Lieutenant General Willard M. Burleson III, Commanding General of Eighth Army at Camp Humphreys

Lieutenant General Willard “Bill” Burleson is currently assigned as the commanding general of Eighth Army at Camp Humphreys, Republic of Korea. He most recently served as the U.S. Forces Korea Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations.

Lieutenant General Burleson commanded 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York, which included a tour with Multi-National Division, Baghdad, Iraq. After attending the Army War College, he returned to the 10th Mountain Division and commanded 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division where the brigade served in Regional Command-North, Afghanistan. Upon completion of brigade command, he served as the Commander of the Joint Readiness Training Center’s Operations Group in Fort Polk, Louisiana.

As a General Officer, he has served as the Deputy Commanding General (Operations), 7th Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; Director, Mission Command Center of Excellence, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; the Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Defense, Afghanistan; and the Commanding General of 7th Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington.

Lt. Gen. Burleson graduated from the United States Military Academy and was commissioned into the Infantry in May 1988. Lt. Gen. Burleson holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the United States Military Academy, and Master’s Degrees in Strategic Studies from the Army War College and in Military Art and Science from the Command and General Staff College.

Click to view SPEAKER’S FULL BIO

The Hon. Joy M. Sakurai, Chargé d'Affaires at U.S. Embassy in Seoul

Joy M. Sakurai began her assignment as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Seoul, Republic of Korea in January 2023. She assumed her current position as Chargé d’Affaires at U.S. Embassy Seoul on July 2, 2023.

Ms. Sakurai’s most recent overseas assignment was as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Vientiane, Laos. She has also served as the Principal Officer in Fukuoka, Japan, in addition to Jakarta, Indonesia on two occasions, in Tokyo, Japan and in Islamabad, Pakistan. In Washington, she served in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research and the Bureau of East Asian & Pacific Affairs.

Ms. Sakurai is from Hawai’i and is a 2020 Distinguished Graduate of the National War College and the recipient of the college’s Theodore Roosevelt Award for scholarship and leadership. She received her undergraduate degree from Lake Forest College. Her foreign languages include Japanese, Indonesian, Lao, and French. Her foreign service officer spouse and two children have also joined her in Seoul.