Text Fwd: Navy, Air Force generals may rotate as JCS head

Korea Times
Navy, Air Force generals may rotate as JCS head
By Jung Sung-ki
Sept. 6, 2010

In an effort to increase interoperability between the three military services, the Lee Myung-bak administration is considering rotating top generals from the Army, Navy and Air Force to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), a government source said Monday.

The idea was recently suggested by a presidential ad hoc commission on defense affairs to President Lee, the source said.

Except for former Air Force Gen. Lee Yang-ho, who served as JCS chairman between 1993 and 1994, the joint military operational body has been headed by the Army general with the logic that an Air Force or Navy commander couldn’t command and control the nation’s Army-dominated armed forces.

Criticism has often risen over the Army-dominated military structure, as operational and arms acquisition plans have often been focused on ground forces.

Currently, there are about 520,000 Army troops, while the Navy has some 68,000 personnel and the Air Force, 65,000.

“There is a consensus among the government and military that such a rotation of the JCS chairmanship would help complement the weak sides of the ROK military and instead maximize its strong points,” the source said on condition of anonymity. “President Lee is also supportive of the plan.”

If a Navy or Air Force general took charge of the JCS, an Army general could assume the chief of an envisaged theater command, which will be established by 2015 in tandem with the transition of wartime operational control from the United States to South Korea, according to the source.

In 2015, South Korea and the United States will set up their own theater commands after deactivating the Combined Forces Command. With the transfer, the South Korean military is to lead ground operations in wartime, and the U.S. military is to shift its role to a naval and air-centric one.

Since his inauguration, the President has called for improving interoperability of the three military branches.

To that end, the military is considering merging the academies of the three services.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr