Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, commander, U.S. Army Pacific, met with I Corps leadership Nov. 18, to hear updates on the Pacific Pathways efforts and to discuss PACOM AOR Integration. The visit included a stop to see 1st Special Forces Group and an aerial tour of Yakima Training Center range and maneuver areas.

Through Pacific Pathways, the Army seeks to develop small units that will be forward-deployed for quick response to humanitarian emergencies or regional threats.

The plan is also a way for the Army to maintain a presence in parts of the Pacific where it's not feasible to establish bases.

Pacific Pathways would use the series of established military exercises with Pacific nations as "training pathways," it will also support more substantial exchanges of subject expertise and personnel.

The Army is involved in a series of annual exercises in the Pacific, with countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia and India. Personnel and equipment are normally transported to and from each exercise at great expense. Instead of a series of Army units traveling to an exercise for 10 to 30 days and returning home, the new pathways model would deploy a smaller unit that will move from one exercise to the next. The 2014 exercises provided training for Soldiers of 2-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division, stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. {STAFF SGT. MARK MIRANDA}

>>> Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, the commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific, attends a briefing at I Corps Headquarters here Nov. 18, 2014. Brooks discussed the way forward in the Pacific region and the important role of JBLM in the future of USARPAC. Photo credit: Staff Sgt. Jennifer Spradlin, 19th Public Affairs Detachment

Gen. Vincent K. Brooks meets with JBLM leaders

Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, the commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific, met with troops and senior leaders here Nov. 18 to discuss the Army's strategic vision for the Pacific and how I Corps units will be part of the Army's continued focus on the region.

During his remarks, Brooks acknowledged that the Army will face certain challenges, but said the Army will maintain its focus and commitment in the Pacific and forecasted that the region would remain a top priority.

Units from I Corps took part in Pacific Pathways 14 earlier this year as part of that emphasis on the Pacific region. Pacific Pathways will be a recurring series of military-to-military exchanges.

Pacific Pathways represents a reimagining of how exercises were conducted in the region. Rather than three separate annual exercises supported by three separate units, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, trained in successively in Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan.

"[By changing our approach], we were able to be cost effective without losing value," said Brooks. "We think we've found something here that [will allow] the Army [to] increase its operations in the coming years ... while building readiness."

For example, he pointed to the 2-2 UAV capabilities, noting that during the exercise the unit logged more flight hours under more diverse conditions than it could at JBLM in a year.

Additionally, he said the linked series of exercises added stressors to different levels of command throughout the region. Basic lessons were learned in the arenas of unit movement planning, logistics, and port operations. While concepts of deployments and the notion of foreign military operations were challenged within the participating units.

"We have to recognize that anytime we organize units, commit resources, and send soldiers abroad - it's a deployment. It's been interesting for some of our soldiers, who are accustomed to equating deployment with going to Iraq or Afghanistan, to see that's not the full definition of a deployment," he said.

The general stressed the importance of regional partnerships as the key to stability and that the new model created for Pacific Pathways 14 enhances the gains made during military-to-military exchanges.

"The exercises build a degree of reassurance and familiarity with the regional partners and the U.S. forces involved," Brooks said.

"When we take this type of approach, we get the benefit of a much closer exchange between our soldiers and soldiers of foreign militaries, and we get a much deeper appreciation for the differences within the region," he added.

Brooks said that to build on the progress of Pacific Pathways 14, three similar, linked exercises in three different regions within the Pacific are scheduled for each of the next two fiscal years.

Of the more than 100, 000 soldiers assigned USARPAC, Joint Base Lewis-McChord is the largest home station and as such, the general said, is fundamental to demonstrating the Army's increased presence in the Pacific.

"You can anticipate that JBLM will continue to play a significant role in the Pacific Region," Brooks said, "by hosting foreign militaries, participating in exercises and exporting the professionalism of soldiers to our host country militaries, much as it did this year." {STAFF SGT. JENNIFER SPRADLIN}