US, ROK Navy SEALs Train to Counteract Threats

Two days before a weather front sopped the southern tip of the peninsula, Navy SEALs from both the U.S. and the Republic of Korea teamed up to conduct visit, board, search and seizure drills on a Korean Navy ship in Jinhae Harbor.

Sailing in calm seas and flying in clear skies, the ROK Navy and U.S. Army provided support with the ROK Navy AOE-59, Hwachun – a refueling vessel – and U.S. MH-47 Chinook helicopters piloted and crewed by soldiers of the 4th Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

The SEALs, from Naval Special Warfare Group 1 out of Coronado, Calif., and the Korean Naval Special Brigade, began the evolution by performing fast-rope drills at a helicopter pad resting on top of a hill overlooking the harbor at Jinhae Naval Base.

Fast-roping is a technique for descent from a helicopter by sliding down a thick-woven rope. It is the preferred method of rapid troop delivery from a helicopter platform.

“If we do it right, we can get 15 guys onto the ship in 30 seconds or less,” said “Mike,” a U.S. Navy SEAL, who wished to remain anonymous. “It’s all about speed and maintaining your distance between you and your buddy below you.”

Typically a 10-foot gap between troops is the norm when fast-roping, he added.

After the SEALs honed their skills on land, it was onto the primary drill in the harbor the following two days. By the light of day and in the black of night using night-vision goggles, teams of SEALs fast-roped onto the aft deck of the Hwachum and scattered in their respective squads to search the ships many rooms and quarters for mock “pirates” who were hiding down below the deck and on the bridge.

“When people think of pirates, they tend to think of Hollywood movies and Captain Hook – the stereotypical image of pirates in the 16 and 1700s – but the threat is very much still around, not so much off our (U.S.) shores, but definitely over here and especially off the coast of Somalia in the Arabian Sea,” said Chris, another U.S. SEAL, who also wished to remain anonymous. “But this type of training combats piracy and other forms of high-seas threats like drug runners and, of course, if North Korea ever tries to take a South Korean naval vessel.”

Events like the VBSS demonstrate the successful interoperability between the U.S. and ROK Special Forces and the continued coordination and cooperation between the two allies said a Lt. (senior grade) platoon leader from ROK SEAL Team 3.

“It’s critical to share tactics like this to make sure we’re on the same page and I hope to have similar training like this in the future,” he said.

NSWG 1 Commander Van Wennen, who was participating in his second Foal Eagle, couldn’t agree more.

“The VBSS has been the primary focus of the last two exercises,” he said. “We teach and learn from them – really a two-way street. We’ve had a long relationship with the ROK Naval Special Warfare community and we hope to sustain that relationship for a long time to come.”

Πηγή

US, ROK Navy SEALs Train to Counteract Threats

JINHAE, Korea – Two days before a weather front sopped the southern tip of the peninsula, Navy SEALs from both the U.S. and the Republic of Korea teamed up to conduct visit, board, search and seizure drills on a Korean Navy ship in Jinhae Harbor.

 

Sailing in calm seas and flying in clear skies, the ROK Navy and U.S. Army provided support with the ROK Navy AOE-59, Hwachun – a refueling vessel – and U.S. MH-47 Chinook helicopters piloted and crewed by soldiers of the 4th Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

The SEALs, from Naval Special Warfare Group 1 out of Coronado, Calif., and the Korean Naval Special Brigade, began the evolution by performing fast-rope drills at a helicopter pad resting on top of a hill overlooking the harbor at Jinhae Naval Base. 

Fast-roping is a technique for descent from a helicopter by sliding down a thick-woven rope. It is the preferred method of rapid troop delivery from a helicopter platform.

“If we do it right, we can get 15 guys onto the ship in 30 seconds or less,” said “Mike,” a U.S. Navy SEAL, who wished to remain anonymous. “It’s all about speed and maintaining your distance between you and your buddy below you.”

Typically a 10-foot gap between troops is the norm when fast-roping, he added. 

After the SEALs honed their skills on land, it was onto the primary drill in the harbor the following two days. By the light of day and in the black of night using night-vision goggles, teams of SEALs fast-roped onto the aft deck of the Hwachum and scattered in their respective squads to search the ships many rooms and quarters for mock “pirates” who were hiding down below the deck and on the bridge. 

“When people think of pirates, they tend to think of Hollywood movies and Captain Hook – the stereotypical image of pirates in the 16 and 1700s – but the threat is very much still around, not so much off our (U.S.) shores, but definitely over here and especially off the coast of Somalia in the Arabian Sea,” said Chris, another U.S. SEAL, who also wished to remain anonymous. “But this type of training combats piracy and other forms of high-seas threats like drug runners and, of course, if North Korea ever tries to take a South Korean naval vessel.”

Events like the VBSS demonstrate the successful interoperability between the U.S. and ROK Special Forces and the continued coordination and cooperation between the two allies said a Lt. (senior grade) platoon leader from ROK SEAL Team 3. 

“It’s critical to share tactics like this to make sure we’re on the same page and I hope to have similar training like this in the future,” he said. 

NSWG 1 Commander Van Wennen, who was participating in his second Foal Eagle, couldn’t agree more.

“The VBSS has been the primary focus of the last two exercises,” he said. “We teach and learn from them – really a two-way street. We’ve had a long relationship with the ROK Naval Special Warfare community and we hope to sustain that relationship for a long time to come.”

Πηγή

Soldiers in South Korea get half-naked in sub-zero endurance test

230 half-naked South Korean soldiers brave freezing conditions in a numbing and bizarre army endurance excercise in the country's Pyeongchang province.

The military drill is part of South Korea's army winter training session in which troops shower each other in snow, plunge into deep icy water and patrol through snow on skis.

Despite the bitterly cold temperatures of minus 20 degrees most soldiers appeared to enjoy the experience, laughing, smiling and screaming as they undertook the gruelling training session.

Every year, the South Korean army selects a cold and snowy mountainside for the winter drill designed to test soldiers' endurance in potential real-life combat situations.

The South Korean army has pledged to be well prepared for any possible "provocations" from North Korea.

Πηγή

South Korea sends more troops to train UAE in counter-terrorist skills

Daniel Bardsley (Foreign Correspondent)

A second batch of South Korean troops is to begin a deployment today in which they will train their UAE counterparts in counter-terrorist skills, such as anti-hijacking actions, and counter-insurgency operations.

The 140 personnel replace a unit in Al Ain that arrived six months ago at the start of a two-year commitment by Seoul to offer training and to conduct joint exercises.

Seo Jeong Min, a professor of Middle East politics at Hankuk University in Seoul, said yesterday that opposition legislators in South Korea initially opposed to sending the troops have come to recognise the value of strengthening the countries' strategic partnership.

"Korean companies have focused on economic co-operation [with the UAE] for a long time, but nowadays we're trying to expand the areas of co-operation into various fields, like military or defence systems, energy and related developments," he said.

"This kind of co-operation, the defence sector, is the weakest link we've had in our history so, through dispatching troops, we are trying to show our strong intention to expand our relationship."

The chief of staff of the South Korean army, Kam Sang Ki, said last week he hoped the troops would "help increase the national status of the Republic of Korea", using the official name for the country,

A send-off ceremony for the troops, among them 17 naval commandos, was held in South Korea on Thursday.

According to news reports, the UAE is said to have requested naval specialists after an incident in January in which the South Korean military freed a South Korean-operated freighter, the Samho Jewelery, and its 21 crew, after the vessel was hijacked by Somali pirates. Eight pirates were killed and five captured in the operation.

The importance to the Emirates of having naval commando skills was underlined in April when UAE special forces, working with the US Fifth Fleet, stormed a hijacked bulk carrier, the MV Arrilah-1, in the Arabian Sea.

The hijackers on board the vessel, owned by a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and sailing from Australia to Jebel Ali, were captured and handed to the UAE authorities.

The original request for South Korea to provide the UAE with special-forces training was announced after the $20 billion (Dh73.5bn) agreement in December 2009 for a South Korean-led consortium to build four nuclear power stations in Abu Dhabi emirate.

When the first troops were dispatched, the South Korean president, Lee Myung Bak, said the programme would "significantly help solidify our energy security and expand trade in the Middle East".

The Al Ain-based South Korean unit is called "Akh", the Arabic word for brother.

While the South Korean military has been active in Lebanon, Iraq, East Timor, Nepal and Haiti, the UAE deployment is the first to a country not facing or in the middle of a war, or other disturbance, or at risk of conflict.

Mr Seo said the South Korean forces were trained to a "very high" level, as the country faces threats from North Korea, and this expertise could be passed on to the UAE military personnel.

"We have accumulated skills in training soldiers and special forces, so this may help in training the special forces or the normal soldiers in the Arab world," he said.

The UAE has held discussions about purchasing South Korea's T-50 trainer jet, and Mr Seo suggested the special-forces training programme could encourage agreements on defence hardware sales.

Πηγή

South Korea reported that North Korean special forces to enter the important facilities 90%

Data for: North Korea to infiltrate special forces soldiers fighting drills.

Data for: North Korean mini-submarine manned by Han Jun seepage waters captured.

7, according to Yonhap reported that a report that North Korea into the South Korean special forces have the ability to over 90% of major facilities.

Had Marshall became the Minister of Education Li Yuansheng Command combat power (sound) 7 pm “North Korean threat of unconventional weapons,” the report said Jun Han had been disguised as members of the Korean army special forces after its invasion of South Korea’s major facilities for training. The results showed that the invasion success rate of 90%.

Report recommends, Jun Han to be in reserve, as the group with a week of sight, small surveillance robots, unmanned aerial vehicles and other equipment to strictly guard against and crack down on “hostile forces.”

( China News)