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America’s new strategic focus acknowledged thesignificance of the Asia-Pacific region when theDepartment of Defense announced the 2012 de-fense strategic guidance for the 21st century inJanuary.

U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) understands the im-portance of forward presence in the Pacific for fulfillingthe President’s new strategic guidance. The presenceand posture of the U.S. Army in the Pacific sustains, im-proves and strengthens our military alliances and part-

nerships throughout theregion. Consistent and re-liable engagementthrough frequent exercisesdemonstrates the UnitedStates’ intent to be atrusted partner across thehuman domain.As America’s largest

theater Army and as the

Building Credibility, Confidence And Trust Through Engagement

In the PacificBy LTG Francis J. Wiercinski

Commanding General, U.S. Army Pacific

Army service component command (ASCC) for U.S. PacificCommand (USPACOM), USARPAC is expanding efforts tocarry out its responsibilities in executing the defense strate-gic guidance and ensuring regional access. Global audi-ences factor decisively into USARPAC’s initiatives thattake a multilateral approach to security, cooperation, andgrowing partnerships and relationships.

Legacy of the U.S. Army in the PacificThe U.S. Army has an enduring legacy in the Asia-Pa-

cific region, fighting 63 campaigns there since 1899—morethan any other geographical region outside the Americas.Today, U.S. Army Pacific projects the depth and sustain-ability to prevent conflicts first and foremost, promote theconditions necessary to maintain peace and stability, andprevail in conflicts when all other courses of action are ex-hausted in the Asia-Pacific region.To contribute to this renewed Asia-Pacific focus expressed

by President Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta,the Army’s Pacific theater strategy operationalizes four core

tenets: persistent engagement, forwardpresence, trained and ready forces, andagile Mission Command. Working inconcert, these four tenets enable US-ARPAC headquarters, with its majorsubordinate commands and theater-en-abling commands, alongside other US-PACOM components, to engage alliesand partners in theater to prevent insta-bility and set conditions to rapidly re-spond to a full spectrum of contingen-cies and, if necessary, win in combat.Engaging the theater and working

alongside partners is USARPAC’s firstline of effort to enable America’sArmy in the Pacific to work by, withor through allies and partners to deteraggression, build capacity and ensureU.S. Pacific Command access.

USARPAC is America’s theater Army in the Asia-Pacificregion, supporting the attainment of national strategic, the-ater strategic and operational objectives. USARPAC is de-signed and positioned to conduct operations indispensablein enhancing the joint force’s ability to gain and maintainaccess to areas throughout the region that would otherwisebe denied. USARPAC’s long-standing relationships andengagements in theater, coupled with its forward presenceof trained and ready forces, combine to provide our Pacificallies and partners a reliable and capable security partner.The level of interoperability and cooperation achievedthrough these Army-to-Army relationships is unparalleledamong the U.S. military services in the Asia-Pacific theater.

Sharpening Our Edge While Projecting PresenceA major element of USARPAC’s engagement effort is to

ensure our Army uses training opportunities that are thehallmark of the Asia-Pacific theater. As our forces returnfrom Afghanistan, USARPAC’s exercise and engagementprogram will offer the U.S. Army regional alternatives thatcomplement home station and combat training center rota-tions as the third essential component of the theater train-ing strategy triad. These high-fidelity training evolutionsin theater will serve the dual purpose of maintaining theArmy’s combat edge and enhancing our Army’s presencein theater by training in the theater.USARPAC’s partner armies offer realistic training in al-

most every climate, terrain and environment necessary tomaintain unified land operations readiness, whether it be bi-lateral or multilateral field training exercises, or getting sol-diers to partner-nation schools that hone skills in high-alti-tude mountain, desert and jungle warfare. These trainingand educational opportunities not only increase unit readi-ness, but also provide unit staffs, officers, noncommissionedofficers and enlisted soldiers with the cultural awarenessand familiarization necessary to operate in overseas contin-gencies with future coalition partners in joint, interagency,intergovernmental and multinational operations. Our Army

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LTG Francis (Frank) J. Wiercinski is thecommanding general of U.S. Army Pacific.A 1979 graduate of the U.S. Military Acad-emy, he has commanded at every level. Hehas served as the deputy regimental com-mander, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Ben-ning, Ga.; deputy commanding general(Support), 25th Infantry Division; anddeputy commanding general, U.S. Army

Pacific, Fort Shafter, Hawaii. Staff assignments included director ofregional operations, Special Operations Division (J-3) The JointStaff; and principal director, Near East-South Asian Affairs, Officeof the Secretary of Defense. LTG Wiercinski most recently served asthe commanding general of U.S. Army-Japan and I Corps (For-ward), Camp Zama, Japan, and as the acting senior commander forFort Campbell, Ky. He is a graduate of the Command and GeneralStaff College and the Army War College.

U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) sponsors Yudh Abhyas, anannual training exercise supporting peacekeeping opera-tions with the army of India. This year’s exercise used theIndian army’s field firing area in the Rajasthan desert.

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trains hard daily on Pacific terrain, andwe will operate with, and potentiallyfight alongside, Pacific partners shouldour deterrence efforts fail.

Building Credibility, Confidence and Trust

As America’s national leaders havenoted, no nation or government can“surge” trust and influence among itsallies and partners. Building and main-taining credibility and confidence make up a deliberateprocess that occurs over years of interaction after numerousiterations. It starts with establishing and maintaining a rota-tional presence to develop familiarization, situational aware-ness and mutual understanding among our military partners.USARPAC’s annual bilateral and multilateral exercises

give the Army regional presence and demonstrate credibilityin our alliance and partner capabilities. Combined with se-nior-level interaction, seminars, advisory and expert ex-changes, humanitarian assistance and disaster-responsetraining, and real-world crisis-response operations (such asUSARPAC’s contributions to Operation Tomodachi, the U.S.response to the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami inJapan), U.S. Army Pacific engagement activities build trustand preserve and raise confidence among our allies andemerging partners in our commitment to the region’s security.

The U.S. military remains the security partner of choice inAsia and the Pacific. While the United States and its Army inthe Pacific enjoy a high degree of confidence and minimal re-strictions on access among our regional partners today, thatconfidence and trust come from a stable, dependable andcommitted Army relationship that provides both utility andbenefit. For decades, regional Army senior leaders have rec-ognized the importance of preserving and growing thesefragile and perishable relationships to maintain trust, andUSARPAC remains committed to fulfilling that trust.To support these goals, USARPAC conducted 134 total en-

gagements with 34 countries in 2011. Of these, 40 were exec-utive engagements in 18 different countries, 24 exerciseswere held with 14 countries and subject-matter expert ex-changes were held with 19 countries. In addition, the Asia-Pacific Counter-Improvised Explosive Device Center con-

ducted 70 training missions with sevencountries.

Agile Mission Command CapabilityThis capability empowers the USARPAC

commander to understand, visualize, de-scribe and directly respond to any immedi-ate crisis or contingency. This includes notonly contingency response but also evacua-tion operations, foreign or domestic hu-manitarian assistance, disaster relief, orpeace operations. With capabilities rangingfrom the rapidly deployable contingencycommand post to forward-positioned Armyheadquarters in Japan, Alaska and SouthKorea, USARPAC is positioned to providerapid response during times of need.This reach was evident during Operation

Tomodachi. USARPAC, through U.S. ArmyJapan, provided humanitarian assistanceand disaster relief support alongside theJapanese Ground Self-Defense Forces,

MG Michael T. Harrison Sr., commandinggeneral of U.S. Army Japan and I Corps(Forward), greets a toddler during US-ARPAC’s humanitarian assistance and

disaster relief operation following the March2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

During Balikatan 12, an annual bilateral training exercise in thePhilippines, USARPAC teams assisted in civic building pro-jects and provided medical and dental care. The exercise in-cluded a command post exercise and field training exercises.

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while simultaneously deploying the contingency commandpost to serve as the joint task force headquarters during Ex-ercise Balikatan 2011 in the Philippines. Another example occurred in November 2011, when a

medical assessment team from the 65th Medical Battalionstationed in South Korea deployed to the Kingdom ofThailand to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief support alongside the Royal Thai army during thatcountry’s devastating floods. USARPAC forces are pre-pared for the unpredicted disaster that can strike any daythroughout their 9,000-mile area of responsibility thatstretches from California to the Maldives.

Forward PresenceSoldiers with U.S. Army Alaska (USARAK) support the

strategic reach imperative for this vast region. The 4thBrigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division,specializes in parachute assault to secure key objectives forfollow-on military operations. USARAK also is home to theNorthern Warfare Training Center, the U.S. Army’s Arctic,subarctic, and mountain environment training area, whichis vital for preparing soldiers for Afghanistan or the freez-ing cold of the Korean Peninsula. Soldiers in Alaska are rel-evant to the success of training throughout Asia and the Pa-cific, as demonstrated by USARAK’s participation inExercise Yudh Abhyas with the Indian Army.Forward deployed on the Korean Peninsula is Eighth

Army, a warfighting headquarters that closes the gapacross the Pacific Ocean for the U.S. Army. Units through-out USARPAC participate with Eighth Army in the largestbiannual exercises in the U.S. Defense Department. Our ca-pability to support land operations in South Korea and in-teroperate with South Korea army forces have been vali-dated and refined this past year.Soldiers of USARPAC live in the Asia-Pacific region and

understand the challenges of this complex environment.Understanding that environment enhances our ability forengagement, deters any potential adversary, and demon-strates our capabilities to friends and adversaries. Our for-ward presence guarantees ready access to potentially con-tentious areas and allows U.S. and allied forces to achievepositional advantage and deployment momentum. Our re-gional allies and partners place trusted value in our 70,000soldiers, 11,400 Army civilians and 78,000 family membersstationed in Alaska, Japan, South Korea, Hawaii and JointBase Lewis-McChord, Wash.Confidence in the U.S. Army’s commitment to build

strong relationships throughout Asia and the Pacific in thefuture is bolstered with construction of a new commandcenter at Fort Shafter, Hawaii. The new 21st-century com-mand center will dramatically increase USARPAC’s capac-

ity to communicate and respond and furtherdemonstrates improving agile Mission Com-mand capabilities. USARPAC, as the singleASCC of the Pacific Theater, and Eighth Armyas the Army forces to U.S. Forces Korea, furtherenhance Mission Command in this critical areaof operations.USARPAC continues to develop an ironclad

relationship of trust with its land partners inAsia and the Pacific. This trust extends to itsown soldiers, civilians and family members asUSARPAC continues to care for the force andprovide presence in support of the defensestrategic guidance. �

Soldiers train in the snow at the Northern Warfare TrainingCenter based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. U.S. Army Alaska’sNWTC trains soldiers in military operations in cold andmountainous regions in support of expeditionary operations.

MAJ Cynthia Copp conducts a checkup on a boyfrom a rural Malaysian village during Keris Strike2011, a bilateral exercise with the Malaysian armythat focuses on strengthening ties and increasinginteroperability between the two countries.