Tag: ROK Army

South Korean Army tanks cross a river via a pontoon bridge in Yeoju, about 100 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Nov. 2, 2016, as part of the broader Hoguk combined drill that the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force has carried out since 1996. (Yonhap)

This is a horrible way to commit suicide if in fact that is what happened:

A soldier of the South Korean Army died on Thursday when a grenade exploded during a training exercise in the Demilitarized Zone along the border with the North, military officials said, suspecting that it could be a suicide.

The Army PFC, identified only by his last name Yang, died when a grenade went off at around 2:20 p.m. Approximately 10 soldiers, including Yang, were engaged in a military drill in the DMZ near the border town when it happened, according to the officials.

The exact cause of the explosion has not been determined, but the military officials suspect that Yang might have committed suicide using his own grenade.

A note he allegedly wrote was reported to have been found later which read, “(This) has nothing to do with (his) military unit.”  [Yonhap]

It seems for people with religious reasons for not wanting to conduct their mandatory service in the military could be used to do something more productive than sitting in a jail cell with other criminals:

Hopes are fading for an alternative to Korea’s mandatory military service after decades of calls from pacifists and religious groups to spare conscientious objectors the martial ordeal.

Some 6,088 young men chose prison rather than mandatory military service over the decade from 2006 to 2015, over 99 percent on religious grounds, according to Defense Ministry data Thursday. That boils down to 600 a year, or just 0.24 percent of all 250,000 annual conscripts.

They are sentenced to a year and a half in jail and must serve the time alongside ordinary criminals.  (……….)

But opponents say that South Korea is uniquely placed because it remains officially at war with North Korea, and there is insufficient public support for an alternative.

In data submitted to the National Assembly early this month, the Defense Ministry said alternative service “can be abused” as a way to evade military service, and there is “not enough consensus” seeing it as anything other than a privilege for followers of “certain religions.”   [Chosun Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

Merchants at the Taewha traditional market in UIsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, clap for soldiers on Oct. 12, 2016, in a gesture to express thanks for their efforts to help them restore their market that was severely damaged by the powerful Typhoon Chaba early in the month. (photo courtesy of army) (Yonhap)

A towed artillery piece fires as reservists and soldiers from the South Korean Army’s 1st Corps conduct a live-fire exercise at a range in Paju, north of Seoul, bordering North Korea, on Sept. 8, 2016. (Yonhap)

Senior high school girls get information at a special forces booth to recruit noncommissioned officers in a job fair for high school graduates at a Seoul convention on Aug. 31, 2016. (Yonhap)

Happy 66th anniversary to the KATUSA program:

The Korean Augmentation Troops to the U.S. Army (KATUSA) celebrated the 66th anniversary of its foundation Monday, according to the KATUSA Veterans Association.

Some 400 U.S. military officials, KATUSA war veterans, KATUSA reservists and active-duty KATUSA soldiers participated in the event at Camp Jackson, a U.S. military base, in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul.

KATUSA Veterans Association Chairman Kim Jong-wook and 2nd Infantry Division Commander Theodore D. Martin were among the participants. Chairman Kim delivered a welcoming speech following a silent tribute to patriotic martyrs and then Commander Martin as guest speaker gave a keynote speech on the meaning of the 66th anniversary for the two allies.

Commander Martin said KATUSA has operated like a set of well-running wheels for the U.S. and South Korean armies for the past 66 years. He asked KATUSA soldiers to continue their bridging role in strengthening the bilateral alliance.

“Today, the strength of the KATUSA Program serves as a symbol of the friendship and continued commitment between the two countries. This strength is vital, and it enhances our combined ability to deter aggression and maintain peace in the Korean Peninsula,” he said.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link to include a story about a South Korean family that had three generations serve in the KATUSA program.  The KATUSA program has definitely been a success since its founding by General Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War.

Soldiers from the Army’s 17th Division show off their martial arts skills during an event in the city of Incheon, west of Seoul, on July 8, 2016, to welcome veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War. (Yonhap)

Congratulations to First Lieutenant Ji Eun Jeong for being awarded the US Army’s Expert Infantryman Badge.  She is considered the first female ROK Army officer to receive the badge.  Two years ago two female ROK Army NCOs became the first Korean females to be awarded the EIB:

May 26, 2016 – CAMP CASEY, Republic of Korea – Soldiers congratulate Republic of Korea Army 1st Lt. Ji Eun Jeong, a platoon leader in the 115th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, 90th Mech. Inf. Brigade, 30th Mech. Inf. Division, on earning an U.S. Army Expert Infantryman Badge. Jeong, a 25-year-old from Seoul, South Korea, is the first female ROK officer to complete the EIB. South Korean officers are not actually authorized to wear the U.S. badge, but were pinned during the ceremony and awarded a certificate of achievement. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Keith Anderson, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs, 1st Cav. Div.)  [PACOM.mil]

Here are some statistics of how many failed to pass the testing:

Included in the final number to complete the challenge were more than 40 ROKA Soldiers, including Republic of Korea Army 1st Lt. Ji Eun Jeong, a platoon leader in the 115th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, 90th Mech. Inf. Brigade, 30th Mech. Inf. Division. Jeong was the first female ROK officer to earn the EIB. A female ROK NCO completed the grueling challenge last year to earn her EIB.

“I want a specialty for infantry, and EIB is a challenge for female Soldiers,” said Jeong.

Of the 627 Soldiers who started the EIB testing in South Korea May 22, only 131 finished and earned the honor of wearing the Expert Infantryman Badge. And of those, 29 distinguished themselves as “True Blue” Infantryman by successfully completing every event without retest and receiving first time “go’s” on every evaluation – 18 U.S. and 11 South Korean Soldiers.  [DVIDS]

That is a pretty high attrition rate and thus shows how hard the awardees worked to get the EIB. According to the Korea Times 1st Lt. Jeong did 200 pushups, 200 sit-ups and ran 7 kilometers each day to prepare for the test.  She also qualified for the ROK Army’s version of the EIB in November 2015 which made her eligible to compete for the US Army’s EIB last month.  Incredibly the attrition rate for the ROK Army EIB is much higher than the US Army EIB:

Only infantry personnel are eligible to participate in both the EIB test and South Korea’s equivalent test.

The U.S. military officially opened the door for women on ground combat jobs beginning in January and there were no female participants from the U.S. side this year, according to the South Korean military.

In November 2015, Jeong was the only woman among the four successful candidates who took the South Korean infantry test. A total of 85 soldiers took the test then.  [Korea Times]

Only 4 of 85 passed the ROK Army EIB testing which is pretty amazing.  It sounds like the US Army get our infantrymen to compete in the ROK Army EIB testing for an additional skills challenge.

President Park Geun-hye meets with a South Korean soldier serving in South Sudan on a U.N. peacekeeping mission in a ceremony held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on May 27, 2016 to boost their morale, in this photo provided by her office. (Yonhap)