The Eighth Army command sergeant major described the important mission that American and South Korean noncommissioned officers accomplish on the Korean Peninsula.

Eighth Army Command Sgt. Maj. Ray A. Devens spoke at the Republic of Korea NCO Policy Development Seminar Nov. 21, an event attended by the top enlisted leaders of the ROK Armed Forces.

"One of the key aspects of our success for the past 60 years has been our trust and bonding between our NCO corps," said Devens. "It is our selfless determination as NCOs to make sure we are able to operate at all levels of military operations as one team in one fight."

"I always say NCOs do it all and we have our hands in every aspect of our unit success," said Devens, an Army Ranger who is originally from Cape Coral, Fla.

The command sergeant major also talked about Eighth Army's revitalized focus on physical readiness training. Eighth Army recently increased physical readiness training from five one-hour workouts a week to five 90-minute workouts a week.

According to Devens, the ROK-U.S. Alliance is the strongest military alliance in the world because of its NCOs commitment to instilling discipline and esprit de corps in its ranks.

Devens said U.S. Army NCOs in South Korea are focused on increasing Eighth Army's collective strength one Soldier at a time.

"We demand the very best from each warrior we train to make sure they represent all of us, their nation and their families as true warriors of virtue," said Devens. "That is what will deter aggression and pacify any enemy in wanting to go into battle with us."