Eighth US Army
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The Eighth Army is a U.S.
field army A field army (also known as numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps. It may be subordinate to an army group. Air army, Air armies are the equivalent formations in air forces, and ...
which commands all
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
forces in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
."Enter the Dragon: Eighth Army unveils new emblem" (15 April 2013)

Task Force Smith, July 1950, Battle of Osan, memorialized
/ref> It is headquartered at the
Camp Humphreys Camp Humphreys (), also known as United States Army Garrison-Humphreys (USAG-H), is a United States Army garrison located near Anjeong-ri and Pyeongtaek metropolitan areas in South Korea. Camp Humphreys is home to Desiderio Army Airfiel ...
in the
Anjeong-ri Anjeong-ri is a community located in Paengseong-eup, Pyeongtaek City, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It is located on the perimeter of Camp Humphreys, a United States Army garrison undergoing rapid expansion. History In 1919, during the peri ...
of Pyeongtaek, South Korea.Yongsan garrison move pushed back to 2019
Eighth Army relocated its headquarters from
Yongsan Yongsan District (, ) is one of the 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea. It has a population of 231,685 (2020) and has a geographic area of , and is divided into 19 '' dong'' (administrative neighborhoods). Yongsan is located near Downtown Seoul, ...
to Camp Humphreys in the summer of 2017. It is the only
field army A field army (also known as numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps. It may be subordinate to an army group. Air army, Air armies are the equivalent formations in air forces, and ...
in the U.S. Army. It is responsible to
United States Forces Korea The United States Forces Korea (USFK) is a Unified Combatant Command#Subordinate Unified Command, sub-unified command of United States Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). USFK was initially established in 1957, and e ...
and United States Army, Pacific.


History


World War II

The unit first activated on 10 June 1944 in the United States, under the command of Lieutenant General
Robert L. Eichelberger Robert Lawrence Eichelberger (9 March 1886 – 26 September 1961) was a general officer in the United States Army who commanded the Eighth United States Army in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II, Southwest Pacific Area during W ...
. The Eighth Army took part in many of the
amphibious landing Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted ...
s in the
Southwest Pacific Theater The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo, Australia, its mandate Territory of New Guin ...
of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, eventually participating in no less than sixty of them. The first mission of the Eighth Army, in September 1944, was to take over from the U.S. Sixth Army in
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
,
New Britain New Britain () is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi Island, Umboi the Dampie ...
, the
Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 40 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-cov ...
and on Morotai, in order to free up the Sixth Army to engage in the
Philippines Campaign (1944–45) Philippines campaign may refer to various military campaigns that have been fought in the Philippine Islands, including: Spanish colonial period (1565–1898) *Numerous revolts against Spain during the Spanish colonial period; see Philippine revo ...
. The Eighth Army again followed in the wake of the Sixth Army in December 1944, when it took over control of operations on
Leyte Island Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...
on 26 December. In January, the Eighth Army entered combat on
Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
, landing the
XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to: * 11th Army Corps (France) * XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...
on 29 January near
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
and the
11th Airborne Division The 11th Airborne Division ("Arctic Angels") is a United States Army multirole infantry division made up of specialized light infantry and airborne infantry based in Alaska. Currently, this unit specializes in arctic warfare, airborne operat ...
on the other side of
Manila Bay Manila Bay (; ) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and ...
two days later. Combining with I Corps and XIV Corps of Sixth Army, the forces of Eighth Army next enveloped
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
in a great double-
pincer movement The pincer movement, or double envelopment, is a maneuver warfare, military maneuver in which forces simultaneously attack both flanking maneuver, flanks (sides) of an enemy Military organization, formation. This classic maneuver has been im ...
. Eighth Army's final operation of the
Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
was that of clearing out the southern Philippines of the
Japanese Army The , , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service branches. New military guidelines, announced in December 2010, direct t ...
, including on the major island of
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
, an effort that occupied the soldiers of the Eighth Army for the rest of the war.


Occupation of Japan

Eighth Army was to have participated in
Operation Downfall Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ...
, the invasion of Japan. It would have taken part in Operation Coronet, the second phase of the invasion, which would have seen the invasion of the
Kantō Plain The , in the Kantō region of central Honshu, is the largest plain in Japan. Its 17,000 km2 covers more than half of the region extending over Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Tochigi Prefe ...
on eastern
Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...
. However, the Japanese surrender cancelled the invasion, and the Eighth Army found itself in charge of a peaceful occupation.
Occupation forces Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling powe ...
landed on 30 August 1945, with its headquarters in
Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
, then the HQ moved to the Dai-Ichi building in
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. At the beginning of 1946, Eighth Army assumed responsibility for occupying all of Japan. Four quiet years then followed, during which the Eighth Army gradually transitioned from a combat-ready fighting force into a constabulary. Lieutenant General Walton H. Walker took command in September 1948, and he tried to re-invigorate the Army's training, with mixed success.


Korean War

In June 1950 75,000
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
n
Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) encompasses the combined military forces of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). The KPA consists of five branches: the Korean People's Army Ground Force, Ground Force, the Ko ...
(KPA) troops with
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
made tanks invaded South Korea, igniting the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
.National Archives
''US Enters the Korean Conflict''
U.S. naval and air forces quickly became involved in combat operations, and it was soon clear that U.S. ground forces would have to be committed. To stem the North Korean advance, the occupation forces in Japan were thus shipped off to South Korea as quickly as possible, but their lack of training and equipment was telling, as some of the initial U.S. units were destroyed by the KPA. However, the stage was eventually reached as enough units of Eighth Army arrived in Korea to make a firm front. The KPA threw themselves against that front, the
Pusan Perimeter The Battle of the Pusan Perimeter, known in Korean as the Battle of the Naktong River Defense Line (), was a large-scale battle between United Nations Command (UN) and North Korean forces lasting from August 4 to September 18, 1950. It was one ...
, and failed to break it. In the meantime, Eighth Army had reorganized, since it had too many divisions under its command for it to exercise effective control directly. The I Corps and the
IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to: France * 9th Army Corps (France) * IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German ...
were reactivated in the United States and then shipped to Korea to assume command of Eighth Army's subordinate divisions. The stalemate was broken by the Inchon landings of the
X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to: France * 10th Army Corps (France) * X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...
(consisting of soldiers and Marines). The KPA, confronted with this threat to their rear areas, combined with a breakout operation at Pusan, broke away and hastily retired north. Both South and North Korea were almost entirely occupied by United Nations forces. However, once U.S. units neared the
Yalu River The Yalu River () or Amnok River () is a river on the border between China and North Korea. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between China and North Korea. Its valle ...
and the frontier between North Korea and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, the Chinese
People's Volunteer Army The People's Volunteer Army (PVA), officially the Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV), was the armed expeditionary forces China in the Korean War, deployed by the History of the People's Republic of China (1949–1976), People's Republic of Chi ...
(PVA) intervened and drastically changed the character of the war. Eighth Army was decisively defeated at the
Battle of the Chongchon River The Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River (), also known as the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on, was a decisive battle in the Korean War that took place from November 25 to December 2, 1950, along the Ch'ongch'on River Valley in the northwestern part of Nort ...
and forced to retreat back into South Korea, the longest retreat of any U.S. military unit in history. General Walker was killed in a jeep accident on 23 December 1950, and replaced by Lieutenant general
Matthew Ridgway Matthew Bunker Ridgway (3 March 1895 – 26 July 1993) was a senior officer in the United States Army, who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1952–1953) and the 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1953–1955). Although he ...
. The overstretched Eighth Army suffered heavily with the Chinese offensive, who were able to benefit from shorter lines of communication and with rather casually deployed enemy forces. The Chinese broke through the U.S. defenses despite U.S.
air supremacy Air supremacy (as well as air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of ...
and the Eighth Army and U.N. forces retreated hastily to avoid encirclement. The Chinese offensive continued pressing U.S. forces, which lost
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
, the South Korean capital. Eighth Army's morale and ''esprit de corps'' hit rock bottom, to where it was widely regarded as a broken, defeated rabble. Ridgway forcefully restored Eighth Army to combat effectiveness over several months. Eighth Army slowed and ultimately halted the Chinese advance at the battles of
Chipyong-ni Jipyeong-ri is a village in Jije-myeon, Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. History Jipyeong-ri was the site of the Battle of Chipyong-ni during the Korean War, February 1951. A memorial has been erected at the site, which is spl ...
and
Wonju Wonju (; ) is the most populous Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gangwon Province, South Korea, with a population of 364,860 as of 2023. The city is located approximately east of Seoul. History During the time of Joseon, Gr ...
. It then counter-attacked the Chinese, re-took Seoul, and drove to the 38th parallel, where the front stabilized. When Ridgway replaced
General of the Army Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...
as the overall U.N. commander, Lieutenant general
James Van Fleet General (United States), General James Alward Van Fleet (19 March 1892 – 23 September 1992) was a United States Army officer who served during World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Van Fleet was a native of New Jersey, who was raised i ...
assumed command of Eighth Army. After the war of movement during the first stages, the fighting in Korea settled down to a war of attrition. Ceasefire negotiations were begun at the village of
Panmunjom Panmunjom (also spelled Panmunjeom) was a village just north of the ''de facto'' border between North Korea and South Korea, where the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement that ended the Korean War was signed. It was located in what is now Paju, Gy ...
in the summer of 1951, and they dragged on for two years. During the final combat operation of the war, Lieutenant general
Maxwell D. Taylor Maxwell Davenport Taylor (26 August 1901 – 19 April 1987) was a senior United States Army Officer (armed forces), officer and diplomat during the Cold War. He served with distinction in World War II, most notably as commander of the 101st Air ...
(promoted to general 23 June 1953) commanded the Eighth Army. When the
Military Demarcation Line The Military Demarcation Line (MDL), sometimes referred to as the Armistice Line, is the land border or demarcation line between North Korea and South Korea. On either side of the line is the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The MDL and DMZ were ...
was finally agreed to by the
Korean Armistice Agreement The Korean Armistice Agreement (; zh, t=韓國停戰協定 / 朝鮮停戰協定) is an armistice that brought about a cessation of hostilities of the Korean War. It was signed by United States Army Lieutenant General William Kelly Harrison Jr ...
, South Korea and North Korea continued on as separate states.


Guarding Korea

During the
aftermath of the Korean War The aftermath of the Korean War set the tone for Cold War tension between superpowers. The Korean War was important in the development of the Cold War, as it showed that the two superpowers, United States and Soviet Union, could fight a " limited ...
, the Eighth Army remained in South Korea. By the 1960s, I Corps, consisting of the 7th Infantry Division and the 2nd Infantry Division, remained as part of the Eighth Army. Then, in 1971, the 7th Infantry Division was withdrawn, along with the command units of I Corps, which were moved across the Pacific Ocean to
Fort Lewis Fort Lewis may refer to: * Fort Lewis (Colorado), a former United States Army post (1878–1891) in the U.S. State of Colorado ** Fort Lewis College, a college in the Durango, Colorado, United States ** Fort Lewis Skyhawks, athletic teams of Fort L ...
,
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
. Later, in March 1977, a memo from President Jimmy Carter said "...American forces will be withdrawn. Air cover will be continued." Bureaucratic resistance from the Executive Branch, with support in Congress, eventually saw the proposal watered down. Eventually one combat battalion and about 2,600 non-combat troops were withdrawn. This left the 2nd Infantry Division at the
Korean Demilitarized Zone The Korean Demilitarized Zone () is a heavily militarized strip of land running across the Korea, Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in half. It wa ...
to assist the
South Korean Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the largest of the military branches of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces with 365,0 ...
. Besides forming a trip-wire against another North Korean invasion, the 2nd Infantry Division remained there as the only Army unit in South Korea armed with
tactical nuclear weapon A tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) or non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW) is a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations, mostly with friendly forces in proximity and perhaps even on contested friendly territ ...
s. (Otherwise, there is only the
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...
in South Korea and on
Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
.) All nuclear weapons were taken from the Army to be under Air Force control. Later, in 1991, all U.S. nuclear weapons were removed from South Korea.


Structure 1989

At the end of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
Eighth Army consisted of the following units: * Eighth Army,
Yongsan Garrison Yongsan Garrison (; Hanja: ), meaning "dragon hill garrison", is an area located in the Yongsan District of central Seoul, South Korea. The site served as the headquarters for U.S. military forces stationed in South Korea, known as United States ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
** Headquarters & Headquarters Company ** 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Casey ** 17th Aviation Brigade, Camp Coiner *** Headquarters & Headquarters Company *** 4th Battalion, 58th Aviation (Air Traffic Control), Camp Coiner *** 1st Battalion, 501st Aviation (Assault), Camp Coiner ( UH-60A Black Hawk helicopters) *** 2nd Battalion, 501st Aviation (Medium Lift), Camp Coiner ( CH-47D Chinook helicopters) *** 4th Battalion, 501st Aviation (Attack), Camp Page ( AH-1F Cobra & OH-58C Kiowa helicopters) *** 5th Battalion, 501st Aviation (Attack), Camp Coiner (AH-1F Cobra & OH-58C Kiowa helicopters) ** 1st Signal Brigade, Camp Humphreys *** Headquarters & Headquarters Company *** 36th Signal Battalion *** 41st Signal Battalion *** 304th Signal Battalion, Camp Colbern *** 307th Signal Battalion *** 257th Signal Company, Camp Humphreys ** 8th Military Police Brigade (Provisional), Camp Coiner *** Headquarters & Headquarters Company *** 94th Military Police Battalion *** 728th Military Police Battalion ** 501st Military Intelligence Brigade (Provisional), Yongsan Garrison *** Headquarters & Headquarters Detachment *** 3rd Military Intelligence Battalion (Aerial Exploitation), Camp Humphreys *** 524th Military Intelligence Battalion (Human Intelligence) *** 532nd Military Intelligence Battalion (Intelligence & Electronic Warfare) *** 751st Military Intelligence Battalion (Counterintelligence), Camp Humphreys ** 18th Medical Command, Seoul (the following peacetime listing is incomplete) *** Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment *** 52nd Medical Battalion *** 121st Combat Support Hospital, Camp Humphreys ** 19th Support Command,
Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...
(the following peacetime listing is incomplete) *** Headquarters and Headquarters Company *** Special Troops Battalion *** 20th Area Support Group, Camp Henry **** Headquarters and Headquarters Company *** 23rd Area Support Group, Camp Humphreys **** Headquarters and Headquarters Company **** 194th Maintenance Battalion **** 227th Maintenance Battalion **** Company A, 3rd Battalion 501st Aviation (Aviation Intermediate Maintenance), Camp Humphreys **** Company A, 3rd Battalion, 501st Aviation (Aviation Intermediate Maintenance), Camp Humphreys *** 25th Transportation Center (Movement Control), Yongsan Garrison **** 21st Transportation Company (Command Transport), Yongsan Garrison **** 46th Transportation Company, Camp Carroll *** 34th Area Support Group, Seoul **** Headquarters and Headquarters Company *** 501st Corps Support Group, Camp Red Cloud **** Headquarters and Headquarters Company ** 8th Personnel Command *** 516th Personnel Service Company ** 175th Finance Center *** 176th Finance Support Unit *** 177th Finance Support Unit ** 23rd Chemical Battalion ** 44th Engineer Battalion (Combat) (Heavy), Camp Mercer ** 8th Army Band


Recent times

In 2003, plans were announced to move the 2nd Infantry Division southward. The division, with 15 bases north of the Han River and just south of the DMZ, was to be the most important formation to be moved south of the Han River in two phases "over the next few years" a joint statement between the South Korean and U.S. governments said on June 5, 2003. As of 2015, it appears that one brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division will remain at Camp Casey, near
Dongducheon Dongducheon (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The city, to the north of Seoul, is strategically important for the defense of the Korean capital. The main camps of the United States Second Infantry Division are in the city, and t ...
. The headquarters of the Eighth Army was
Yongsan Garrison Yongsan Garrison (; Hanja: ), meaning "dragon hill garrison", is an area located in the Yongsan District of central Seoul, South Korea. The site served as the headquarters for U.S. military forces stationed in South Korea, known as United States ...
, but moved southward to
Camp Humphreys Camp Humphreys (), also known as United States Army Garrison-Humphreys (USAG-H), is a United States Army garrison located near Anjeong-ri and Pyeongtaek metropolitan areas in South Korea. Camp Humphreys is home to Desiderio Army Airfiel ...
by 2019. In April 2017 the Eighth Army headquarters began its move from Yongsan to Camp Humphreys and held a ceremony to relocate a statue of General Walton Walker.


Organization

* Eighth Army, USAG Humphreys ** Eighth Army Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion *** Headquarters Support Company *** Operations Company *** Intelligence and Sustainment Company *** Eighth Army Band ** 2nd Infantry Division (Joint
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
South Korean Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the largest of the military branches of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces with 365,0 ...
) *** 2nd Infantry Division Combined Division Staff (Joint
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
South Korean Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the largest of the military branches of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces with 365,0 ...
) *** Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion *** Rotational
Stryker Brigade Combat Team The brigade combat team (BCT) is the basic Military deployment, deployable Military unit, unit of maneuver in the United States Army, U.S. Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branch maneuver Brigade (United States Army), b ...
***
210th Field Artillery Brigade The 210th Field Artillery Brigade, also known as "the Thunder", is a U.S. Army field artillery brigade forward deployed in the Republic of Korea. Its mission is "On order, 210th Field Artillery Brigade provides fires in support of Air Combat Comm ...
**** Headquarters and Headquarters Battery **** 210th Field Artillery Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Battery **** 1st Battalion,
38th Field Artillery Regiment The 38th Field Artillery Regiment is a field artillery regiment of the United States Army. History On 17 August 1918, the 38th Field Artillery was organized as a regiment at Camp Lewis, Washington. It trained at that station until 10 February ...
**** 6th Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment **** Rotational
M270 MLRS The M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (M270 MLRS) is an American armored self-propelled multiple launch rocket system. The U.S. Army variant of the M270 is based on the chassis of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The first M270s were delivered ...
Field Artillery Battalion **** 70th Brigade Support Battalion *** Combat Aviation Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division **** Headquarters and Headquarters Company **** 2nd Battalion (Assault), 2nd Aviation Regiment **** 3rd Battalion (General Support), 2nd Aviation Regiment **** 4th Battalion (Attack), 2nd Aviation Regiment **** 5th Squadron (Attack/Reconnaissance),
17th Cavalry Regiment The 17th Cavalry Regiment is a historical organization within the United States Army that began as a regiment of cavalry after the Pancho Villa Expedition. The unit was constituted on 1 July 1916 in the Regular Army as the 17th Cavalry at Fort ...
**** Company E, 2nd Aviation Regiment (
General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle The General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle (previously the Warrior; also called Sky Warrior and ERMP or Extended-Range Multi-Purpose) is a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft system (UAS). It was developed by General Atomics Aer ...
) **** 602d Aviation Support Battalion *** 2nd Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade **** Headquarters and Headquarters Company **** Special Troops Battalion **** 194th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion ** 1st Signal Brigade, subordinate to 311th Signal Command /
US Army Pacific The United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) is an Army Service Component Command which serves as the Army service component for United States Indo-Pacific Command. It may also serve as a Joint Task Force headquarters. The command has forces in Alas ...
*** Headquarters and Headquarters Company *** United States Army Communications Information Systems Activity, Pacific *** 41st Signal Battalion *** 304th Expeditionary Signal Battalion **
19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command is a Sustainment Command of the United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army ...
*** Headquarters and Headquarters Company *** 94th Military Police Battalion *** Materiel Support Command Korea **** 6th Ordnance Battalion **** 25th Transportation Battalion **** 498th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion **** Korean Service Corps **
35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade The 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (ADAB) is an Air Defense Artillery unit of the United States Army subordinate to the Eighth United States Army, located at Osan Air Base in the Republic of Korea. 35th ADAB has integrated the Terminal High A ...
*** Headquarters and Headquarters Battery *** 2nd Battalion,
1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment The 1st Air Defense Artillery is an air defense artillery regiment in the United States Army first formed as a field artillery unit in 1821. Lineage Constituted 1 June 1821 in the Regular Army as the 1st Regiment of Artillery, and organized fro ...
(
Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...
) *** 6th Battalion,
52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment The 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment is an air defense artillery regiment of the United States Army first organized in 1917 as a railway gun unit of the Coast Artillery Corps. It was first designated as the 7th Provisional Regiment (Coast Art ...
(Patriot) *** Battery D, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment (
THAAD Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), formerly Theater High Altitude Area Defense, is an American anti-ballistic missile defense system designed to intercept and destroy short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in th ...
) ** 65th Medical Brigade *** Headquarters and Headquarters Company *** 549th Hospital Center *** 168th Medical Battalion (Multifunctional) *** 618th Dental Company (Area Support) *** 106th Medical Detachment (Veterinary Service Support) *** 135th Forward Resuscitative Surgical Detachment ** 501st Military Intelligence Brigade *** Headquarters and Headquarters Company *** 3rd Military Intelligence Battalion *** 368th Military Intelligence Battalion (
US Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. History Origi ...
), at
Parks Reserve Forces Training Area Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (PRFTA), commonly known as Camp Parks, is a United States Army base located in Dublin, California, that is currently an active military and training center for U.S. Army Reserve personnel to be used in case of ...
, California *** 524th Military Intelligence Battalion *** 532nd Military Intelligence Battalion *** 719th Military Intelligence Battalion **
United Nations Command United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the South Korea, Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first attempt at collective security by the U ...
Security Battalion, Joint Security Area ** Korean Field Office ** Army Special Operations Forces Liaison Element, Korea ** Joint United States Military Affairs Group - Korea ** Eighth Army
Non-Commissioned Officers A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...
Academy ** Training Support Activity, Korea ** 11th Engineer Battalion, subordinate to 130th Engineer Brigade /
US Army Pacific The United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) is an Army Service Component Command which serves as the Army service component for United States Indo-Pacific Command. It may also serve as a Joint Task Force headquarters. The command has forces in Alas ...
** 23rd Chemical Battalion ** 4th Airfield Operations Battalion, 58th Aviation Regiment ** 2501st Digital Liaison Detachment - headquartered at Camp Yongin. The detachment deploys in support of First (Wonju) and Third (Yongin) Republic of Korea Armies (FROKA/TROKA) and the soon to be Combined Ground Component Command (CGCC) to provide continuous liaison capability between Eighth Army and the two ROK Field Army headquarters. ** 2502nd Digital Liaison Detachment ** 3rd Battlefield Coordination Detachment ** United States Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District Other army units based in South Korea: * 403rd Army Field Support Brigade, Camp Henry, part of Army Sustainment Command ** Army Field Support Battalion - Korea ** Army Field Support Battalion - Northeast Asia * 837th Transportation Battalion, part of 599th Transportation Brigade / Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command * United States Army Medical Materiel Agency - Korea


Specific units


8th Army Band

The 8th Army Band is the official musical unit of the HQ 8th Army and supports
United States Forces Korea The United States Forces Korea (USFK) is a Unified Combatant Command#Subordinate Unified Command, sub-unified command of United States Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). USFK was initially established in 1957, and e ...
and the
United Nations Command United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the South Korea, Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first attempt at collective security by the U ...
. The 41-member band was founded in 1916 as the Band of the 35th Infantry Regiment. During World War II, the band, then known as the 25th Infantry Division Band based out of
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
, served in the
Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
, being a participant in Central Pacific and Guadalcanal campaigns. It was reorganized in November 1950 and reassigned to the newly formed ROK, the same year the Korean War began. Awards and honors the band has received include the
Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...
and two
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation () is a military unit award of the government of Republic of Korea that may be presented to South Korean and foreign military units for outstanding performance in defense of the Republic of Korea. In recognition of a ...
s. Nicknamed ''Freedom's Ambassadors'' due to its
area of responsibility Area of responsibility (AOR) is a pre-defined geographic region assigned to Combatant commanders of the Unified Command Plan (UCP), that are used to define an area with specific geographic boundaries where they have the authority to plan and c ...
, it has performed at events such as the
Wonju Wonju (; ) is the most populous Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gangwon Province, South Korea, with a population of 364,860 as of 2023. The city is located approximately east of Seoul. History During the time of Joseon, Gr ...
Tattoo, the Gangwon International Tattoo as well as Korean War memorial ceremonies in the country. In June, 2015, members of the 8th Army Band celebrated its 99th anniversary in
Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
with a concert on
Sükhbaatar Square Sükhbaatar Square (, ''Sükhbaataryn talbai'') is the central square of Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. The square was named for Mongolian revolutionary hero Damdin Sükhbaatar after his death in 1923, and features a monumental equestrian ...
.


Korean Service Corps

The Korean Service Corps was a reserve force composed of South Korean volunteers who were augmented to the 8th Army. They provided labourers who were used to carry ammunition and supplies, and support the overall logistic elements of the army. It is today, a
paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
civilian formation that is
battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...
-sized. Continuing is role as a
combat service support The term combat service support (or CSS) is utilized by numerous military organizations throughout the world to describe entities that provide direct and indirect sustainment services to the groups that engage (or are potentially to be engaged) ...
unit, it is capable of being expanded and mobilized during a wartime situation.


List of commanders


References


Citation


Bibliography

* * *


External links


Eighth Army – Official Homepage


* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eighth Army (United States) 008 Army Military units of the United States Army in South Korea Military units and formations established in 1944 USFldArmy0008