Posted on 06/23/2004 8:04:37 PM PDT by Joee
South Korea is currently in the news for providing some 3000 troops to the Iraqi "pacification effort." I would invite you that served in Vietnam to comment on how effective you believe ROK forces will be towards this effort, based on your observations of them in action in Vietnam.
My own recollections are of a very active Korean established Black Market and some situations where US forces had to protect the locals from ROK retribution. Who knows, maybe that is what the situation calls for?
Not a Vietnam Vet, but I worked with them when I was stationed in Kunsan, ROK. I welcome these troops with open arms. They are outstanding.
Korea ought to send 3000 for every one Korean killed in Iraq. I'm all about retrobution, but of course, I'm in the US military, and am not allowed to think like that!
I buddy of mine was once stationed over in SK. Word is, no matter what position the people of that country and some govt. officials of that country may take towards us, their soldiers are dedicated. And seem to get along with our troops. I know that not too very long a go at a close area on the DMZ, a NK troop fired across the line and two SK soldiers returned fire with much greater strength.
I imagine someone who is a Freeper has most likely served over there...so it would be interesting to see if what they say matches what my buddy told me.
reading all replies with interest.
South Korean troops move into the AO
Charlie moves out.
Pretty simple.
Many thanks! What time span were these actions?
I was not in Vietnam, but acquaintances were. I understand from them that when Americans went through an area, the VC would constantly take potshots at them. When the ROK troops went through on partrol, not a peep.
I was told it was the different rules of engagement. Americans could not shoot unless shot at. For the ROK, it was simply "take no prisoners." The VC accordingly stayed out of their way.
I would bet a dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House that there wouldn't be any more Koreans slaughtered by these bastards.
I think you are on track so to speak. Wonder how this type of policy will be received by Central Command? I think they will find the Koreans don't play by the same set of "rules." It will be interesting to see how it is handled this time.
That matches what I've heard from Koreans who fought there and Vietnamese who have since immigrated to this country.
I did eight years in Korea with the Army and worked extensively with ROK units. Their training was extremely tough and the discipline was harsh and usually very physical.
I've been to the National Cemetery just south of the Han River in Seoul (it's just like Arlington) and there are big sections of grave markers with the place of death listed as Vietnam.
Well, I was over in ROK with the 8th Army back in '68, and unless the ROK military has been considerably politically rectified since then, they will provide a tremendous boost to the coallition efforts in Iraq.
Mind you, they do not have a long reputation for humanitarianism, ethnic tolerance, or compassion for their enemies. Nor are they known to be terribly inhibited by such trivial impedimentia as Geneva Conventions, the UN, Human Rights, or the ACLU either. Their "interrogation techniques" are, shall we say, "creative", and would make the Abbu-grab "atrocities" utterly comical by comparison.
They tend not to take a lot of Prisoners to begin with, and those they do take in for "questioning" soon regret having been taken alive. I remember when I was over there about 34 Kongsan Commandos tried to take the "Blue House" Capitol at Seoul and assasinate the President. The ROK Special Forces took one alive, and apparently there wasn't much left of him when they got done with him.
I think that the islamonazis may have stepped in it a lot deeper than they planned on when they sawed a Korean's head off. Some of his Countrymen are apt to take that a little personally, and if the moos think that they have any reason to hate US and that we're abusing, repressing, and "occupying" them... they ain't seen nothin' yet, Chingo!
Hopefully, the rest of the coalition will have the sense to just get out of the ROK's way and take notes. Hopefully around Fallujunk.
From a safe distance.
Send the ROK Marines in to call on that fat little reptile AlSadyr at his holy little hidey-hole Mosque; they'll know just what to do for him. And if the Shiite's don't like what happens to their boy and his precious Mosque, the Koreans can kill a few hundred thousand of them, too, just for fun.
They would likely enjoy that.
And I don't really think that heads on sticks will be entirely out of the question, either.
When it comes to utter, primal, ruthless savagery, the Islamonazis will have met their match, and then some IMHO.
And if the AP and AlJizz cry about it, a few of their reporters can just as well end up on the same sticks if they want to push it. Won't break my heart, frankly.
Even our gallant War correspondant Jerry Rivers might want to keep his big bushy moustache the heck out of the Korean's way, if he's got a lick of sense.
Koreans, much like Turks, are not to be trifled with lightly. Turn 'em both loose on the Mooes and let 'em go; Allah, the buzzards, and the maggotts can sort out the rest.
'Bout bloomin' time, ain't it?
i am sick of this. I have worked with ROKs too, no dig against them. BUt I am sick of hearing "oh don`t piss off(insert country name) soldiers, they are real mean men" where as "oh no look out for the Americans theyll put panties on you head"
we are pussyfooting around here! They don`t really fear us. We have some Macedonians on this post that the iraqi's are scared of.
I hope South Korea is pissed about the beheading and will DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!
Weehaw!
Here's one for ya from 1982. A young ROK gets out of Nonsan, their main basic training camp, and gets assigned to the ROK 101st Regiment along the Imjin River just southeast of Panmunjom.
His first night out his buds stick him in a foxhole right on the river -- alone -- and then kick back and wait for his radio calls to see how spooked he gets. Around 0200 he calls in with "noise" in the river and his buds are laughing their fannies off. They tell him to wait until he can see "the enemy" up close.
A few minutes later all hell breaks loose as this kid starts emptying every mag he has and pitching every grenade in the hole. When they got to his position, he was busy bayoneting what little remained of three North Korean commandos. Not bad for a newbie.
A couple of days later he was wearing sergeant's stripes, a big medal, and enjoying a humongous parade on Yoido in his honor. The whole country went crazy over him.
It isn't that they fight better, just differently. The US military is the proverbial irresistable force, systematically paving all resistance like a fine-tuned killing machine, but the ROK soldiers have this maniacal thing working for them that really puts the fear in the enemy on a much more visceral level. With the US, it is nothing personal, but the enemy gets the impression that it IS personal when dealing with the ROK soldiers.
Could be worse.
ROK Marines and Rangers make orcs seem respectable.
While stationed at the ASCOM Depot near Inchon, we had an old "Lifer" MSGT who had been in theater in '52.
He told us lots of interesting stories of life - and death - in Korea before the "truce" (a lot of people don't realize that the Korean "War" was never really finished or resolved, it's just on hold... possibly "half-time" - while the Commies gear up for the next quarter).
We were discussing the proverbial Korean thief or "Slickie-Boy" who could steal your radio and leave the music, and other feats of superlative larceny, when the topic of the Turks came up.
All of the Members of the UN "Coalition" at the time were getting regularly pilfered by the Slickies, despite high perimeter fencing, barbed wire, and guards. The Slickies had to steal from the Japs while enslaved by them just to survive, and got really good at it.
So they were excersizing their ledgendary skills on all of their new military benifactors to great profit...
Except one; the Turks.
The Turks only had a string running between sticks about a foot off of the ground around their assigned area, yet you could reputedly leave a $100 bill and a Rollex watch on your bunk all day and it would not be touched. As poor as a Turk might be, they apparently considered themselves, much to their credit, above stealing.
It seems that one SlickieBoy tried to plunder the Turks as he had the other trooops early on...
His dismounted head adorned the top of the gateway to the compound the next Morning, a Mauser rifle cleaning rod passing through both ears, the ends of which rested upon the uprights of the doorway suspending the hapless Slickie's noggin in between for all to behold.
They never had another problem with compound security after that.
Needless to say, the North Koreans had a healthy respect for the Turks as well, and I'm not too sure but what the Turks are every bit as notorious for playing the game of War for "keeps" as are the South Koreans. Whatever they might lack in air superiority or sophisticated technology, they more than compensate for in sheer ferocity.
As I said before; neither of them are to be meddled with lightly.
Oh yes; another group to take seriously is the British Gurkas. And it's about time, IMHO, if the Iranian's don't hand over the hijacked British Crews they've been parading around on TV lately, for a band of Gurkas to pay the Iranians holding them a little nocturnal visit.
It is said that a Gurka moves like a ghost and stikes like lightning, and that they like to kill up close and personally without firing a shot - or giving their advasary time to.
Let the Iatollah's thugs find out what a KHUKIRI is for, and see if they don't think twice before they kidnap another Limey patrol.
Since the Iranians say they've "released" the hostages but can't seem to account for them, I wonder if those Brits might already be safely but covertly back in quarters, and the Iranians are still trying to locate and police up all the body parts of their former captors.
A team of crack SAS Commandos and Gurkas can do wonderous and terrible things when they work well together, don't you suppose?
Great post.
Does anyone know EXACTLY what the ROK is sending? Are they going to be allowed to fight or strictly humanitarian? Haven't heard myself...
How does one say, "Get y'all some payback!" in Korean?
Tear 'em up, soldiers!!
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