NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Republic of Korea Marine Corps

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. Though theoretically it is under the direction of the Chief of Naval Operation, the Marine Corps 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. Image File history File links Rokmc. ... Image File history File links Rokmc. ... Jamo redirects here. ... Hanja is the Korean name for Chinese characters. ... The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. ... Combatants United Nations: Republic of Korea, Australia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States Medical staff: Denmark, Australia, Italy, Norway, Sweden Communist states: Democratic Peopleâ€™s Republic of Korea, Peoples Republic of China, Soviet Union Commanders...

Established on April 15, 1949 with an initial strength of 580 men, the ROKMC troops were issued with many leftover weapons from the Imperial Japanese 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". The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) (KyÅ«jitai: å¤§æ—¥æœ¬å¸åœ‹é™¸è», Shinjitai: , Romaji: Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) was the official ground based armed force of Imperial Japan from 1867 to 1945. ... The Type 99 Light Machine Gun was a light machine gun produced by Japan during the Second World War. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam Peopleâ€™s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the United States military responsible for providing power projection from the sea,[1] utilizing the mobility of the U.S. Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Image File history File links RoK_MND_logo. ... The Republic of Korea Armed Forces, or ROK Armed Forces (Hangul: ëŒ€í•œë¯¼êµ êµêµ°; Hanja: å¤§éŸ“æ°‘åœ‹ åœ‹è»; Revised Romanization: Dae-han-min-guk Guk-gun), is one of the largest standing armed forces in the world. ... Image File history File links Rokarmymark. ... The Republic of Korea Army (ROK Army, ROKA, hangul: ëŒ€í•œë¯¼êµ ìœ¡êµ°; hanja: å¤§éŸ“æ°‘åœ‹ é™¸è») is by far the largest of the military branches, with over 560,000 members as of 2004. ... Image File history File links Naval_Jack_of_South_Korea. ... The Republic of Korea Navy (Hangul: ëŒ€í•œë¯¼êµ í•´êµ°; Hanja: å¤§éŸ“æ°‘åœ‹ æµ·è»; Revised Romanization: Daehanminguk Haegun) or ROK Navy (ROKN) is a branch of the South Korean armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations and amphibious landing operations. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROK Air Force, ROKAF, Hangul: ëŒ€í•œë¯¼êµ ê³µêµ°, Hanja: å¤§éŸ“æ°‘åœ‹ ç©ºè») is the air force of South Korea. ... The Republic of Korea Homeland Reserve Forces (a. ... Korea has a long military history going back several thousand years, with an extensive series of wars that involved invasions, civil discord, counter-piracy actions against medieval Japan, the first use of armoured battleships in seabattles, and the devastation of rebellions against the Joseon era Japanese invasions, the forced peace... Comparative military ranks of Korea refer to the ranks and insignia maintained by the three primary military powers on the Korean Peninsula, those being the South Korean military, the armed forces of North Korea, and the military forces of the United States. ... Military ranks of South Korea refer to the ranks and insignia maintained by the Military of South Korea. ... // M16 Rifle Daewoo K-1A Carbine Daewoo K-2 Assault Rifle Daewoo K-7 Silencer-Mounted SMG South Korean OICW Heckler & Koch MP5 Heckler & Koch MP7 Daewoo K-5 IMI Jericho 941F Tactical Heckler & Koch USP9 Tactical Glock 26 Daewoo K-3 Light Machine Gun K-4 40mm Grenade Launcher...

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. The Republic of Korea Armed Forces, or ROK Armed Forces (Hangul: ëŒ€í•œë¯¼êµ êµêµ°; Hanja: å¤§éŸ“æ°‘åœ‹ åœ‹è»; Revised Romanization: Dae-han-min-guk Guk-gun), is one of the largest standing armed forces in the world. ...

Order of Battle

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The US M1A1 Abrams tank is a typical modern main battle tank. ... Image File history File links ROKMC1stDivisiontankbattalion. ... Image File history File links ROKMC1stDivisiontankbattalion. ... The Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV)â€”official designation AAV-7A1 (formerly known as LVT-7) is the current amphibious troop transport of the United States Marine Corps and is also operated by other forces. ... The M109 is an American-made self-propelled 155 mm howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s. ... The M48 Patton was one of the U.S armys principal main battle tanks of the Cold War, with models in service from the early 1950s to the 1990s. ... The Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV)â€”official designation AAV-7A1 (formerly known as LVT-7) is the current amphibious troop transport of the United States Marine Corps and is also operated by other forces. ... The M109 is an American-made self-propelled 155 mm howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s. ...

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 ROK Army Capital (Raging Tiger) Division, the ROK Marine Corps’ 2nd (Blue Dragon) Brigade and the ROK Army 9th (White Stallion) 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, effective use of fire support, and better coordination 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. Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam Peopleâ€™s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000...

A total of 320,000 Koreans served in Vietnam, with its peak strength at around 45,000. About 4,000 were killed.