‘Kachi Kapshida!’ – Rotational Armored Brigade Combat Team Experience in Korea

A rotational deployment to the Republic of Korea (RoK) has a number of ben efits to the operational force writ large and to the Army’s armored brigade combat teams (ABCTs) in particular. This article explains some of our key takeaways from a rotational brigade deployment to the RoK but will not discuss whether or not an ABCT is the ap propriate formation for such a mission. Higher combat readiness A rotational ABCT arrives in the RoK with a higher degree of combat readi ness than a permanently stationed ABCT. An ABCT, for example, will go through an extensive train-up during the course of a year to hone its warf ighting skills. The brigade begins by developing mastery at the individual and crew level while training and certifying its leaders. This training then progress es to collective-level proficiency at pla toon through brigade level at home station, developing proficiency in all mission-essential tasks (METs). The training culminates with a rotation to a combat-training center (CTC) to vali date the ABCT’s ability to conduct combat operations under realistic conditions. The result is a trained and cer tified lethal brigade combat team ready for a combat deployment or oth er operational requirement. Training doesn’t stop here. Units de ploying to the RoK continue with an aggressive training regime to sustain MET proficiency. The resources exist to effectively build combat readiness at the individual to platoon level throughout the rotation. Commanders and staffs at echelon are also able to increase their proficiency through a multitude of training events and exercises, both Figure 1. A 120mm round from an M1A2 Abrams tank impacts one of many targets during the qualification course at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex. (Photo by SGT Patrick Eakin, 2nd ABCT Public Affairs) live and in simulation. A robust emergency-deployment readiness exercise program in support of the Korea mis sion also enhances a unit’s readiness. Units in Korea adopt a “fight tonight” mentality, which allows them to rou tinely alert and rapidly execute a series of tasks that make them ready for op erations on a moment’s notice. This is a level of preparedness that many units don’t achieve at home station and a great benefit to ABCTs afforded the opportunity to experience a rota tion to Korea. Training in Korea not only builds on the decisive-action METs, but it also incor porates two more non-standard METs for the rotational ABCT: “conduct noncombatant evacuation operations” and “conduct weapons of mass destruction [WMD] elimination operations.” The new mission sets are challenging to re source, train and evaluate at home sta tion due to limited expertise in these types of operations, but they are abso lutely essential to the success of the brigade during the rotation. The rota tional ABCT must spend a considerable amount of time training for these new tasks to rapidly gain proficiency, and training alongside our RoK partners is an added plus. While training in the Korean Theater of Operations (KTO) comes with many ad vantages, there are some limitations that affect readiness. Range availabil ity and maneuver space remains the single largest training constraint for ABCTs in Korea. Because of this, ABCTs tend to lose combined-arms maneuver proficiency at the company to brigade level over time. This requires units to leverage the live, virtual, gaming and simulation training aids available in theater to maintain proficiency. This goes back to the original point: an ABCT that conducts a full train-up at home station and a CTC rotation, with all the training areas and resources that come along with that, has the opportunity to achieve a much higher lev el of combat readiness than an ABCT permanently stationed in Korea. Building generation of leaders Combined operations with the RoK army strengthen the alliance and de velop leaders. With a continual rotation of forces to the Korean peninsula, we are building a generation of leaders who are able to work closely with RoK army allies at the tactical level and are familiar with operating in the KTO. Most of the training events in Korea are combined, affording U. S. forces an opportunity to continually work through problems at the small unit to theater level. These events generate incredibly valuable dialogue between leaders at echelon as they grind through and solve problems. The more leaders and units with this combined experience, the better prepared we are for anything that should happen on the peninsula. Seeing the terrain and experiencing the environment first-hand is also in valuable to the force. The Korean envi ronment is unique and generally doesn’t look like other locations where we train ABCTs. The terrain is dominat ed by highly restrictive maneuver cor ridors with frequent river crossings. Maneuvering an ABCT in this type of environment requires special considerations that units in Korea have to struggle through. Also, the tempera tures in Korea vary significantly from sweltering heat and humidity in the summer to frigid temperatures in the winter that freeze water supplies for both sustainment and decontamina tion operations. These conditions ex pose leaders to problems that are not easy to replicate all in one location. The Korean experience builds compe tencies in leaders that will set their units up for success. Every Soldier within the ABCT Figure 2. An M1A2 Abrams tank from Bravo Company, 1-9 Cavalry, fires its 120mm cannon during qualification Table XII at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex. (Photo by SGT Patrick Eakin, 2nd ABCT Public Affairs) formation will engage with the Korean people on some level. From combined training events, to partnered cultural events, to social interactions off duty, the U. S. Army presence among the Ko rean population is ubiquitous. This ex perience builds more adaptive leaders and grows a needed competency across the force. Mastery of CBRN To conduct counter-WMD, units must first be able to operate in a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) environment. Mastering the fundamentals in CBRN tasks requires subject-matter expertise (which is limited in the ABCT), quality repetitions and, most importantly, leader empha sis. Developing a cadre of CBRN sub ject-matter experts to evaluate individual task proficiency to ensure Soldiers are meeting the standard is critical to closing this expertise gap. Incorporat ing CBRN enablers (hazard-assessment platoons and chemical-response teams) into leader-development events – and home-station training – builds a foundation of trust and confi dence in this counter-WMD team. The ABCT must conduct counter-WMD operations at home station, leveraging CBRN experts and technical enablers as part of its training plan. These com pany-level training events should be planned as separate situational-train ing-exercise lanes to allow units to focus the military decision-making pro cess on this specific operation, providing the focus it requires to achieve pro ficiency. Fighting and winning on a con taminated battlefield depends on our Soldiers’ abilities to detect, protect and decontaminate CBRN hazards. Units must also be able to treat casu alties in a contaminated environment as well as effectively conduct subterra nean operations, as WMD sites are of ten located in underground facilities. In Korea, partnership with the RoK army is key to training and building proficiency in CBRN operations. Combined exercises allow the ABCT to practice how counter-WMD operations will be executed during a time of war. It helps to identify key points of friction with regard to interoperability of mis sion-command systems and standard operating procedures for tactical operations. While units will rarely have the opportunity to work with RoK army units prior to their Korea rotation, they will get substantial opportunities while on the peninsula. In conclusion, the benefits of a Korea deployment are many:

• A rotational deployment in the RoK increases the ABCT’s combat readiness as well as the U. S. Forces Korea’s combat readiness to meet any challenge faced on the peninsula. An ABCT that conducts a full train-up at home station and a CTC rotation has the opportunity to achieve a much higher level of combat readiness than an ABCT permanently assigned to Korea.

• Rotations of ABCTs to the KTO are building a generation of leaders who can work with foreign partners, in this case the RoK army, in the Korean environment and terrain.

• Finally, a rotation to the Korean theater forces a (re)mastery of CBRN skills once heavily emphasized in the U. S. Army, but in recent years has not received the requisite amount of attention. The rotational experience of an ABCT to Korea cannot be replicated at home station or at a CTC. The challenges posed by the Korean environment and terrain are crucial in honing the adapt ability and flexibility of an armored force and its leaders. There are costs, for example, to training readiness over time, but the leaders and Soldiers who participate in a Korea rotation seed the force with invaluable experience. COL Steven Adams is the Eighth Army G-3 in the RoK. Previous assignments include commander, 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, TX, and the RoK; G-3, National Training Center and Fort Irwin, CA; and commander, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, Fort Carson, CO, and Camp Buehring, Ku wait. He is a graduate of the U. S. Military Academy (USMA), West Point, NY. COL Adams holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University, a master’s degree in mili tary studies from the Marine Corps University and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U. S. Army War College. MAJ Nate Garner is a strategic planner on the Joint Staff in the J-7 Directorate, the Pentagon, Washington, DC. His pre vious assignments include executive officer, 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood and the RoK; executive offi cer, 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood; and assistant professor, US MA’s Department of Social Sciences. MAJ Garner is a graduate of USMA and holds a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University. Acronym Quick-Scan ABCT – armored brigade combat team CBRN – chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear CTC – combat-training center KTO – Korean Theater of Operations MET – mission-essential task RoK – Republic of Korea USMA – U. S. Military Academy WMD – weapon of mass destruction