History

Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Korea (CNFK) is the U.S. Navy's representative in the Republic of Korea (ROK). It provides leadership and expertise in naval matters that support the mission of United Nations Command (UNC)/Combined Forces Command (CFC)/United States Forces Korea (USFK). CNFK works closely with the ROK Navy to improve institutional and operational effectiveness and to strengthen collective security efforts in the Korean Theater.

Both navies coordinate multilateral participation in several combined exercises and events each year designed to sustain and strengthen the alliance, maintain the Armistice, and transform and sustain the force.

Throughout the year, the U.S. and ROK navies work together in more than 20 exercises including the command post exercises Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) and Key Resolve (KR).

Along with UFG and KR, CNFK also participates in the field training exercise Foal Eagle, enabling both U.S. and ROK navies to exercise the full spectrum of maritime operations from anti-submarine warfare, joint tactics and maneuvering, salvage operations, mine warfare and harbor recovery operations.

To improve interoperability among armed forces and maintain the Armistice by being ready to "Fight Tonight," the U.S. and ROK navies also join their Marine Corps counterparts to conduct the exercise Ssang Yong (Twin Dragons). The exercise demonstrates the combined Naval and Marine forces' ability to rapidly execute a full range of military operations and contingencies in the ROK.

The Anti-Submarine Warfare Cooperation Committee, co-chaired by the commanders of the ROK Fleet and U.S. 7th Fleet, was established in 2014 to synchronize the numerous efforts of both navies spanning the surface, subsurface and aviation domains. Both navies join together to enhance mine warfare through the annual UNC Naval Component Commander Mine Countermeasures Symposium and the exercise Clear Horizon.

CNFK recently relocated the majority of personnel from the U.S. Army Garrison- Yongsan in Seoul to the ROK fleet base in Busan.

CNFK is the only U.S. headquarters located on a ROK base. This move allows CNFK to work shoulder-to-shoulder with our ROK partners on a daily basis.

In the future, CNFK will relocate select staff to U.S. Army Garrison- Camp Humphreys near Pyeongtaek. For more information on the U.S. Navy in Korea, visit https://goo.gl/9QiFHb & FB at https://goo.gl/Emk320 & Twitter at https://goo.gl/t1wplW