Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

At a ceremony for the formation of its 12th contingent, Hanbit Unit affirmed its determination to successfully perform its mission

Contingent’s soldiers will have 8 weeks of education on civil-military operations, culture, language, etc.

On the afternoon of Monday, January 13, a ceremony for the formation of the Hanbit Unit’s 12th contingent was held at the international peace support group. The contingent will perform United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) in South Sudan, where people have been suffering from poverty and a prolonged civil war.

The 12th contingent’s soldiers, who were selected through a highly competitive screening process that had an average 4.6 applicants per soldier finally selected, will go through eight weeks of intensive preparations in order to overcome the extreme environment in Africa and to accomplish the missions they have been assigned.

Achieving a mastery of the special qualification training tasks required for mission performance in the deployed area, the soldiers will have a customized education in civil-military operations as well as an understanding of African culture and language.

Significantly, the soldiers will learn to master the operation of engineering equipment, such as dozers, graders, and excavators, in order to assist in “reconstruction work” as their key mission, and will complete commissioned education in a range of specialties, including construction, woodworking, electrical works, welding, and baking, in order to provide a “Hanbit Vocational School” that offers vocational education to the locals.

Through repeating and mastering situational models to establish an individual and force protection posture, education by category will also be systematically provided to support the successful performance of missions by inviting experts, including UN PKO, as well as education in the local situation.

"With a sense of pride in being a representative and a military diplomat for ROK, we will concentrate all our energies into the reconstruction of South Sudan, where people are suffering civil war and poverty, in order to contribute to peace and stability in Africa as an exemplary country in the international community,” said Lieutenant Colonel Park Byung-kook, commander of the contingent.

Meanwhile, the Hanbit Unit’s 11th contingent is still performing its mission in South Sudan, following its initial deployment to the area in March 2013 at the UN’s request. The Unit is praised as “Best Unit in the UN forces” by the UN Mission in South Sudan and is referred to as “God’s blessing” by the locals.

By Chae-Mu, Im <lims86@dema.mil.kr >

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