| Republic of Korea Naval Special Warfare Brigade | |
|---|---|
| Active | 25 November 1955 - present |
| Country | Republic of Korea |
| Branch | Republic of Korea Navy |
| Type | Special forces |
| Role | Unconventional warfare such as:
|
| Size | 400 |
| Part of | Commander-in-Chief Republic of Korea Fleet |
| Nickname | UDT/SEAL |
| Engagements | Operation Enduring Freedom |
The Republic of Korea Naval Special Warfare Brigade, also known as ROKN UDT/SEALs, is regarded as one of the best, most capable and experienced naval special warfare units in East Asia. The ROKN UDT/SEALs are heavily influenced by the United States Navy SEALs, which initially provided funding and expertise in the unit's creation, and still maintain a strong relationship by regularly undertaking joint cross training (JCET) several times a year, utilizing US helicopter and submarine assets, and enrolling students each year in US Naval Special Warfare programs such as BUD/S and EOD school.
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The ROKN UDT/SEAL teams take applicants among conscripts, petty officers, and officers. Most petty officers and all conscripts now apply before basic training while officers apply after commissioning (NA, ROTC, or OCS), completion of Surface Warfare Officer School (SWOS), and after they have been assigned to a ship. The BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL School) selection process is almost identical to the US Navy program, consisting of extreme physical and mental challenges such as Hell Week. Historically, Korean military training has not been known for its regard for human rights. The completion rate has been known to dip under 10% and usually hovers between 30-40%, leading to manpower problems as the unit continues to expand and has an increasing number of foreign commitments. Since 2010, most washouts have been retained as support personnel and equipment maintenance staff. Those who survive the first ten weeks are trained in open and closed circuit diving, demolition, land warfare and tactics before receiving the special warfare pin.
Bn One consists of more traditional special warfare tasks, such as special reconnaissance (SR), direct action (DA), advanced forces operations, hydrographic reconnaissance and underwater demolition, with a focus on infiltrating and fighting behind enemy lines in North Korea. The Special Missions Bn specializes in visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS), maritime interdiction operations (MIO), and counter-terrorism (CT) serving as the nation's maritime counter-terrorist and hostage rescue unit. In addition to the two battalions, there is the EOD unit which specializes in IED disposal and shallow water mine disposal and there are additional forward based units on both east and west coasts of the peninsula.
The ROKN UDT/SEALs were involved in reconnaissance missions in North Korea until 1980 when a number of operators were broken away to form the UDU intelligence unit. In 1993 the UDT/SEALs were tasked with standing up a maritime counter-terrorism unit which later became the Special Missions Bn. In the late 1990s the main focus was on defense of the coast from frequent attempts by the North to infiltrate agents into the South using midget submarines. In 1996, ROKN UDT/SEALs were involved in hunting down North Korean agents that had been stranded off the east coast of South Korea and in 1998 the unit was involved in the recovery and search of a North Korean midget submarine that had been accidentally snared in some fishing nets. Since 2009 the ROKN UDT/SEALs have formed the core of the Cheonghae anti-piracy task group deployed to the coast of Somalia. In the early morning of January 22, 2011, as part of Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden, 15 ROKN UDT/SEAL members boarded the 11,000-ton chemical freighter Samho Jewelry which was taken by 13 pirates 6 days prior;[1] 21 sailors had been held hostages.[2] ROKS Choi-Young, a 4600-ton destroyer, dispatched its UDT/SEAL team at 4:58AM along with a Lynx helicopter which then circled the ship and fired machine guns to distract the pirates. The boarding party of 15 UDT/SEALs killed 8 pirates and captured 5 without taking any casualties after 3 hours of intense firefighting. All 21 hostages were secured, with one hostage suffering a non-fatal gunshot wound to the abdomen.
The weapons and equipment of the ROKN SEALs are a mixture of indigenous and foreign manufacture. The Korean K1 carbine, K201 grenade launcher, K3 SAW, K5 pistol, and K7 suppressed submachine gun are all widely used in addition to the Heckler & Koch MP5A5 and MP5SD6 submachine guns for VBSS and CT, the HK416 assault rifle, Beretta 92FS, Sig Sauer P226 Navy, and Glock 17 pistols, various versions of the Remington 870 for door breaching, and versions of the Remington 700, Arctic Warfare, Knight SR-25, and Barrett sniper rifles in .308 Winchester and .50 BMG.