Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Mission completion on the sea, under the sea, in any kind of critical situation

As part of FE training, various trainings are held around a naval port in Jinhae until April 21

Tong Yeong Ham and the US Safeguard made a sortie

Focused on lifesaving and shifting underwater obstacles

Expected to improve Korea-US combined rescue capability

Naval operations are not only conducted on the sea. For perfect mission completion, ‘invisible’ operations are ongoing in the deep sea where our eyes can not reach.

On April 11, Ship Salvage Unit(SSU), a special deep sea diving unit that protects our fellow soldiers and people under the deep sea, started diving to assure perfect operations in peace and in war with the US Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit(MDSU).

SSU will be carrying out combined salvage exercises as part of FE training around a naval port in Jinhae, the home port of the Navy, until the April 21. In this training, a 3,500-ton class rescue ship, ATS-II, a SSU squadron as well as the U.S. 3,300-ton class rescue ship, ARS, the Safeguard, and American MDSU soldiers were involved.

In times of peace, the main responsibility of SSU is to save fellow soldiers and people’s lives in the event of an emergency. Other than that, however, their mission covers a wide range of situations. Helping a fleet to depart by removing underwater obstacles during war is one of the responsibilities of SSU. If a ship goes down due to shelling, the SSU saves lives and prepares the way for departure. This training focuses on improving their capablity for disaster relief and underwater obstacles removal so that SSU can perfectly carry out their various missions. As well, by working together with the US army who must dive into the water in case of emergency, interoperability is enhanced and knowledge is shared.

Korean and US sailors will receive various drills such as combined familiar diving training, deep sea diving training using gas mixture, underwater and ground obstacles explosion training, etc. to achieve such training objectives. In advance of the full-scale training, there will be a preparatory meeting to understand each others' operation concepts and activities to build friendly relations, like physical activities and small parties.

Captain Je Byung-ryul, commander of the 55th Navy rescue and logistics support group, said, “Our Navy’s superior rescue ability is already recognized around the world. Through combined training that assumes diverse situations, we’re going to enhance our combined rescue ability in times of peace as well as war.”

Our Navy participated in a multinational rescue operation as well.

KOMODO training in Indonesia starts today

Meanwhile, the Navy will participate in ‘KOMODO Exercise 2016’, a multinational combined disaster relief training held in Mentawai Island, Indonesia, from April 12 to 16. Through this exercise, the navy plans to develop its combined disaster relief capability and strengthen friendly cooperation with other participant countries.

KOMODO exercise, which has been held by the Indonesian navy every each year since 2014, has the aim of improving the maritime security environment in the ASEAN region and enhancing humanitarian support and multinational combined rescue mission capabilities, in order to prepare for supernational maritime disasters like tsunami.

48 fleets, 17 aircraft and around 5,000 troops from 32 countries including Republic of Korea, the US, Japan and ASEAN members will participate in this second KOMODO training. Our navy deploys 13 deep sea divers, SSU, and two medical personnels to participate in life saving and medical training, on the sea and in the air.

SSU sailors who join in the training will also engage in voluntary medical activities to support local residents along with the drill. Commander Je said, “By participating in this humanitarian training for supernational disaster relief, we are working to enhance Korea's prestige as well as improving friendly cooperation with other allied navies.”

By Su-Yeol, Maeng < guns13@dema.mil.kr >
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