Gen. Xavier T. Brunson, the Commander of United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea at Camp Humphreys in the Republic of Korea, has been sharing photos on social media from an annual military exercise named Freedom Shield 25, which ends Thursday.
📰NEWS: @EighthArmyKorea begins annual exercise Freedom Shield 2025 #FS25 https://t.co/I9N0fef9gF pic.twitter.com/cVDwwtvloO
— U.S. Forces Korea (@USForcesKorea) March 10, 2025
Brunson wrote of the U.S.-South Korean alliance: “We demonstrated our unmatched combined readiness, interoperability, and commitment to defending the Korean Peninsula.” Below are photos of Brunson welcoming South Korea’s Acting President Choi Sang-Mok to the base.
It was an honor to welcome Acting POTROK Choi, Sang-mok to CP TANGO during #FreedomShield25. His visit underscored the strength of the 🇺🇸🇰🇷 Alliance as we demonstrated our unmatched combined readiness, interoperability, and commitment to defending the Korean Peninsula. pic.twitter.com/GXngc8MMT9
— Commander, UNC/CFC/USFK (@CDRUNCCFCUSFK) March 18, 2025
U.S. Forces Korea oversees approximately 28,500 troops on the peninsula; Camp Humphreys is the largest overseas U.S. military installation and based on its new housing developments, it appears prepared to hold that distinction. In February, the Pentagon extended two-year tours for U.S. troops who bring their families to South Korea.
Stars and Stripes reported that “extending tours reduces turnover among experienced personnel and strengthens the military’s deterrence mission against North Korea.” The publication said that “while the policy change may save millions of dollars in relocation costs,” Air Force Col. William Parker, director of personnel for U.S. Forces Korea, told Stars and Stripes that financial considerations were not the driving factor.
[Note: If a service member is approved for a two-year tour, families are housed in apartment complexes close to the military bases while unaccompanied troops — who typically serve a year in South Korea — live in barracks.]
In June, Camp Humphreys opened two new barracks with room for more than 600 single soldiers, and in September the base opened three new housing building for families (144 three-bedroom, 54 four-bedroom and 18 five-bedroom units). It is expected to open a new 99,000-square-foot elementary school designed to accommodate approximately 440 students and staff in March 2026.
Camp Humphreys is located about 40 miles south of Seoul, South Korea pic.twitter.com/PZOrszDA3n
— Business Insider (@BusinessInsider) December 26, 2024
Business Insider is amplifying the video above which promotes Camp Humphreys as a $11 billion complex with a $64 million shopping center with American food chains including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Burger King (“It looks like a regular mall with 60 different stores”), and compares it to a “small American city.” The base is 60 miles away from the North Korean border.
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