Evening star., 1951-08-16
Korean Republic Army
Will Begin New Type
Retaining Next Week
BY Don Huth
Asseeioted Press War Correspondent


UNITED STATES 9th ARMY
HEADQUARTERS, Korea. Aug. 16.
South Korea's expanding army
next week will begin intensive re-
training under American officers
in one of the most unusual pro-
grams ever attempted during a
war.
They will be brought a few
miles out of the front lines for
about eight weeks of basic train
ing in military tactics.
One division will be pulled out
at time, and none will leave its
general battle sector.
If the Kaesong ceaSe-f1re talks
should collapse and the Com
munists hurl another offensive at
the United Nations, the Republic
of Korea Division could be moved
right back into the line.
The American Korean Military
Advisory Group has been reor-
ganized and expanded during the
past few months to handle the
program. Most of the instructors
have been serving with ROW di-
visions since the war began.
Some have moved into the
training area.
Caught by Surprise.
The South Korean forces
numbered about 10000 electives
when the war began June 25, 1850.
They were lightly equipped, poorly
trained and caught completely by
surprise when the North Koreans
hurled their Russian trained
troops across the 38th Parallel.
Within one week the broken ROK
units were in retreat southwark.
Some fought valiantly against
overwhelming odds to stem the
Communists until American help
arrived.
Remnants of this disorganized.
force struggled into the Pusian
perimeter. Their equipment was
gone. Many of its best officers were
dead. Shortages of weapons made
the task of re-equipping troops
slow and tedious.
In the language of the soldier,
there was a constant demand for
bodies" to replace the casualties.
Some Koreans became soldiers"
by firing carbine once. They were
thrust into the line with less than
week of training. ROK divisions
collapsed several times at critical
periods in the war. But they held
most OF the northern line of the
perimeter during those grim days.
The 9th Army tried to integrate
South Korean soldiers into United
Nations units. The plan was
never wholly successful. Ian
guage was the main difficulty.
9Th Division Broke.
During the months of smashing
Allied victories in the dash toward
the Yalu River, there was neither
time nor inclination to properly
train the South Koreans. They
were given gun, put into a di-
vision and told to head north.
Need for strengthening the
ROK divisions was brought home
forcefully last April. The Chinese
and North Koreans started their
first spring offensive against AL
lied positions. The ROK 9th di- |
vision broke and ran. leaving
dangerous hole that American
forces finally plugged in bitter |.
hand d-to-hand fighting.
The 9Th Army under Gen. James
A. Van Fleet began studies for
retraining and reorganizing the
South Korean divisions. KMAG
was rapidly expanded to handle
the job.
Brig. Gen. C. E. Ryan, COM
manding officer of KMAG, went
to the United States for special
training before taking over his
new assignment. A replacement
training school center for the
South Korean army was started.
Brig. Gen. S. Champeny is COM
manding officer of the replace
ment training and school center.
The field training phase of the
new program will be headed by
Brig. Gen. Thomas Cross.
The instruction will be strenu-
Gus. 1t will be patterned after
the basic training given American
soldiers back home.