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- Aug 2, 2011
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Every year, the U.S. and South Korea team up for one of the world's largest military exercises. Thousands of troops backed by fighter aircraft, strategic bombers, and Navy warships plan for the worst.The training is a less publicized element of the Pentagon's exercises in South Korea, which are emphasized as defensive in nature.
Notably, the training dealt with how to move special operators into and out of North Korea, according to a review published in the January edition of Special Warfare, the wonky, academic journal of the Army's John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. The scenario also dealt with how to grow an "indigenous resistance organization" inside the North.
GOOD News:
For one, many South Korean commandos "still have family in the North that they may or may not have contact with," the review stated. That's good for building "strong relationships that transcend NK ideology and can serve as a foundation for the development of a loyal resistance organization.
Experience in "Iraq, Afghanistan and the Philippines has brought to light the need for an aggressive course correction if U.S. forces ever hope to successfully execute UW(unconventional warfare) operations as a strategic option in the KTO,"( the Korean Theatre of Operations).
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In a nutshell, everything commandos do becomes harder. The North Koreans have better tools for intercepting communications than the Taliban, so troops have to enforce stricter radio silence. The result? A "drastic reduction in battle command capability."
The North Koreans have a "robust Air Defense Artillery threat" limiting where helicopters can travel and land. The country is heavily deforested, meaning almost all movement across the border will have to be done at night.
North Korea is also relatively small compared to Afghanistan, and underdeveloped infrastructure in the mountains means even a tiny North Korean force would be able to set up a checkpoint watching over large areas, impeding the commandos and their resistance fighter allies from moving around. Thus, troops would move largely by foot.
Medication
Another problem is getting the wounded out. Medical evacuation crews flying to a wounded soldier in Afghanistan takes an average of 42 minutes. But in North Korea, days or even a week might be more realistic - putting more responsibilities onto the medic.
How U.S. special forces are preparing for the worst-case scenario in North Korea - The Week
Source: The week
