Tag: ROK Army

Life for this ROK Army Staff Sergeant must really suck, not only is he infected with COVID-19, but he has been outed as being gay, subject of derision across Korea for creating this cluster infection, and will likely get smash by ROK military justice for breaking an order:

South Korea’s military on Wednesday reported three more COVID-19 infections linked to a cluster that emerged in Seoul’s Itaewon district recently, bringing the tally to 11. The three soldiers apparently contracted the coronavirus from a staff sergeant at the Cyber Command in central Seoul.

Of all the cases uncovered so far, four soldiers and five officers worked at the Cyber Command, and the other two officers were stationed at an Army base in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

The staff sergeant at the Cyber Command initially tested positive Friday after having visited a club in Itaewon on May 2 in violation of rules the military had imposed to cut risks. 

The sergeant is believed to be responsible for all the infections linked to Itaewon at the Cyber Command. 

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but let this be a warning to everyone in USFK thinking about going out to any bars or clubs. Could you imagine the negative media if a U.S. soldier caused a massive cluster infection like this?

This whole situation makes me wonder if the only reason Byun enlisted was to be activist like this:

South Korea’s first transgender soldier on Wednesday pleaded to be allowed to continue to serve after the military decided to discharge her. 

Byun Hee-soo, an Army staff sergeant in her 20s, voluntarily enlisted as a man in 2017 and underwent sex reassignment surgery in November last year. A military panel decided not to allow the noncommissioned officer to stay in the Army. 

Right after the decision was announced, Byun came out in public and held an emotional press conference before TV cameras, requesting equal treatment for sexual minorities and the right to complete the military service.

“I hope that sexual minorities in the military can carry out their duties without discrimination and I want to set a good precedent in this kind of case and want to add power to make that happen,” she said while wearing a military uniform.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

There could be a steep drop in the number of ROK Army soldiers in the coming years:

The Army said Friday it plans to reduce the number of troops by around 100,000 over the next three years in the face of a shrinking population and as part of reform initiatives to create a smaller, smarter military.

By 2022, the number of soldiers will be slashed to about 365,000 from the current level of around 464,000, according to an Army report presented to the National Assembly.

This is in line with defense reforms under which the government seeks to reduce the number of troops to cope with fewer potential draftees and shorter mandatory service terms for conscripts.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

In a fight with North Korea this gun will probably see more action supporting ground troops than shooting down aircraft:

South Korea successfully developed a 30-mm wheel-type anti-aircraft gun system that has a longer range and better mobility than the previous model, the arms procurement agency said Wednesday.
Under the 55-billion won (US$46.58 million) project launched in June, 2015, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and Hanwha Defense Co. developed the anti-aircraft gun wheeled vehicle system, and final tests and evaluations proved that it met all the military requirements. 
As a system designed to ward off low-altitude attacks by enemy aircraft, the new weapon has an effective range of 3 kilometers, some 1.6 times longer than the 20mm Vulcan anti-aircraft guns, and its latest targeting systems allow it to have automatic tracking and self-targeting capabilities, according to the DAPA.
The adoption of the wheeled platform also enabled it to provide active mobile and localized support for troops, it added.

Yonhap

12-mile ruck march, part of basic military training, maybe no more for #SouthKorean military, which is cutting basic training to 5 weeks.https://t.co/H0gMRNV1Wn

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) May 13, 2019

I doubt the Kim regime is too concerned about fighting animal robots:

– South Korea will rev up efforts to develop military robots mimicking animals and other creatures to better brace for evolving future battlefields, the arms procurement agency said Sunday.
In its latest document that outlines blueprints for key defense technologies development, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) rolled out its plan to actively apply the so-called biomimetics to the military’s future weapons systems.
If it proceeds as planned, several kinds of biobots, which replicate humans and insects, are expected to be deployed as early as 2024, DAPA said, adding that robots mimicking birds, snakes and other marine species could be part of the country’s military forces afterwards.
“Biometric robots will be a game changer in future warfare, and related technologies are expected to bring about great ripple effects throughout the defense industry,” agency spokesman Park Jeong-eun said, adding that their roles will range from search and rescue operations to reconnaissance.

Yonhap

Moon admin plan to dismantle the strongest Mechanized Forces in S.Korea.This particular Force is Korean War Legend which known to demolished 3 N.K divisions during Korean War. Soldiers in this group even salute each other "Strike North!"to boost morale.https://t.co/youmwnafqi

— Dong Yon Kim/김동연 기자 (@dongyonews) March 3, 2019