Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, commander of U.S. Army Europe, in Wiesbaden, Germany, June 14, 2012 (Photo by George P. Harris/Flickr)
President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he trusts North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and, as such, he's scaling back annual military exercises because he was "not happy" with South Korea. One retired general called that a dumb move.
Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling wrote a detailed analysis for The Bulwark on the purpose of military exercises and how much they improve readiness.
"Trump often says America has the greatest military in the world, and in many respects, he is right. What he doesn’t seem to understand is how that military became so capable," wrote Hertling on Monday morning.
He explained that throughout his decades in the military, these exercises weren't only about preparing for war with North Korea.
"Some of the most valuable training involved something harder to measure on a readiness chart: learning how to operate with our Korean allies," wrote Hertling.
Soldiers, pilots and sailors learn "how to fight under extraordinary pressure," but they also work out any possible kinks in logistics for moving a huge military to the region, ensuring equipment continues to function, what fuel or ammunition will be needed as well as other things like medical supplies and food.
But former European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland told CNN on Monday morning that Trump is upset with South Korea for not stepping up to help him in Iran.
"The North Koreans know that he's trying to just insert some friendly rhetoric into the equation, and also to smack the South Koreans a little bit about their lack of willingness to stand next to us during the Iran conflict," Sondland explained.
Hertling sees it as shortsighted. He acknowledges that the U.S. has an extraordinary military, but the annual exercises are much more than a war game.
"The purpose of Ulchi Freedom Shield isn’t to make Kim Jong Un comfortable; it is to convince him that starting a war would be a catastrophic mistake. If Trump wants to keep boasting that America has the best military in the world, he needs to understand what made it that way," Hertling said.
Former Navy strategist Bryan McGrath wrote for "The Conservative Wahoo" Substack, railing against the administration for something other than the failures around this specific exercise.
He complained, "This administration is destroying our most important military service through its mismanagement, and Congress does nothing. Where is the legislation directing the Navy to maintain its current aircraft carrier design program in opposition to the President’s incredibly short-sighted tantrum directing the Navy to change how the ship looks because the Toddler-in-Chief doesn’t like it, and also to replace the launching system the Navy FINALLY got right after years of trying, a system crucial to the future of increased unmanned air?"
Hertling closed by explaining that all of these details go beyond the Korean Peninsula. He described South Korea as an ally, not "an American subcontractor."
"Japan, Australia, and all our allies around the world will watch how the United States treats South Korea," the retired general said. "China and Russia will watch, too. And Kim Jong Un will watch most carefully of all, because deterrence depends not simply on American military capability but on an adversary’s belief that the alliance confronting him is capable, prepared and politically cohesive."