USFK chief calls for more dispersed military drills across S. Korea, citing Ukraine war lessons

Gen. Xavier Brunson called for geographically dispersed U.S.-South Korean military exercises across South Korea on Monday, citing lessons from the war in Ukraine. He said training should move beyond large command-post exercises in fixed locations and potentially span from Jeju to Gyeonggi Province. The proposal would add decentralized training without necessarily modifying existing major exercises.

South Korea and the United States conduct the annual Freedom Shield and Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises to prepare for contingencies on the Korean Peninsula.

The allies reduced the August Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise by half after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a reduction in drills.

Brunson said drones and other modern battlefield technologies have made forces operating from fixed positions vulnerable in Ukraine.

The USFK recently conducted a troop-free strategic exercise in which personnel traveled by helicopter to examine how forces could maneuver across South Korea during a crisis.

Brunson said North Korean forces serving in Ukraine were incorporating combat experience into their training and weapons development.

Published Oct 13, 2026 7:51 am KST

Updated Oct 13, 2026 12:33 pm KST

Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, leaves a gathering with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, Seoul, Jan. 26. Yonhap

The commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) on Monday called for more geographically dispersed military exercises across South Korea, citing lessons from the war in Ukraine and the need to adapt to evolving battlefield threats.

Gen. Xavier Brunson made the remarks during a panel discussion at the Association of the United States Army's (AUSA) annual conference in Washington, as he discussed ways to improve the readiness and deterrence posture of U.S. and South Korean forces.

"I think what we recognize is that largely the two big exercises every year in Korea focus on large command posts. We've got to move away from that," Brunson said.

The general suggested that the allies consider conducting exercises across a much broader geographical area rather than in fixed locations.

"What would it look like if we train from Jeju all the way up to Gyeonggi Province in the north?" he said. "So just imagine if we trained across the entirety of the peninsula."

South Korea and the United States hold large-scale combined exercises every year -- the Freedom Shield and the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) -- to train for contingencies on the Korean Peninsula.

The allies scaled back by half their UFS exercise in August, following U.S. President Donald Trump's order to reduce the drills in an apparent conciliatory gesture toward Pyongyang.

Brunson's latest remarks about dispersing the drills could be seen in Seoul as signaling possible structural changes, shifting the focus from command post-oriented exercises to a more decentralized model.

"I understand this does not mean modifying existing large-scale command post exercises, but rather placing an emphasis on the need for additional, dispersed training," a South Korean military source said.

Brunson said the allies should take into consideration lessons from the war in Ukraine, where the widespread use of drones and other modern battlefield technologies has left forces operating from fixed positions vulnerable.

He stressed the importance of distributing forces across different locations to reduce their vulnerability to potential attacks. "We won't be moored in place."

Brunson also raised the possibility of conducting more training between the two major annual exercises, rather than focusing preparations primarily on those events.

The general said the USFK had recently conducted a strategic exercise without troops, during which military personnel traveled by helicopter to examine how forces could maneuver across South Korea in the event of a crisis.

During the same discussion, Brunson warned that North Korean forces participating in the war in Ukraine were incorporating lessons learned from actual combat into their training and weapons development programs.

"I think that's one of the most pressing things that we see right now is the fact that we have an adversary who is being trained in the crucible of combat, while we're trying to find better ways to train ourselves to counter the things that they might be learning," he said.

周一，泽维尔·布伦森将军呼吁美韩在韩国各地开展分散式联合军事演习，并援引了乌克兰战争的教训。他表示，训练应超越在固定地点进行的大型指挥所演习，范围可能从济州岛延伸至京畿道。该提议将在不改变现有大型演习的前提下，增加分散式训练。

韩国和美国每年举行“自由之盾”和“乙支自由之盾”演习，为应对朝鲜半岛的突发事件做准备。

在美国总统唐纳德·特朗普下令减少军事演习后，盟军将8月份的乙支自由之盾演习规模缩减了一半。

布伦森表示，无人机和其他现代战场技术使得在乌克兰从固定阵地作战的部队变得脆弱。

驻韩美军最近进行了一次无兵力战略演习，演习中人员乘坐直升机前往韩国各地，考察在危机情况下部队如何在韩国境内调动兵力。

布伦森表示，驻乌克兰的朝鲜军队正在将实战经验融入到他们的训练和武器研发中。

发布于2026年10月13日 上午7:51（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年10月13日下午12:33（韩国标准时间）

1月26日，驻韩美军司令泽维尔·布伦森将军在首尔与韩国外长赵显铉和美国国防部负责政策的副部长埃尔布里奇·科尔比会面后离开。（韩联社）

驻韩美军司令周一呼吁在韩国各地开展更多地域分散的军事演习，并援引了乌克兰战争的教训以及适应不断变化的战场威胁的必要性。

泽维尔·布伦森将军在华盛顿举行的美国陆军协会（AUSA）年会上发表上述言论，当时他正在讨论如何提高美国和韩国军队的战备和威慑态势。

布伦森说：“我认为我们已经意识到，每年在韩国举行的两次大型演习主要侧重于大型指挥所。我们必须摆脱这种模式。”

这位将军建议盟军考虑在更广阔的地理区域内进行演习，而不是在固定地点进行演习。

“如果我们从济州岛一直训练到北部的京畿道，那会是什么样子？”他说道，“想象一下，如果我们在整个半岛上训练会是什么样子。”

韩国和美国每年都会举行大规模联合演习——自由之盾和乙支自由之盾（UFS）——以应对朝鲜半岛的突发事件。

在美国总统唐纳德·特朗普下令减少演习，以示对平壤的和解姿态后，盟军在 8 月份将 UFS 演习规模缩减了一半。

布伦森最近关于分散演习的言论在首尔可能被视为预示着结构性变化，将重点从以指挥所为导向的演习转移到更加分散的模式。

一位韩国军方消息人士表示：“我理解这并不意味着要修改现有的大规模指挥所演习，而是强调需要进行额外的分散式训练。”

布伦森表示，盟军应该吸取乌克兰战争的教训，在乌克兰战争中，无人机和其他现代战场技术的广泛使用使得在固定阵地作战的部队变得脆弱。

他强调，将兵力分散部署在不同地点至关重要，这样可以降低部队遭受潜在袭击的风险。“我们不会原地不动。”

布伦森还提出，可以在两次年度重大演习之间进行更多训练，而不是主要将准备工作集中在这两次演习上。

这位将军表示，驻韩美军最近进行了一次没有部队参与的战略演习，演习期间军事人员乘坐直升机前往韩国各地，以检验在危机情况下部队如何在韩国境内进行机动。

在同一次讨论中，布伦森警告说，参与乌克兰战争的朝鲜军队正在将从实际战斗中吸取的经验教训融入到他们的训练和武器研发计划中。

他说：“我认为我们现在面临的最紧迫的问题之一是，我们的对手正在接受实战训练，而我们却在努力寻找更好的方法来训练自己，以应对他们可能正在学习的东西。”