The Joint Chiefs of Staff’s operational readiness inspection unit will be restructured by the end of this year, defense officials said.

The unit will be re-established under the wing of the Ministry of National Defense by early 2013, with an expanded role evaluating and overseeing comprehensive aspects of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, including munitions supplies, administration and the strategic command system.

The JCS unit had been limited to inspection and evaluation of the military’s command system.

After the re-establishment, the JCS unit will carry out internal auditing of the Joint Chiefs, officials said.

This is in line with the defense agency’s efforts to streamline its chain of command by integrating the operational capability of the Army, Air Force and Navy, which had been criticized for maintaining inefficient communication channels.

By Park Hyung-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)