Command and Control of the Second Infantry Division - Route to a Stronger Alliance

The argument addresses the question of why the largest ground force in the Republic of Korea the 2d Infantry Division is currently under the command of the Eighth United States Army (EUSA) rather than under operational control (OPCON) of one of the ROK Corps with whom it lives everyday. From the standpoint of peacetime maneuver and training in the increasingly restricted terrain command and control links and procedures the all-important personal ties necessary to function in Korean culture and maintenance of unity of command it appears more advantageous to work everyday with the unit you will fight beside. Especially as ground forces are redeployed south from their current locations or reorganized on the peninsula and with the ongoing nuclear crisis with North Korea it is time to revisit this command and control relationship.