Republic of Korea Marine Corps
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The Republic of Korea Marine Corps (aka ROK Marine Corps, ROKMC, Korean Hangul: 대한민국 해병대, Hanja: 大韓民國海兵隊, Revised Romanization: Dae-Han-min-guk Haebyeongdae) is the Marine Corps of the Republic of Korea. It operates as a distinct arm of the military of South Korea, unlike most other "Marine" military organisations, which generally function as part of their respective national navies. It was founded as a reconnaissance group just before the Korean War.
Established on April 15, 1949 with an initial strength of 380 men, the ROKMC troops were issued with many leftover weapons from the Japanese Imperial Army used during World War II, including the 7.7 mm Type 99 Light Machine Gun, and first saw combat action in the Korean War. During this conflict, foreign media dubbed the ROKMC the "Invincible Marines" after an incident in which a squad of ROK Marines wiped out an entire battalion of Communist forces. The ROKMC also saw action during the Vietnam War while stationed in Danang, sometimes fighting alongside the USMC or U.S. Navy SEALs. During both the Korean and Vietnam wars ROK Marines were never defeated on the battlefield, earning a fighting reputation with such nicknames as "Ghost-Catching Marines" (Korean: "귀신 잡는 해병대"), "The Demon-hunters" and "The Legendary ROK Marines".
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[edit] Organization
The ROKMC is the second largest marine corps in the world, with personnel numbering over 27,000. The ROKMC is organized into two divisions and one brigade under Marine Corps Command and primarily dedicated to protecting the nation's islands.
It has responsibility for landing operations, accomplished in coordination with the ROKN using landing craft, surface fleets and aircraft. ROK Marines have the ability to accomplish a variety of missions including ground battles, special fighting scenarios, facility protection and security services. To execute amphibious operations, it possesses a range of amphibious equipment, including amphibious vehicles, as well as its own means of fire support. A major naval evolution during Foal Eagle 2000, an annual combined U.S. and Republic of Korea (ROK) exercise, was an amphibious assault launched by U.S. and ROK Marines from U.S. Navy ships belonging to 7th Fleet's permanently forward-deployed Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) based in Japan.
Until recently, the ROKMC fleet of Amphibious Vehicles consisted of 61 Landing Vehicles Tracked (LVT) and 61 AAV7A1. Additionally, in an effort to replace the LVTs, the ROKMC is in the final year of a 162 vehicle, three-year AAV7A1 co-production effort. The ROKMC is in the process of modifying that contract and producing an additional sixty-seven additional AAV7A1 vehicles.
Also, ROKMC has two tank battalions. 1st Tank BN is equipped by 54 K1s, 2nd Tank BN is equipped by 54 M48A3Ks.
[edit] Vietnam War
At the request of the United States, President Park Chung Hee of the Republic of Korea agreed to send military units into Vietnam, despite opposition from both the Assembly and the public. In exchange, United States agreed to provide additional military funds to Korea to modernize its armed forces, totaling about a billion dollars.
The Republic of Korea Army units' Area Of Responsibility (AOR) were the southern half of the II Corp. The Marine Corps units were deployed on the I Corp alongside with US Marines.
Initially, the AK47-equipped Vietcong and NVA outgunned Korean soldiers, since they were armed with World War II-era weaponry. But soon they received more modern weapons from the United States military.
The three main units deployed to Vietnam were the Capital (Tiger) Division, the ROK Marine Corps’ 2nd (Blue Dragon) Brigade and the 9th (White Horse) Division. Various ROK special forces units were also deployed.
Most of the operations never exceeded battalion-size, but they also conducted divisional size operations. Before conducting missions, Koreans laid out their plans much more carefully than their allies, with greater fire discipline, the very effective use of fire support, and better co-ordination of sub-units. They also had to their favor the distinguished combat leadership of the company and platoon commanders. During village searches, ROK soldiers would subject the settlement to a series of detailed sweeps while interrogating subjects on the spot. By comparison, American units tended to favor a single sweep followed by a removal of all civilians for screening. Such a painstaking approach certainly paid dividends in terms of weapons seizures and reduced VC activity in ROK areas. Koreans quickly learned pidgin Vietnamese language; for fear that most Vietnamese translators were spies for Vietcong and NVA. Koreans also had better field intelligence than their American counterparts. Koreans conducted counterinsurgency operations so well that American commanders felt Korean AOR was the safest. This was further supported when Vietcong documents captured after the Tet Offensive warned their compatriots to never engage Koreans until full victory is certain. In fact, it was often that the NVA and Vietcong were ambushed by Koreans and not vice versa.
Their most notable operations in Vietnam were "Operation Van Buren" and the Battle of Hoi An. During "Operation Van Buren", a ROKMC platoon of about 13 soldiers wiped out an elite North Vietnamese Army regiment, resulting in only 2 Korean casualties while more than 400 NVA soldiers were killed. The initial gun battle had devolved into bloody hand-to-hand combat. The ROKMC boasted an overall kill ratio of 25-to-1 in the Vietnam War.
Total of 320,000 Koreans served in Vietnam, with its actual strength throughout the year at around 45,000. About 4,000 were killed.
