ROK Marines

Photo of the day: Recon Marines prepare for extreme hike in South Korea

I remember going through the South Korean ROK Marine Mountain Warfare training center. Those ROK Marines were damn machines during the entire training course. I remember going up into the mountains one day, probably covering a few thousand feet in elevation, and they smoked us. Obviously, this is their backyard and they better be good at it, but damn. We were all in pretty good physical condition and these guys didn’t break a sweat.

Moving on to the ropes course was another interesting training evolution. This consisted of knot tying with regards to combat and survival and then traversing many different types of rope bridges. We all had safety carabiners snapped into the overhead line when going across these bridges. One of the two rope bridges actually crosses a major highway with a steady flow of vehicles and trucks. One of our guys got hung up and lost his footing. Unable to regain his footing to continue across the bridge, one of the Korean ROK Marines quickly went out across the bridge with no safety line snapped in and helped our guy back onto the bridge. They seem to have an increased level of crazy in them. All in all, it was a great training deployment with the ROK Marines.

MOUNTAIN WARFARE TRAINING CAMP, SOUTH KOREA

Petty Officer 3rd Class Cody Goddard covers the rear of the group as Republic of Korea Marines try to use communication equipment before a simulated pre-dawn raid Jan. 22 during Korean Marine Exchange Program 14-3 near the Mountain Warfare Training Camp in Pyeongchang, South Korea. To prepare for the cold weather training, the U.S. Marines went through climatization training which included jumping in a pool of ice water, learning to ski, and surviving with no warming layers. Goddard is a corpsman with 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force. The ROK Marines are with the 1st ROK Special Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st ROK Division.

Photo courtesy of DVIDS

Loadout Room photo of the day: US, ROK Marines ruck over mountains

PYEONGCHANG-GUN, 42, SOUTH KOREA

U.S. and Republic of Korea Marines hike a 35- km path up a mountain Jan. 15 during Korean Marine Exchange Program 15-3 in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea. The ROK and U.S. Marines hiked side-by-side from start to finish. The U.S. Marines are reconnaissance men with Alpha Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force. The ROK Marines are force reconnaissance men with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Tyler S. Giguere/Released)

Courtesy of DVIDS

Loadout Room photo of the day: Improvise, Adapt, Overcome: ROK, US Marines Train for Winter Mountain Warfare

PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA

Republic of Korea Marine Gunnery Sgt. Kim Dong Jin, a Daegu, ROK, native, demonstrates ways to start a fire to U.S. Marines during Korean Marine Exchange Program 15-4 Feb. 4 at the Pyeongchang Winter Training Facility, Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea. The ROK and U.S. Marines learned different ways to survive in the cold mountainous terrain and also new ways of concealing themselves. KMEP is a regularly scheduled, bilateral, small-unit training exercise that enhances the combat readiness and interoperability of ROK and U.S. Marine Corps forces. Kim is a winter mountain warfare instructor with 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st ROK Marine Division. The U.S. Marines are with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, currently assigned to 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force under the unit deployment program. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pfc. Cedric R. Haller II/Released)

Courtesy of DVIDS

Loadout Room photo of the day | Recon Marines prepare for extreme hike in South Korea

MOUNTAIN WARFARE TRAINING CAMP, SOUTH KOREA

Petty Officer 3rd Class Cody Goddard covers the rear of the group as Republic of Korea Marines try to use communication equipment before a simulated pre-dawn raid Jan. 22 during Korean Marine Exchange Program 14-3 near the Mountain Warfare Training Camp in Pyeongchang, South Korea. To prepare for the cold weather training, the U.S. Marines went through climatization training which included jumping in a pool of ice water, learning to ski, and surviving with no warming layers. Goddard is a corpsman with 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force. The ROK Marines are with the 1st ROK Special Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st ROK Division.

Courtesy of DVIDS

Loadout Room photo of the day | Improvise, Adapt, Overcome: ROK, US Marines Train for Winter Mountain Warfare

PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel S. Adams, a Tulsa, Oklahoma, native, sits in a hiding position dug by Republic of Korea and U.S. Marines during Korean Marine Exchange Program 15-4 Feb. 4 at the Pyeongchang Winter Training Facility, Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea. The ROK and U.S. Marines learned different ways to survive in the cold mountainous terrain and also new ways of concealing themselves. This exercise underlines the enduring alliance and friendship between the ROK and U.S. Adams is a rifleman with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, currently assigned to 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force under the unit deployment program. The ROK Marines are with 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st ROK Marine Division. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pfc. Cedric R. Haller II/Released)

Courtesy of DVIDS