Special Forces teach ROK soldiers to call fire from sky

YONGSAN ARMY GARRISON, Republic of Korea -- After spending two weeks in the classroom studying under United States instructors from Special Forces Detachment-Korea, 30 Republic of Korea special-forces soldiers from across the peninsula successfully called in U.S. Air Force precision air strikes March 2 at a range in South Korea.

SFD-K Soldiers and Airmen trained their South Korean counterparts in ROK Special Warfare Training Group classrooms. During the two weeks, the ROK special-forces soldiers learned about coordinating close air support and using laser range finders to mark targets for A-10 and F-16 aircraft.

"Because we're working with special-operations soldiers, they won't be operating near friendly units," said Major Jefferson R. Panton, SFD-K commander. "So what we do is terminal-guidance operations."

After the targets were determined, the attacking aircraft were called by radio from the ground. The ROK special forces spoke English to make sure the pilot was moving in the right direction, and they give him the target's elevation, description and Global Positioning System coordinates.

The special-forces operators guided eight sorties of attacking aircraft out of the clouds and watched as the GPS-guided practice bombs and real bullets tore into the targets with deadly precision.

"We're able to do this because the ROK soldier is highly educated, highly motivated, and able to speak enough English so that we can conduct this course in a very short time. Outside of NATO countries, I think this is the first time this has been attempted with an allied force," said Panton.

The newly trained ROK special-forces soldiers will train others in their units on the same tactics.

"If you're a special-forces element on the ground, all you have as far as firepower is what you're carrying with you," said Panton. "This allows you to tap into all the firepower of the U.S. Air Force. It increases your lethality and your survivability tenfold."

While these tactics support the mission of special-operations units, they also support the mission of the Air Force.

"Especially in Korea, because of the terrain, it's important that the pilots get an accurate marking onto the target. These munitions are multimillion-dollar munitions, and you're not going to drop them onto a target unless you know you have an exact grid coordinate. It's the evolution of warfare. They know that when they have SF marking on the ground, that they have an accurate marking of that target.

"We needed to increase our interoperability between ourselves, because we work hand-in-hand with each other," said Sergeant First Class Jeffery Johnson, a coalition-support-team leader for the 3rd Republic of Korea Special Forces Brigade. "Some of our missions may have joint targets, and we have to be able to function together."

COPYRIGHT 2005 John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group