Tag: ROK Army

This is going to be a really big defense upgrade for the ROK Army once these new Apache helicopters are fielded:

The latest-version AH-64 Apache attack helicopters destined for South Korea have been unveiled months before the start of deliveries, the country’s arms procurement agency said Tuesday.

Boeing held a rollout ceremony for the AH-64E Apache Guardian in Mesa, Arizona, on Monday (local time), attended by representatives from South Korea’s Army and the Defense Acquisition Procurement Administration (DAPA).

The choppers will be first delivered to the U.S. Army for test flights and transferred to South Korea beginning in the first half of next year, according to DAPA officials.

The DAPA signed a US$1.6 billion contract with the U.S. in a Foreign Military Sales program in 2013 to buy 36 AH-64Es, an upgraded model of the AH-64D Longbow. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Gen. Jang Jun-gyu (R), the new Army Chief of Staff, receives a flag of the Army as a symbol of his authority to command from Defense Minister Han Min-koo during an inauguration ceremony at Gyeryongdae, South Korea’s main military compound in the city of Gyeryong, central South Korea, on Sept. 17, 2015. (Yonhap)

A South Korean Army multiple-launch rocket system fires during a live-firing exercise at a valley in Cherwon near the country’s central border with North Korea on Sept. 17, 2015. (Yonhap)

A terrible accident involving two ROK Army servicemembers recently happened in Daegu:

One Army sergeant was killed and two recruits were wounded Friday when a hand grenade exploded during a training session in this southern city, military officials said.

The accident took place at 11:13 a.m. at a drill camp of the South Korean Army in Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province, some 300 kilometers southeast of the capital city.

The explosion killed a 27-year-old instructor, Kim. He was rushed to a hospital but was later pronounced dead there at 12:53 p.m.

It also blew off the right hand of a 20-year-old recruit, surnamed Sohn, who was holding the grenade and injured 27-year-old recruit Park, who was waiting for his turn outside the trench, sources said.

The moment the military instructor ordered the trainee to “fling” his grenade, it went off, they added.

The military is investigating the exact cause of the explosion, including the possibility of defects or a mistake in handling the grenade.  [Yonhap]

First of all you have to be stupid to believe you are being drafted into the military based on a random text message that pops up on your phone.  With that said the prankster deserves whatever punishment the authorities give him:

South Korean police vowed Sunday to sternly take action against the spread of groundless draft rumors amid escalating tensions between the two Koreas.

The move came after a series of false conscription text messages and rumors were massively circulated after the North fired artillery across the border last Thursday.

A 23-year-old college student surnamed Kim was arrested Thursday for spreading massive draft texts. The message said “discharged men aged between 21 and 33 will be drafted once the war is imminent,” adding that all should check their designated military camp’s website on the ministry’s homepage once the war declaration is confirmed. The message was sent under the name of the Defense Ministry.

Kim reportedly claimed that it was a prank. [Korea Herald]

You can read more at the link.

A group of Army soldiers attends a ceremony in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, north of Seoul, on Aug. 4, 2015, to have a patch of the Korean national flag, or Taegeukgi, attached to their uniforms. The Defense Ministry has instructed the Army to attach the flag to the uniforms of all military soldiers starting this month as part of efforts to raise their patriotism and mark the 70th anniversary on Aug. 15 of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s colonization. (Yonhap)

Hopefully these ROK soldiers legs are able to be saved:

Two soldiers were seriously wounded in what is believed to be a landmine explosion in the heavily fortified demilitarized zone, the military said Tuesday.

The explosion took place on the southern side of the DMZ in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, at 7:40 a.m. while the two Army staff sergeants carried out a search mission there, according to the military.

The explosion nearly severed the soldiers’ legs and they were rushed to a military hospital, the military said, adding that they are not in critical condition.

“There’s not the possibility of North Korea’s involvement,” a military official said. Possibly a landmine is the cause of the explosion, he noted.  [Korea Times]

In recent years the mass shootings perpetuated by ROK Army personnel on their fellow soldiers has been widely documented to include the latest case where a soldier killed 5 of his comrades.  The prosecutor is asking for the death penalty in that case.  The killers usually blame bullying for the mass shootings.  This has caused the ROK Army to do a lot of introspection in regards to the culture of bullying in the ranks. The recent media attention on mass shootings makes it appear as if this is something new.  However, as I was browsing through the digital archives of the Stars & Stripes newspaper I noticed this article from June 3, 1968 that shows that mass shootings perpetuated by ROK Army soldiers is not something new:

This case is worse than the recent ROK Army cases because he attacked a crowded movie theater which killed 5 people and wounded 43.  Then what is up with this guy’s girlfriend wanting to marry him before being executed?  Especially when she was dating another man?

Anyway what I found most interesting about this was that all the way back in 1968 the ROK Army was talking about routine mental testing of recruits.  The ROK Army is making the same efforts today though one former ROK Army soldier in his opinion says the tests are a joke.  I think what this shows that is unfortunately hard to quantify too crazy to serve in the military with a test until people actually do something crazy.  That was true back in 1968 and still true today.

A soldier is checked for a fever at the Army’s Special Warfare Command in Seoul on June 16, 2015, before he participates in a field training exercise, as a precaution against the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). As of that day, South Korea had confirmed four additional cases of the viral respiratory illness with three more deaths, bringing the total number of cases to 154 with 19 deaths. (Yonhap)

A South Korean Army chaplain offers a prayer to an injured solider as he takes part in a field training exercise for South Korean and U.S. military chaplains at the Army’s Special Warfare Command in Seoul on June 16, 2015. (Yonhap)