USARPAC integrates allies and partners to strengthen deterrence, deliver decisive landpower

WASHINGTON - U.S. Army Pacific strengthens deterrence by positioning ready forces forward, training alongside allies and partners, and building the interoperability needed to operate together before a crisis begins, Gen. Ronald P. Clark said during a panel at the Association of the United States Army's 2026 Annual Meeting and Exposition Oct. 12.

Speaking during the Contemporary Military Forum, "Decisive Landpower: Deterrence and Partner Integration Against the Pacing Threat," Clark emphasized that the distances across the Pacific make forward posture and sustained partner engagement essential to delivering combat-ready forces when and where they are needed.

"Our responsibility to deliver warfighting capability at the place and time of our choosing is really tied to posture," Clark said, "The only way that we've been successful in the business of deterrence is to provide those forces at scale."

Clark highlighted Operation Pathways, USARPAC's exercise program, as a key way to strengthen readiness and relationships with regional allies and partners. He said the program includes 54 exercises over the course of a year, providing opportunities to train alongside partner forces on their own territory.

Those exercises help build the readiness needed to deter conflict and, if necessary, fight and win, Clark said.

He identified USARPAC's priorities as "people, partnerships, and then our efforts to prevail in competition, crisis, and conflict," underscoring the role of relationships and interoperability in the command's approach to deterrence.

Training together also allows forces to develop trust, align procedures and improve the ability of their systems to work together. Clark stressed that these relationships must be built before a crisis, when forces may need to respond together under pressure.

Gen. Xavier T. Brunson, commander of United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea, reinforced the importance of posture, protection and sustainment in maintaining a credible presence. He explained that the ability to remain effective in a location over time depends on having the right capabilities, protection and sustainment in place.

"If you can have the right posture, if you can be protected in the place where you are, if you can sustain yourself in that place, you've achieved endurance," Brunson said.

Clark also highlighted the importance of developing people and strengthening interoperability across partner forces, including through noncommissioned officer development. He described NCOs as not only the backbone but also "the muscle of our formations," emphasizing their role in building capable, integrated forces.

Together, forward posture, realistic training and enduring partnerships help USARPAC provide landpower that supports the joint force and strengthens deterrence across the Pacific.