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CAMP RED CLOUD, Republic of Korea – The Ulchi Freedom Guardian training launched Aug. 16 throughout the Republic of Korea. UFG, which took place 24 hours a day for two weeks, trained U.S. and ROK Soldiers in case war with the enemy breaks out. Its main mission was to prepare U.S. and ROK Soldiers on what their exact tasks were if they were to go to war.
Second Infantry Division Soldiers including Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army Soldiers trained in various locations around the country. During this training, KATUSAs played an important part because on a day-to-day basis, they are the link between the U.S. and ROK.
KATUSA's have a variety of jobs; some are infantry and artillerymen, while others use a different type of weapon to defeat the enemy. One KATUSA described what his job entailed during the training.
Pfc. Park Kyu-Seok of B Company, Division Special Troops Battalion, who works in the information engagement office said, “We used information to attack enemy units. We processed all the information then used it as a weapon against the enemy. Fighting with our weapons is important, but these days using information to defeat the enemy is important as well.”
Another KATUSA shared his role.
“Personnel in the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear field process the information of nuclear, biological or chemical attacks and figure out what is needed to rescue the unit which was just attacked. We also try to predict the next NBC attack and try to prevent it from happening. Although those at war use tanks and guns, they can also threaten with weapons of mass destruction. So I think we play an important part in the training and in real life,” said Pvt. Jun Whan-Hew of C Company, DSTB.
There are KATUSA's who don’t work in combat-related sections, but they do their part in the training as well. Some work for chaplains, while others work in logistics, but they nonetheless help the training go smoothly.
“During training, our job is to find religious buildings such as temples or churches in the enemy’s land. We then inform the U.S. and ROK of these locations so they are aware to not destroy them. Helping the country to rebuild itself after the war is as important as winning the war. And by not destroying these buildings, which are very important to the locals, will help them cooperate with us,” said Cpl. Choi Jin-Kyu, a chaplain’s assistant with C Company, DSTB.
When training ends, KATUSA's, like U.S. Soldiers, go back to doing their normal jobs.
“On normal days, as chaplain assistants, we help the chaplains get ready for the weekend religious services and take care of church-related occasions. We also make sure units are completing their periodic preventive classes such as suicide prevention,” said Choi.
The training ended Aug. 26 with a successful victory over the enemy. KATUSA and U.S. Soldiers felt proud of their efforts in the training.
“This was good training; it wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. I feel proud that I played a part in this U.S. and ROK Alliance training,” said Park.
| Date Taken: | 08.16.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 09.13.2010 02:50 |
| Story ID: | 56172 |
| Location: | CAMP RED CLOUD, KR |
| Web Views: | 44 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
This work, KATUSAS partake in UFG training, by SGT Sang Woon Hong, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
