A 70-Year Alliance, Downgraded Over a War South Korea Never Signed Up For

I am writing as your constituent to urge Congress to immediately assert its Article I constitutional authority to protect American military readiness and uphold our statutory defense commitments in the Indo-Pacific. The abrupt, unilateral directive forcing the Pentagon to cut the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises from 11 days to five—canceling essential live-fire maneuvers and combined counteroffensive simulations—directly degrades operational preparedness and weakens our deterrence posture in Northeast Asia. Combined training exercises are not disposable bargaining chips; they are indispensable operational requirements that ensure U.S. and allied forces possess the command-and-control interoperability, logistics coordination, and combat readiness needed to defend themselves in a crisis. Unilaterally gutting readiness operations without verifiable disarmament concessions from Pyongyang—especially as North Korea continues ballistic missile tests and deepens military cooperation with Russia—sends a dangerous signal of instability to allies and adversaries alike. Under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, Congress is responsible for raising, supporting, and regulating the armed forces. I urge you to pursue the following bipartisan legislative actions immediately: 1. Codify Exercise Protections in the NDAA: Enact statutory provisions in the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) prohibiting the unilateral reduction, suspension, or cancellation of bilateral exercises with treaty allies unless the Secretary of Defense, the Commander of INDOPACOM, and the Commander of US Forces Korea formally certify under oath that such changes do not degrade combat readiness. 2. Hold Immediate Oversight Hearings: Convene open hearings in the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees to question defense leadership under oath regarding the operational risks, costs, and readiness impacts of truncating theater exercises. 3. Enforce Troop Posture Baselines: Maintain strict statutory funding language preventing the executive branch from drawing down or redeploying the 28,500 U.S. service members stationed in the Republic of Korea below authorized baselines. National security, troop protection, and constitutional checks and balances must transcend executive whim. I ask that you defend military readiness and assert congressional oversight over our defense posture.