The Marmot’s Hole

MrChips

I would suggest that the difference between the physical attributes of the ROK special forces and their army counterparts is as stark as the difference in the quality of their leaders. I’ve only had one occassion to witness their work in action and it came on a trip to Pohang, actually, where I was supposed to act as an observer for a series of marine air drops. While there, a marine officer whom I had worked with at UNCMAC a year before suggested we go up country and watch the SOF guys train at their dive course. The manner in which they trained reminded me of only one thing: watching DEVGRU (old seal team six) train back at Damneck, VA. There was the same intensity and scrutiny by the officers in charge that one could expect from an elite fighting force. Those officers are there because they want to be there as opposed to merely rising in rank ordering people around. They are different, they appear stolid on the outside yet reveal a tremendous grasp of the reality of the job and its implications and, in contrast to the leaders of the conscript forces, a hard but passionate concern for the welfare of their troops.

I generally find Korea “interesting,” more so for its history than its current cultural trends, and you can certainly find some tremendous examples of leadership and integrity among army officers, but in my experience only in onesies and twosies. The ROK SOF forces have formulated a process that breeds out arrogance through a humbling process and serves to create character. They are a different breed and I would hold them up over any South or North Korean unit of 10X the size. Just my own observations, though…