United Nations Command–Rear

United Nations Command–Rear (also known as UN Command–Rear or UNC–Rear ) is a military command headquartered in Japan, and a subordinate element of United Nations Command. UN Command–Rear was established in 1957 as a result of the relocation of UN Command from Japan to South Korea following the Korean War. It is in control of the rear elements the United Nations Command.

Background
The defeat of Japan in World War II led to the collapse of the Government of Korea under Japanese rule and the territorial bifurcation of the Korean Peninsula between the Pyongyang-based and Soviet-backed Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Seoul-headquartered and United States-supported Republic of Korea (South Korea).

On June 12, 1950, the South Korean Army informed the United States' Korean Military Advisory Group to the Republic of Korea that North Korea's Korean People's Army (KPA) was massing for an invasion. Approximately two weeks later, according to the United States and South Korea, the KPA staged a surprise assault against South Korean military positions along the border, easily overwhelming the South's defenses. North Korea advanced the alternate explanation that the entry of its forces into South Korea was done for the purposes of arresting Syngman Rhee due to what it claimed was a preemptive South Korean incursion that had taken place near Haeju. The ensuing conflagration sparked the Korean War between North and South Korea and their respective allies and patrons.

Following the outbreak of hostilities, the United Nations Security Council voted to authorize armed intervention on the side of South Korea. The United States agreed to be named "executive agent" of the United Nations and, subsequently, formed United Nations Command. UN Command, under General Douglas MacArthur and his wartime successors, oversaw military operations on the Korean Peninsula from headquarters in Japan.

Formation


Active hostilities concluded in 1953 and UN Command relocated from Japan to South Korea four years later. A 1954 Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) was signed between the United Nations Command with Japan.

Upon formation of UN Command–Rear, it was decided that it should be placed under an officer who was not American. From 1957 to 1976, Thailand supplied an officer to UN Command–Rear, following which command responsibilities were assumed by the United Kingdom for two years. From 1978 until at least 1987, the Philippines provided an officer to lead UN Command Rear. Since 2010, Australia has made an officer available to the United States to be placed in command of UN Command–Rear.

In 2007, UN Command–Rear relocated from its longtime headquarters at Camp Zama to Yokota Air Base.

Authority
According to the Australian Defence Force Journal, UNC–R performs "certain administrative, support and liaison functions of a diplomatic type". Specifically, United Nations Command–Rear nominally has joint authority, with the United States, over seven UN-flagged bases in Japan: Camp Zama, Yokota Air Base, Yokosuka Naval Base, Sasebo Naval Base, Kadena Air Base, White Beach Naval Facility, and Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. In practice, all facilities are under the operational control of the United States.

UN Command–Rear is also charged with providing legal notice to Japan regarding the entry of military forces from any of the nine SOFA co-signer states into Japanese territory, specifically, those of the United States, United Kingdom, Philippines, Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, Turkey, and Thailand. Under the SOFA agreement, the movement of signatory state military forces into Japan can occur with or without Japanese approval. The agreement does require that a courtesy notice be provided to the Japanese government in advance of the entry of military forces into the country except in exigent circumstances in which case military forces can enter Japan without advance notification being given to the Japanese government.

Personnel
As of 2021, United Nations Command–Rear had a strength of five personnel, but the number can increase during an emergency situation.

According to Roger Chiasson, a former Canadian military officer who served as deputy commander of UN Command–Rear, his duties were "anything but onerous" and allowed him to live "a life of great privilege" during his assignment as second-in-command of the four-person unit, including access to various United States government-owned golf courses, stores, and a private hotel in downtown Tokyo.