Korean Service Corps

Korean porters supporting the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, November 1951.

The Korean Service Corps was an auxiliary civilian formation organised by the South Korean Army during the Korean War to provide labourers and porters to carry ammunition and supplies, supplementing the integral logistic elements of the US Eighth Army. Due to the nature of their employment on the frontline, they suffered numerous casualties. Formed on 25 July 1950 as an emergency measure, at its peak it had over 133,000 men, organised into three divisions. Each division consisted for seven regiments and was assigned in direct support to a formation, on a scale of one division for each corps. They also provided extensive support to British Commonwealth and other United Nations Command units.^[1]

Today, the corps continues to exist as an unarmed, civilian paramilitary formation of the US Army, known as the Korean Service Corps Battalion. Its primary role is to augment the combat support and combat service support functions of US forces in Korea and is capable of being significantly expanded in the event of mobilisation in wartime.^[1]

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