients from the Korean War. To see all these senior noncommissioned officers and chief petty officers from the joint and combined multinational force come together this week, overcome language barriers, work together in a mission command centric environment, intent based leadership, solve problems, face a very restrictive timeline, it was very inspiring to me.”

The curriculum allowed participants to engage with senior leaders such as Gen. Xavier T. Brunson, Maj. Gen. William H. Taylor, and Command Sgt. Maj. Jack H. Love, who were more than keen to share their insights and experiences with leadership, an NCOs purpose and function in a senior commander’s staff, and core lessons they learned along their journey.

“Some of the things that really stuck with me were the 15 Secrets of Leadership from Command Sgt. Maj. Love. I’m going to take those lessons back and give it to my junior leaders and senior leaders so we can get moving on the right direction,” said Sgt. 1st. Class Daltyn Phelps, battery operations NCO, 210th Field Artillery Brigade.

“One of the 15 secrets to leadership was inspect what you expect, and that really struck a chord with me coming from the airborne community. A lot of things get overlooked, like hands in pockets, things not being buttoned down or not having the right tools on you. That really struck me because I feel like that’s one thing that we can improve on as senior NCOs.”

Participants started and ended each training day with teambuilding focused events such as: PT sessions led by Marine Forces Korea, Special Operations Command Korea, and Combined Forces Command; dodgeball tournaments and traditional Korean field day events such as three legged races; and the ‘Culminator’, which saw platoons fight through a six-mile-long slog of ice and snow all the while tackling obstacles, and carrying supplies such as water cans and simulated casualties.

“Being in this training is beneficial for me personally, because I have never really worked with different branches before,” said Chief Petty Officer Voss, logistics specialist, Command Navy Forces Korea. “I’m grateful for this opportunity to work with Army, Marines, Air Force, and also ROK forces, because we have exercises where we have to brainstorm and learn about how the other branches approach problems, and we come up with different solutions that we wouldn’t normally think of, and as a group we produce better products.”

“We had many branches from Korea, the U.S., and even New Zealand working together,” said Master Sgt. Joo-Won Hong, Republic of Korea Air Force, 19th Fighter Wing. “There were a lot of opportunities for me to integrate with our Alliance partners and learn different ways to tackle the challenges.”

Ultimately, Backbone University is about building strong, joint teams, reaffirming the strength of the ROK-U.S. Alliance, and preparing a stronger NCO Corps capable of dominating the battlefield.

“You know, as you watch these NCOs come together, overcome all the barriers of communication, and draw upon lessons from the past to drive us into the future, the way they engage with the senior mentors who came to visit each day, the tough questions that they proposed, all of them really inspired me,” said Gaskin. “This easily fits the purpose of our core of NCOs and chief petty officers; we’re fighting and war winning. The grit these NCOs displayed this week tells me that our Alliance is strong, and our future is solid. We’re in capable hands with each one of these people who are leading our formations.”