Ulchi Focus Lens: Maintaining Balance across a Joint Spectrum

August 2006 once again witnessed a large deployment of 1st Space Brigade forces in support of Ulchi Focus Lens UFL on the Korean Peninsula. Although the annual occurrence of this exercise may prompt the notion of a static construct -- the 1st Space Brigade and U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense CommandU.S. Army Forces Strategic Command continuously analyze and modify strategies to better support the Korean theater -- specifically the Ground Component Command. Deploying to the peninsula a mere month after the North Korean launch of a Taepo Dong II missile, it was more critical than ever to learn from past experiences and ensure that lessons learned were captured, analyzed, and applied in near real-time to improve future training and warfighting. This years deployment consisted of 40 Space Soldiers from off peninsula, in addition to the 18 SoldiersSailors from the Joint Tactical Ground Station-Pacific Detachment, configured to maximize Space support, Space related targeting, and Space effects in support of the Ground Component Command. Just as the geopolitical climate of East Asia and the Korean peninsula are constantly in a state of change and evolution, so is the construct for the employment of U.S. military forces in the region. The challenge of providing trained and ready Space forces at the correct echelon and location to positively enable ground forces remains a moving target that demands an adaptable, flexible and deployable Space force capability. As the battlefield environment changes, our Space forces must adapt quickly and decisively to remain relevant and ready to support land forces.