Lt. Gen. Roger Turner, commander of the III Marine Expeditionary Force, speaks to U.S. and South Korean marines during Freedom Shield drills in Pohang, South Korea, March 16, 2026. (Daniel Wetzel/U.S. Marine Corps)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — The United States and South Korea have wrapped up a major joint exercise focused on preparing Seoul to assume wartime operational control of allied forces.
The 10-day Freedom Shield exercise, which ended Thursday, emphasized readiness for a potential transition in which South Korea would take the lead in defending the peninsula during a conflict, according to a joint news release from U.S. Forces Korea and South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense.
The training also incorporated lessons from recent conflicts and aimed to improve the allies’ ability to respond quickly and effectively to complex security challenges, the release said.
“As we prepare for the [operational control] transfer, this year’s [Freedom Shield] reaffirmed the common value of peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula shared between [South Korea] and the U.S.,” Gen. Jin Yong-sung, chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in the release.
U.S. and South Korean soldiers operate a convoy support center during Freedom Shield drills in Yeongju, South Korea, March 12, 2026. (Deziree Keay/U.S. Army)
Under a long-standing agreement first reached in 2006, the U.S. plans to transfer wartime operational control to South Korea, though the timeline has been repeatedly delayed.
The effort advanced in October when a bilateral committee approved a permanent Combined Ground Component Command. In January, U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby met in Seoul with South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back to discuss further steps toward the transition.
Although the main Freedom Shield exercise has concluded, four additional training events are scheduled to continue into next week, South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Col. Jang Do-young said Thursday at a briefing in Seoul.
U.S. Army Gen. Xavier Brunson — head of United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea — said Freedom Shield demonstrated the alliance’s ability to operate as a unified force.
“No other alliance trains as we do from competition, to crisis, to conflict all with an eye to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia,” he said in the release. “There is no substitute for training, there is no excuse for not being ready.”
U.S. Army Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea, speaks with South Korean marine Maj. Gen. Park Sung Soon during Freedom Shield drills at Camp Mujuk, South Korea, March 10, 2026. (Aaron Patterson/U.S. Marine Corps)
Freedom Shield began March 9 amid a broader series of overlapping exercises involving U.S. and allied forces in South Korea and Japan.
About 18,000 troops participated, according to South Korean media reports. A companion exercise, Ulchi Freedom Shield, is held annually in the summer.
Other recent drills included the Korean Marine Exchange Program, which is ongoing, and the Air Force’s Beverly Midnight exercise linking Japan-based wings.
A large-scale field training component, Warrior Shield, also took place across South Korea.
“What [Freedom Shield] showed me is a combined, joint force prepared to fight and win,” Command Sgt. Maj. Robin Bolmer said in the release. “I have every confidence in these service members. They are ready.”
